DTU’s course in nuclear reactor physics is popular. DTU offered the course for the first time in spring 2023, and just over 25 MSc students completed it—a high number for a specialization course, which the students generally take out of pure interest.
Bent Lauritzen, Head of Section at DTU Physics, is in charge of the course and is now offering it again due to the high demand. 30 MSc students have registered for the course, and the first class is scheduled for Friday, 2 February.
“The course was created as a result of the great interest shown by the students. In fact, one student even created an internal survey to find out how many would actually like to enrol in a course on nuclear reactor physics,” explains Bent Lauritzen.
He has seen an increasing interest in nuclear power in recent years, not just among students, but also in society in general.
Energy technologies that had previously been sidelined have now been brought back into play in the efforts to implement a green transition of society. Nuclear power is one of these technologies.
If society wants to go down this path, it requires knowledge and research, and this is where the course can play a role.
“There is growing interest in nuclear power, not only in Denmark, but also in our neighbouring countries, which means that there’s a need for people with knowledge about nuclear reactor physics and how to build modern nuclear power plants,” says Bent Lauritzen.
He himself has spent much of his career conducting research into nuclear power, and he stresses that the course caters for anyone interested in nuclear reactor physics.
“I always encourage students to choose according to their interests, because that’s the strongest motivation,” says Bent Lauritzen.
Course and company visit
The course consists of theory that gives the students a broad introduction to nuclear reactor physics and digital simulations of a nuclear reactor in a Monte Carlo program. This type of program can be used to model the probability of different outcomes in a process that cannot easily be predicted. The digital simulations provides the students with even better insight into how a reactor works. The spring course also included one hands-on exercise.
In the latest course, the hands-on exercise involved another form of nuclear power—fusion energy—which is the fusing of atomic nuclei, as opposed to fission energy, which is the splitting of atomic nuclei.
Last year, the course also included a company visit to the Danish start-up Seaborg Technologies, where the students gained insight into what it takes to go from theory to practice when it comes to nuclear power.
Seaborg Technologies is working to develop a nuclear reactor that will not run on solid uranium or plutonium like the old nuclear power plants. Instead, the fuel is dissolved in molten salt.
The salt acts as a cooling element and encapsulates the radioactive material in case of an accident. According to Seaborg Technologies, this greatly reduces the risk factor compared to a conventional nuclear power plant.
In addition, Seaborg Technologies’ nuclear reactor is so small that it can fit into a container. This makes it portable, and nuclear professionals therefore use the term small modular reactors for this type of nuclear power plant.
“The students attended a lot of lectures during the company visit, and they got an impression of what being a start-up means, but also how complex it is to design not only a reactor, but an entire power plant,” explains Bent Lauritzen.
He continues:
“It’s a big step from theory to practice when it comes to nuclear power, and if students are to be able to take this step in the future, they need to know what it requires.”
