Generation IV nuclear reactors are designed to be safe, economical and to produce minimal radioactive waste material. The present book reviews the various categories of Generation IV reactors and their applications, providing an overview of the physics of nuclear power reactors and describing the technology behind each of the six Generation IV designs. It describes past progress in each of these technologies and summarizes current research and development activities. It gives an evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of each design and summarizes the ways in which each satisfies the criteria specified by the Generation IV International Forum. This book provides an overview of the environmental aspects of nuclear power, an introduction to the physics of fission reactors and a summary of the drawbacks of current reactor designs.
Key Features
- Provides an overview of how nuclear fission power can contribute to future low-carbon energy sources
- Discusses the environmental aspects of nuclear power, the physics of fission reactors and the drawbacks of current reactor designs
- Provides a detailed technical description of potential Generation IV fission reactors
- Analyses how each Generation IV reactor design deals with current reactor drawbacks
- Reviews previous work and current status of each Generation IV reactor design
- Considers the possibility and timescale for commercial development of each design
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Our energy needs and the case for nuclear fission
Chapter 2: Some introductory nuclear physics
Chapter 3: Principles of nuclear fission reactors
Chapter 4: The early history of nuclear fission energy
Chapter 5: Curernt fission designs and teh use of nuclear energy
Chapter 6: Risks associated with nuclear energy
Chapter 7: Very-high-temperature reactors (VHTR)
Chapter 8: Molten-salt reactors (MSR)
Chapter 9: Supercritical-water-cooled reactors (SCWR)
Chapter 10: Gas-cooled fast reactors (GFR)
Chapter 11: Sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFR)
Chapter 12: Lead-cooled fast reactors (LFR)
Chapter 13: The future of nuclear energy
About the Author :
Richard A. Dunlap is a Research Professor at Dalhousie University in Canada. He joined Dalhousie University after receiving his PhD in Physics from Clark University in 1981 and became a full professor in 1990. He was the director of the Dalhousie University Institute for Research in Materials from 2009 to 2015. His research interests include nuclear spectroscopies, magnetic materials, quasicrystals, critical phenomena and advanced batteries materials.
