Nuclear Power: Does It Have a Future?

Nuclear Power.  Those two words have a great deal of meaning.  Many people think of mental images involving Nuclear Armageddon, mutations, and a glowing neon green; an image that Homer Simpson would

Fig. 1:  Worldwide Nuclear Power

be proud of.  The other side of the coin thinks of efficiency, cleanliness, and base-load power for all.  These two competing camps have been at verbal war for nearly a half of a century now, and the ethical argument has become ingrained in the American society.  However, the debate is not limited to the North American continent.  The European powers remain divided on the issue, Asia is questioning its safety, and the Middle East is a hot bed due to proliferation concerns.   Let's break down the pros and cons of the two sides ideals.

Opponents of Nuclear Power:

Three Mile Island (1979), Chernobyl (1986), and Fukushima Daiichi (2011):  These are the nuclear proliferation incidents that opponents to Nuclear Power often bring attention.  These are not the only incidents in the history of nuclear power, but they are the most severe.
-Three Mile Island, the worst American Nuclear incident, also involved the supporting cooling systems.  The plant experienced a partial meltdown, yet there was very little radiation release, and no one has physically been affected.  More information is available through Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Three Mile Island.
-Chernobyl, the worst disaster of the three, was a full meltdown of the core, and incurred a massive amount of radiation release into the surround Ukrainian countryside.  According to World Nuclear Association - Chernobyl, it is directly tied to 31 deaths, and 134 cases of Acute radiation syndrome.  There was also an increase in birth defects and thyroid cancer in the region near the plant after the incident.  To say the least, it was an awful occurrence, and, also according to the World Nuclear Association, was blamed on faulty design and inadequately trained personnel.
-Fukushima Daiichi, which is right along the eastern coast of Japan, was hit by a 35 ft high tsunami, World Nuclear Association - Fukushima Daiichi.

Fig. 2.

knocking out the plant's supporting cooling systems.  After this, the plant had a partial meltdown, releasing radiation, before crews were able to bring everything under control.  No deaths were attributed to the actual nuclear disaster, but the chaos surrounding the event claimed a number of people.  More information is available at

While conflicts tend to deal with nuclear weapons versus peaceful nuclear power, certain factions may try to develop nuclear weapons programs disguised as nuclear power programs.  The need for regulation of these programs has caused many problems with two countries that share a large portion of the world's news feed:  Iran and North Korea.  This possibility of intentional proliferation is an issue.

Storage of spent nuclear waste is of major concern in American public policy.  Current remedies involve guarded storage lots, filled with capsules containing the still radioactive materials.  What are we do do with these.

Proponents of Nuclear Power:

The future of our world society is dependent upon power, and it must be generated from some source.  While nuclear power is not renewable, its efficiency far outpaces the current main forms of base-load power generating technology.  The term "base-load" power is important.  This is the reliable, off-peak capable power.  As nice as solar and wind are to have, they are no where near able to produce the power needed for our any country's baseload.

Fig. 3:  US Nuclear Industry
safety record. 

Past incidents, proliferation concerns, and storage issues may deter many from thinking that nuclear power is not an answer.  However, with only a handful of lessons learned the hard way, operation of nuclear power plants through out the world has been very successful.  According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, 2012 was the safest year on record.

Also new technologies that are on the horizon, or are even available right now, will solve these issues.  One particular new technology are Waste Annihilating Molten Salt Reactors (Yes, that is actually what they are called).  According to the American Soceity of Mechanical Engineers article Nuclear Waste to Energy, these reactors show the promise of meltdown proof, as they can be shutdown without an operator doing anything, and run at atmospheric pressures.  One of the main issues at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima Daiichi was the pressure the reactors operated at.  These reactors, and similar ones, solve this problem.  These particular reactors also do as their name says; they annihilate nuclear waste.  All those stockpiles that are currently being guarded with nuclear waste capsules just chilling (literately) now may lose their purpose, thus eliminating the possibility for that fuel to be used in wrongful ways.

With regulation, the nuclear power industry is able to produce relatively cheap, clean, and efficient power to supply base-load power.

Nuclear Power:  Does It Have a Future?                                        - YES

Fig. 4.

There are downsides to every source of energy.  Oil and coal tend to have dirty side effects.  Solar and wind rely on natural conditions.  Hydro power disrupts a river's ecosystem and nuclear has the possibility of a meltdown.  The only way to supply the base-load power required to supply energy in this growing world is to balance the use of these technologies through consideration of the circumstances.  The technology will improve, and especially in the case of nuclear, will lead to many other discoveries that effect different parts of life.  I feel the downsides, with continued research and development, will subside to benefits.  For example, the US Navy powers an entire fleet of submarines and aircraft carriers with nuclear power, and have had very few problems due to the oversight and control.  In the case of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, we can see that elementary issues, such as plant campus design, can be changed to ensure the safety.  I would argue that it also shows how safe nuclear power is.  This power plant was hit with waves that, at their peak, measured 35 feet high.  Yet, the situation was brought under control.

Fig. 1: Reuters - Figure of the Day.
Fig. 2: Nuclear Philosophy - Drowning Fukushima.
Fig. 3: Nuclear Energy Institute - Nuclear Safety Record.
Fig. 4: Nuclear Power? Yes Please.

NDSU Students and 3-D Printing

While the ability to crunch numbers and calculations to come to certain conclusions is important, the ability to see a physical model of a product those numbers and calculations can have profound impacts and spur engineering analysis not possible before.  In the near future, any North Dakota State Univeristy (NDSU) student will have the ability to do this very thing for whatever purpose they want.

According to the NDSU Spectrum, the Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture has recently purchased 6 new 3-D Printers.  Last year, a graduate student within the department designed and

Fig. 1:  Dusty Austin, NDSU Dept. of Architecture
Grad Student, and his homemade 3-D Printer.

built a 3-D Printer, which began the interest into purchasing these new additional printers.  While at the current time only a handful of students in this department, based in Klai Hall on the Downtown Fargo campus of NDSU, are able to use the printers, work is being done to bring these capabilities to the main campus.  These printers allow the architecture students to create quick, cheap models of ideas, then allowing visual creativity to flourish.  

Rumblings around campus have been talking about a 3-D Printer system being set up in the Library.  This

Fig. 2:  Tools and Parts
made by 3-D Printing

would allow all students to use the technology for many purposes, with the main cost to them being the material to make the models.  In any case where a physical, plastic model may be needed for class projects, or showing students objects that will improve learning, this technology could prove to be vital.  Image being able to teach a class on Machine Design (i.e. ME 442) and having cheap, physical models to show the class.  With some simple modeling, a senior design student could create models easily and cheaply.

Also according to the The Prarie Business Magizine, the Department of Mechanical Engineering at NDSU is

Fig. 3:  3-D Printer at NDSU

also currently looking into this capability for its students within the department.  A few members of the Department have been working on production of a corn-based "ink" for 3-D Printing.  This corn-based plastic is biodegradable and recyclable.  This would allow NDSU to become self-sufficient in regards to purchasing the plastic used in the printers.  Being biodegradable, these plastic models will breakdown if the make their way to the Fargo Landfill.

Research on improving the capabilities of 3-D Printing continues, with a high interest among students present.  I recently was with Student Government members who had the opportunity to work with one of these printers, creating "NDSU" signs that now populate the office.  With this in mind, the ability to use these machines brings certain issue into mind:
(1.  How often are students allowed to use the printer?
(2.  Is there a limit on what is printable?
(3.  Who is in charge of these systems?
These different issues are part of the reason the campus didn't have this system available to all yesterday.  However, as these dominoes fall, the possibilities with students and 3-D Printing increase.

You can even 3-D Print objects with moving parts.  Check it out.

Fig.1:  NDSU Offical News Feed:  Grad Student creates 3-D Printer.
Fig.2:  The News Herald:  NewsHerald.
Fig 3:  NDSU Spectrum:  3-D Available to NDSU Architecture Students
Video:  Youtube Video.

Nuclear Power - Modular Nuclear Reactors

Public policy and social push is currently calling for forms of electricity production that need to fit into a certain number of requirements:

(1. It must be reliable,
(2. It must be renewable, or comparable,
(3. It must be safe,
(4. It must be clean.

The ideas of how to achieve this ideal form of electricity production range from ways of boiling water (Nuclear, Geothermal, Natural Gas, anything that involves a boiler system) to using natural forces (Wind Power, Hyrdo Power), all in an effort to most efficiently do one thing; spin a turbine. Electricity Production

Fig. 1:  Seattle, Washington

has a huge impact upon a number of aspects within today's society, making it a important priority for the engineers to focus on.  While Nuclear Power has been ridiculed for many years for negatives seen through events such as the Chernobyl melt down (more information at , or more recently, the Fukishima pressure explosions, I would argue that these events actually show the strength for the case of Nuclear Power.  That topic, however, is reserved for another time.  For a simple background on how a nuclear reactor works, see the video on the this webpage:  NuScale Power Reactor.

There is a growing idea within the nuclear power industry regarding the use of much smaller, use-specific, modular nuclear reactors.  These reactors could be used in single use situations, such as factory power plants or base load electricity for metropolitan utilities.  Similar, modern forms of these reactors may be seen in the nuclear systems that propel numerous military ships.  Those systems, however, are designed to be more permanent, and are generally classified.  These modular systems are designed to be built in a factory and then shipped to the intended client.  They are designed to be used in tandem to meet the needed electricity production for the application.

I was first introduced to the idea while watching a TED talk video featuring a then 17 year old scientist named Taylor Wilson.  This video is available here: Taylor Wilson: My Radical Plan for Small Nuclear Fission Reactors.  In the talk, Wilson describes a simplistic design of a modular nuclear reactor that would

Fig. 2:  Taylor Wilson and his
simple Nuclear Reactor.

use a particular type of Uranium called Thorium.  Coupled with the set up of his reactors, this fuel would have a high burnoff, thus eliminating a large portion of the spent fuel seen by the current, typical nuclear installations.  It would also be a more stable core, as the high pressures usually associated with nuclear reactors would not be present.

After researching, I found an article from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME - Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, regarding two companies that are currently working with the Department of Energy on this idea.  One company, Babcock & Wilcox, produced a video showing the construction of a modular nuclear reactor installation, which can be found here: B&W mPower Reactor Video.  These reactors may see production 2022.  More information is available at:  B&W mPower Reactor Webpage.  Another company, NuScale, has just recently started its partnership with the Department of Energy, and has set the goal for production by 2025.  More info on this reactor is available through the first link in this blog.

One of the main positive outcomes of pursuing modular reactors versus typical reactors is the cost and hassle of construction and certification.  Numerous reactor projects across the United States have been halted due

Fig. 3:  Boeing Assembly Line.

to delays in construction and certification.  Instead of designing and building a different reactor for each installation, modular reactors would unify design schemes.  This can be compared to building a car on an assembly line and then selling it to the customer versus going to a customer's home, and building the car in their garage.  Streamlining these production process allows for more resources to go towards Research and Development, and less being wasted on endless paper work and legality issues.

A major disadvantage of Nuclear Power in general is proliferation, or the spread of radiation.  This could happen through either something occurring during power production, or leakage of spent fuel.  The use of these reactors would have to be monitored heavily, especially within the private sector.  While this is already occurring with the current reactors, this idea would call for more reactors in more areas.  This makes control of the source of energy an issue that would have to be addressed.

Overall, after learning more about the idea of a modular nuclear reactor, I believe they should be invested in and progressed to become a key element in our energy solution.  While it may not hold each societal  requirement perfect, Nuclear Power is becoming a better choice when compared with other sources.

Fig. 1:  Wikimedia Commons, Seattle, Washington.
Fig. 2:  TED Conferences, LLC, Taylor Wilson - My Radical Plan for Small Nuclear Reactors.
Fig. 3:  Wikimedia Commons, Boeing 747-8 Assembly Line.

The Mechanical Engineering Field

"I am an Engineering student."  Common responses to this phrase is "I don't know how you do that," or "That's so much math.  You must be really smart."  While yes, you do need a level of academic know how, I tend to argue that almost everyone has the ability to be an Undergraduate Engineering student, and that circumstances, priorities, and interests are the main reasons for a particular student to decide one way or the other.  In respect to many majors, it is a higher work load, and many concepts are difficult to master.  This takes working at it and practicing to become an expert on the subject.  In respect to many majors, it is also a highly technical field.  An engineer may find her or himself designing new, useful products and infrastructure, or ways to improve existing products and infrastructure.  An engineer may have to get into the mud, and make the key decisions on, for example, how to build a pipeline, or turning a wrench on a new car to consider ease of repairs.  In a world of machines and electricity, advances and repairs are needed constantly.  Someone has to be the first to jump into these situations, figure out the correct way of doing it, and then teaching others how to do the same thing.

I am a Mechanical Engineering student.  Within the North Dakota State University College of Engineering, my degree tends to be the broad-interest approach to engineering.  My degree overlaps with the other branches of engineering often, and in interesting ways.  For example, a mechanical engineer may be a material engineer, studying material stress and strain.  This is information that would be useful for a civil engineer designing a bridge, or an industrial engineering deciding what materials to include into parts of a factory.  For another example, a mechanical engineer may be a systems engineer, considering everything from electrical systems, plumbing systems, material flow systems, hydraulic systems, and more.  These systems include concepts and methods that are found in electrical engineering, industrial engineering, manufacturing engineering, and agricultural engineering.

Over the past year, I have been employed by the US Government working for the US Navy.  The opportunity has been extremely beneficial, mostly in confirming that engineering is in fact the career path I want to pursue.  With the nature of my work, I am able to support the US warfighter, particularly sailors.  The different machines I have worked with are incredibly interesting, and complex beyond imagination.  These systems give sailors the tools they need to defend the country's interests.

I also have a relative who works as an engineer with aircraft manufacturer.  This past summer, I was able to spend time with him, discussing different technologies and concepts I had never encountered before.  Between my employment and talking with him, I have begun to see that engineers have the opportunity to work with technologies and concepts that most of the general public does not have access to, and an understanding of the underlying reasons of how the products, buildings, and other man-made objects work.

Engineering can be extremely difficult, yet very rewarding in what an individual may be exposed to.  Nearly every industry, study, or service may benefit from engineering.  individuals may work some time in any part of the world, including possibilities in the deep ocean or third world countries.  Engineering will allow me to help people in a supporting role, hopefully allowing them to improve their lives, using the tools and strategies I come up with.  I am an Engineering Student.

-The Blue Peep Engineer