By

HEMA P
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF EEE
MAIL ID: phemachoudary@gmail.com
 Nuclear energy is a powerful source of
energy, generated during a nuclear reaction,
by change in the nucleus of an atom.
 Nuclear Fission
 Nuclear Fusion
 A nuclear reaction in which atomic nuclei of low
atomic number fuse to form a heavier nucleus with
the release of energy.
 A nuclear reaction in which a heavy nucleus
splits spontaneously or on impact with
another particle, with the release of energy.
 Not all nuclei are capable of absorbing a
neutron and then undergoing a fission
reaction (induced fission)

U-235
U-238
Pu-239

YES NO
 A process in which the number of neutrons
keeps on multiplying rapidly during the
fission till all fissionable materials are
disintegrated.
 Controlled Nuclear Chain Reaction – Used in
Nuclear Power Generation
 Uncontrolled Nuclear Chain Reaction – Used in
Nuclear weapons
 Nuclear Chain Reactions

Uncontrolled
Bombs
Chain Reaction

Energy
Controlled
Chain Reaction
A controlled chain reaction is a chain of
nuclear reactions that take place
subsequently under controlled conditions.
 Maintaining a sustained, controlled reaction
acquires that only one of the neutrons
produced in the fission be allowed to strike
another uranium nucleus.
 In the uncontrolled chain reaction the
number of neutrons multiplies indefinitely
and causes fission in a large amount of the
fissile material.
 This results in the release of a huge amount
of energy within a fraction of a second.
 This kind of chain reaction is used in the
atom bomb to produce an explosion.
Nuclear Fission
A nuclear reaction in which a
heavy nucleus splits
spontaneously or on impact with
another particle, with the
release of energy.
The process results in the
emission of radioactive rays
This Process takes place
spontaneously at ordinary
temperatures.
This process gives rise to chain
reaction
During nuclear fission, neutrons
are emitted
Nuclear Fusion
A nuclear reaction in which
atomic nuclei of low atomic
number fuse to form a heavier
nucleus with the release of
energy.
The process does not emit any
kind of radioactive rays
This process takes place at very
high temperatures
This process does not give a rise
to chain reaction
During nuclear fusion, protons
are emitted
Controlled Chain Reaction Uncontrolled Chain Reaction
A controlled chain reaction is a An uncontrolled chain reaction is
chain of nuclear reactions that a chain of nuclear reactions that
take place subsequently under take place subsequently, but not
controlled conditions. under controlled conditions.
A controlled chain reaction is An uncontrolled chain reaction
carried out in the presence of is carried out in the absence of
moderators. moderators.
A nuclear chain reaction is
converted into a controlled
chain reaction via regulating
An uncontrolled chain reaction
the amount of fissile isotopes
has no control measures.
present, reducing the time of
reaction and using
moderators.
Controlled chain reactions are
Uncontrolled chain reactions
used in nuclear power plants
are used in nuclear bombs.
to generate electricity.
 Power plants that do not change their power
output quickly are known as Base load power
plants
 Eg:

 Large Coal Plants

 Nuclear Plants
 In Nuclear plants, the input energy is
produced by burning the nuclear fuel.
 So, there is always a large time lapse
between the change in energy output and
input which is not desirable.
 Such power stations are used only as base
load stations and they supply constant
power.
 HOW DOES A NUCLEAR
POWER PLANT WORKS?
 A nuclear power plant works in a similar way as a
thermal power plant. The difference between the two
is in the fuel use to heat the water in the boiler(Steam
generator).

 Inside a nuclear power station, energy is released by

nuclear fission in the core of the reactor.

 1kg of Uranium-235 can produce as much energy as

the burning of 4500 tons of high grade variety of
Coal or 2000 tons of oil.
 The main Components of a Nuclear Power
Plant are
 Nuclear Reactor
 Heat exchanger or steam generator
 Steam turbine
 Condenser
 Electric Generator
•The main components of nuclear reactor are
 Reactor core
 Moderator
 Control rods
 Reflector
 Cooling system
 Reactor Vessel
 Biological Shielding
 Nuclear (Atomic) Power Plant…
 Principal parts of a nuclear reactor:

Core : Here the nuclear fission process takes place.

Moderator : This reduces the speed of fast moving neutrons. Most moderators
are graphite, water or heavy water.
 Nuclear (Atomic) Power Plant…

 Principal parts of a nuclear reactor…

Control rods : Control rods limit the

number of fuel atoms that
can split. They are made of
boron or cadmium which
absorbs neutrons

Coolant : They carry the intense heat generated. Water is used as a coolant,
some reactors use liquid sodium as a coolant.

Fuel : The fuel used for nuclear fission is U235 isotope.

Radiation shield : To protect the people working from radiation and

(thermal shielding) radiation fragments.
 Neutrons energy
 Type of Fuel
 Type of Coolant
 Type of moderators
 Construction of core
 According to Neutrons Energy
 Fact Reactors
 Intermediate or epithermal
 Low energy or thermal Reactors
 According to the Fuel Used
 Natural Fuel Reactor
 Enriched Uranium Reactor
 According to the type of coolant Used
 Water Cooled Reactor
 Gas Cooled Reactor
 Liquid Metal Cooled Reactor
 According to the type of Moderators Used
 Graphite Moderator Reactor
 Beryllium Moderator Reactor
 Water Moderator Reactor
 According to the construction of Core
 Cubical Core Reactor
 Cylindrical Core Reactor
 Spherical Core Reactor
 Annulus Core Reactor
 Slab Core Reactor
 Nuclear (Atomic) Power Plant…

 Types of Nuclear power plant:

Main two types are :

* Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR)

* Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
 Nuclear (Atomic) Power Plant…
 Pressurised Water
Reactor
 (PWR) in the reactor due to
Heat is produced
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 equalizer
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.
 Nuclear (Atomic) Power Plant…
 Pressurised Water Reactor
(PWR)
 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 feed pump pumps back
the turbine blades by expansion, it comes the condensed water into the
steam generator.
out of the turbine as wet steam. This is
converted back into water by circulating
Schematic diagram of a nuclear power plant
with PWR steam (high pressure) electric
power
control rods
generator
reactor
fuel core turbine steam (low
rods water pressure)
(hot)

steam coolant in
generator steam
pump
condenser
water
(cool)
coolant out
reactor pump
water (low
pressure water (high pressure)
vessel press
ure)
primary loop secondary loop
 steam (high pressure) electric
power
control rods

fuel rods  They contain the nuclear fuel:

u b ne steam t ow
r i (l
uranium (U-235)
water p essu e r r)
(hot)
 They are surrounded by a
moderator r(water
steam or graphite
coolan n
r condense st
t eam
t)i to
r
gene a o
slow down the neutrons released.
water
(cool) coolant out
reactor pump
pressure water (low
vessel water (high pressure)
press
ure)
primary loop secondary loop
 ( i
steam h gh p essure r ) e ec cl powe
tri
control rods  They control the rate of reacti n by
moving in and out ofothe
r reactor.
u b ne  Move in: ow
steam rate of reaction 
fuel p essu e tr i (l
rods wate r  Move out: rate of rrearc)tion 
(hot)
steam  All are moved in: nthe reactor is
coolan
ti
gene a oshut d o weamncondense st
r t r r

 They are made of boron or

wat l
er
cadmium that coolan ou
can absorb
(co
reactor )
pump netutrtons.
pressure water (low
vessel water (high pressure)
pressure)

primary loop secondary loop

 steam (high pressure) electric
power
control rods
generator
fuel steam (low
rods turbine pressure)
water
(hot)

steam gene a o  The

coolan n steam drives a turbine, wt ihich
s t r
turns thret generato r .
eam condense
r
water  Electricity is produced by thet t
(cool)coolan ou pump
generator.
reactor
pressure water (low
vessel water (high pressure)
pressure)

primary loop secondary loop

 steam (high pressure) electric
power
control rods

fuel turbine steam (low

rods water pressure)
(hot)

steam coolant in
generator steam
condenser
water
(cool)
coolant out
reactor pump
water (low
pressure water (high pressure)
vessel p ressur e)
 Two separate water systems are used to avoid
prad
ma yriioa
ooprctlive substances
seconda y oop
tor rel
ach the turbine.
 steam (high pressure) electric
r powe
 The energy
control rods
released in
fuel
fissio(nl s heats up
turbine steam ow p
rods thre wra)teressu
around
e
water
(hot) the reactor.
steam  The water in
coolan t in the
st r
generator eam condense
secondary loop is
water boiled to steam.
t t ou
coolan
(cool) pump
reactor
pressure water (low
vessel water (high pressure)
press
ure)
primary loop secondary loop
 Nuclear (Atomic) Power Plant…
 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.
 CANDU (Canadian-Deuterium-Uranium)
reactor is also called as heavy water cooled
and moderated type reactor.
 Designed and developed in Canada.
 Heavy Water (99.8% deuterium oxide D2O) is
used as moderator and coolant as well as the
neutron reflector.
 The coolant (heavy water) is passed through
the pressurized fuel tubes and it is heated up
by a nuclear fission.
 This hot coolant is passed through the heat
exchanger where the heat is transferred to
the feed water and the steam is produced.
 By varying the moderator level, the reactor
can be easily controlled and hence control
rods are not necessary.
 Advantages
 Enriched fuel is not required
 Control rods are not required
 Construction time of the reactor is short
 Heavy water is used as a moderator which
requires low fuel consumption
 Disadvantages
 Heavy water is costly
 Water leakage is the major issue
 Very high standards are required for design,
manufacture and inspection
 Nuclear (Atomic) Power Plant…

 Advantages of Nuclear power plant:

 Space required is less when compared with other power plants.

Nuclear power plant is the only source which can meet the increasing demand
of electricity at a reasonable cost.
 A nuclear power plant uses much less fuel than a fossil-fuel plant.
1 metric tonne of uranium fuel = 3 million metric tonnes of coal = 12 million
barrels of oil.

 Disadvantages of Nuclear power plant:

o Radioactive wastes must be disposed carefully, otherwise it will adversely

affect the health of workers and the environment as a whole.

o
Maintenance cost of the plant is high.
 A Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) is a nuclear
reactor that uses fast neutron to generate
more nuclear fuels than they consume
while generating power, dramatically
enhancing the efficiency of the use of
resources. Nuclear fission by fast neutron
causes the increase in neutrons generated.
 Using fast breeder reactors employed liquid-
metal fast breeder reactors, which convert
uranium-238 into the fissionable isotope
plutonium-239 by means of artificial
radioactive decay. The plutonium-239 is
then bombarded with high-speed neutrons.
 This makes it difficult to use water as a
coolant for a fast reactor because the water
tends to slow (moderate) the fast neutrons
into thermal neutrons
 In thermal reactors, moderator is used to
slow down the prompt neutrons to
continue chain reaction with low enriched
fuel; while in fast reactors, prompt neutrons
are directly used to continue chain reaction
with high enriched fuel.
 Gas cooled fast breeding reactor system
cooled with helium
 Liquid metal cooled fast breeding reactor
 Sodium fast breeding reactor
 Lead fast reactor cooled with lead or lead –bismuth
eutectic
 Molten salt reactor fuelled with molten salts
 Super critical water cooled reactor
Very high temperature reactor cooled
with helium
 Proximity to load center
 Population distribution
 Land use
 Meterolology
 Geology
 Hydrology
 Seismology
 Proximity to load Centre
The power plant site can be located
near the load center to reduce the cost of
power delivered to the consumer
 Population Distribution
There should be less population near
the power plant
 Land use
Less populated area must be chosen
 Meterology
The meterological variables are normally
evaluated
 Wind –Direction frequencies
 Wind velocities
 Velocity increment
 Frequency and duration of calms
 Geology
Very important to determine the bearing
capacity of the soil and types of foundation
which must be used for the major portion of the
plant
 Hydrology
Nuclear plant is given to allow the
sufficient water flow for the discharge of low
level radioactive liquid wastes
 Seismology
It is of particular concern in areas of
high seismic activity because of the
possibility where the forces which can be
produced by earthquakes could be sufficient
to damage the reactor system and rupture
the containment structure
 Safety in design of Nuclear Power plant
 Criteria for Safety of Nuclear Power Plant
 Safety in Modern Nuclear Power Plants
 Engineered Nuclear Power Safety Features
 Emergency Core Cooling System
 Containment System
 Measurement of Nuclear Safety
 Safety features in Indian Nuclear Power
Plants
 Safety in design of nuclear power plant
 Control of fission reaction
 Cooling of the reactor core
 Containment of the radioactive fission
products
 Fuel clad
 Leak tight coolant circuit
 Containment building
 Criteria for safety of Nuclear Power Plant
 There is no unreasonable risk
 Adequate protection of public health and
safety are achieved
 The risk is reasonably low
 Safety is as high as reasonably achievable
 It limits the risk by use of best technologies
at acceptable economic costs
 Safety in modern Nuclear Power plant
 First layer of defence is the inert, ceramic
quality of the uranium oxide itself
 Second layer is the air tight zirconium alloy of
the fuel rod
 Third layer is the reactor pressure vessel made
of steel more than a dozen cm thick
 Fourth layer is the pressure resistant and air
tight containment building
 Fifth layer is the reactor building or newer power
plants in a second outer containment building
 Engineered Nuclear Power Safety Features
 Emergency cooling system is to supply water to the
reactor core in the event of a loss of coolant accident
 The containment vessel is to provide a barrier to the
escape to the environment of radioactivity
 It has a cleanup system for removing the part of the
radioactivity and heat which may be present in the
containment atmosphere
 Hydrogen control is to prevent the formation of
explosive hydrogen – oxygen mixture in the
containment
Plant Location State Capacity

Narora Atomic Power Station Narora Uttar Pradesh 440  MW

Rajasthan Atomic Power Station Rawatbhata Rajasthan 1180  MW

Tarapur Atomic Power Station Tarapur Maharashtra 1400  MW

Kakrapar Atomic Power Station Kakrapar Gujarat 440  MW

Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant Kudankulam Tamilnadu -  MW

Madras Atomic Power Station Kalpakkam Tamilnadu -  MW

Kaiga Nuclear Power Plant Kaiga Karnataka 660  MW

Madras Atomic Power Station Kalpakkam Tamil Nadu 440  MW

 ADVANTAGES
1)Low greenhouse gas emission.

2) Powerful and Efficient

3) Reliable 

4) Cheap Electricity

5)  Low Fuel Cost 

6)  Easy Transportation
DISADVANTAGES
1) Radioactive Waste

2) Nuclear Accidents

3) High Cost 

4) Major Impact on Human

Life