At the end of the term, the class presents its project to other faculty and students.

Final Project Presentation

The student team designing the biofuels subsystem gives its 2nd progress report, describing their block diagram, key parameters, and remaining steps for the final month of class.

Biofuels Sub-task Presentation II

The student team designing the hydrogen production subsystem gives its 2nd progress report, describing their block diagram, key parameters, and remaining steps for the final month of class.

Hydrogen Sub-task Presentation II

The student team designing the reactor core and secondary system gives its 2nd progress report, describing successive iterations of the lead cooled fast reactor and remaining steps for the final month of class.

Core Sub-task Presentation II

This lecture explores the microstructure characteristics of metals in high temperature/high stress situations, via hands-on experience with similar structures and behaviors in selected cheeses.  Cheese-tasting asides enrich the experience.

Lecture 8: Metals and Cheeses - Uncoventional Pairings

This lecture demonstrates Quality Function Deployment (QFD) methods, and more specifically the House of Quality diagram, to identify and manage design tradeoffs, using the example of a hypothetical new car design.

Lecture 4: Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and House of Quality

This lecture contains three modules: (a) methods of hydrogen production; (b) methods of biofuel production; and (c) an approach to the engineering design process based on importance metrics and the House of Quality method.

Lecture 3: Hydrogen and Biofuel Production; Design Process

This lecture is a sample of how to optimize a system block diagram. After summarizing the goal and initial results from the previous session, this lecture works through refinements in materials, thermal design, flow rates, environmental rules, etc.

Lecture 7: Qualitative Optimization of CaC2/Acetylene Block Diagram

This lecture on Process Heat covers the three heat challenges: heat exchanger design, heat transport, and heat storage. The video starts with a few minutes reviewing the project team structure, roles, and goals.

Lecture 2: Process Heat - Major Challenges

This lecture surveys the nuclear reactor core types that might be used for the project design, after a brief survey of key system design parameters.

Lecture 1: Core - Nonconventional (Non-PWR/BWR) Reactors

Nuclear Systems Design Project

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