Nuclear Power Plants

By:
Dr. H. G.HANUMANTHRAJU
Associate Professor,
Department of Mechanical Engineering
U.V.C.E, K.R. Circle,
Bengaluru-560
Define Nuclear Energy
# Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce
electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission,
nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast
majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by nuclear
fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear power plants
Salient Features of Nuclear reactors are:
1. They are devices designed to maintain a chain reaction producing a
steady flow of neutrons generated by the fission reaction.
2. Research reactors are basically operated at universities and research
centres in many countries. They generate neutrons for producing
radiopharmaceuticals for medical diagnosis and therapy.
3. Power reactors are found in nuclear power plants. They generate
heat mainly for electricity production. They are also used for drinking
water. They are also Power ships
4. All Power reactors produce thermal energy which can be used for its
own sake or converted into mechanical energy into electrical energy.
Two Types to obtain Nuclear Energy:

1. Nuclear Fission
2. Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear Fission :
• Nuclear Fission reaction is the type of reaction in which the nucleus of
heavy radioactive element like uranium ,plutonium or thorium splits
up into smaller nuclei, when bombarded by low energy neutrons
• A huge amount of heat is generated during the process, which is used
in nuclear power plants to generate electricity
Nuclear Fusion:

•Did you know that the sun’s energy is generated by nuclear fusion
reaction? The heat and light that we get from Sun, is all due to the
continuous reactions going on inside it. We can now imagine how much
energy would be released in the nuclear fusion reaction, that it is the
source of sun’ s energy
•This involves the combination or fusion of two light elements to form a
heavier element and release uncontrollable energy.
Nuclear power:
*Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear
power plants provide about 5.7% of the world's energy and 13% of the world's electricity.
*There were 439 nuclear power reactors in operation in the world, operating in
31 countries.
*Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy contend that nuclear power is a sustainable energy
source that reduces carbon emissions.
*Just as many conventional thermal power stations generate electricity by harnessing the
thermal energy released from burning fossil fuels, nuclear power plants convert the energy
released from the nucleus of an atom via nuclear fission that takes place in a nuclear reactor.
*The heat is removed from the reactor core by acooling system that uses the heat to generate
steam, which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator producing electricity.
 Differences Between Nuclear Fission&
Fusion:
• Fission is the energetic splitting of large atoms such as Uranium or into
two smaller atoms, called fission products. To split an atom, you have
to bombard it with a neutron. Several neutrons are also released which
can go on to split other nearby atoms, producing a nuclear chain
reaction of sustained energy release.
• Fusion is the combination of two small atoms such as Hydrogen or helium to
produce heavier atoms and energy.
Types of Nuclear Reactors :
1. Boiling water reactor
2. Pressurized water reactor
3. Liquid metal cooled
4. Gas cooled
5. CANDU reactor
Boiling water reactor (BWR):

 The disadvantage of BWR is that any fuel leak might make the water radioactive and that
radioactivity would reach the turbine and the rest of the loop.

 A typical operating pressure for BWR is about 70 atm at which the water boils at about 285°C
temperature. This operating temperature gives a efficiency of only 42% with a practical
operating efficiency of around 32%, somewhat less than the Pressurized Water Reactor(PWR)

 Here, the water which passes over the reactor core act as moderator and coolant.

 This is also stream source for the turbine

Boiling water reactor (BWR):
PWR-Pressurized water reactor
 The advantage PWR is that a fuel leak in the core would not pass any radioactive
contaminants to the turbine and condenser.

 In the pressurized water reactor (PWR), the water which passes over the reactor core act as
moderator and coolant but does not flow to the turbine. It is sent in a pressurized primary
loop. The primary loop water produces steam in the secondary loop which drives the
turbine.

 Another advantage is that the PWR can operate at higher pressure and temperature, about
160 atm and about 315°C. This provides a higher efficiency than the boiling water
reactor(BWR) , but PWR is more complicated and more costly to construct.
PWR- Pressurized water reactor
Liquid Metal cooled reactor:
 It is also called as liquid metal fast reactor(LMFR).

 This is an advanced type of nuclear reactor

 The primary coolant is a liquid metal

 Metal coolants remove heat more rapidly and allow much highest volume power density

 As the primary coolant is a liquid metal, the high temperature of the liquid metal is used
to produce vapour at higher temperature than in a water cooled reactor.

 Liquid metals, being electrically highly conductive , are moved by electromagnetic pumps
Coolant Features:
Coolant should never boil , leak out, coolant accident

Pressurized water could theoretically used for a fast reactor, as it tends to slow
down the neutrons and absorb them.

Limits the amount of water to flow through the reactor core, as fast reactors
have a high power density.

Water boiling point is also much lower than most metals demanding that
cooling system be kept at high pressure to cool the core effectively.
 Types of coolant used:
1. MERCURY
2. LEAD
3. TIN
4. LEAD- BISMUTH EUTECTIC
5. SODIUM AND SODIUM POTASSIUM EUTECTIC( NAK)
Liquid Metal cooled reactor:
GCR – Gas cooled Reactor:
Gas Cooled Reactor is also termed as Magnox reactor as the magnesium alloy is used
to encase the fuel, natural uranium metal.

These reactors are generally graphite moderated and CO2 cooled. The whole
assembly is cooled by blowing carbon dioxide gas past the fuel cans, which are
specially designed to enhance heat transfer. The hot gas then converts water to steam
in a steam generator.

They can have a high thermal efficiency compared with PWRs due to higher operating
temperatures.
GCR- Gas cooled reactor:
CANDU(Canada deuterium uranium reactor):
 It is a Canadian-invented, heavy water reactor.

 It is a type of nuclear reactor that uses natural uranium as fuel, pressurised heavy water
as moderator and uses pressurized tubes to contain the fuel and circulating coolant.

 In the reactor, neutrons emitted in the fission reaction are slowed down by the heavy
water, which acts as a coolant carrying the heat energy produced in the nuclear reaction
from the uranium rods to the heat exchanger and then to the turbines to produce
electric power. The products of fission are hot because the smaller atoms produced
when a large atom breaks up, it has a great deal of kinetic energy.
CANDU REACTOR:
COMPONENTS OF CANDU REACTOR:
1. Pressurized fuel turbines
2. Fuel
3. Core
4. Generator
5. Steam collector
6. Pump
7. Heat exchanger
8. Steam turbines
9. Condenser and cooling water
Pressurized fuel tubes:
 It is a Canadian-invented, heavy water reactor.

 It is a type of nuclear reactor that uses natural uranium as fuel, pressurized heavy water
as moderator and uses pressurized tubes to contain the fuel and circulating coolant.

 In the reactor, neutrons emitted in the fission reaction are slowed down by the heavy
water, which acts as a coolant carrying the heat energy produced in the nuclear reaction
from the uranium rods to the heat exchanger and then to the turbines to produce
electric power. The products of fission are hot because the smaller atoms produced
when a large atom breaks up, it has a great deal of kinetic energy.
Fuel:

• Unlike other nuclear reactor that uses enriched uranium fuel and light
water as a moderator , CANDU reactor uses non-enriched(natural)
uranium oxide as fuel and heavy water as moderator. In CANDU
reactor fuel can be continuously changed while the reactor is in
operation.
Core:

• It contains a large number of horizontal channels. The channels

contain the fuel elements and coolant. The coolant flow around the
fuel elements to remove the heat generated by fission. When these
coolant leave the reactor it gains a high pressure (10mpa) and
temperature at (370) degree Celsius and then enters into steam
generator.
Generator:
• A function generator is usually a piece of electronic test equipment or
software used to generate different types of electrical waveforms over
a wide range of frequencies. Some of the most common waveforms
produced by the function generator are the sine wave , square wave,
triangular wave and sawtooth shapes.
Steam collector:
• If steam enters this block, it will be held there for up to 20 seconds. The collector will
hold as much steam as it takes to shoot it out of every output (except the one that the
last steam entered from), and then shoot them all out.

Pump:

• A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by

mechanical action. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the
method they use to move the fluid Pumps operate by some mechanism and consume
energy to perform mechanical work moving the fluid.
Heat exchanger:

• A heat exchanger is a device designed to efficiently transfer or

"exchange" heat from one matter to another.

• When a fluid is used to transfer heat, the fluid could be a liquid, such
as water or oil, or could be moving air. The most well known type of
heat exchanger is a car radiator.
Steam turbine:

• A heat exchanger is a device designed to efficiently transfer or

"exchange" heat from one matter to another.

• When a fluid is used to transfer heat, the fluid could be a liquid, such
as water or oil, or could be moving air. The most well known type of
heat exchanger is a car radiator.
Condenser:
• A condenser is a device or unit used to condense a substance from its
gaseous to its liquid state, by cooling it. In so doing, the latent heat is
given up by the substance and transferred to the surrounding
environment. Condensers can be made according to numerous
designs, and come in many sizes ranging from rather small to very
large.
Colling Water:
• The function of a cooling system is to remove heat from processes or
equipment. Heat removed from one medium is transferred to another
medium, or process fluid. Most often, the cooling medium is water.
CONTROL AND PROTECTION SYSTEM:
 CANDU reactor consists of a number of neutron absorber rods which are mainly used for
start-up and shut-down.

 For start-up ,it pulls the rod out of the core.

 For shut-down, it drops them in the core.

 These absorbing rods are also used for controlling power variation during nuclear reactor
operation.

 In an emergency operation situation, the shut-down rods would immediately drop into
the core.
Advantages:

Enriched fuel is not required.

Heavy water is used as moderator which has low fuel consumption.

Less time is needed to construct the reactor.

Disadvantages:

Cost of heavy water is very high .

There are leakage problems.

It require high standards of design ,manufacture, maintenance.

Applications:

CANDU reactor’s is used for generating Electric power.

These reactors are more economical to those nations which do not

produce enriched uranium as the enrichment of uranium is very
costly.
ADVANTAGES OF USING NUCLEAR
ENERGY:
1) . Lower Greenhouse Emissions:

• As per the reports lately, it has been calculated the emission of the
greenhouse gases have reduced for nearly half due to use of nuclear
power.
ADVANTAGES OF USING NUCLEAR
ENERGY:
2 )Power and Efficient:

•Advancement in technologies has made it more viable option than

others. This is one the reason that many countries are putting huge
investments in nuclear power.
ADVANTAGES OF USING NUCLEAR
ENERGY:
3) Reliable :
•Nuclear energy can be produced from nuclear power plants even in the
cases of rough weather conditions and 24/7.
 ADVANTAGES OF USING NUCLEAR
ENERGY:
4) Cheap Electricity:

•The cost of uranium which is used as a fuel in generating electricity is

quite low. Also, set up costs of nuclear power plants is relatively high
while running cost is low. The average life of nuclear reactor range from
4.-60 years depending upon its usage.
ADVANTAGES OF USING NUCLEAR
ENERGY:
5) Low Fuel Cost :

•The main reason behind the low fuel cost is that it requires little
amount of uranium to produce energy. When a nuclear reaction happens,
it releases million times more energy as compared to traditional sources
of energy.
ADVANTAGES OF USING NUCLEAR
ENERGY:
6) Supply:

•Nuclear energy is widely available, has huge reserves and expected to last
for another 100 years while coal, oil and natural gas are limited and are
expected to vanish soon.
ADVANTAGES OF USING NUCLEAR
ENERGY:
7)Easy to Transport:

•Production of nuclear energy needs very less amount of raw material.

•This means that only about 28 gram of uranium releases as much energy
as produced from 100 metric tons of

•coal. Since it’s required in small quantities, transportation of fuel is much

easier than fossil fuels.
DISADVANTAGES OF USING NUCLEAR
ENERGY:
1) Radioactive Waste:

•When the uranium has finished splitting, the resulting radioactive

byproducts need to be removed.
DISADVANTAGES OF USING NUCLEAR
ENERGY:
2) Raw Material:

•Uranium is used in the process of fission because it's a naturally unstable

element. This means that special precautions must be taken during the
mining, transporting and storing of the uranium, as well as the storing of
any waste product to prevent it from giving off harmful levels of
radiation.
DISADVANTAGES OF USING NUCLEAR
ENERGY:
3) Nuclear Accidents:

•Serious nuclear accidents have been few and far between—but their stories will
help prevent future catastrophes.
DISADVANTAGES OF USING NUCLEAR
ENERGY:
4) Fuel Availability:

• Unlike fossil fuels which are available to most of the countries,

uranium is very rare resource and exist in only few of the countries.
DISADVANTAGES OF USING NUCLEAR
ENERGY:
5) Non-renewable Energy:
• Nuclear energy is an alternative energy but not a renewable energy
as Uranium is a non-renewable source and its supplies are limited.
DISADVANTAGES OF USING NUCLEAR
ENERGY:
6) Hot Target for Militants:

•Nuclear energy has immense power. Today, nuclear energy is used to make
weapons. If these weapons go into the wrong hands, that could be the
end of this world. Nuclear power plants are prime target for terrorism
activities.
Thank you!