W. REED KENDRICK
Nuclear Reactor Physics, Multiphysics Simulation, etc.
Bio
Postdoctoral researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology under Benoit Forget as part of the CRPG.
Experience across the nuclear field in the National Labs at Sandia, in startup industry at Kairos Power, and now in academia at MIT.
My interests are mainly on reactor physics modeling and how to couple neutronic simulation with other important physics in the heart of a nuclear reactor.
Research
Coupling Monte Carlo Neutroncs with Finite Element Multiphysics
2025
Coming soon!
Hydrogen Migration's Impact on Microreactor Behavior
2023-2025
Zirconium hydride is a common material included in small reactor designs, but the hydrogen will redistribute under intense thermal gradients (which happen in nuclear reactor cores). I simulated this redistribution and modeled its impact on reactor behavior.
More info can be found in my thesis. One more article coming soon!
Thermal Expansion's Impact on Microreactor Behavior
2022-2025
Thermal expansion leads to greater neutron leakage from nuclear reactors, and that behavior becomes larger in significance the smaller the reactor is. I coupled this expansion with neutronic/thermal simulation to see how different reactors are impacted.
My work on the KRUSTY microreactor design can be found here, and more info can be found in my thesis.
Personal Projects
I usually work on research during my free time, but if that ever changes, I'll put something here.