NUCL530 — Nuclear Fuel Cycle from Extraction to Disposal
NUCL 530 - Nuclear Fuel Cycle from Extraction to Disposal NUCL 530 - Nuclear Fuel Cycle from Extraction to Disposal 3 credits (Hrs: 3 Lec.) This course provides graduate students with a comprehensive examination of the nuclear fuel cycle, tracing the life of nuclear materials from natural resource extraction through final disposal. Front-end topics include uranium and thorium mining, milling and conversion, enrichment technologies, and fuel fabrication for light water and advanced reactor systems. In-reactor fuel behavior is examined, including fission product accumulation, cladding interactions, and isotopic evolution with burnup. Back-end topics cover spent fuel characterization, interim storage, reprocessing and separations technologies, waste form engineering, and geologic disposal, alongside the regulatory frameworks governing waste management in the United States and internationally. Throughout, technical content is situated within broader discussions of nonproliferation risk, resource sustainability, and the strategic implications of open versus closed fuel cycle choices.