Department : Nuclear Engineering

University Of Dhaka

Authors

Author: Supervisors:
Sajid Khan XYZ
XYZ2

Submitted on
December 12, 2025

Study program:
3204 Industrial Training Project
Imprint

Project: 3204 Industrial Training Project

Title: Center for Research Reactor
Author: Sajid Khan
Date: December 12, 2025
Keywords: Research Reactor , coolant loop, demineralization etc.
Copyright: Strictly copyright issue@

Study program:
3204 Industrial Training
University of Dhaka

Supervisor 1: Supervisor 2:
XYZ XYZ2
University Of Dhaka University of Cambridge
Email: e=mc2@[Link] Email: f=am@[Link]
Web: Link Web: Link
 iii

Declaration of Authorship

REMOVE THIS SECTION IF THE ORIGINAL COPY OF THE ZHAW

DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY IS USED IN THE APPENDIX.

I, Maxine Muster, declare that this thesis titled, “Project Title” and the work pre-
sented in it are my own. I confirm that:

• This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research de-
gree at the University of Dhaka.

• Where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or
any other qualification at this university or any other institution, this has been
clearly stated.

• Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly
attributed.

• Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With
the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work.

• I have acknowledged all main sources of help.

• Where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have
made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed my-
self.

Signed:

Date:
iv

Abstract

Abstract here
 v

Acknowledgements

The acknowledgements belong here. Do not forget to mention your project supervi-
sors, without flattering them too much.
vi

Contents

Declaration of Authorship iii

Abstract iv

Acknowledgements v

List of Abbreviations viii

1 Introduction to BAEC 1
1.1 Information about BAEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 About Center for Research Reactor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.1 Necessary Equipment of CRR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Description of BAEC TRIGA Research Reactor . . . . . . . . . . 3
Reactor Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Reactor Core . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Control Rods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Irradiation Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.2 A Short Math Guide for LATEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.3 Common LATEX Math Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.4 LATEX on a Mac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3 Getting Started with this Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3.1 About this Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.4 What this Template Includes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.4.1 Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.4.2 Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.5 Filling in Your Information in the [Link] File . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.6 The [Link] File Explained . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.7 Thesis Features and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.7.1 Printing Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.7.2 Using US Letter Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.7.3 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
A Note on bibtex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.7.4 Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.7.5 Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.7.6 Typesetting mathematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.8 Sectioning and Subsectioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.9 In Closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

2 Reactor physics 16
2.1 Neutron Transport Equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
 vii

A Frequently Asked Questions 19

A.1 How do I change the colors of links? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
A.2 How can I add a Figure in the Appendix? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

B Declaration of Originality 20

Bibliography 21
viii

List of Abbreviations

LAH List Abbreviations Here

WSF What (it) Stands For
For/Dedicated to/To my. . .
 1

Chapter 1

Introduction to BAEC

1.1 Information about BAEC

Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) is the pioneer and mandated orga-
nization for the promotion of peaceful application of atomic energy in Bangladesh.
The BAEC had started its endeavor with a small laboratory for conducting research
on the usage of atomic energy in the areas of agriculture and medical sciences dur-
ing the early 60s. Theoretical and experimental researches on nuclear physics were
institutionalized in the country through the establishment of Atomic Energy Cen-
tre, Dhaka (AECD) in 1964. For facilitating the nuclear development programs and
related international responsibilities, Bangladesh became a member of the Interna-
tional Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in September 1972. Thereafter, in February
1973, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) was established by the Pres-
idential Order (P.O.) 15 of ’73, which had been replaced by the Bangladesh Atomic
Energy Act, 2017.

Since its inception, BAEC has been rendering multi-disciplinary research and ser-
vices for the well-being of the people of the country through enhancement of sci-
ence and technology and peaceful application of nuclear energy in human health,
food, agriculture, education, industry, etc. Areas of research and service rendered
by the BAEC broadly include Nuclear Medicine, Radioactivity Monitoring, Health
Physics, Radioactive Waste Management, Radio-Isotope and Radio-Pharmaceutical,
Secondary Standard Dosimetry, Material Characterization, Tissue Banking and De-
velopment of Bio-materials, Use of Gamma radiation for Food Preservation, Food
Safety, Environmental Pollution, Processing of Polymers, Trace-element Characteri-
zation, Agrochemical Residues, Isotope Hydrology, Elemental Analysis by Particle
Accelerators, Chemical Analysis, Electronics, etc. Bangladesh Atomic Energy Com-
mission has the glory to have the first IBM mainframe computer which was installed
at AECD.

BAEC is one of the largest scientific research organizations in the country. Research
and service activities of BAEC are being carried out in various establishments namely,
Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE), Savar; Atomic Energy Centre, Dhaka
(AECD); Atomic Energy Centre Chittagong (AECC); and Institute of Nuclear Medicine
and Allied Sciences (INMAS) located across the country.

Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission has also been entrusted with the respon-
sibility of establishing the country’s first nuclear power plant in order to make a
2 Chapter 1. Introduction to BAEC

substantial contribution to the efforts toward meeting challenges of the growing de-
mands for electricity as well as to ensure energy security for the future generation.
As the promoter of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, BAEC is committed to con-
tinuously enhance the culture for nuclear safety and security and has the primary
responsibility to protect the public, workers, and the environment from undue radi-
ation exposure.

1.2 About Center for Research Reactor

The 3-megawatt TRIGA Mark-II (Training Research Isotope production, General
Atomics) research reactor was purchased from General Atomics of the United States
in the mid-1980s and installed at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Savar.
It is the country’s only nuclear reactor and one of its key facilities. The reactor
achieved criticality on 14 September 1986, marking the beginning of its operation.

Engineers and scientists from the Center for Research Reactor (CRR) have been suc-
cessfully operating and maintaining the reactor for nearly three decades. The re-
search reactor is used for radioisotope production, various research and develop-
ment activities—such as neutron activation analysis, neutron radiography, neutron
scattering—education, and manpower training, among other purposes.

Students from Dhaka University, BUET, and other universities across the country
are conducting their academic activities using the country’s only nuclear reactor.
Leveraging their experience in operating the reactor and the knowledge gained, CRR
engineers and scientists are playing a significant role in Bangladesh’s nuclear science
and technology, including the ongoing Rooppur Nuclear Power Project.

The Center for Research Reactor prepares and submits annual reports on the safe-
guards of the research reactor and the Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE)
to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It is noteworthy that, due to the
accurate and timely execution of nuclear safeguards activities by the Center for Re-
search Reactor, the IAEA included Bangladesh in the Integrated Safeguards system
in 2007.

F IGURE 1.1: Interior view of the Center for Research Reactor (CRR).
1.2. About Center for Research Reactor 3

1.2.1 Necessary Equipment of CRR

Description of BAEC TRIGA Research Reactor
The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) TRIGA Mark-II research reac-
tor can be operated at a maximum thermal power of 3 megawatts (MW). Addition-
ally, in pulse mode, it can be operated for a short period at up to 852 MW.

The reactor can be operated in three main modes:

1. Steady state mode

2. Square wave mode

3. Pulse mode

In steady state mode, the reactor can be operated in two cooling configurations:

• Natural Convection Cooling Mode (NCCM): Used for power levels up to 500
MW.

• Forced Convection Cooling Mode (FCCM): Required for power levels above
500 MW.

F IGURE 1.2: Diagram of the reactor cooling modes.

Reactor Tank
The reactor core is placed at the bottom of a reactor tank made of aluminum alloy.
The reactor tank has a height of 8.23 meters and a diameter of 1.98 meters. It is filled
with 24,865 liters of demineralized water.

Reactor Core
The reactor core contains a total of 100 fuel rods, 6 control rods, 18 graphite rods, 1
dry central thimble, 1 irradiation terminal (rabbit terminal), and 1 neutron source.
Thermocouples are installed in two fuel rods to monitor the reactor fuel temperature.
To measure the reactor’s power, 4 neutron detectors are installed outside the reactor
core.
4 Chapter 1. Introduction to BAEC

F IGURE 1.3: Configuration of the Reactor Core.

Fuel
In the BAEC TRIGA research reactor, 19.7% enriched uranium (Uranium-235) is used
as fuel. Zirconium hydride serves as the primary moderator, while water acts as the
secondary moderator. Er-167 functions as a burnable poison.

One of the unique safety features of TRIGA fuel is its Prompt Negative Temperature
Coefficient of Reactivity. This means that if the fuel temperature rises, the reactor’s
power will automatically decrease. Because of this safety feature, it is possible to
operate the reactor in pulse mode.

Control Rods
The reactor is controlled by 6 control rods made of Boron Carbide (B4 C).

When the control rods are fully inserted into the reactor core, they absorb neutrons,
keeping the reactor in a sub-critical state. As the control rods are gradually raised
from the core, the rate of fission increases, causing the reactor’s power to rise. The
reactor can be operated or shut down either manually or automatically through the
Instrumentation and Control System.

Irradiation Facilities
The various irradiation facilities available in the BAEC TRIGA research reactor for
radioisotope production and research include:

1. Dry Central Irradiation Tube

2. Neutron Beam Tube

3. Pneumatic Transfer System

4. Rotary Specimen Rack

1.2. About Center for Research Reactor 5

F IGURE 1.4: TRIGA Mark-II Fuel Element.

F IGURE 1.5: Control Rod Mechanism.

6 Chapter 1. Introduction to BAEC

5. In-core irradiation facilities for triangular and hexagonal samples

6. Thermal Column (for future use)

These facilities serve the following purposes:

• Providing necessary infrastructure support for Research and Development (R&D)

in the country’s nuclear science and technology.

• Creating skilled manpower in nuclear science and technology.

• Radioisotope production and research activities, such as:

– Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA)

– Neutron Scattering

– Neutron Radiography

F IGURE 1.6: Overview of Irradiation Facilities.

1.2.2 A Short Math Guide for LATEX

If you are writing a technical or mathematical thesis, then you may want to read
the document by the AMS (American Mathematical Society) called, “A Short Math
Guide for LATEX”. It can be found online:

[Link] → “Additional Documentation”

[Link]

1.2.3 Common LATEX Math Symbols

There are a multitude of mathematical symbols available for LATEX and it would
take a great effort to learn the commands for them all. The most common ones
you are likely to use are shown on this page: [Link]
latex-type/latex-math-symbols/

You can use this page as a reference or crib sheet, the symbols are rendered as large,
high quality images so you can quickly find the LATEX command for the symbol you
need.
1.3. Getting Started with this Template 7

1.2.4 LATEX on a Mac

The LATEX distribution is available for many systems including Windows, Linux and
Mac OS X. The package for OS X is called MacTeX and it contains all the applica-
tions you need – bundled together and pre-customized – for a fully working LATEX
environment and work flow.

MacTeX includes a custom dedicated LATEX editor called TeXShop for writing your
‘.tex’ files and BibDesk: a program to manage your references and create your bib-
liography section just as easily as managing songs and creating playlists in iTunes.

1.3 Getting Started with this Template

If you are familiar with LATEX, then you should explore the directory structure of the
template and then proceed to place your own information into the THESIS INFOR-
MATION block of the [Link] file. You can then modify the rest of this file to
your unique specifications based on your degree/university. Section 1.5 on page 9
will help you do this. Make sure you also read section 1.7 about thesis conventions
to get the most out of this template.

If you are new to LATEX it is recommended that you carry on reading through the rest
of the information in this document.

Before you begin using this template you should ensure that its style complies with
the thesis style guidelines imposed by your institution. In most cases this template
style and layout will be suitable. If it is not, it may only require a small change to
bring the template in line with your institution’s recommendations. These modifi-
cations will need to be done on the [Link] file.

1.3.1 About this Template

This LATEX Thesis Template is originally based and created around a LATEX style
file created by Steve R. Gunn from the University of Southampton (UK), depart-
ment of Electronics and Computer Science. You can find his original thesis style
file at his site, here: [Link]
document/templates/

Steve’s [Link] was then taken by Sunil Patel who modified it by creating
a skeleton framework and folder structure to place the thesis files in. The resulting
template can be found on Sunil’s site here: [Link]
thesis-template

Sunil’s template was made available through [Link]

com, where it was modified many times based on user requests and questions. Ver-
sion 2.0 and onwards of this template represents a major modification to Sunil’s
template and is, in fact, hardly recognisable. The work to make version 2.0 possible
was carried out by Vel and Johannes Böttcher.

Based on Sunil’s Version 2.0, Matteo updated the template and incorporated ZHAW
University thesis guidelines.
8 Chapter 1. Introduction to BAEC

1.4 What this Template Includes

1.4.1 Folders
This template comes as a single zip file that expands out to several files and folders.
The folder names are mostly self-explanatory:

Appendices – this is the folder where you put the appendices. Each appendix
should go into its own separate .tex file. An example and template are included in
the directory.

Chapters – this is the folder where you put the thesis chapters. A thesis usually has
about six chapters, though there is no hard rule on this. Each chapter should go in
its own separate .tex file and they can be split as:

• Chapter 1: Introduction to the thesis topic

• Chapter 2: Background information and theory

• Chapter 3: (Laboratory) experimental setup

• Chapter 4: Details of experiment 1

• Chapter 5: Details of experiment 2

• Chapter 6: Discussion of the experimental results

• Chapter 7: Conclusion and future directions

This chapter layout is specialised for the experimental sciences, your discipline may
be different.

Figures – this folder contains all figures for the thesis. These are the final images that
will go into the thesis document.

1.4.2 Files
Included are also several files, most of them are plain text and you can see their
contents in a text editor. After initial compilation, you will see that more auxiliary
files are created by LATEX or BibTeX and which you don’t need to delete or worry
about:

[Link] – this is an important file that contains all the bibliographic information
and references that you will be citing in the thesis for use with BibTeX. You can write
it manually, but there are reference manager programs available that will create and
manage it for you. Bibliographies in LATEX are a large subject and you may need
to read about BibTeX before starting with this. Many modern reference managers
will allow you to export your references in BibTeX format which greatly eases the
amount of work you have to do.

[Link] – this is an important file. It is the class file that tells

LATEX how to format the thesis.
1.5. Filling in Your Information in the [Link] File 9

[Link] – this is your beautifully typeset thesis (in the PDF file format) created by
LATEX. It is supplied in the PDF with the template and after you compile the template
you should get an identical version.

[Link] – this is an important file. This is the file that you tell LATEX to compile to
produce your thesis as a PDF file. It contains the framework and constructs that tell
LATEX how to layout the thesis. It is heavily commented so you can read exactly what
each line of code does and why it is there. After you put your own information into
the THESIS INFORMATION block – you have now started your thesis!

Files that are not included, but are created by LATEX as auxiliary files include:

[Link] – this is an auxiliary file generated by LATEX, if it is deleted LATEX simply

regenerates it when you run the main .tex file.

[Link] – this is an auxiliary file generated by BibTeX, if it is deleted, BibTeX simply

regenerates it when you run the [Link] file. Whereas the .bib file contains all
the references you have, this .bbl file contains the references you have actually cited
in the thesis and is used to build the bibliography section of the thesis.

[Link] – this is an auxiliary file generated by BibTeX, if it is deleted BibTeX simply

regenerates it when you run the main .aux file.

[Link] – this is an auxiliary file generated by LATEX, if it is deleted LATEX simply

regenerates it when you run the main .tex file. It tells LATEX how to build the List of
Figures section.

[Link] – this is an auxiliary file generated by LATEX, if it is deleted LATEX simply

regenerates it when you run the main .tex file. It contains messages from LATEX, if
you receive errors and warnings from LATEX, they will be in this .log file.

[Link] – this is an auxiliary file generated by LATEX, if it is deleted LATEX simply

regenerates it when you run the main .tex file. It tells LATEX how to build the List of
Tables section.

[Link] – this is an auxiliary file generated by LATEX, if it is deleted LATEX simply

regenerates it when you run the main .tex file.

So from this long list, only the files with the .bib, .cls and .tex extensions are
the most important ones. The other auxiliary files can be ignored or deleted as LATEX
and BibTeX will regenerate them.

1.5 Filling in Your Information in the [Link] File

You will need to personalise the thesis template and make it your own by filling in
your own information. This is done by editing the [Link] file in a text editor or
your favourite LaTeX environment.

Open the file and scroll down to the third large block titled THESIS INFORMATION
where you can see the entries for University Name, Department Name, etc . . .

Fill out the information about yourself, your group and institution. You can also in-
sert web links, if you do, make sure you use the full URL, including the http:// for
10 Chapter 1. Introduction to BAEC

this. If you don’t want these to be linked, simply remove the \href{url}{name}
and only leave the name.

When you have done this, save the file and recompile [Link]. All the informa-
tion you filled in should now be in the PDF, complete with web links. You can now
begin your thesis proper!

1.6 The [Link] File Explained

The [Link] file contains the structure of the thesis. There are plenty of written
comments that explain what pages, sections and formatting the LATEX code is creat-
ing. Each major document element is divided into commented blocks with titles in
all capitals to make it obvious what the following bit of code is doing. Initially there
seems to be a lot of LATEX code, but this is all formatting, and it has all been taken
care of so you don’t have to do it.

Begin by checking that your information on the title page is correct. For the thesis
declaration, your institution may insist on something different than the text given.
If this is the case, just replace what you see with what is required in the DECLARA-
TION PAGE block.

Then comes a page which contains a funny quote. You can put your own, or quote
your favourite scientist, author, person, and so on. Make sure to put the name of the
person who you took the quote from.

Following this is the abstract page which summarises your work in a condensed
way and can almost be used as a standalone document to describe what you have
done. The text you write will cause the heading to move up so don’t worry about
running out of space.

Next come the acknowledgements. On this page, write about all the people who you
wish to thank (not forgetting parents, partners and your advisor/supervisor).

The contents pages, list of figures and tables are all taken care of for you and do not
need to be manually created or edited. The next set of pages are more likely to be
optional and can be deleted since they are for a more technical thesis: insert a list
of abbreviations you have used in the thesis, then a list of the physical constants
and numbers you refer to and finally, a list of mathematical symbols used in any
formulae. Making the effort to fill these tables means the reader has a one-stop place
to refer to instead of searching the internet and references to try and find out what
you meant by certain abbreviations or symbols.

The list of symbols is split into the Roman and Greek alphabets. Whereas the abbre-
viations and symbols ought to be listed in alphabetical order (and this is not done
automatically for you) the list of physical constants should be grouped into similar
themes.

The next page contains a one line dedication. Who will you dedicate your thesis to?

Finally, there is the block where the chapters are included. Uncomment the lines
(delete the % character) as you write the chapters. Each chapter should be written
in its own file and put into the Chapters folder and named Chapter1, Chapter2,
1.7. Thesis Features and Conventions 11

etc. . . Similarly for the appendices, uncomment the lines as you need them. Each
appendix should go into its own file and placed in the Appendices folder.

After the preamble, chapters and appendices finally comes the bibliography. The
bibliography style (called authoryear) is used for the bibliography and is a fully
featured style that will even include links to where the referenced paper can be found
online. Do not underestimate how grateful your reader will be to find that a refer-
ence to a paper is just a click away. Of course, this relies on you putting the URL
information into the BibTeX file in the first place.

1.7 Thesis Features and Conventions

To get the best out of this template, there are a few conventions that you may want
to follow.

One of the most important (and most difficult) things to keep track of in such a long
document as a thesis is consistency. Using certain conventions and ways of doing
things (such as using a Todo list) makes the job easier. Of course, all of these are
optional and you can adopt your own method.

1.7.1 Printing Format

This thesis template is designed for double sided printing (i.e. content on the front
and back of pages) as most theses are printed and bound this way. To switch to one
sided printing, uncomment the oneside option of the documentclass command
at the top of the [Link] file. You may then wish to adjust the margins to suit
specifications from your institution.

The headers for the pages contain the page number on the outer side (so it is easy to
flick through to the page you want) and the chapter name on the inner side.

The text is set to 11 point by default with single line spacing, again, you can tune the
text size and spacing should you want or need to using the options at the very start of
[Link]. The spacing can be changed similarly by replacing the singlespacing
with onehalfspacing or doublespacing.

1.7.2 Using US Letter Paper

The paper size used in the template is A4, which is the standard size in Europe. If
you are using this thesis template elsewhere and particularly in the United States,
then you may have to change the A4 paper size to the US Letter size. This can be
done in the margins settings section in [Link].

Due to the differences in the paper size, the resulting margins may be different to
what you like or require (as it is common for institutions to dictate certain margin
sizes). If this is the case, then the margin sizes can be tweaked by modifying the
values in the same block as where you set the paper size. Now your document
should be set up for US Letter paper size with suitable margins.
12 Chapter 1. Introduction to BAEC

1.7.3 References
The biblatex package is used to format the bibliography and inserts references
such as this one [1]. The inline citation style can be changed to e.g. authoryear in the
[Link] file. This documentation lists and explains different standard citation
styles. The options used in the [Link] file mean that the in-text citations of
references are formatted with the author(s) listed with the date of the publication.
Multiple references are separated by semicolons (e.g. [1, 2]) and references with
more than three authors only show the first author with et al. indicating there are
more authors (e.g. [3]). This is done automatically for you. To see how you use
references, have a look at the [Link] source file. Many reference managers
allow you to simply drag the reference into the document as you type.

Scientific references should come before the punctuation mark if there is one (such
as a comma or period). The same goes for footnotes1 . You can change this but the
most important thing is to keep the convention consistent throughout the thesis.
Footnotes themselves should be full, descriptive sentences (beginning with a capital
letter and ending with a full stop). The APA6 states: “Footnote numbers should be
superscripted, [...], following any punctuation mark except a dash.” The Chicago
manual of style states: “A note number should be placed at the end of a sentence
or clause. The number follows any punctuation mark except the dash, which it pre-
cedes. It follows a closing parenthesis.”

The bibliography is typeset with references listed in alphabetical order by the first
author’s last name. This is similar to the APA referencing style. To see how LATEX
typesets the bibliography, have a look at the very end of this document (or just click
on the reference number links in in-text citations).

A Note on bibtex
The bibtex backend used in the template by default does not correctly handle uni-
code character encoding (i.e. "international" characters). You may see a warning
about this in the compilation log and, if your references contain unicode characters,
they may not show up correctly or at all. The solution to this is to use the biber
backend instead of the outdated bibtex backend. This is done by finding this in
[Link]: backend=bibtex and changing it to backend=biber. You will then
need to delete all auxiliary BibTeX files and navigate to the template directory in
your terminal (command prompt). Once there, simply type biber main and biber
will compile your bibliography. You can then compile [Link] as normal and
your bibliography will be updated. An alternative is to set up your LaTeX editor to
compile with biber instead of bibtex, see here for how to do this for various editors.

1.7.4 Tables
Tables are an important way of displaying your results, below is an example table
which was generated with this code:

\begin{table}
\caption{The effects of treatments X and Y
on the four groups studied.}
\label{tab:treatments}
1 Such as this footnote, here down at the bottom of the page.
1.7. Thesis Features and Conventions 13

TABLE 1.1: The effects of treatments X and Y on the four groups stud-
ied.

Groups Treatment X Treatment Y

1 0.2 0.8
2 0.17 0.7
3 0.24 0.75
4 0.68 0.3

\centering
\begin{tabular}{l l l}
\toprule
\tabhead{Groups} & \tabhead{Treatment X} & \tabhead{Treatment Y} \\
\midrule
1 & 0.2 & 0.8\\
2 & 0.17 & 0.7\\
3 & 0.24 & 0.75\\
4 & 0.68 & 0.3\\
\bottomrule\\
\end{tabular}
\end{table}

You can reference tables with \ref{<label>} where the label is defined within the
table environment. See [Link] for an example of the label and citation (e.g.
Table 1.1).

1.7.5 Figures
There will hopefully be many figures in your thesis (that should be placed in the
Figures folder). The way to insert figures into your thesis is to use a code template
like this:

\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics{Figures/Electron}
\decoRule
\caption[An Electron]{An electron (artist’s impression).}
\label{fig:Electron}
\end{figure}

Also look in the source file. Putting this code into the source file produces the picture
of the electron that you can see in the figure below.

Sometimes figures don’t always appear where you write them in the source. The
placement depends on how much space there is on the page for the figure. Some-
times there is not enough room to fit a figure directly where it should go (in relation
to the text) and so LATEX puts it at the top of the next page. Positioning figures is the
job of LATEX and so you should only worry about making them look good!

Figures usually should have captions just in case you need to refer to them (such
14 Chapter 1. Introduction to BAEC

e
F IGURE 1.7: An electron (artist’s impression).

as in Figure 1.7). The \caption command contains two parts, the first part, inside
the square brackets is the title that will appear in the List of Figures, and so should
be short. The second part in the curly brackets should contain the longer and more
descriptive caption text.

The \decoRule command is optional and simply puts an aesthetic horizontal line
below the image. If you do this for one image, do it for all of them.

LATEX is capable of using images in pdf, jpg and png format.

1.7.6 Typesetting mathematics

If your thesis is going to contain heavy mathematical content, be sure that LATEX will
make it look beautiful, even though it won’t be able to solve the equations for you.

The “Not So Short Introduction to LATEX” (available on CTAN) should tell you ev-
erything you need to know for most cases of typesetting mathematics. If you need
more information, a much more thorough mathematical guide is available from
the AMS called, “A Short Math Guide to LATEX” and can be downloaded from:
[Link]

There are many different LATEX symbols to remember, luckily you can find the most
common symbols in The Comprehensive LATEX Symbol List.

You can write an equation, which is automatically given an equation number by

LATEX like this:
1.8. Sectioning and Subsectioning 15

\begin{equation}
E = mc^{2}
\label{eqn:Einstein}
\end{equation}

This will produce Einstein’s famous energy-matter equivalence equation:

E = mc2 (1.1)

All equations you write (which are not in the middle of paragraph text) are auto-
matically given equation numbers by LATEX. If you don’t want a particular equation
numbered, use the unnumbered form:

\[ a^{2}=4 \]

1.8 Sectioning and Subsectioning

You should break your thesis up into nice, bite-sized sections and subsections. LATEX
automatically builds a table of contents by looking at all \chapter{}, \section{}
and \subsection{} commands you write in the source.

The Table of Contents should only list the sections to three (3) levels. A chapter{}
is level zero (0). A \section{} is level one (1) and so a \subsection{} is level
two (2). In your thesis it is likely that you will even use a subsubsection{},
which is level three (3). The depth to which the Table of Contents is formatted is set
within [Link]. If you need this changed, you can do it in
[Link].

1.9 In Closing
You have reached the end of this mini-guide. You can now rename or overwrite this
pdf file and begin writing your own [Link] and the rest of your thesis. The
easy work of setting up the structure and framework has been taken care of for you.
It’s now your job to fill it out!

Good luck and have lots of fun!

Guide written by —
Sunil Patel: [Link]
Vel: [Link]
16

Chapter 2

Reactor physics

2.1 Neutron Transport Equation

To determine the power distribution in a reactor, we first define the power genera-
tion density q′′′ . Since the energy released per fission (κ) and the macroscopic fission
cross-section (Σ f ) are relatively constant, the power density depends primarily on
the neutron flux ϕ( x, y, z, E, t), which varies significantly and must be calculated us-
ing the Neutron Transport Equation.

The power generation density is given by the integral over all energies:
Z ∞
q′′′ ( x, y, z, t) = κ dE Σ f ( x, y, z, E)ϕ( x, y, z, E, t) (2.1)
0

For a simplified one-group approximation, this relationship is often expressed as:

q′′′ = κΣ f ϕ (2.2)

where:

• κ: Energy released per fission reaction (≈ 200 MeV/fission = 3.2 × 10−11 J).

• Σ f : Macroscopic fission cross-section (1/cm).

• ϕ: Neutron flux (#/cm2 · s), which is the unknown variable to be solved.

ϕ(⃗r, E) = n(⃗r )v( E) (2.3)

⃗J (⃗r, E) = n(⃗r )⃗v( E) (2.4)

• ϕ(⃗r, E) = Neutron flux [#/cm2 · sec]

• ⃗J = Neutron Current (Vector)

• v( E) = Neutron speed (Scalar)

• ⃗v( E) = Neutron Velocity (Vector)

2.1. Neutron Transport Equation 17

Angular Neutron Density

The differential number of neutrons in phase space is defined as:

n( x, y, z, E, θ, ϕ, t) dx dy dz dE sin θ dθ dϕ (2.5)

Which can be written in vector notation as:

⇒ n(⃗r, E, Ω,
⃗ t) dV dE dΩ (2.6)

Physical Meaning:
This represents the number of neutrons existing in the volume dV at position ⃗r, with
energy in the range dE at E, flying in the directional solid angle dΩ about the direc-
tion Ω
⃗ at time t.

Definition of Neutron Number Density:

• n(⃗r, E, Ω,
⃗ t): Neutron number density at position ⃗r, having energy E, flying in
the direction Ω,
⃗ at time t.

• Units: #/cm3 · eV · sr (per unit volume, per unit energy, per unit solid angle).
 

F IGURE 2.1: Neutrons at ⃗r in volume dV flying in direction dΩ.

⃗

Angular Neutron Flux

Ψ(⃗r, E, Ω,
⃗ t) = n(⃗r, E, Ω,
⃗ t)v( E) (2.7)

Angular Neutron Current

⃗v( E) = Ωv
⃗ ( E) → ⃗ = ⃗v( E) = ⃗v
Ω (2.8)
v( E) |⃗v|

⃗J (⃗r, E, Ω,
⃗ t) = ΩΨ
⃗ (⃗r, E, Ω,
⃗ t) = n(⃗r, E, Ω,
⃗ t)⃗v( E) (2.9)
18 Chapter 2. Reactor physics

F IGURE 2.2: Visual representation of the neutron vector.

F IGURE 2.3: Visual representation of the neutron vector.

F IGURE 2.4: Visual representation of the neutron vector.

 19

Appendix A

Frequently Asked Questions

A.1 How do I change the colors of links?

The color of links can be changed to your liking using:

\hypersetup{urlcolor=red}, or

\hypersetup{citecolor=green}, or

\hypersetup{allcolor=blue}.

If you want to completely hide the links, you can use:

\hypersetup{allcolors=.}, or even better:

\hypersetup{hidelinks}.

If you want to have obvious links in the PDF but not the printed text, use:

\hypersetup{colorlinks=false}

A.2 How can I add a Figure in the Appendix?

You can refer to a figure in the Appendix (like A.1) and it will show up as expected.

F IGURE A.1: Bart Simpson. (2023, May 17). In Wikipedia. https:

//[Link]/wiki/Bart_Simpson
 Zürcher Hochschule
für Angewandte Wissenschaften

zh Life Sciences und

aw
Facility Management

DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY
Master’s Thesis for the School of Life Sciences and Facility Management

By submitting this Master’s thesis, the student attests of the fact that all the work included in the
assignment is their own and was written without the help of a third party.

The student declares that all sources in the text (including Internet pages) and appendices have
been correctly disclosed. This means that there has been no plagiarism, i.e. no sections have been
partially or wholly taken from other texts and represented as the student’s own work or included
without being correctly referenced.

Any misconduct will be dealt with according to paragraphs 39 and 40 of the General Academic
Regulations for Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Courses at the Zurich University of Applied
Sciences (dated 29 Januar 2008) and subject to the provisions for disciplinary action stipulated in
the University regulations (Rahmenprüfungsordnung ZHAW (RPO)).

Town/City, Date: Signature:

………………………………… ………………………………………………………...

The original signed and dat ed document (no copies) must be included in the
appendix of the ZHAW version of all Master’s theses subm itted.

Zürcher Fachhochschule
 21

Bibliography

[1] C. J. Hawthorn, K. P. Weber, and R. E. Scholten. “Littrow Configuration Tunable

External Cavity Diode Laser with Fixed Direction Output Beam”. In: Review of
Scientific Instruments 72.12 (Dec. 2001), pp. 4477–4479. URL: http : / / link .
[Link]/link/?RSI/72/4477/1.
[2] Carl E. Wieman and Leo Hollberg. “Using Diode Lasers for Atomic Physics”. In:
Review of Scientific Instruments 62.1 (Jan. 1991), pp. 1–20. URL: [Link]
[Link]/link/?RSI/62/1/1.
[3] A. S. Arnold et al. “A Simple Extended-Cavity Diode Laser”. In: Review of Sci-
entific Instruments 69.3 (Mar. 1998), pp. 1236–1239. URL: [Link]
org/link/?RSI/69/1236/1.