Date of Award

5-4-2026

Degree Type

Capstone Project

First Advisor

Professor Bahram Nassersharif

Abstract

This report presents the final mechanical engineering capstone design of Team 8 and the design of a dual pressurized water reactor power system developed to supply continuous electricity and cooling supports to a 700 MWe hyperscale AI data center. The project addresses the increasing energy and thermal management demands of AI infrastructure by combining proven nuclear power generation with integrated waste heat recovery. The selected design uses two PWR units connected to a Rankine cycle with steam generators, a turbine generator, condenser, feedwater system, cooling towers, heat exchangers, and absorption chillers. The report documents the full design process, beginning with the background, requirements and concept selection followed by system specifications, safety considerations, engineering analysis, testing and redesign. The report ends with the manufacturing/assemble process and operation. The system proves to handle and produce the required 700 MWe output and the ability to support the cooling of 983 high-density AI racks at 120 kW per rack. The final design demonstrates that a dual-PWR architecture can provide reliable, low-carbon baseload power while improving total system efficiency through thermal reuses. Further work should be looked into with the full modeling, licensing, and structural analysis.

Comments

Team Name: Team 8

Company Sponsor: PPL Electric

Document Reference: URI-MCE-2026-FDR-008 

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