NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

NUCLEAR ENERGY
Nuclear potential energy is the potential energy of

the particles inside an atomic nucleus. The nuclear particles are bound together by the strong nuclear force.

TYPES OF NUCLEAR REACTIONS

Fusion reactions two light nuclei join to form a

heavier one, with additional particles (usually protons or neutrons) thrown off to conserve momentum. Fission reactions a very heavy nucleus, spontaneously or after absorbing additional light particles (usually neutrons), splits into two or sometimes three pieces. ( decay is not usually called fission.) Spallation a nucleus is hit by a particle with sufficient energy and momentum to knock out several small fragments or, smash it into many fragments.

NUCLEAR FISSION
Nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts (lighter nuclei), often producing free neutrons and photons (in the form of gamma rays).

Nuclear fission diagrammatic representation

HOW IT WORKS??

LAYOUT OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

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 if uncontrolled

causing an explosion.

TYPES OF NUCLEAR RECATOR

BOILING WATER REACTOR

PRESSURIZED WATER REACTOR

BOILING WATER REACTOR

PRESSURIZED WATER REACTOR

CONTROL RODS
A control rod is a rod made of chemical elements capable

of absorbing many neutrons.

They are used in nuclear reactors to control the rate of

fission of uranium and plutonium

The control rods essentially contain neutron absorbers like,

boron, cadmium or indium.

NUCLEAR FUEL OR FUEL RODS

Nuclear fuel is a material that can be 'consumed' by fission

or fusion to derive nuclear energy.

The most common fissile nuclear fuels are Uranium 235

(235U) and Plutonium 239(239Pu).

TURBINES
A turbine is a

rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached.

FEED 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.

CONDENSER
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.
Condenser is a device or unit which is used to

condense vapor into liquid.

COOLING TOWER
Water circulating

through the condenser is taken to the cooling tower for cooling and

reuse.
Cooling towers are

heat removal devices

used to transfer process

waste heat to the atmosphere.

POWER PLANTS IN INDIA

Power station Operator State Type Units Total Capacity (MW) 660 440 440 440 Kaiga Kakrapar Kalpakkam Narora NPCIL NPCIL NPCIL NPCIL Karnataka Gujarat Tamil Nadu PHWR PHWR PHWR 220x3 220x2 220x2 220x2

Uttar Pradesh PHWR Rajasthan Maharashtra

Nuclear Power

Rawatbhata NPCIL Tarapur NPCIL

PHWR

100x1, 740 200x1,220x2 1400

BWR 160x2, (PHWR) 540x2

ADVANTAGES
Nuclear power costs about the same as coal, so it's not

expensive to make.
Does not produce smoke or carbon dioxide, so it does

not contribute to the greenhouse effect.

Produces huge amounts of energy from small amounts

of fuel.
Produces small amounts of waste.

Nuclear power is reliable.

DISADVANTAGES
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.

DISADVANTAGES
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.