Professional Documents
Culture Documents
S.No. Content
1. Why nuclear energy came into Account
6. Types or Reactors
7. Choice of Cycle Conversion
8. Advantage
9. Disadvantage
10. Nuclear and Chemical Accidents
11. Conclusion
Why nuclear energy came into
account:
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. For economical use in a
power system a nuclear power station generally has to be large and
where large units are justifiable.
Tarapur: This is the first power plant of India. It has two boiling water
reactors each of 200 Me W capacity and each uses enriched U as fuel.
Narora: It is at U. P.
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, 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 fissile
material.U238 and Th 232 are examples of fertile materials used for reactor
purposes.
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 α- and β-
particle radiations and γ-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.
Disadvantages:
1. Initial cost of nuclear power plant is higher as compared to hydro
or steam power plant.
2. Nuclear power plants are not well suited for varying load
conditions.
3. Radioactive wastes if not disposed carefully may have bad effect
on the health of workers and other population.
4. Maintenance cost of the plant is high.
5. It requires trained personnel to handle nuclear power plants.
1953
Love Canal, nr. Niagara Falls, N.Y.: was destroyed by waste from
chemical plants. By the 1990s, the town had been cleaned up
enough for families to begin moving back to the area.
1957
Oct. 7, Windscale Pile No. 1, north of Liverpool, England: fire in a
graphite-cooled reactor spewed radiation over the countryside,
contaminating a 200-square-mile area.
South Ural Mountains: explosion of radioactive wastes at Soviet
nuclear weapons factory 12 mi from city of Kyshtym forced the
evacuation of over 10,000 people from a contaminated area. No
casualties were reported by Soviet officials.
1976
nr. Greifswald, East Germany: radioactive core of reactor in the
Lubmin nuclear power plant nearly melted down due to the
failure of safety systems during a fire.
1979
March 28, Three Mile Island, nr. Harrisburg, Pa.: one of two
reactors lost its coolant, which caused overheating and partial
meltdown of its uranium core. Some radioactive
later and gases were released. This was the worst accident in U.S.
nuclear-reactor history
1984
Dec. 3, Bhopal, India: toxic gas, methyl isocyanate, seeped from
Union Carbide insecticide plant, killed more than 2,000, injured
about 150,000.
1986
April 26, Chernobyl, nr. Kiev, Ukraine: explosion and fire in the
graphite core of one of four reactors released radioactive material
that spread over part of the Soviet Union, eastern Europe,
Scandinavia, and later western Europe. 31 claimed dead. Total
casualties are unknown. Worst such accident to date.
1987
Sept. 18, Goiânia, Brazil: 244 people contaminated with cesium-
137 from a cancer-therapy machine that had been sold as scrap.
Four people died in worst radiation disaster in Western
Hemisphere.
1999
Sept. 30, Tokaimura, Japan: uncontrolled chain reaction in a
uranium-processing nuclear fuel plant spewed high levels of
radioactive gas into the air, killing two workers and seriously
injuring one other.
2004
Aug. 9, Mihama, Japan: non-radioactive steam leaked from a
nuclear power plant, killing four workers and severely burning
seven others.
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 ”.