Nuclear reactor physics and engineering

Nuclear reactor physics and engineering investigates how neutrons are produced, transported, and absorbed within reactor cores, and how that behavior can be harnessed to generate power or transmute long-lived radioactive waste into shorter-lived isotopes. Generation IV reactor concepts — including molten salt reactors cooled by liquid fluoride or chloride salts, and lead-cooled fast reactors operating at higher neutron energies — promise improved safety margins, higher thermal efficiency, and the ability to close the fuel cycle by burning actinides that would otherwise remain hazardous for tens of thousands of years. The thorium fuel cycle offers an alternative breeding pathway that produces far less transuranic waste than conventional uranium-plutonium systems, though realizing it at scale requires resolving materials compatibility challenges and refining the nuclear data libraries that Monte Carlo transport codes depend on for accurate predictions. Active research is pushing toward small modular reactor designs that can be factory-built and deployed in contexts — including space propulsion and remote power — where conventional large-plant infrastructure is impractical.

Works

320,352

Total citations

580,069

Keywords

Nuclear ReactorMolten SaltNeutron TransportGeneration IVThorium Fuel CycleMonte Carlo Code