Conceptual Design for a Small Modular Nuclear Reactor in an Urban Environment

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Drake, Amanda
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Curriculum in Environment and Ecology

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Given the worldwide necessity to reduce anthropogenic contributions to global climate change, an increased focus on nuclear energy over traditional fossil fuel based sources is arguably justified. This paper attempts to analyze whether it is possible for small modular nuclear reactors in particular to contribute to that transition, specifically through their utilization in an urban environment. For this analysis, an urban setting is defined as a large American university that currently produces a portion of its electricity demand at an onsite cogeneration facility. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is used as a basic model for this university setting in this analysis. All relevant considerations were evaluated to determine overall feasibility of potential SMR implementation in this setting, as well as the requirements for specific design selection. Based on these requirements, three models were selected for further analysis: SVBR‑100, TWR‑P, and EM2. All three were found to be suitable for university implementation, thus confirming the overall feasibility of SMR implementation in the described urban setting. While the most appropriate model depends on the specific inputs to the developed ranking system (which can be adjusted for various potential universities), overall EM2 and TWR‑P can be considered the more suitable of the three.

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Thumbnail	Title	Date Uploaded	Visibility	Actions
	Thesis	2019-05-17	Public	Download