A Seminar Report

ON

NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

Submitted in the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the

Degree

Of

Bachelor of Technology

By

Aakash Yadav

(13E1AEMEM3XP001)

(VIIIth Sem)

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

ALWAR INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

MIA, ALWAR - 301030 (RAJ), INDIA

Session: 2016-17

I
 CANDIDATES DECLARATION

I, Aakash Yadav, hereby declare that the seminar report on NUCLEAR POWER PLANT is being present
in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Technology in the
Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Alwar Institute of Engineering & Technology Alwar, is an
authentic record of my work carried out during 8th semester.

The matter that embodied in this report has not been submitted by us for the award or any other degree or
diploma.

Date:

Sing.

(Aakash Yadav)

(13E1AEMEM3XP001)

II
 CONTENTS

Serial no Topic Page no

1. Candidate declaration II

2. List of Figures IV

3. Abstract 1

4. Introduction 2

5. Literature Review 3

6. Technical Advancement 4-16

7. Conclusion 17

8. References 18

III

LIST OF FIGURES

Fig no Figures Page no

1. An image of the 02
Kudankulam nuclear
power plant at
Tirunelveli, Tamil
Nadu
 2. The image is a view of 04
the Tarapur Nuclear
Power Plant
3. A schematic 05
representation of the
equation of a nuclear
fusion reaction.
4. A schematic 06
representation of the
Equation of a nuclear
fission reaction.

5. The above figure 08

shows the various
components and the
schematic layout of a
nuclear power plant

6. An image of 09
Pressurized Water
reactor

7. An image of Boiling 10
Water Reactor

8. An image of Nuclear 12
Reactor Core

IV

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.
 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.

LITERATURE REVIEW

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 a 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. The
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.

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 Leo Szilard, 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 June27, 1954, the USSRs Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant
became the worlds first nuclear power plant to generate electricity for a power grid, and produced around 5
megawatts of electric power. The first commercial nuclear power stations, Calder Hall in Sellafield, England
was opened in 1956 with an initial capacity of 50 MW (later 200 MW).

Indias 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 Indias first nuclear explosion in 1974.

Tarapur Atomic Power Station located in Tarapur, Maharashtra is the first nuclear power reactor of India. It
was established 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

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
nucleus of an atom and a subatomic particle (such as a 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 reaction Fig 3. A schematic representation of

Nuclear Fusion the equation of a nuclear

 Nuclear Fission fusion reaction.

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 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.

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 release a very large
amount of energy even by the energetic standards of radioactive decay.

Fission as encountered in the modern world is usually a deliberately produced

man-made nuclear reaction induced by a neutron. In a 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.

Fig 4. A schematic representation of the

 equation of a nuclear fission reaction.

The uranium-236 in turns 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 Nuclear Fusion

Definition Fission is the splitting of a large atom Fusion is the fusing of two or more
into two or more smaller ones. lighter atoms into a larger one.

Natural Fission reaction does not normally Fusion occurs in stars, such as the
occurrence of the occur in nature. sun.
process

Byproducts of the Fission produces many highly Few radioactive particles are
reaction radioactive particles. produced by fusion reaction, but if a
fission "trigger" is used, radioactive
particles will result from that.

Conditions Critical mass of the substance and high- High density, high temperature
speed neutrons are required. environment is required.

Energy Takes little energy to split two atoms in Extremely high energy is required to
Requirement a fission reaction. bring two or more protons close
enough that nuclear forces overcome
their electrostatic repulsion.

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

Nuclear weapon One class of nuclear weapon is a fission One class of nuclear weapon is the
bomb, also known as an atomic bomb hydrogen bomb, which uses a fission
or atom bomb. reaction to "trigger" a fusion
reaction.
Energy Fission is used in nuclear power plants. Fusion is an experimental
production technology for producing power.

Fuel Uranium is the primary fuel used in Hydrogen isotopes (Deuterium and
power plants. Tritium) are the primary fuel used in
experimental fusion power plants.

Components of a 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 cores 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 ships propellers or electrical
generators.

COOLING SYSTEM: A cooling system removes heat from the reactor core and transport
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 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 through 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 characteristics
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
system 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.

Fig 6. An image of Pressurized Water reactor

 BOILING WATER REACTOR (BWR): 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 characteristics 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.

Fig 7. An image of Boiling Water Reactor

 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 chamber 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 either the steam
generators (in the case of pressurized water reactor) or directly into the reactor( for boiling
water reactor).

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 radioactive 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 steam 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 plants
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.
 PARTS OF NUCLEAR REACTOR

Fig 8. An image of Nuclear Reactor Core

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 be caused to undergo
nuclear fission nuclear bombardment and to produce a fission chain reaction. The fuels used are:
U238, U235, U234, and U02. 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 fissile material. U238 and Th232 are examples of fertile materials used for reactor
purpose.

Reactor Core: This contains a number of fuel rods made of fissile material.

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 - particles
radiation 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 coolant used
are carbon dioxide, air, hydrogen, helium, sodium or sodium potassium.

NUCLEAR POWER IN INDIA

Nuclear power is the fourth largest source of electricity in India after thermal, hydroelectric and renewable
source 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 Operato State Type Units Total

Station r Capacity
(MW)
Kaiga NPCIL Karnataka PHWR 220 880
4

Kakrapar NPCIL Gujarat PHWR 220 2 440

Madras NPCIL Tamil Nadu PHWR 220 2 440

Narora NPCIL Uttar Pradesh PHWR 220 2 440

 Rajasthan NPCIL Kota Rajasthan PHWR 100 1 1180
200 1
220 4
Tarapur NPCIL Maharashtra BWR 160 2 1140
PHWR
540 2

Kudankula NPCIL Tamil Nadu WER-1000 1000 1 1000

m

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 (CO 2
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.

Disadvantage of Nuclear Power Plant

Initial cost of nuclear power plant is higher as compared to hydro or steam power plant.

Nuclear power plants are not well suited for varying and conditions.

Radioactive waste 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 organization.

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 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.

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 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.
 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/advanytages-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
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/nuclear_fusion
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.html