ASSIGNMENT ON

NUCLEAR POWER
PLANT

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

PROF: ASHOKAN M.A. VINAY KUMAR RAI
REG NO: 10BME0340
INTRODUCTION
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat
source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal
power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam
turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.
Nuclear power plants are usually considered to be base load stations,
which are best suited to constant power output.

NUCLEAR FUEL
 Nuclear fuel is any material that can be consumed to derive
nuclear energy. The most common type of nuclear fuel is fissile
elements that can be made to undergo nuclear fission chain
reactions in a nuclear reactor.
 The most common nuclear fuels are 235U and 239Pu. Not all
nuclear fuels are used in fission chain reactions.

WORKING PRINCIPLE
NUCLEAR FISSION:
 When a neutron strikes an atom of uranium, the uranium splits
into two lighter atoms and releases heat simultaneously.
 Fission of heavy elements is an exothermic reaction which can
release large amounts of energy both as electromagnetic
radiation and as kinetic energy of the fragments.
NUCLEAR CHAIN REACTION :
 A chain reaction refers to a process in which neutrons released
in fission produce an additional fission in at least one further
nucleus. This nucleus in turn produces neutrons, and the process
repeats. If the process is controlled it is used for nuclear power
or if uncontrolled it is used for nuclear weapons.

FIG: SCHEMATIC PRESENTATION OF NUCLEAR CHAIN

REACTION

 If each neutron releases two more neutrons, then the number of

fissions doubles each generation. In that case, in 10 generations
there are 1,024 fissions and in 80 generations about 6 x 10 23 (a
mole) fissions.
U235 + n → fission + 2 or 3 n + 200 MeV
COMPONENTS OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
1. NUCLEAR REACTOR: A nuclear reactor is a device in which
nuclear chain reactions are initiated, controlled, and sustained at a
steady rate, as opposed to a nuclear bomb, in which the chain
reaction occurs in a fraction of a second and is uncontrolled
causing an explosion.
TYPES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS

 Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)

 Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)

 Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)

 Heat is produced in the reactor due to nuclear fission and there
is a chain reaction.
 The heat generated in the reactor is carried away by the coolant
(water or heavy water) circulated through the core.
 The purpose of the pressure equalizes is to maintain a constant
pressure of 14 MN/m2. This enables water to carry more heat
from the reactor.
 The purpose of the coolant pump is to pump coolant water
under pressure into the reactor core.
 The steam generator is a heat exchanger where the heat from
the coolant is transferred on to the water that circulates through
the steam generator. As the water passes through the steam
generator it gets converted into steam.
 The steam produced in the steam generator is sent to the
turbine. The turbine blades rotate.

 The turbine shaft is coupled to a generator and electricity is

produced.
 After the steam performing the work on the turbine blades by
expansion, it comes out of the turbine as wet steam. This is
converted back into water by circulating cold water around the
condenser tubes.

FIG: SCHEMATIC PRESENTATION OF PRESSURIZED

WATER REACTOR POWER PLANTS
 Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
 The water is circulated through the reactor where it converts to
water steam mixture.
 The steam gets collected above the steam separator.
 This steam is expanded in the turbine which turns the turbine
shaft.
 The expanded steam coming out of the turbine is condensed and
is pumped back as feed water by the feed water pump into the
reactor core.
 Also the down coming recirculation water from the steam
separator is fed back to the reactor core.

FIG: SCHEMATIC PRESENTATION OF BOILING WATER

REACTOR POWER PLANTS
2. CONTROL RODS
 Control rods made of a material that absorbs neutrons are
inserted into the bundle using a mechanism that can rise or
lower the control rods.
 The control rods essentially contain neutron absorbers like,
boron, cadmium or indium.

FIG: CONTROL RODS

3. STEAM TURBINE
 A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal
energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into useful
mechanical.
 Various high-performance alloys and super alloys have been
used for steam generator tubing.
 FIG: STEAM TURBINE

4. COOLING SYSTEM
A cooling system removes heat from the reactor core and transports it
to another area of the plant, where the thermal energy can be
harnessed to produce electricity or to do other useful work. Typically
the hot coolant is used as a heat source for a boiler, and the
pressurized steam from that boiler powers one or more steam
turbine driven electrical generators.

5. SAFETY VALVES
In the event of an emergency, two independent safety valves can be
used to prevent pipes from bursting or the reactor from exploding.
The valves are designed so that they can derive all of the supplied
flow rates with little increase in pressure. In the case of the BWR, the
steam is directed into the condensate chamber and condenses there.
The chambers on a heat exchanger are connected to the intermediate
cooling circuit.
6. FEED WATER PUMP
 Steam coming out of the turbine, flows through the condenser
for condensation and recirculated for the next cycle of operation.
 The feed pump circulates the condensed water in the working
fluid loop.

FIG: FEED WATER PUMP

7. CONDENSER
 Condenser is a device or unit which is used to condense vapor
into liquid.
 The objective of the condenser are to reduce the turbine exhaust
pressure to increase the efficiency and to recover high quality
feed water in the form of condensate & feed back it to the steam
generator without any further treatment.
 FIG: SURFACE CONDENSOR

8. COOLING TOWER
 Cooling towers are heat removal devices used to transfer
process waste heat to the atmosphere.
 Water circulating through the condenser is taken to the cooling
tower for cooling and reused.

9. GENERATOR
The generator converts kinetic energy supplied by the turbine into
electrical energy. Low-pole AC synchronous generators of high rated
power are used.
 FIG: STEAM GENERATOR

WORKING OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

Control rods made of graphite have an extremely important role to
play in maintaining the normal operation of the nuclear plant. The
primary neutron on reaction with Uranium-235 atom releases 3 more
neutrons into the system. If these 3 neutrons are left free, they react
with 3 more U-235 atoms and release 9 more neutrons and the process
continues. So if this process is not stopped, the reaction will proceed
on to become what one calls a Chain reaction. The control rods absorb
the 2 excess neutrons resulting from this process and permit only one
to pass through. Hence, the nuclear reaction is kept under control.

The coolant also has an important role to play. A lot of heat is

produced from the nuclear reaction causing the reactor to heat up
excessively. The coolant helps to extract this heat and maintains the
temperature within an optimal range, making the operation of the
reactor smoother. The coolant usually used is water, but in some cases
carbon dioxide gas or a liquid metal like sodium may also be used.

The heat produced from the fission reaction is used to heat the water
into steam. The steam is then passed through a steam turbine, rotating
it and hence leading to production of electricity.
The nuclear reactor is housed in a concrete structure which serves two
purposes. Firstly, it prevents the nuclear reactor from damage due to
external forces. Secondly, it prevents the radioactive emissions from
the nuclear reactor from escaping into the atmosphere.

FIG: WORKING OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

ADVANTAGES
 Nuclear power generation does emit relatively low amounts of
carbon dioxide (CO2). The emissions of greenhouse gases and
 therefore the contribution of nuclear power plants to global
warming is therefore relatively little.
 This technology is readily available, it does not have to be
developed first.
 It is possible to generate a high amount of electrical energy in
one single plant.

DISADVANTAGES
 The problem of radioactive waste is still an unsolved one.
 High risks: It is technically impossible to build a plant with
100% security.
 The energy source for nuclear energy is Uranium. Uranium is a
scarce resource, its supply is estimated to last only for the next
30 to 60 years depending on the actual demand.
 Nuclear power plants as well as nuclear waste could be
preferred targets for terrorist attacks..
 During the operation of nuclear power plants, radioactive waste
is produced, which in turn can be used for the production of
nuclear weapons.

SAFETY ASPECTS
 Design aspects.
 Dose limit.
 Radiation protection.
 Disposal of nuclear waste.