WHAT CAN BE LEARNED?
The BWR program is a self-taught course of instruction in nuclear power plant technology. The program is designed as a lab or classroom adjunct to a university course in Nuclear Engineering, Physics, or other engineering disciplines.
The BWR program attempts to fill a void typically missing in university course work - an opportunity to validate theoretical concepts in a real-world setting.
The BWR Program is a real-world, hands-on application:
The BWR simulation is modeled after a real boiling water nuclear power plant. Specifically, it models a typical plant in the General Electric BWR-4 product line. Of the world-wide total of commercial nuclear power plants currently in operation, over 60 are Boiling Water Reactors designed and built by the General Electric Company, with over 30 additional BWRs based on the GE design. The Boiling Water Reactor simulated by the BWR Program is typical of these plants. The BWR-4 is the most prevalent Boiling Water Reactor plant design, accounting for 25 of the operating BWRs. The differences from one BWR plant design to the next are, however, minor in nature. They are all essentially the same type of power plant, and experience gained in operating the BWR Program will extend to the operation of any Boiling Water Reactor.
Scope of Simulation:
The scope of the BWR Program simulation goes well beyond that provided in other PC-based simulations.
Demonstrated reactor physics concepts:
The BWR Program provides theoretical discussions of many of the fundamental aspects of reactor physics (the atom, the fission process, reactivity, etc). In the simulation (especially in the BWR Interactive Tutorial) these concepts are specifically called out and demonstrated as the student manipulates the plant controls.
Examples include:
- Transition to criticality below the point of adding heat (source range counts, reactor period response demonstrating subcritical multiplication, criticality, etc.)
- Flux response to rods/control rod worth as a function of rod notch position, peripheral rod selection, cold to hot, etc.
- Reactivity coefficients (moderator temperature coefficient magnitude change during heatup), etc)
Self-taught instruction:
The BWR Technology Training provided by the program is totally self-contained. The BWR Interactive Tutorial and accompanying BWR Training Manual provide all of the course content and instruction needed. The option exists, of course, to integrate the program into existing, applicable classroom or lab instruction.
Students can complete the study, exercises, and examination (simulator certification exams) independently and at their own pace.
The program scope, depth of content, and areas of emphasis can be easily modified to meet specific academic needs.
View a detailed description of the BWR Training Manual