King Saud University Nuclear to Safeguards Reactor Grade Plutonium & RGPU HW Instructions: read and follow all instructions or your assignment may not be g

King Saud University Nuclear to Safeguards Reactor Grade Plutonium & RGPU HW Instructions: read and follow all instructions or your assignment may not be graded:

Put your name and page number on each and every sheet
Use at least 1-inch margins all around.
Type short answer questions, double spaced using minimum 12 pt font, Times Roman.
As appropriate or required by the problem, cite all sources using complete references.
As with any engineering solution, your handwritten solution must be legible, logical, and complete.
For solving problems, work your problems by hand showing all your work. Clearly identify the governing

equations, use and identify appropriate units for all quantities and variables, work the problem methodically

showing all work, and report intermediate values so that partial credit can be assigned.

As with any engineering solution, if you need to make an assumption, please do so by clearly stating that

assumption and providing appropriate justification for that assumption.

Scan your hand-written work to Adobe PDF or insert into MS Word document.
You may use spreadsheets or similar in addition to your analysis to present your results/solution (i.e.

table, or graphs). This would be useful especially for repetitive calculations. First, clearly document your methodology in your hand-written solution so that the work in the spreadsheet can be understood correctly. Include the printout or screen capture of these results in your report along with your hand-written solution. Again, you may use spreadsheets or similar but your presented solution (paper/report) must stand alone without reference to the actual electronic file (i.e. spreadsheet). If you do use a spreadsheet or similar, then email that along with your report (solution) to document your effort but again your solution/report must stand alone without reference to this file.

Acceptable format is MSWord or Adobe PDF. Do not submit a bunch of separate scanned images.
The resulting submittal must be legible and handwriting must be of a size to be readable (compare to the

12pt font requirement for typed section).

Do not include questions or other commentary with your submission. These can be submitted in a follow

up email.

Compare the Pu vectors (isotopic composition) of weapons grade (WG) and reactor grade (RG) plutonium. Calculate and compare the heat load (heat generated i.e. W/kg) for each composition.
Describe and compare generally the characteristics of production of each type (grade) of plutonium (i.e. burnup/depletion or time in reactor under irradiation). How are these distinct depending on your goal of producing power/electricity vs. producing Pu for weapons? Type double spaced your response.
Choose an example case of proliferation or attempted proliferation (i.e. Pakistan, India, S. Africa, etc.) and discuss the different aspects of the fuel cycle involved. Use materials from the class (i.e. lecture on illicit trafficking and others), text, and your own research (i.e. the library electronic resources) to obtain two additional references.
The MOX Fuel Fabrication Plant in Aiken, SC if completed will produce MOX fuel from 35 tonne of weapons grade plutonium. Calculate the plutonium content of the MOX fuel assuming it is fabricated along with natural uranium and is designed to replace or be equivalent to an ordinary UO2 fuel with enrichment 4.9%. If all, 35 tonne of weapons grade plutonium is converted to MOX, how much fuel could be produced?

Rubric for grading each computational problem with points assessed for or related to:

Is all work shown and the solution legibly and logically developed? If the answer is “no” then the grade is

zero automatically since the problem can’t be graded as given in the exam instructions and discussed in

class. If the answer is “yes”, then continue grading.

If the work and answer are determined to be plagiarized, then the grade is zero points assessed.
Are the correct governing equations clearly identified?
Are all referenced or assumed values given correctly with proper units?
Was the problem worked properly (e.g. correctly complete steps for a solution)?
If graphs or tables are required, properly label and title all parts with correct units additionally.
Did the student get the correct final answer with proper units given?
Is the problem free of conceptual errors?

Rubric for essay and short answer questions with points assessed for or related to:

Is the answer typed and written in a professional and grammatically correct manner? If the answer is “no”

then the grade is zero automatically since the problem can’t be graded as given in the exam instructions. If

the answer is “yes”, then continue grading.

If the answer is determined to be plagiarized, then the grade is zero points assessed.
Does the response address each of the key concepts identified for this problem?
Correct explanation and exploration of the topic assigned
Use and citation of sources provided in the course and additional required source(s)
Grammar and readability
Overall content and format including following directions in the assignment and any additions or

clarifications made via Blackboard.

Is the answer free of conceptual errors?

Remember:

 In accordance with the syllabus, 75% of the grade for this assignment is based on performance related to the assignment. The other 25% is for the self-assessment to come afterward.