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Nuclear Reactor Simulator
131–139 of 139 posts
Re: Nuclear Reactor Simulator
#132why am i not able to cause a meltdown
Re: Nuclear Reactor Simulator
#133My favorite classic NPP simulator is SIMULA-C by Ralph Reuhl. I'm only finding this report [1] (from my comment history, hah), but both the C source code as well as MS-DOS executables were available. Back when I knew what the URL is, the Wayback Machine could fetch the .exe files but not the source archive. Anyone remember this one? A screenshot can be found in the PDF at the end. [1] https://inis.iaea.org/search/sea…
This bring back memories? https://web.archive.org/web/20020928111017/http://www.simula...
Yep! The German version contains a tutorial and a manual, that's why it's larger; unfortunately the Wayback Machine did not go back in time (since I last saw this page) to capture the source code from 2002. :)
Re: Nuclear Reactor Simulator
#134Former US Navy submarine nuclear reactor operator here. Adjusting the steam output was kind of strange. On a submarine, the steam used to propel the submarine dwarfs all the other steam loads. As a result, there's a throttleman who controls that. Even though this simulation is simplified, it's not too bad. It does hide some of the really interesting aspects of a water cooled/moderated nuclear reactor. The most intere…
After a civilian nuclear reactor is refueled mtc is positive. It makes for a fun few weeks.
Re: Nuclear Reactor Simulator
#135Re: Nuclear Reactor Simulator
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
The fuel in US Naval nuclear reactors is enriched to a much higher percentage than civilian reactors due to size and longevity considerations. It has to fit the ship and refuels take months/years. A ship undergoing a refuel isn't a ship you can use. In a civilian plant, you can have multiple reactors and refuel them on a rotating schedule to avoid downtime, having a larger reactor vessel isn't a problem, and all of t…
I think the difference i >90% for military use and 3-5% for civilian use. Some new SMRs are planning on using >5%.
With that grade fuel, can a nuclear submarine denote like a bomb?!
Re: Nuclear Reactor Simulator
#137Reminds me of this android gqme: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ru.DmitryLomak...
Re: Nuclear Reactor Simulator
#138Earlier quoted context omitted.
Former submarine nuke with a masters in NucE here (it's fun to see us come out of the woodwork for this). Rods are always in the core. To start a reactor that is shut down (with the rods are all the way on the bottom), you withdraw them slowly until the reactor is self-sustaining. From there, you increase power by increasing steam demand (as described in the parent comment above) and continue raising rods to increase…
thank you so much for the response. one more q if you dont mind: on the "how its made" show they show how the fuel comes from ore, to yellow cake, to pellets in zircon rods, to collections of rods in an assembly. This is completely safe (compared to spent fuel), but how do you get the reaction started? do you have to "light" it with a neutron source when you're ready to use the fuel for the first time? or do you "lig…
Sorry for the slow reply -- didn't realize there weren't notifications on HN.
U-235 (the fuel used in naval reactors) does undergo spontaneous fission, but not at a rate high enough so reach criticality. Like one of the other posters mentioned, you can make it easier to achieve and maintain criticality by changing the shape of the core (so that fewer neutrons leak out) but in general you do need a neutron source inside the core that is just always spitting out enough neutrons to help the reactor achieve criticality as the control rods are withdrawn.
Once the core has operated at power for long enough, some core materials become "active" (from irradiation) and may help contribute to the neutron source.
Straight U-235 is fairly safe (iirc), but even then I don't think you'd want to ship the fuel assemblies with any moderator as moderated neutrons are what make fission more likely.
Re: Nuclear Reactor Simulator
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
This bring back memories? https://web.archive.org/web/20020928111017/http://www.simula...
Yep! The German version contains a tutorial and a manual, that's why it's larger; unfortunately the Wayback Machine did not go back in time (since I last saw this page) to capture the source code from 2002. :)
I emailed the author to see if I could get the source code to update it for a modern platform. Given the amount of link rot since that time it is unlikely that he replies but hope is eternal.