RCNET ACAD 08-006 Crosswalk: 1.1.4 Core Curriculum - Basic Atomic and Nuclear Physics

Program Description:
This material was published by the Regional Center for Nuclear Education and Training (RCNET) as part of a comprehensive crosswalk that links objectives of ACAD 08-006 with GP Strategies ABC Material, NUCP Surveyed Material, NANTeL resources, EPRI resources, web resources, and published material available to all RCNET partners. These accredited utility training programs are based of training and qualification guidelines (ACADs) published by the National Academy for Nuclear Training. 

ACAD 08-006 is the Uniform Curriculum Guide for Nuclear Power Plant Technician, Maintenance, and Nonlicensed Operations Personnel Associate Degree Programs and includes five main curriculum areas: Core Curriculum, Discipline-Specific Curriculum for Nonlicensed Operators, Discipline-Specific Curriculum for Radiological Protection Technicians, Discipline-Specific for Chemistry Technicians, and Discipline Specific for Maintenance Personnel. 
 
Contents: 
The Core Curriculum is divided into three sections: Fundamentals, Basic Systems Knowledge, and Basic Components Knowledge. This Basic Atomic and Nuclear Physics section of Fundamentals (ACAD 08-006 1.1.4) covers the "... basic concepts associated with atomic structure, nuclear interactions and reactions, fission process, and reactor operation."

Documents associated with ACAD 08-006 1.1.4 include twelve PowerPoint presentations and two documents of instructor notes. 

This material covers, more specifically: basic atomic structure including atomic mass unit, protons, neutrons, electrons, isotopes, mass-energy equivalence, mass defect, binding energy, and binding energy per nucleon; nuclear interactions and reactions, including radioactive decay processes, half-life determination, isotope identification methods, ionization, radiation interactions with matter, and neutron interactions; and the basic fission process, including the theory of fission process, control of fission process, neutron flux effects on reactor power, neutron leakage, fission products, neutron sources and radiation from fission and from fission products. The materials also cover residual heat/decay heat, including the sources of decay heat; major sources of natural background radiation, man-made sources of background radiation, and radioactive sources routinely found in a nuclear plant; and basic reactor operation including basic reactor types, reactor parameters, reactivity, response to control rods/boron/fission product poisons, reactor startup and shutdown, reactivity events, general design overview of the station reactor type(s), basic reactor core parameters, and reactivity control methods.

For orientation purposes the Radiation Detection Principles and Instruments.pdf is included as a separate attachment and offers a sample of the type of material included in this curriculum. 

Below is a list of the files contained within the .zip attachment. The size of each file is included in parenthesis. 

ACAD 08-006 1.1.4 Basic Atomic and Nuclear Physics (17 files 102.6MB)

• Instructor Notes
  • Radiation Detection Principles and Instruments (Radiation Detection Principles and Instruments_Instructor Notes.doc 260 KB)
  • Reactor Coolant System (Reactor Coolant System Instructor Notes.docx 221 KB)
• Presentations
  • Background Radiation: Man-made and Natural (Background_radiation.ppt 1.1 MB)
  • Biological Effects Of Radiation (Biological Effects Of Radiation.ppt 3.9 MB)
  • Chemistry and Radcon (Chemistry and Radcon.ppt 2.5 MB)
  • Introduction to the Nuclear Power Industry (History of Nuclear Technology Reactor Designs.pptx 6.5 MB)
  • Interactions with Matter (Interactions with Matter.pptx 1.5 MB)
  • Overview of Nuclear Plant Systems (Overview of Nuclear Plant Systems.ppt 17 MB)
  • Plant Chemistry Overview (Plant Chemistry Overview.ppt 3.1 MB)
  • Plant Status (Plant Status.pptx 21.1 MB)
  • Radiation Detection Principles and Instruments (Radiation Detection Principles and Instruments.ppt 6.7 MB)
  • Basic Reactor Physics - Radioactive Decay (Radioactive Decay.ppt 9.6 MB)
  • Reactor Regulating Systems (Reactor Regulating Systems.ppt 5.4 MB)
  • Power Plant Science - Residual Heat and Reactor Operation (ResidualHeat&ReactorOperation.pptx 23.9 MB)