Upon completion of Officer Development School (ODS), newly commissioned Power School Instructors can expect to spend the next four years teaching future nuclear-trained Officers and Enlisted personnel the theory and fundamentals behind the design and operation of Navy nuclear propulsion plants. But first, they must undergo the same advanced curriculum and training that they will expertly instruct.
Naval Nuclear Power School (NNPS)
Through Naval Nuclear Power Training Command (NNPTC), Officers attend Nuke Power School in Charleston, South Carolina. This four-month comprehensive course of intensive study in science and technology provides the foundation of knowledge necessary for a theoretical understanding of nuclear propulsion.
While at NNPS, Officers assume an intense workload. The subjects covered at NNPS include:
- Mathematics (39 hours) — Ordinary and partial differential equations, integral calculus, and probability and distribution functions.
- Physics (71 hours) — Atomic and nuclear physics, special relativity, reactor physics and neutron diffusion theory.
- Chemistry (50 hours) — Basic chemistry, reaction kinetics, boiler chemistry, radiation induced reactions, gases and oxidation-reduction.
- Thermodynamics (87 hours) — Heat transfer, fluid dynamics, steam thermodynamics, properties of water, Rankine cycle, and conduction and convection.
- Electrical Engineering (basic and advanced — 138 hours) — Circuit analysis, inductance and capacitance, solid state amplifiers, AC and DC motors and generators, digital and analog integrated circuits, reactor plant instrumentation, safety circuits, and reactor control equipment design.
- Materials (28 hours) — Strength of materials and complete development of the Nil Ductility Phenomenon. Fuel and clad alloy composition, pressure vessel design, development of neutron embrittlement and other material radiation effects, as well as corrosion and structure of materials.
- Reactor Dynamics and Core Characteristics (86 hours) — Complete core design satisfying all requirements for power, temperature, control and radiation levels. Essentially, a course in nuclear engineering.
- Reactor Plant Systems (13 hours) — Design of steam system and reactor plant parameters.
- Shielding and Radiological Fundamentals (46 hours) — Study of materials, attenuation factors and geometry in shielding calculations.
- Aspects of Reactor Plant Operations (115 hours) — Study of reactor plant operations integrating knowledge from all of the above courses.
Upon completion of NNPS, the student becomes the teacher. Power School Instructors then take the lead in administering the technologically advanced curriculum, working closely with both the Officer and Enlisted personnel who come through their classrooms.
