Nuclear Power Plant Seminar Report

Nuclear Power Plant
Abstract
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear
reactor. As is typical in all conventional thermal power stations the heat is used to
generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a electric generator which
produces electricity. Nuclear power plants are usually considered to be base load stations,
since fuel is a small part of the cost of production. Nuclear power plants are not located
according to specific attributes of geography, and are therefore found all over the world.
Although as a coin has two sides, nuclear power plants also have many merits and
demerits. The present status of nuclear energy and future is also discussed further.
Dept of Mechanical Engineering, JCE, Belgaum
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Nuclear Power Plant
Acknowledgement
I would like to acknowledge the contribution of all the people who have helped in
reviewing this report. I would like to sincerely thank our principal Dr. K. G. Vishwanath,
Head of Department Prof. D. B. Patil, staff coordinator Dr. B. Y. Patil
and seminar guide Prof. S.M. Kerur for his guidance and support throughout the seminar
work. I thank my faculty members for giving me an opportunity to learn and present the
seminar. If not for the above mentioned people my seminar would never have been
completed successfully. I would also like to thank our families and friends who supported
us in the course of writing this report.
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Nuclear Power Plant
Table Of Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Introduction4
Literature Survey5
History ...6
Nuclear Reactions...8
Components....11
Parts of Nuclear Reactor.14
Nuclear Power In India...16
Advantages and Disadvantages...17
Conclusion...19
References...20
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Nuclear Power Plant
Chapter 1
Introduction
Conventional thermal power stations use oil or coal as the source as the source of energy.
The reserves of these fuels are becoming depleted in many countries and thus there is a
tendency to seek alternative sources of energy. In a nuclear power station instead of a
furnace there is a nuclear reactor, in which heat is generated by splitting atoms of
radioactive material under suitable conditions. The conversion to electrical energy takes
place indirectly, as in conventional thermal power plants. The heat is produced by fission
in a nuclear reactor. Directly or indirectly, water vapor (steam) is produced. The
pressurized steam is then usually fed to a multi-stage steam turbine. For economical use
in a power system a nuclear power station generally has to be large and where large units
are justifiable.
Fig 1. An image of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant at Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu.
As of 23 April 2014, the International Atomic Energy Agency reports that there are
435 nuclear power reactors in operation operating in 31 countries.
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Nuclear Power Plant
Chapter 2
Literature Survey
1. An Introduction to Nuclear Power Generation by Christopher E. Bremen, California
institute of technology Pasadena, California.
The book is an introduction to a graduate level (or advanced undergraduate level) course
in nuclear power generation. It assumes a basic knowledge of physics, fluid mechanics
and heat transfer. Of course, the design of a nuclear power plant involves a broad range of
engineering expertise. This monograph focuses on the thermo hydraulics and neutronics
of nuclear power generation and, in particular, on the interplay between these that
determines the design of the reactor core. The book also has some brief description of
other critical issues such as nuclear reactor safety. This necessarily includes brief
descriptions of the three major accidents (Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima)
that have influenced the development of nuclear power.
Chapter 3
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History of Nuclear Energy and Power Generation

The neutron was discovered in 1932. The concept of a nuclear chain reaction brought
about by nuclear reactions mediated by neutrons was first realized shortly thereafter, by
Hungarian scientist Le Szilrd, in 1933. Inspiration for a new type of reactor using
uranium came from the discovery by Lise Meitner, Fritz Strassmann and Otto Hahn in
1938 that bombardment of uranium with neutrons (provided by an alpha-on-beryllium
fusion reaction, a "neutron howitzer") produced a barium residue, which they reasoned
was created by the fissioning of the uranium nuclei. On June 27, 1954,
the USSR's Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant became the world's first nuclear power plant to
generate electricity for a power grid, and produced around 5 megawatts of electric
power.The first commercial nuclear power station, Calder Hall in Sellafield, England was
opened in 1956 with an initial capacity of 50 MW (later 200 MW).
India's first research nuclear reactor and its first nuclear power plant were built with
assistance from Canada. The 40 MW research reactor agreement was signed in 1956,
and CIRUS achieved first criticality in 1960. This reactor was supplied to India on the
assurance that it would not be used for military purposes, but without effective safeguards
against such use. The technical and design information were given free of charge
by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited to India. The United States and Canada terminated
their assistance after the detonation of India's first nuclear explosion in 1974.
Tarapur Atomic Power Station located in Tarapur, Maharashtra is the first nuclear power
reactor of India. It was estabilished in October 28, 1969. It has a total capacity of
1,400MW.
Fig 2. The image is a view
of the Tarapur Nuclear
power plant.
Chapter 4
Nuclear Reactions
In nuclear
physics and nuclear
chemistry,
a nuclear
reaction is semantically considered to be the process in which two nuclei, or else a

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Nuclear Power Plant
nucleus
of
an
particle (such
as
atom
a
and
a subatomic
proton, neutron,
or
high energy electron) from outside the atom,

collide to produce one or more nuclides that are
different from the nuclide(s) that began the
process. Thus, a nuclear reaction must cause a
transformation of at least one nuclide to another.
If a nucleus interacts with another nucleus or
particle and they then separate without changing
the nature of any nuclide, the process is simply
referred to as a type of nuclear scattering, rather than a nuclear reaction.
There are two types of nuclear reactions
Nuclear Fusion
Nuclear Fission
Nuclear Fusion
In nuclear physics, nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction in which two or more atomic
nuclei collide at a very high speed and join to form a new type of atomic nucleus. During
this process, matter is not conserved because some of the matter of the fusing nuclei is
converted to photons (energy). Fusion is the process that powers active or "main
sequence" stars.
Fusion power is the energy generated by nuclear fusion processes. The origin of the
energy released in fusion of light elements is due to interplay of two opposing forces,
the nuclear force which combines together protons and neutrons, and the Coulomb
force which causes protons to repel each other. The protons are positively charged and
repel each other but they nonetheless stick together, demonstrating the existence of
another force referred to as nuclear attraction. This force, called the nuclear force,
overcomes electric repulsion in a very close range.
Most nuclear fusion reactions involve the fusion of two hydrogen isotopes (Deuterium
and Tritium) to form a helium atom releasing huge amounts of energy and a neutron.
Fig 3. A schematic representation of the equation of a nuclear fusion reaction.
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Nuclear Power Plant
Nuclear fusion is currently in its experimental phases and is not being utilized for
commercial purposes due to its requirements of high initial energy and pressure so as to
overcome the coulombic forces and bring the nuclei in close proximity.
Nuclear Fission
In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fission is either a nuclear reaction or
radioactive decay process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts
(lighter nuclei). The fission process often produces free neutrons and photons (in the form
of gamma rays), and releases a very large amount of energy even by the energetic
standards of radioactive decay.
Fig 4. A schematic representation of the equation of a nuclear fission reaction.
Fission as encountered in the modern world is usually a deliberately produced manmade nuclear reaction induced by a neutron. In an induced fission reaction, a neutron is
absorbed by uranium-235 nucleus turning it briefly into an excited uranium-236 nucleus,
with the excitation energy provided by the kinetic energy of the neutron plus the forces
that bind the neutron. The uranium236 in turn splits
into fast moving lighter elements (fission products)
and releases three free neutrons at the same time, one
or more prompt gamma rays are produced as well
Comparison between Nuclear Fusion and

Nuclear Fission
Nuclear Fission
Definition
Fission is the splitting of a large

atom into two or more smaller ones.
Nuclear Fusion
Fusion is the fusing of two or more
lighter atoms into a larger one.
Natural Fission reaction does not normally

occurrence of occur in nature.
the process
Fusion occurs in stars, such as the sun.
Byproducts of Fission produces many highly

the reaction radioactive particles.
Few radioactive particles are produced

by fusion reaction
Conditions
Critical mass of the substance and

high-speed neutrons are required.
High density, high temperature

environment is required.
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Nuclear Power Plant
Nuclear Fission
Takes little energy to split two atoms
Energy in a fission reaction.
Requirement
Nuclear Fusion
Extremely high energy is required to
bring two or more protons close
enough that nuclear forces overcome
their electrostatic repulsion.
The energy released by fission is a

million times greater than that
Energy Released released in chemical reactions, but
lower than the energy released by
nuclear fusion.
The energy released by fusion is three

to four times greater than the energy
released by fission.
One class of nuclear weapon is a

Nuclear weapon fission bomb, also known as an
atomic bomb or atom bomb.
One class of nuclear weapon is the

hydrogen bomb, which uses a fission
reaction to "trigger" a fusion reaction.
Energy Fission is used in nuclear power

production plants.
Fusion is an experimental technology

for producing power.
Uranium is the primary fuel used in

Fuel power plants.
Hydrogen isotopes (Deuterium and

Tritium) are the primary fuel used in
experimental fusion power plants.
Chapter 5
Components of a Nuclear Power Plant
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Nuclear Power Plant
Fig 5. The above figure shows the various components and the schematic layout of a
nuclear power plant.
The Various Components of a Nuclear Power Plant are:
Nuclear Reactor: A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a

sustained nuclear chain reaction. In its central part, the reactor core's heat is
generated by controlled nuclear fission. With this heat, a coolant is heated as it is
pumped through the reactor and thereby removes the energy from the reactor. Heat
from nuclear fission is used to raise steam, which runs through turbines, which in
turn
powers
either
ship's
propellers
or
electrical
generators.
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 one or more steam
turbine driven electrical generators. Almost all currently operating nuclear power
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Nuclear Power Plant
plants are light water reactors using ordinary water under high pressure as coolant
and neutron moderator. A neutron moderator slows down the speed of the neutron as
a medium, thereby turning them into thermal neutrons capable of sustaining
a nuclear chain reaction involving uranium-235. Heavy water
reactors use deuterium oxide which has similar properties to ordinary water but
much lower neutron capture, allowing more thorough moderation.
Steam Generator/Boiler: The heat from the reactor is used to convert water to steam,
this steam is used to run a turbine to produce electricity. The position of the boiler
depends on the type of reactor. The two most widely used reactors are
Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR): These constitute the majority of the

reactors, the above diagram shows a PWR. The primary characteristic of
PWR is a pressurizer, that is a specialized pressure vessel that stores the
coolant in it and is sent into the reactor as per the requirement. In a PWR the
boiler is situated in a different assembly, away from the reactor. Two fluid
systems are used in a PWR, one coolant cycle circulated in the reactor and
pumped into the steam generator. This hot fluid from the reactor is used to
heat the water to generate steam to be sent to the steam turbine. The water
used in the turbine is not radioactive.
Boiling Water Reactor: BWRs are characterized by boiling water around the
fuel rods in the lower portion of a primary reactor pressure vessel. A boiling
water reactor uses 235U, enriched as uranium dioxide, as its fuel. The fuel is
assembled into rods housed in a steel vessel that is submerged in water. The
nuclear fission causes the water to boil, generating steam. This steam flows
through pipes into turbines. The turbines are driven by the steam, and this
process generates electricity. The main characteristic is that the boiler here
is the reactor itself and the coolant itself is used to drive the turbines. The
fluid used in the turbine is radioactive.
Safety Valves: In the event of an emergency, 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 suppression chamber and condenses
there. The chambers on a heat exchanger are connected to the intermediate cooling
circuit.
Feedwater pump: The water level in the steam generator and nuclear reactor is
controlled using the feedwater system. The feedwater pump has the task of taking
the water from the condensate system, increasing the pressure and forcing it into
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Nuclear Power Plant
either the steam generators (in the case of a pressurized water reactor) or directly
into the reactor (for boiling water reactors).
Steam Turbine: The steam generated from the boiler is used to drive the turbine.
This turbine is connected to an electric generator so as to generate electricity. Care
is taken in maintaining the condition of the turbine as it handles steam of very high
heat capacity. The turbines used in BWRs have to be radioactively sealed so as to
avoid leakage of the radioactive water.
Electric Generator: The generator converts kinetic energy supplied by the turbine
into electrical energy. Low-pole AC synchronous generators of high rated power are
used.
Cooling Towers: A cooling tower is a heat rejection device which extracts waste
heat to the atmosphere through the cooling of a water stream to a lower temperature.
Cooling towers may either use the evaporation of water to remove process heat and
cool the working fluid to near the wet-bulb air temperature or, in the case of closed
circuit dry cooling towers, rely solely on air to cool the working fluid to near
the dry-bulb air temperature.
Emergency Power Supply: Most nuclear plants require two distinct sources of
offsite power feeding station service transformers that are sufficiently separated in
the plant's switchyard and can receive power from multiple transmission lines.
Nuclear power plants are equipped with emergency power systems to maintain
safety in the event of unit shutdown and loss of offsite power. Batteries provide
uninterruptible power to instrumentation, control systems, and valves.. The
emergency diesel generators do not power all plant systems, only those required to
shut the reactor down safely, remove decay heat from the reactor, provide
emergency core cooling, and, in some plants, spent fuel pool cooling.
Chapter 6
Parts of Nuclear Reactor
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Nuclear Power Plant
Nuclear fuel: Fuel of a reactor should be fissionable material which can be defined
as a fissionable material
which can be defined as
an element or isotope
whose nuclei
can
caused
undergo
to
be
nuclear fission nuclear

bombardment
and
to
produce a fission chain

reaction. The fuels used
are: U238, U235, U 234,
UO2.
Fertile materials, those
which
can
be
transformed into fissile

materials, cannot sustain
chain reactions. When a
fertile material is hit by
neutrons
and
absorbs
some of them, it is
converted
to
material.U238
232
are
fissile
and
Th
examples
of
fertile materials used for reactor purposes.
Reactor core: This contains a number of fuel rods made of fissile material.
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Nuclear Power Plant
Moderator: This material in the reactor core is used to moderate or to reduce the
neutron speeds to a value that increases the probability of fission occurring.
Control rods: The energy inside the reactor is controlled by the control rod. These
are in cylindrical or sheet form made of boron or cadmium.
These rods can be moved in and out of the holes in the reactor core assembly.
Reflector: This completely surrounds the reactor core within the thermal shielding
arrangement and helps to bounce escaping neutrons back into the core. This
conserves the nuclear fuel.
Reactor vessel: It is a strong walled container housing the core of the power reactor.
It contains moderate, reflector, thermal shielding and control rods.
Biological shielding: Shielding helps in giving protection from the deadly - and particle radiations and -rays as well as neutrons given off by the process of fission
within the reactor.
Coolant: This removes heat from the core produced by nuclear reaction. The types
of coolants used are carbon dioxide, air, hydrogen, helium, sodium or sodium
potassium.
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Chapter 7
Nuclear Power in India
Nuclear power is the fourth largest source of electricity in India after thermal,
hydroelectric and renewable sources of electricity. As of 2013, India has 21 nuclear
reactors in operation in 7 nuclear power plants, having an installed capacity of 5780MW
and producing a total of 30,292.91 GWh of electricity while seven other reactors are
under construction and are expected to generate an additional 6,100 MW.
Power
Total capacity
Operator
State
Type
Units
Kaiga
NPCIL
Karnataka
PHWR
220 x 4
880
Kakrapar
NPCIL
Gujarat
PHWR
220 x 2
440
Madras
NPCIL
Tamil Nadu
PHWR
220 x 2
440
Narora
NPCIL
Uttar Pradesh
PHWR
220 x 2
440
station
(MW)
100 x 1
Rajasthan
NPCIL
Kota Rajasthan
PHWR
200 x 1
1180
220 x 4
Tarapur
NPCIL
Maharashtra
Kudankulam
NPCIL
Tamil Nadu
BWR
160 x 2
PHWR
540 x 2
VVER-1000 1000 x 1
1440
1000
Chapter 8
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Nuclear Power Plant
Advantages of Nuclear Power Plant
Space requirement of a nuclear power plant is less as compared to other

conventional power plants of equal size.
A nuclear power plant consumes very small quantity of fuel. Thus fuel
transportation cost is less and large fuel storage facility is not needed.
There is increased reliability of operation.
Nuclear power plants are not affected by adverse weather conditions.
Nuclear power plants are well suited to meet large power demands. They give
better performance at higher load factors (80-90%).
Materials expenditure on metal structures, piping, storage mechanisms are much

lower for a nuclear power plant than a coal burning power plant.
It does not require large quantity of water.
The generation of electricity through nuclear energy reduces the amount of energy
generated from fossil fuels (coal and oil). Less use of fossil fuels means lowering
greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 and others).
Currently, fossil fuels are consumed faster than they are produced, so in the next
future these resources may be reduced or the price may increase becoming
inaccessible for most of the population.
The production of electric energy is continuous. A nuclear power plant is generating

electricity for almost 90% of annual time. It reduces the price volatility of other
fuels such as petrol.
Disadvantages of Nuclear Power Plant

Initial cost of nuclear power plant is higher as compared to hydro or steam power
plant.
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Nuclear Power Plant
Nuclear power plants are not well suited for varying load conditions.
Radioactive wastes if not disposed carefully may have bad effect on the health of
workers and other population.
Maintenance cost of the plant is high.
It requires highly trained personnel to handle nuclear power plants.
Nuclear power plants generate external dependence. Not many countries have
uranium mines and not all the countries have nuclear technology, so they have to
hire both things overseas.
Nuclear power plants are objectives of terrorist organizations.
Decommissioning of nuclear power stations is expensive and takes a long time.
Nuclear accidents can spread 'radiation producing particles' over a wide area, This
radiation harms the cells of the body which can make humans sick or even cause
death. Illness can appear or strike people years after they were exposed to nuclear
radiation and genetic problems can occur too. A possible type of reactor disaster is
known as a meltdown. In a meltdown, the fission reaction of an atom goes out of
control, which leads to a nuclear explosion releasing great amounts of radioactive
particles into the environment. Chernobyl and Fukushima are the worst nuclear
accidents to date causing many lives and leakage of radiation.
Chapter 9
Conclusion:
Widely used nuclear energy can be of great benefit for mankind. It can bridge the gap
caused by inadequate coal and oil supply. It should be used to as much extent as possible
to solve power problem. With further developments, it is likely that the cost of nuclear
power stations will be lowered and that they will soon be competitive. With the depletion
of fuel reserves and the question of transporting fuel over long distances, nuclear power
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Nuclear Power Plant
stations are taking an important place in the development of the power potentials of the
nations of the world today in the context of the changing pattern of power.
Chapter 10
References
An Introduction to Nuclear Power Generation by Christopher E. Bremen,
California institute of technology Pasadena, California.
Safety of the Indian Pressurized Water Reactors, Department of Atomic Energy,
Government of India.
http://nuclear-energy.net/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-nuclear-energy.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_reaction
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fission
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_India
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_reactor
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fission
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_plant
http://www.cyberphysics.co.uk/topics/nuclear/advantages_disadvantages_nuclear_
power.htm
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Nuclear Power Plant

Dept of Mechanical Engineering, JCE, Belgaum