Q.1. What is nuclear energy ? ‘Ans. Energy released during a nuclear reaction in accordance with the mass-energy equation Is called nuclear energy. According to Einstein mass energy equation, E = me? where E= Energy obtained by conversion of matter into energy c= Speed of light m= Lost mass which is converted into energy called binding energy. Binding energy is the energy which keeps the nucleus of every atom fom flying apart. This binding energy when released slowly and ina controlled manner produces heat which can be used to drive steam-driven electric generators to produce power. : 0.2. State the importance of nuclear power in India. (R.GRV., Dec. 2015, May 2018) Or Discuss importance of nuclear power development in Indian context. (R.GPV,, June 2011) Ans, Cheap and abundant power is essential for the rapidly increasing industrialization and living standard of the people. This creates a tremendous Pressure on conventional sources of power (coal, oil and gas). It is now Obvious that these sources will soon be unable to meet the increasingly demands of power, The Production of electricity in India in 1950 was a meagre 230 MW with - Capita annual consumption of 18 kWh. With the economic growth and “velopment of various industries, which resulted in the improvement in the aigemmard of people, per capita consumption has raised to about 200 kWh, - Installed power capacity of India in 1985 was 40000 MW, this massive ™M power production has been achieved by installing a large number ofF acute scarcity of energy ete ee main sources of which d likely to exhaust by the end Of this ate ot bout 60% of the world’s total Century, Fossil fuels a it 50-100 years. Hydel power Dan which a will not be 7 A . a P i 7 i chemin aR) 3 0 nes ean ce Power ger n,ithas become necessary to minimize its oq for, a yh oh ie time consuming process, SoFhydel power Plants is a yydel potential of our country (about 75999 Mint ‘ in st to these conventional sources nyo Toren , ed and most of it lies in upper reaches of Himajq «¥) ig AY ean and high productivity solution tp the Work oe aS a th eastern regions. Hydroclectrcity gen eration ay in tet a rpeavier stable materials such as U235 p23 ieee irae geology dificult terrain conditions and vagaries oy” Sut {aon of binding eneey males Fission ofthese atoms liberates 5 "India’s oil and gas resources are very small as comp, 1 ut of epee otined by bene Jssinofone ig of eds. The present estimates of oil and gas are equivalent tg about ity ne : ae es of oil. This enormous release of ae oe illion tonnes of coal respectively. These resources are likely tog Ose v yor 220 f nuclear fuel makes this source is of gregt importance rete nd of the century, thus they have to be used most efficiently, "tau Pe a amount of uranium and thorium in the earth’s crust, to a depth Energy from non-renewable sources, such as from Solar, win : e imate approximately 10" tonnes, Thus nuclear fuels can provide tidal and oceans are very limited and cannot be tog , bin, fk renerey to fulfill the world energy demands, eothermal, ; ted yy aplet factors which are in favour of nuclear energy are, it is practically D having considerable resources of nuclear fuel ie oot of geographical factors, no combustion Products-and it is clean s . i Can depen yer which does not contribute to air pollution. Further, it d evelopment ofnuclear power in country. India having 70000 tonnes on “bs MPF power i inate m u les of source | transportation networks and large storage facilities, Fused in pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR3) to generate elect age equate fuel nuclear power sven vs about 10 to 15 GWe fora period of thirty years, Phu nt importance of nuclear pi indian context, refer Q.2, th u ‘Oni epleted uranium discharged from these PHWRs, if used in fast breeder n ty FBRs), they can increase our installed capacity upto 300-350 GWe. iy iso having large deposits of fissionable material — thorium, Which : ventually be used for power generation. a _ Therefore, considering the limited availability of conve esources importance of development of nuclear energy in Indj rowing demand of electricity can be understood, Indian ‘government recognizes this crucial source of energy and install arious nuclear power plants in all over the Country. Our total nuclear poy roduction which was 1180 MW in 1971 raises to 20000 MW in 1986, Q.3. Discuss the importa id also in Indian context, tional eng ia to full ince of nuclear power development in the wont (R.GPV., Dec. 26ll) For !! 4, Discuss Indian nuclear energy program. Compare its potential i i other program. (R.GP¥, Dec. 2005) = Indian Nuclear Energy Program ~ As India is having limited e of fossil fuels, development of nuclear power plant can be an oe t and economical means of providing energy. India, with its 50000 inpopf uranium and about 500000 tonnes of thorium has wide scope for tonnt nuclear power generation. Late Dr. JH. Bhabba, recognised the importance of nuclear energy and introduced a 3-stage nuclear energy programme for the development of nuclear power in the country. Stage I - Construction of natural uranium fuelled reactors, using heavy wateras moderator and coolant to produce electricity and a fissionable material plutonium (Pu>>?), a : Stage II - Construction of fast breeder reactors, which eee re tnd depleted uranium, the by-products of first stage. TE ie oa more fuel than they consume while supplying electricity. They from thorium, used as a blanket material.: Nuclear Power Station 129 33 will be used as fuel and thorium beconsidered: ” - as. , yurces can be consi as small with reference to ‘consumed in fast and thermal react kay Fs and oil eae estimates of oil and gas are about 0.6 and 1.5 i there are $ nuclear power plants in operation. sie The Po valent respostvely Inspite of the impressive increase Z Jear power plant with a capaci im } of tion of oil in the recent years, the country imports Hada it dio) Toren 2 va ite ese which is considerable drain on ou foreign comme eapaiy, uses enced wait (52.59%) gp Ban Me jes : fue) ss) # 1s of fissionable material thorium which can be used 4 ei olentand moderator. Duet stoppage Of supply op! Ag | water as ientists developed a mixed Bete tiGe eitcheg iy ae sarge °F yranium resources which form the base for nuclear a fat pit rai Fated at about 70000 tonnes, Considering the a lemand from U.S.A. Indian sci oe isa mixture of oxides of uranium isa 4d pluton, table within the country, the crucial role for nuclear plantrunning. MOX isa mixt : indigeneously by our scientists. ¥ Beer ; Second nuclear power plant was installed at Rana Pray, ie re nized i the total energy scenario. i f power stations in India. Write their generation jashan.Ikeonsiss oftwo units of220 MWe each, which wor Soe, by oe 3 few nucleate mn Name (Rajasthan) é i prinsple. This sa horizontal pressure tube reactor using natural ya Chins Bs Jow pressure heavy water as moderator and high pressure heavy Water i there are five nuclear power plants operating in India, Soa “se an preset ion capacities are given below in table 31. ‘The third nuclear power plant was installed at Kalpakkam (Che, .d gel has wo fast breeder reactors each of 235 MWe capacity and wi, nt >My_ genam®® *™ a ‘uranium as fuel. The fast breeder reactor with a design capacity onan i? coal cane <= Ny ‘eneration fear 0} Speci Capacity | Commissioning | Type Plant yeeorrener (ue) i 2% 210 1969 BWR type thermal and 13 MW electrical tained is first eritcality on 18 Ogg With the commissioning of FBR, we have entered in the second qo! nuclear energy programme. ag | Fourth nuclear power plant of India established at Naror. | unis of 735 MWe each and provision has been made 1 expand ve ra eae S00MWe works on CANDU-PHWR system and uses natural uranium 24? The Kakarpara nuclear power plant in Gujarat is the fifth nucteurn | | est) plant of India, which has four reactors of 235 MWe each, out orenat 1973, 1981 CANDU type 1983, 1985 FBR type 1990, 1991 CANDU type 1992, 1993 CANDU and already have been commissioned. ; India also recognized the need of reprocessing the irradiated fuel to olarpara (Guana meee s FBR ‘out the radioactive fission products and to recover plutonium and ea as | traium, aso established 230 tomelannum capacity reprocessing pias Explain the following giving reasons ~ Cost of operation Of a ] ‘Trombay and a 100 tonne/annum capacity plant at Tarapur. i oi wer plant is less than that of a thermal power plant. sce PO (R.GPY., Dec. 2004) Thus, now we can say India has the capacity of total fuel cycle, i fiom exploring and mining of uranium, fabrication of various nuclear xi | _4ye hough te cos of installing a nuclear power plants highest among al a" desien consrution and operation of PHWRs, production of hey | yy gf power plants duc to high cost of nuclear reactors and requirement of Mi eres of adit feo ecover ptm fr us in Pesonnls butte cost of operation of «nuclear power plants much Buanseemnent | eessnyred to thermal power plants. Thisis duetothe fact that energy produced 5c eimparison ofits Potential with Other Program India’s hye! pote | Wlgofuanium is equivalent o ene*zy obtained by buming 4500 tonnes of high ¢stimated at about 75000 MW and so far about 13000 MW (17%) has bea | pesalor2200 tones of ol. Thus, the actual cost of fuel for per MW generaiog Spite Tien pa is unevenly distributed and vec or} rents | emule as compared to a thermal power plant. Further, the transportation and Kolofuoeton isa nash te mortem and norheastem regions. Theb | gees of ies also very lov due to low quantities of fuel a ar rear el ifiuterain conditions naga | | Rafe thermal power plats fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas Iso sues due to the vavaries of monsoon. | atdgltingata very rapid rate, thus ther price ae likely tobe increasing. In(Vil-Sem.) ce of power in nuclear plant, j, amounts all over the world. plants can be installed Near load gy ‘distribution of electrical energy fenerated ty Nee 4 Msionay than that of a thermal power plant, @.7 Disewss the factors considered for the site selectig pans rite ‘advantages of nuclear power plant, (R.¢ “Ans, Site Selection of a Nuclear Power Plant ~ Princip De 2 i Jear power plant are discussed be} "ig | for site selection of a nucl low = The most important factor in siting of population living nearby during operation gl ‘ofan accident, Power and test reactors should be so located that eh density in the surrounding areas, outside the exclusion zone (g ming, ‘of4 km is provided) is small. In case of large reactors, they shout kms away from the cities. bers ii) Cooling Water Supply — A nuclear power plant need, vice the water required forthe same size thermal plants, further aie be highly pure to avoid corrosion of heat exchanger tubes. A nucle tind Pg " Of my 1, ey @ plant isthe safety of at) ; tooMWeapacity requires 100 milion lites of water perhour for cogng My Thus cooling towers of large capacity are essential for these plans, SP (ii) Radioactive Waste Disposal — Nuclear power plans tacivoctive materials which are highly dangerous. The site selected, thus qt’ erable fershottem storage aswell as life time burial ofthese adioae x (is) Transportation Facilities ~ The site selected should be accessible by rail as well as road for transportation of heavy equip. particularly during the erection period mi () Distance From Load Centre — The plant should be loca nearto the load centre a possible, consistent with the safety consider This reduces te transmission losses. 7 (vi) Foundation Conditions — Substrata of the site selected my be strong enough to support the heavy reactors which weighs about [diy tonnes and exert-a bearing pressure of about 50 tonnes per square mete renting ofNusearPover Plant—Besdes generating hue am Sey iar powerplants also have te foloving advan corny i sion for nuclear powerplant is independ (ii) AS less fuel is required, therefa ns st is alsa i) fore fuel tra cost is f ee fuel transportation cost is alsolks BE. ‘mentioned reasons prove that, the cost of) Ma ting, Nuclear Power Station 131 proses of PHWRs can be used as a fuel in FBRs. wv) 2 not create smog, as, et. main unaffected by adverse weather conditions. ‘cost is less as compared to thermal power plants. De erating sm and axomic number is the smallest element of a substance. The atom is Mid non-destructive. Anatom consis of a positively charged an olving around the nucleus in well defined orbits. The rome ro types of prices, viz. protons and neutrons. The oO ely charged while neutrons are electrically neutral. sf ost = The numberof protons (or numberof elerons) in a ot N myn as atomic number. I js represented by Z. For example, Ham's KIOPeogen is 1, helium i 2 and of uranium 92, the element pt bet Ober existing in nature. However a number of heavier a it ade afl suchas plutonium of atomic number 94 we bate Hyer fan element 8 writen a pU and ,He. est ne the following terms — 09 Be mass number (i) Isotopes 6 Jamber ~The total number of protons and neutrons in i) Mass N Ms OF fas rom is known as mass number. It is represented by A. she nucleus \g mass number 238 is written as U8, (i otopes — Elements having same atomic number but different G@ ve called as isotopes. These isotopes are identical in chemical ‘pita marked difference in their nuclear stability. These isotopes stable or unstable. Unstable isotopes are also called as radioactive. For says Shranium exist in 3 isotopes in nature, viz 9g, QU and 9,0. os Mass Unit — As mass of atom, nucleus or an elementary sicleisextremely small, itis difficult to express itin conventional units. Therefore, prt uncalled as atomic mass unit (2...) has been devised for expressing sthemasses of atomic particles. One a.m.u. is taken equal to 1/16 times the weight foxygen approximately equal to mass of one neutron or one proton. 1 a.m.u. = 1.66 x 1077 kg = 931.3 MeV ye ao! ‘Anatom (iii) Atomic mass unit. 3s number ar, soetis ut exhil (ii) Atomic 0.10. Define atom and explain its structure with examples. Ans. For definition of atom, refer Q.8. The number of protons in an atom is equal to the number ‘of efecuas toving in orbits. Each proton carries a positive charge of 1.602 « 10"ele mass of the atom is concentrated prong i nofelectron in this neutral atom makes i ee realgible as compared to that of; jectron makes it positiv. *S it hepa : ofel of | Siargiié-an a eee 47 Kinetic enerey of moving body. vr aiferent elements have different number ora a, pg ce in mas; Ek different elements differ from each other. The eh "0 Am w= ims best explained bythe Danish i a oe arama’ hypothesis of quanta energy. Atomic Ck 3 ie ee it init ve ed ‘are shown in fig. 3.1. “= pen abo’ es ee = Mass equivalence of energy. a vation is found to be useful in following two ways — necessary condition for a nuclear reaction to take place. to calculate exactly the energy released in a muclear reaction. w nin fp you understand by the term radioactivity ? 7 ‘ydrogen Helm jue gl what do (R.GPV., June 2016) « of highest atomic weight such as thorium, radium and sists OF unstable isotopes. These elements disintegrate and emit . anit 2 gic radiations. This process of disintegration of an unstable material ee Fadioactive decay radioactivity, This disintegration process Ma stable nucleus is produced. Radioactivity may be natural or Orbital <0 ae whe insti Proten a sives =3x10-8 y fe =3 10-8 em Gi) Hallows isa coi js usually measured in Curie, a unit defined in terms of the um which is 3.7 * 10! disintegrations per second. This unit .s National Bureaus of Standards recommends another which is defined as 10° disintegrations per second. atificia! Radioactivity gor deny Orr ff sconsiderably large, "0 Carbon ,c!? saan Rutherford Fig. 3.1 Structi a O11 Write sho Seen of fhe Am 1a, Sate law of radioactive decay. Also give relation for rate of a short note on Einstein energy mass relationship. jgactive decay. In 1905, Einsteit st 2 5, Binstein suggested that mass and enerey of a boa) Ans, The rate of radioactive decay i Lithium ,Li7 s not an instantaneous process. It eo this theory mass of a moving body varia illows a certain law with respect to time during which radioactive material 1 tito be stable. The time required by a radioactive isotope to be stable is Pe / Fe ymas decay period. The rate of radioactive decay at any instants always FF Mo|1- {| ieely proportional to the number of nuclei, that have not yet disintegrated at I- ( :) intinstant-This is known as the law of radioactive decay. Where m) Mass of body when BY IfN is the number of untransformed nuclei at time t and N = aN 18 the Y= Velocity of moving body tunber of unttansformed nuclei at time t * at, then according to the law 08 €= Velocity of light = 2 oo Bea, radioactive decay, : sec. dN x Ndt a, L aNuclear Power Station 135 are emitted during radioactive decay ? How their vs, ae rant of proportionality, known as decay «, ane process OF radioactive decay, a-particles, B-particles, y- uation (i) indicates that N decrease LY vn purine "are emitted. ‘ ine f S With 4 irons ae, from an isotope reduces the ea be writen 8 ine cision fr mass number by 4 oF sg oF By aa. 6 ae aN nat Bi far ChOTES sctrons of negative charge and negligible mass travellin N iii icles. particles result due to the disintegration of s : 7 Ort. B-particles result ion of a neutron gil ob les get 3 4 oe fmol is emited, the nucleus has guned aunt of tsa i yn vit . , , N= Ce oe CDE re vey ih an bight pecaing nd ve sir constant of integration. G8 or B-particle is emitted from nucleus, the smaller nucleus Jet number of nuclei = Np, then oF ate and it emits the excess energy in the form of gamma rays. fe next eutron is emitted, the element converts into isotope of that element. ai aah ~ 5 bila write short note on — Radioactivity hazards. (R.GP.V., June 2008) © sis stb required relation forrate of radioactive decay pdt HT. esuledfomnucler power plans contin radioactive nucle: patfiferelted to radioactive decay. (R.GPY, das: tive substances omit radiation either in the form of high enery pis on Bat ecied for bl ofthe rdinage ea Debs, Sota or neutron particles) or electromagnetic waves of ve riginally present to undergo disintegration. Thus, if N, be ‘heat ae (gamma rays) These radiations can penetrate the body tissu originally criinally, then time in which Ny/2 atoms get adi . ae 0 they leave electrically charged particles in their paths. The eerie Beatie by Big, lit OME damage the body tissues in three ways viz., ionization rs on (i), we have a Ment of axoms and absorption of neutrons by nuclei of tissue. ee st i onzation The formation of ion-pairn issue requis 325e\ ae Ney” or/e™ = a When a single | MeV B-particle is stopped by tissue about 3100 log.(2) er re formed. If | cm* area of tissue surface is subjected to a beam of or 2 og(2) or T= BO) ini Of 1000 parcleslem?sec, about 31 « 10°in-pis are fomed 3 4 7 sults in complete damage of tissues in the bod: i i second, This ionization resu 2 ly GIS Define average life related to radioactive decay. ase tor bird, 0, [and y-radiations all can jonse tissues into which Ans. Average life isthe average of total time for which radioactive ee ‘has disintegrated for severabhalf lives. This i id x - . i i | ays santo ofa by dividing esa S99 Gy Displacement — If the energy of the impinging particle is 1 ical, yythe number of initial radioactive sta) Sen high it can displace an atom in the tissue from its normal lattice oes ddverse effects. Neutron and y-radiation can result Average or mean life position, which has various a inatomic displacement. (ii) Absorption — Absorption of neutron by a tissue nucleus results in fuming of a radioactive nucleus, which changes the chemical nature of the tuoleus, This severe alteration of the tissue causes malfunctioning of the cell andcell damage may have severe biological effects including genetic modifications. Radioactivity hazards can be of two types viz., somatic and genetic. Somatic effects may be acute or chronic. The acute radiation damage causes sudden death or death after some weeks, loss of hairs, widespread ulcers, ,136 Power Plant Engineering (VII-Sem, ) bleeding from the mouth and gums, etc, leukamia, anaemia, cancers of skin and life span and mutations, etc. Chronic I Adiation other Organs, Cataagg NUMERICAL PROBLEMs Prob.I. A sample of uranium has 2,3 x 104 of U5 is 6.7 x 108 year, calculate decay Constant, initigy Activity aig of U5 atoms remaining after 9.6 x 198 years, Sol. Given, Number of atoms = 2.3 x 1()24 t= 9.6 x 108 years, atoms of [35 » Half life, T= 6.7% i 0.6931 0.6931 Decay SOUStANG = ee ui eae Basen. 6.72498 = 1.0345 x 19-9 disintegration/year 1.0345 x 19-9 =a a 365 x 24 x 3600 = 3.2804 x 19-17 disintegration/s &m of U235, N. = Avogadro’s Constant is Number of atoms per 235 6.023 x 1923 sl >= = x 235 oa Initial Activity, A = AN, ~ 3.2804 x 19-17 , 2.563 x 10?! = 8.4076 x 104 Now Damar no. i‘Nuclear Power Station 139 F the figure binding energy increases with increase in es the peak value 8.7 MeV for elements adjacent to Fe p Sat After this binding energy starts to decrease with er number and reaches to a value of 7.6 MeV of U238, The mass Mat at the centre of the periodic table. This means when oy eee ed together or heavier elements split, release of energy mens is forms the fundamental of nuclear power generation. pF orgy is released in following two ways ~ ‘ econ light nuclei like H, and He. This process is known i By hor ON veaking up heavy nuclei such as Th, U into nucleus of ny | i) Fis number. This process is known as nuclear fission. st 10 lear fission is mostly used in nuclear power plants, This reneray developes Kinetic energy of molecules and produces sends heat. This heat can be used for steam generation (asin ee BP an) which in tur drives a steam turbine to generate electricity. 1 eer joactive decay and binding energy. (R.GPV., May 2019) a efer Q.12 and Q.18. es write short note on ~ Fission and fusion reactions, acento ‘equivalent ofthe mass defect is termed as bays uu ofrmass defect equal to 931 MeV of binding energy Mi hem g energy is released when protons and neutrons of o (R.GBV., May 2018) ether. Thus, if weave to break an atom to its const Or c words — Fission and fusion. (R.GPV., June 2013) is a measure of nucleus stability, * een |e short mote on as, Nuclear Fission — Nuclear fission is a neutron induced nuclear etionin which a heavy nucleus such as uranium divides into two intermediate rnc This fission of the nucleus produces two or rarely three fragments sng at high speeds, two or three neutrons and considerable amount of svg) Atypical nuclear fission reaction is, p¥?5+ on! Bal! + ,.Kr°? +3 yn! + Energy Theprobability of fission reaction for a particular nucleus depends on the ‘eegy of incidenting neutrons. Nuclei with odd number of neutrons, U3, (med U®, undergo fission with slow neutrons, while nuclei with even ‘ater of neutrons such as Th?>? requires fast moving electrons. Naclear Fusion — Nuclear fusion is the process of combining two lighter Bkli a heavier nucleus. Mass of the nucleus formed in this process is Sst ota mass of original nuclei. Ths loss of mass get converted into eB) Nuclear fusion of 4 hydrogen atoms generates about 26.7 MeV of re Process is a thermo nuclear process like one which takes place in igen bomb, 4yH! + Hes + 2,69 + 26.7 MeV 32 shows the variation of binding energy with mass umberpete? —— 1. Give advantages of nuclear fusi, oni Bee Nicisr fusion has following advange ey (i) Fusion reactions are 45 times more ¢ ver (ii) Fuel required, ie. deuterium is available; “en, * ut oF 6500 atoms of hydrogen in sea wanes ing (ii) It offers a low cost and pollution Peba ‘ rocess emits various i It does not emit any kind of| substance, like radioactive radiation. The end Product is helium which is ‘This P hi pails radioactive a, Pr 7 harmless, " en ays Ea 0.22. Why fusion reactions are not useq forme “tey, | Lane short note on Nae fit Bons . ‘ We 7 ae, , June 2009, 2012 Ans, The fsion reaction can generate an eng Py 0 ical slzation ofmilearenenyaseltsutaning cate oe, buttheyare sill notused for power generation because ofthe gps FOr Pred. Although fission of an atom produces 2.5 neutrons, but (@_For fusion to take place, the reacting 5, ayy fd MY vartin non-fission chain reaction, some gets escaped through Jarge kinetic energy to overcome the Coulomb renee tt of tem 12 FF them absorbed by the reactor walls, Th together. The average kinetic enereyrequireg yc ge 0 STF must be sufficient to maintain the nian rite Boe oF 100 ction de s. Due ta te tee ba Pepa Cocapc, absorption and ton taiceh eat reactions). Thus, tobe ofthe order of 100 milion degrees. Du tothe requ MR) le ase (e580 crn snd nen io in ; temperature, these reactions are called thermonuclear pea Map Ay op0 at condition to main inthe chain reset tha te son ule necessary fr fision reactions to takes place exist ny a7 MSustly pens at least one seconde neon cause Fison of ter me elf-sustai (ii) Athigh temperatures, the atoms are strippeq Sina eg onder t0 achieve ae ier a ae a pe the size of the cad and the unbound nuclei and electron exist as plasma, Thig Of thei iter than a crit system containing i be mum size for which the number of neutrons produced be at very high temperature, must be confined long enough Piet Me el is Cee a talaiee those lost by leakage and non-fission capture. If No physical container can contain the plasma Pr "1 foe SP the critical siz, a chain edi BSG 0.23. Compare nuclear fission and fusion reaction, condition can be expressed in terms of multiplication factor or a is defined as (Ri factor W! is Or eee age ny one generation Differentiate between nuclear fission and fusion Processey k= ~ "Number of neutrons of immediately (RGpy, is preceding generation i do Ans. A comparison of nuclear fission and fusion is gives ye equired to maintain the chain reaction, therefore, increase Delo. ice one neutron is requires : WHER FIST [Nuclear Fpgprme «cites of neutrons in one generation will be (k1). Ifat the start of reaction, see a eee catrons, then the increase in the numberof matrns the preseig ere : : In this process, a heavy nucleus] In this process, mages tion will be n(k ~ 1). It is the average time between successive neutron » 10 oy neat Cre te ee ay | BD nuclei ise fpr E27eion the rae of increase of neutron per generation iin breaks into two or more light J heavy nucleus andes &™ dn _ nk=1) | do ee nuclei and liberates a huge huge = or Sat ge amount of enery Ce . pn amount of energy. egral of both sides, we get Energy released is about 200 | Energy releasedisaboutgny Tiking integral of both side i (23h Neutrons are emitted. Protons are emitted, It gives rise to chain reaction. It does not give rise wee togn=(*—}t+ 10g, € @ reaction, \ Ittakes place spontaneously at | It takes place at vel Cis a constant of integration. ordinary temperature. temperatures about 10% n=No It can be performed under It cannot be performed log. No = 0+ log. controlled conditions. controlled conditions. or C= ngSe pan Engnerg (virSEM” ) o tion (i), aint k-1 a —|=|—It o ky or w(z) ul — i <1, the system is known as subcritical (stop, > 1, the system is known as super-critical (ato 8 the, Lats the sytem is known #s critical and this is the deg ‘When nuclear reactors. ‘a nuclear power plant ? “dns. in nuclear fission of a unstable heavy nucle eairon, two or three neutrons are produced. If one or mo are used to fission other nuclei further neutrons will prog = ic repeated. The reaction thus become self propagating ‘hain reaction. this chain reaction is allowed to multiply tatire energy is released all at once as violent explosion, called uncontrolled chain reaction (fig. 3.3). nuclear bomb. Neutron N—Neutron FP Fission Products FP Fi ‘ig. 3,3 Uncontrotied Chain Reaction ea log. n= (E) t+ log. ng mb) * 425. Whatare the methods employed to contol ey, the chai in Such a Teaction. takes fay “i \ pie) For main ary Nh pod, AO Nuclear Power Station 143 , where energy is to be produced at a constant rate, ar fear Te controled. For that purpose, a control system 492i 1 NEEL Yin nuclear reactors. The control system works 90 0d 8 PT hsorbing the excess neutrons with the help of principle ©" ‘oron steel or cadmium strips. Control rods can a ore ether by manually or automatically. By pushing ato in aD ot central core, any amount of excess neutrons can be eo ert sein reactor serves the following purposes — irl S tor, ie. bring up the reactor to its normal tO For starting the reactor ig UP vel. taining that level. : shutting down the reactor under normal or emergency conditions. B when high neutron flux density is required, control rods u sat thereby allowing multiplication factor (k) to exceed it puring se illed OU Pe tor reaches the optimum level, control rods are pushed to lg) Spon Oe Cc tha the Kis maintained equal to unity, For shutting tg Fern the control rods are inserted to a considerable depth so that sect joan a= than unity and the chain reaction ceases to continue. com : 2 e, ides using contro} rods, feactor control can also be achieved by j lowing methods — ) ras (i) _In heterogeneous reactor, control is achieved by adjusting the (the moderator. When the levels lowered, the moderator volume iid ine number of fast neutrons is inereased which can leak from 5 reducing the rate of chain reaction, On the other hand, inreasing a gear eve will increase the numberof slow moving neutrons required tomaintain the chain reaction {i In some cases, control ean also be achieved by removing the reflectors, so that the leakage of neutrons become high. 0.26. What do you mean by fertile and fissionable materials ? (R.GPY., Dec. 2016) foll Or Write short note on — Fertile and fissionable materials. (R.GPV, Dec. 2008, June 2009, 2012) Ans, Fissionable Materials — The materials which can undergo fission by ‘eutron bombardement are known as fissionable materials. At present there are thee basic fissionable materials, which are U2, U5 and Pu2. Out ofthese only “featur occurring material, which contains aboutO:7% of pure uranium 1) Used in nuclear power plants. Other two fissionable materials, i.e. U2 . = Produced by reactions of neutrons on Th2? and U8 respectively. mee Materials —U2'S and Th, which can be converted into fissionable *are called fertile materials, Fertile materials, when hit upon by neutrons144 Power Plant Engineering (vil-Sem.) get converted into fissionable materials. The process of converting fot, into fissile material is called breeding. By this a fertile are long lived and can be stored without any © converted a i i 232 ig given below — material. Conversion of Th*”* is gt , goTh?3? + gn! > go Th233 + y (half life of oo Th? ig 23.3 0 The} > , Pa? + B- (half life of » Pa? is 27.4 5 a2? —> 9 U233 + B- (half life of .,U? is 1.6 x 10° ea ? Tah hs 0.27. Discuss thermal neutron fission. (R.GPY, Noy my Or Illustrate thermal neutron fission. (R.GBV., Dec, 1 Ans. Neutrons produced by the fission process are ejected from i nucleus at a very high speed (about 1.5 x 107 m/s) and have a very ig kinetic energy (about 2 MeV) are known as fast neutrons. 4 Natural uranium, which is used in nuclear reactors contains 99.3% [a and 0.7% U*. The fast moving neutrons bombarded in a nuclear Teactorap absorbed mostly by U”* before they can reach U235 nucleus and cause firth: fission. Thus, a chain reaction cannot be sustained. Therefore, in order) j r sustain a chain reaction in a nuclear reactor, it is desirable to slow down the iia fast neutrons to the speed of molecules in a gas (2.2 x 10? m/s) at nomi ; temperature and pressure. Such neutrons havin ig energy level of 0.025 Mel i are called slow or thermal neutrons. The absorption properties of Ug a very much reduced with slow neutrons, and the chain reaction can} sustained. The reactor using thermal or slow neutrons is called thermal reat! and the fission process is called as thermal neutron fission. NUMERICAL PROBLEMS Prob.4, gue’ a if. ~ aig ee defect and binding energy per nuclei! ‘ amu and atomic inass Wiatees = 1.008665 amu, m,= at ~ 45.9949] amu. (R.GPYV, May? f ox: g a A; s, ¥BEN‘has 8 Protons, 8 neutrons and 8 electt™ = (8x m aad =" 1479: ... D+ (8 x TOGR66 ons. nk ofl! Sol. A molecule 6 therefore mags defect j Assions required to obtain 1 yy, I * Of eng yo 0.28. Give desirable properties of a nuclear ‘reactors. Ans, Anuclear fuel to be used in nuclear reactors sho Properties — () It should have high tensile strength ‘Prevent buckling of fuel bars due to thermal stresses, i) It should have high thermal conductivity due to follorigy Fuel used in ld have hei reasons — a (@) To withstand large amount of energy produced duebin , aad high (6) Low temperature gradient between fuel element ae iil) Ttshould have better machinability and higher ductility. om The el used should have high radiation stability tort Be When exposed to coolant, ‘maeriags 9 important nuclear fuels. What are fissionable ale Ans, Some commonly used nuclear fuels are — at high temp, of (RGPY, Deed Uri ‘Nuclear Power Station 147 ral uranium containing 0.7% of US Sars. 304x101 83 Igty gy Nat oxide and uranium carbide of US nuclei burmed in a reactor gp . (i) Peryed uranium with more than 0.7% of U5 Ss U4 (i) PO or Pu! 0° Wx 33% 10! fis. By w) Pa, 0.85 fos WW. » y) 7 ne necessary fission requirements and its availability eae Onabsomg conser he fuels used in reactor are U5, Pu23? or Th?32, ically, Mass of U5 consumed per day to produce 1 yyy, K eal and Fertile Materials ~ Refer Q.26, tl > ir = 335x1 Mel o3s ane “1 piscuss important nuclear fuel in details, (R.GPV., June 2017) 6023x103 > 131 aVday \ port note on - Important nuclear fuels. (R-GBY, Nov. 2019) Fuel consumption of U* per day to produce 3999 writes oi 1.31 x 3000 Mw _ anort note on — Nuclear fuel. (R.GPY., June 2014) Be seoiemltay’< 493 rte em ommonly used nuclear fuels are natural uranium, uranium 79 Kelday ins. carbide. The properties of these fuels are discussed below — uranium 4 dead i), Natural Uranium —Natural uranium contains 0.7% of U5, It y stable at room temperature, but oxidizes rapidly at low ical is chemical’) els at 1129°C and get corroded in the presence of water. Its res. Oa eat is 0.037 kcal/kg"C. 60°C, uranium exists in a-phase and have a mechanical strength 6 Upto ?, But above 660°C it transforms into B-phase and becomes soft of 28 kgfem oh ling of the metal which clog th sod file. This phase change causes swelling of the metal which clog the foolant flow passages ce ‘melting point ie. 1129°C. and subsequent burn out of some part of the fuel takes ‘Thus maximum operating temperature of natural uranium is 660°C instead (i) Uranium Oxide ~ Uranium oxide (UO,) is a brittle ceramic praluced as a powder and then sintered to form fuel pallets. Its specific heat {0,078 keal/kg?C. ‘Uranium oxide has following advantages over natural uranium — (a)As it is already oxidised, itis more stable than natural uranium femperature of fuel impart higher thermal stresses in the ekns_ #4 ©2tse less problem of oxidation. (b) It is compatible with most of the coolants and does not get corroded easily. (©) Ithas a higher melting point (2750°C) and does not present _ (W) The fuel element must be corrosion resistant to pref! “*PIOblems of phase change. Thus, itis more preferable in high temperature 8 cooled reactors. (@) Itis free from wrinkling, buckling and swelling. (©)It can generate 8.5 MW/tonne against 3 MW/tonne for natural ium, _—ing (Vil-Sem.) , “Nuclear Power Station 149 ywing limitations when it has low thermal conductivity 1 a sn Method — If a mixture of two gases me 5 the natural uranium (20-45 keal/m-hrogy” mg temperature difference maintained between the walls, heat removal: OT Br Pgs termeataiongihe Ty The proportion of US is even less yg ata than at cold wall. This sep ts thus enrichment is essential, toad. is nn as thermal diffusion is | OY reduce gn Ket of UP onsists two (6) Being more brittle, it can crack Under th, ipeing fig. 3.4 is (@ It may disintegrate into powder, which can Carbide Uranium carbide is bag sp i i and ® hhe outer pipe. The Gi) Tt has high melti i of pallets. igh melting point, high dengj all and comes ee er Uranium carbide is free from the problem of yo ea. i e hot ws ~ spestble under iadition and gives high rate ofreacge iy wa 2 ai evall, During this . Ql. ate between fusion and fission react wit ogst ww 108 D3sp,, gets concentrated =. Foriched ; reaction, pI cost Oe Enriched important rncleat fuels used in a nuclear power plant ? R ey fn from where it can be taken (> 7) Ow jos Ditference between Fusion and Fission — R GP dae set OP pment achieved in @ ae 1 Refer Qa ot et very high and number of Fig, 3.4 Single Stage Thermal colt. Zories have to be used to achieve Diffusion _ Naclear Fuels - Refer Q.30. {0.32 What do you mean by fuel enrichment ? Dis SP ? Discus richment. ‘enrichment. raion, i) Centrifugal Method In this method UF, in gas formis enclosed high speed. The heavier molecules U*F, separate | is Netra uranium, which contains only 0.7% US cana centrifuge and rota! =. Be strife feseton in pressurised heavy water reactors or fast breeder rea susie periphery 2 SF, at the ans Oe aa tor. Toa fy) Elect d— It has been observed, when ions of the chaim reaction in reactor itis necessary to increase the per i feed This process of increasing percentage of U in Unc mee masses BONS along a (preperation oc enrichment. The enrichment required iskoomay right fine enters into a magnetic $i depending upon the typeof reactor in which i Tae eam el, sting perpendicular to the SE ed for fucl enrichm 5 to be used. jgection of motion; the path of ions enrichment are discussed below- become semi-circular. The radius of Bg 0 ee Pisin Method — Tis metho is bad fe pth depends upon the mass of “ #5 having two isotopes, the lighter isotope diffuses quidris jans.lons moving along different radii z Hef heavier isotopes. In this method a uranium compound which caies secollected in different collectors as gaseous form under normal tem; a < shown in fig. 3.5. These ions collect The oy perature and pressure conditions si e a Eaown compound which can be used in this method i wae inthe form of coating of uranium ee ‘hoa transforms into vapour at 64.5°C and 1100zaf ‘impound, which can be removed at unsaturated UF, contains U of molest reo process. By using this fmokecalar Weight 32 The thermal velocity of igher mk 10cm be nen than the velocity of y 100% can be obtained. ‘of heavier molecules. This slight if Fig. 3.5 ‘e233. What is moderator in nuclear reactor ? Explain the desirable is sufficient fe a lune of u for partial separation of U™> from! e PU by diffusion through 2 porous membrane. "erties of good moderator. (RGPY., June 2016) Or The earichenent ‘obtained by this method oi carmen of 3.57, | is extremely poor. To ote 500 0 1800 diffusion membranes have be Write short note on ~ Moderators. (RGPV, June 2013) a ‘magnetic Metho! Magnetic Field Regionpant Engineering (VIl-Sem.) [Natural uranium used as a fuel in a much ume ‘and 0.7% of US. The fast moving meatone site become brittle, harder and swells abruptly due to ves at a very high velocity of about Sing poe ductivity also decreases with iradiation, thusmakes qe) Pore Nuclear Power Station 151 jal fission, MOvé i oh chain reaction, 25 they 6 MOI absorbed by jay IO) Wy Moa. cul norderto maintain chan ection. iis necegsyy AN wy punction of moderator in a nuclear plant ? Which fastmoving neurons toa velocity of 2200 m/s ang enerayy Sloy gH 9, Wh erator ? (R.GPY., May 2019) eaters which are commonly used to slow down thes eat a is sis used Tess t i . an reais are called moderators, Re din Moving Rot 3 ‘ne sollowing with reasons ~ In nuclear power plant ‘A moderator a * nuclear reactors, ot eis les effective than water. (R.GRV, Dec. 2005) 4 ul ra y {) Themnderiorshoud be able to slow do ld | ie aracterize & moderator it is best to use so called moderating but it should not absorb them. Ne aedag fT CO ratio of moderating power to the macroscopic neutron = eeotidli - which 15 f moderating ratio indicates that the given If moderator is solid, it should have hj ‘ whic ‘Ahigh value of 1g ei fe) =Ve high meting) esse able for slowing down the neutrons in a reactor. The a i 5 Iting ne (ii) It must be light as slowing down acti 8 Poin ose 5 elastic collision with light materials. "0 Is mon ee | feos? S mayer have @ moderating ratio of 170 and 12000 respectively. (iy) It must be non-corrosive as it works under hj i ie an at graphite moderator is less effective than water TMi rgg185HY5 nal difficulty experienced with graphite is, it become harder, 4) the Er evals abruptly due to irradiation, Its thermal conduetivity also js more suit (9) Itshould not decomposed due to the nuch (vi) It must have high chemical stability, “At Tadiaton, | lea rapidly with irradiation and makes the heat flow problem more (wi) The moderator material must be cheap ang ets weight due to the reaction of CO, under irradiation. The available in abundance. ube ge ghtas highs 8.5% and changes in dimensions as high as 40% are 0.34. Define the terms — Radioactivity, moderators and ping, gue to eaction and itradiation, It loses its oxidation resistance above concept RLGRY, Dec ng yg sree ti ea clad graphite with more resistant material Ans. Radioactivity — Refer Q.12. 1. as operated above 350 Moderators — Refer Q.33. iscuss moderators and coolants of nuclear power plants. (038, Disc PI Binding Energy Concept — Refer Q.18. (R.GRY., Nov. 2019) 0.35, Name some commonly used mode i OF give their specific cee” ‘oderators in nuclear reacony gute the function of moderators and coolants in nuclear power plant. Ans. Commonly used moderator materials a | paint eae Reine re graphite, heavy yey Or inary tSed in reactors which use enrichedusgin Explain the purpose of using a moderator and coolant in a nuclear a and high neutron loss can be tolerated. pdt at, (R.GRY., June 2011) J pa ee) is the most effective moderator, because its] jms Moderator — Refer Q.33. vie ris lest known (4 x 10-8 cm?) and weight of the deutsm| , Seen tis boiling points 101.4°C, therefore it cannot be used Pressure situations. It is very costly too and corosion a 8a good moderator due to its anicia allthese fates tin paresis and high radiation stability. Inept Gy ‘ tiene lot used generally due to its high cost and more ti Bis te ‘og coolants in nuclear Teactors are ordinary water, heavy water, Used a high Moderator does not react with other materials and as es 0, a metal in liquid form (e.g. Na) or an organic liquid. fsb temperatires, Therefore, there is no problem of corrosion! "®t is the most familiar and cheapest coolant. But the maximum 1 lure at which water can remain in liquid form is 374°C at a very high Coolant — The heat generated in the reactor core because of the fission sffiel is taken away by the coolant. The coolant which transfers heat out of teteactor core is circulated either directly or indirectly as the thermodynamic Aetium for conversion of the heat energy to electrical energy. reer jr Plant Engineering (vil-Sem.) sure ‘of 225 atm. The major difficulty associate with effect. corrosive used gases for coolant are nitrogen, iy Comnony an also be used as coolant due to low cost gga om ies high pumping power and has low hea, pes ofa joosen which was used 3S coolant cartier putt ne wich is highly poisonous. Hydrogen embrintey eS ne and can cause explosions. Helium haying "al gy Ss section, chemically inet, high thermat 0° iced heat transfer properties is the best coolant, but it ‘scarce. 00, is the most successfully used gas in reactors te ss He Helium) butavailable readily at low cost, isngy ga Liquid metals used as a coolant has the advanta, ity and low vapour pressure, thus they are mores ‘which operate at elevated temperatures. The sodium (Ng is presently used as a coolant in reactors. As it is chemically s<°®% readin reseace of ai, therefore cooling circuit mus be agg at Nuclear Power Station 153 nave good ductility and high machinablty to reduce the must jcati- ave bigh strength to withstand high temperature and pressure be ave high melting point, so that it does not get melted . Oe sonditions. should be non-tone. 2 ee i A a se cladding materials are magnesium, zirconium, stainless oy hich are discussed below ae jam ~ Magnesium alloys commonly used in gas cooled eed uranium have low neutron absorption cross-section, litle and compatiblity with uranium. They ean be easily extrusion process peed DY ee cina has high thermal expansion, than uranium fuel. It ma ove Tn presence of air at about 350°C, and can catch fire ata i It. i ove its melting poin ; ian — Beryllium is considered as the best and most i) ots 8 ee sioo terial because it has low neutron absorption cross- : : : mal 038 Wrtethe properties of colant materia used in upg? ine point, high strength and good thermal conductivity It is Ans. A coolant should have the following desirable pole on ‘as compared to zirconium. a ess. (@) Coolant must have high chemical and radiation stabi i Itshould not absorb the neutrons. ms (ii) It should be non-oxidising and non-toxic, (iy) Coolant should be non-corrosive. (8) Itshould have high boiling point for liquid and ei quid and low meting (vi) A good coolant should have high density, low yi ee - . , low viseasi ‘conductivity and high specific heat for better heat transfer. a" 0.40. Describe cladding in nuclear reactors. Describe the ropeie ‘three cladding materials. (R.GRY., Dec. 2004, Nov/Dec.) Ans The nuclear fuel which remains in contact with the coolant cay corroded. Thus, a thin layer of cladding material is provided on fuel ni Provide corrosion resistance, retention of radioactivity and in some cx Stuctural support. A cladding material should have the following props oe =D The thermal absorption, cross-sectional area should beassa (i) It must have hi ee: igh thermal conductivity for quicker be Aisipation and low thermal stresses, (Gi) Temust have high corrosion resistance at high tempat Mum has low ductility, toxicity, difficult to fabricate and costly Ba rvmagnesium and stainless steel. It can get corroded easily in Fe ine at 600°C. It is mainly used for AGR fuel. ce of moistul , . (iii) Zirconium — Zirconium is the best cladding. material due to its ysical and nuclear properties, but it is rarely used due to its high cost. eb ‘thermal neutron absorption cross-section, high melting point, good conductivity and high resistance to corrosion even at high pressure temperature. Itis generally used in PWR and BWR reactors, dL. What are desirable properties of a shielding material ? (R.GRY, June 2016) ins Inorderto protect the walls of the reactor vessel from radiation damage, av ako to protect operating personnel from exposure to radiation, shielding is ‘mired. Shield can be of two types — thermal shield and biological shield. The thermal shield or also known as internal shield is need to absorb almost Wh ofthe total radiation, which results in considerable liberation of heat. Thus, fis shield is invariably made from steel or iron of thickness 5 to 10 cm. The biological shield or also known as external shield need to — (i) Slow down the fast moving neutrons leaving the core of the reactor, (ii) Capture the slowed down neutrons, (ii) Absorb all gamma and similar radiation produced._ nucle? il 154 Power Plant Engineering (VI-Sem) ik For that purpose, a combination of heayy ae 7 oxide or barytes in combination with | ht ete lk a BREE rexel in concn is uget™eny, woe, connor is iron concrete, which consi S Most ely, “ty iioos ‘combination is iron > ists iron Mixed Sng base ly 0.42. eee fccos a Explain, Ran an Ry, Discuss the functions of moderaior and recto ae Ans, Moderators — Refer Q.33 and Q.35 PM, ~ Reflectors — Neutrons released due to ‘moderator, coolant and structural material. Some ‘and may estape from the core. In order to reduc ssion absoy Reutrons te ee ty © the consump Ua M sachet satis nezesary to conserve these neutrons a 0 ty ee eat Es inner surface of the reactor is coated with a Material, which - Post power Plant ‘escaping neutrons from the core. This material is called the ret bat Fig. 3:6 Nuclear Po’ with diagram i Araeial sed forreflectorshould have love absoryign ne ments of clear react (RGPY, Dec. 20 forneutrons, high resistance to oxidation stability Materialsused pay 44, Explain the compe ; : atsoused aseflesior because they have good reflecting characeney 0. é basset of soniony wed efector materials re H.0, DO ncaa raed ofa singleshach eplin and ISAS TH = Jerator, contro! BREEDER REACTOR, p ‘a nuclear reactor. Jear reactor are fuel, moderat aa, SAFETY AND RELIABILITY FepGEOF| anc Tie ain prs of «nile ‘iological shield. All these compone ods, coolant, reflector and ‘radiation or i tre enclosed in a pressure vessel as shown in fig. 3. 0.43. Draw showing important elemenis Of & mul power of each element. (RGEY, June Ars: A niclear power plant converts the nuclear energy of raat matenal ino electrical energy. A nuclear power plant as shown in fg i consists of a nuclear reactor, ‘condenser and various pumps. In nuclear power plant instead of a furnace, there is Which heat is generated by fissioning or spitting of urani ‘exchanger in nuclear power plants corresponds to the boi Plants The eat liberated in the reactor due to nuclear fission othe rad fuel istaken up by the coolant Circulating through the reactor core. Hotconl the reactor at top and then flows through the heat exchanget. Hi oolant gives its heat to the secondary fluid in the heat exchanger (genet ‘ater). The water gets evaporated due to heating in heat exchanger and be ae Which in tum is used in a steam turbine to drive oa ; letrcity: The steam after doing the work in turbine ges coil Fig. 3.7 Me ain Components of 4 N; A in the condenser. The condensate pump sends the condensate back ote ; of 4 Nuclear Reactor 3 Re ~The nuclear fuel ) . re Worn Pe e ‘Se are Senerally useq a react Natural Uranium which Cont: J \ Control Rods heat exchanger, steam turbine, aenay Coolant Out Pressure Vessel a nuclear reactor um atoms, Thea erin thermal poe] Moderator Reflector Fuel Biological Shield Coolant Ins used, in commercial reactors fuel ig enri fil for fast breeder reactor consing jst, e made inthe form of plates or rods and plage 6 OC Ua 2, ‘ae ooated wth a thin cladding material igh“ he ‘ to prentcoroson mei ter radon a Ww ‘Moderator — Fission neutrons produced from, ‘ ‘al high speed, such high speed neutrons are unabl ain a they ae absorbed by U* instead of U25_ Ty. % caye "faherfisson thse neutrons have to slow down, this ge’ Ol ot igh eloy neon escaping fom fil rods cotige Reba ~ gets slow down. Moderators commonly used in nuclear Teagy tn, wate, graphite or beryllium. The moderators are disperseq yt ae i rods inthe core. ea Gi) Control Rods — Contol rods are made of ey aut fo conto the numberof neutron available to mint jn. Te material commonly used for control rods havc ra ee such as boron, cadmium, hafnium, silver ang india (Gv) Reflector Reflector is used to improve neutron ¢, ing neutron Teakage. Neutrons escaping from the pe (hich surounds the core), where they collide with net and retumed back to core. good reflector material shoul and high reflection for neutron, high resistance to gxigen irradiation. 7 4 () Coolant — The heat generated in the core by | __emoved by circulation of coolant through the coe. The heat caristh ‘covlant is used inthe heat exchanger for further tilization int aq | _Bacraton. Coolants mainly used in nuclear reactors are water, hey ‘#85 (He, CO,), a metal in liquid form (Na) or an organic liquid, (i) Radiation Shielding or Biological Shielding ~The sii _Bivesprotection from the deadly a, f and y particle radiations. A good shy system absorbs radiations before they are emitted to the atmosphere, Nei ‘rays and all other radiations are absorbed by the concrete and steel. Ik eld is cooled by the circulation of water, which gets ia absorption of energies. The thermal shield prevents the reactor vessel becoming heated, r bin y fission offi) “ees, i Reactor Vessel — Reactor vesse! encloses the reacore ‘Teflectorand shield, it also provides the entrance and exit passages fori ‘the flow of coolant: Control rods insert to the top hole in vessel. Thee "i “Eoteis placed at the botiom of the vessel, The reactor vessel hs 0 Wi high pressures, - Nuclear Power Station 157 juclear (R.GRY, June 2013) we? reactors can be classified in several ways, as given below ~ 08: SE 4d ‘Basis of Neutron Energy — On this basis nuclear reactors 2 as fast reactors of thermal reactors, cis ne Bass of Fuel-Moderator Assembly ~ p (gy Homogene0s reactors (b) Heterogeneous reactors. yom the Basis of Fuel Used ~ () Reactors using natural uranium (b) Reactors using enriched uranium. ‘on the Basis of Moderator Used — 4 (a) Ordinary water moderated () Heavy water moderated (6) Graphite moderated (@ Beryllium moderated. (9) On the Basis of Coolant Used ~ (a) Water cooled (ordinary or heavy) (b) Gas cooled (c) Liquid metal cooled (@) Organic liquid cooled. (vi On the Basis of Application — (@) Research, teaching and material testing reactors. (b) Reactor used to produce fissionable material from fertile mierials, For example, plutonium production reactors. (c) Power reactors (1) Stationary reactors (2) Mobile reactors. Pega rt ote Ot aoe ra (046, State the classification of nuclear power plants. (R.GRY, Dec. 2015) Ans, Nuclear power plants can be classified on the basis of nuclear reactor ised, Which are classified in Q.45, 47. Write short note on — Pressurised water reactor (PWR). (R.GRY,, Dec. 2008, June 2009, 2012) ae A The pressurised water reactor (PWR) is thermal reactor, which jemfiched fuel, cladded with zirconium alloy or stainless steel. It uses 1 heavy water as the combined coolant cum moderator. Pressure sSmade of steel and surrounded by a concrete shield. Fig. 3.8 shows a ed Water reactor, aie rant Engineering (VIl-Sem.) Cireulating Pomp Pump Fig. 3.8 Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) Nuclear Power Plan A PWR power plan, is composed of two loops in series, the cach lop cet rina lop andthe wate steam or working aga the secondary loop, Wate is circulated by means ofa circulating up ro the core at high pressure (about 155 bar) to prevent its boiling in tens, (Cooling water absorbs heat from the uranium and transfers itt the sn loop, heat exchanger or boiler In reactor vessel water enters just aie ore and flows down through the annular regions between the core bart ‘Pressure vessel wall. At the bottom of the core water reverse the direction a flows upward through the core to remove the heat generated by fision Ti high pressure, high temperature water from the reactor vessel used to genenit Steam in boiler. After this the high pressure water is pumped back Teactor vessel. ‘Thecoolant in the primary loop is maintained at a constant pressure (eh 155 bar) by means of'a pressuriser connected between the reactor vei boiler. Pressuriser isa large cylindrical tank containing 60% by vole liquid water and 40% of steam, The electric heating coil in the pressuit boils the water to form steam and thus pressurises the entire coolant citt before starting reactor, fa etltods are made of boron, which forms boric acid when dist in reactor water, |v Nuclear Power Station 159 ages and limitations of a pressurised water reactor advan! _ A pressurised water reactor (PWR) has following foe advantages ae ie WR is compact and has higher power density. oF water used as coolant, moderator and reflector is cheap ‘The CO enty. le Bey per unit weight of fuel is large. Therefore the cost e ii) ces: e a eo ‘- Gull number of control rods are used ( ‘The separation of secondary circuit from primary provides the 7) feck the turbine cycle for low heat rate supply. ill an also provides freedom to inspect and maintain the turbine, E and condensers: rr ons — The limitations of a PWR are as follows ie ih primary circuit pressure requires strong pressure vessel, iateases the cOSt. (i) Fuel enrichment is expensive. (a Piel suffers radiation damage, hence is reprocessingis difficult {i Iris necessary to completely shut down the reactor before the ey Thermodynamic efficiency is low about 20% (i) High pressure and high temperature water at rapid flow rate ress coosion and erosion problems. 09. Explain in detail the working of a CANDU type nuclear reactor. Ans, CANDU stands for Canadian Deuterium Uranium. It is a thermal saikarpower reactor in which heavy water (99.8% deuterium oxide) is used imidertor and coolant as well as the neutron reflector. The very low ston capture cross-section of heavy water permits the use of natural uranium, MU) as fuel. This type of reactor was first developed in Canada. The Hamlicarangement of a CANDU type reactor is shown in fig. 3.9. The reactor vessel is a steel cylinder with Gulndria, The moderator is cont: ‘90380 horizontal pressure tub Hbictbe sheets at each end of fil eements and the Pressurise Mposite direction: fission, Thigh pressure We caters th horizontal axis, called ained in that vessel. The calandria contains es, called calandria tubes, which are welded the vessel. These pressure tubes contain the cd coolant flows around the futel elements in s in adjacent channels to remove the heat generated by and high temperature coolant after leaving the reactor steam generator. About 5% of fission heat generated by fast_— 160 Power Plant Engineering (vil-Sem.) ‘on to the moderator, which th met ough a separate heat exchanger, M28 bey Heat Exchanger for Moderator Cooling Fig. 3.9 CANDU Reactor The fuel in CANDU reactor is normal uranium oxide in th cylinder pellets. The fuel pellets are packed in a corrosion resistance zir _ lati sl Oni alloy tbe, to form a fuel rod. These relatively short rods are cont bundles of37r0dsand 12 such bundles are placed endso-end inca tube. 3 To contol the neutron fission rte and to shut down the reaciora mg of cadmium rods are used. The reactor vessel and the steam generar sya are enclosed in a concrete containment structure, to protect from any rang leakage. 0.50. Discuss calandria of CANDU reactor. Ans. Refer Q.49. 0.51. Give advantages and limitations of a CANDU type nuclear ren: Ans. Advantages and limitations ofa CANDU type reactor are given Advantages ~ (i) In this type of reactor, the control of reaction is easier diet absence of control rods (ii) This type of reactor has higher multiplication factor andr fuel consumption. There is no need of enriched uranium as fuel. (iv) The reactor vessel sustains a low pressure, thu ‘special material to make the vessel. form of, (RGPY, Dec. 2 is no new ‘Nuclear Power Station 161 ator can be kept at low temperature which increases moder (9 ee sjowing down neutrons, yet quired for site construction is less. ey Time ae) tO {pu reactor Fequites high standards for design, 6) pectin and maintenance we moderator (heavy water) cost is high. iy The density is low, hence the size of reactor is large. ower Gi) P kage is a major problem as there are two mechanically teal (ee pel channel: ee cpoiling water reactor ? How doesit differ from pressurized shat (RGBY,, June 2016) enctor? Or a water reactor (BWR). rite sho? (R.GPV., Dec. 2008, June 2009, 2012) Or sis reactor with neat sketch. State its imitations. plain bling Water (R.GP¥., Dec. 2015) polling water reactors similar toa PWR, using enriched uranium is A as coolant, moderator and reflector. The difference between sie vis is that in a BWR the steam is generated inthe reactor itself Laine steam generator. Fig. 3.10 shows the arrangement of a lof Pre reactor, in nuclear power plant. pout note on — Boiling Turbine Generator Controt Rods Fueland Moderator Reactor Core Shield Feed Pamp Fig. 3.10 Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) Nuclear Power Plant _,462. Power Plant Engineering (Vil-Sem.) Ina BWR, uranium elements are arranged in gy "ides tel pressure vessel contiing water. Won, Pe ‘the heat of fission and get converted into steam, Th, _ the na tis, reactor after passing through the turbine and con, de tenet ‘reactor. Due to elimination of heat transfer circuit bor tum, ‘sy . it between ms ft overall plant efficiency gets increased. stWeen Teak Ny ‘The control elements in a BWR, have a cruciform tng element has four blades containing stainless steg) jpn seu, ‘absorber, boron as boron carbide. filleg "ie yl ‘Advantages — “| (i) The thermal efficiency (30%) pressurised water reactor 20%, (ii) This type of reactor does not re: pump, steam generator and connecting pipes. 'S consideraby high, ry ite pressurise ' 7 inet Gi) In BWR reactor, the water is boiled inside th ‘pressure in reactor vessel is considerably smaller than PWR] Actoy, tl vessel is reduced as it can be light in weight. The og a {iy) The reactor is able to meet fluctuating loag requi it Disadvantages — Teme (i) Steam from the reactor carries radioactive conta turbine requires shielding. mina 4 @ On part load operation, there is a wastage of steam lowering of thermal efficiency. Tesi (i) The fuel consumption is more as water boils on fu (iv) The power density is nearly 50% of PWR. thant fe ‘vessel is considerably large as compared to PWR tie 0.53. Describe an advanced gas cooled nuclear reactor, Ans. As name suggests, a gas cooled reactor is cooled by gas, Te canted by gas is either used for generating steam in the secondary iu PWR orit can be used directly in a gas turbine plant. The first gas cooled reactor was developed in Britain during 19565) uses CO, gas as coolant and graphite as moderator. The fuel used was ita ‘uranium, clad with an alloy of magnesium called Magnox. After some time, England developed an advanced gas cooled ra) {AGR), using UO, as the fuel clad in stainless steel! tubes with CO, ast coolant and graphite as moderator. In this reactor (fig. 3.11) coolant gsi circulated at a pressure of 7 kgf/cm? by means of a gas blower. The # it flowing up through each of the channels round the elements leaves the ett | at the top and flows to heat exchanger. In heat exchanger gas transfers ish to the water and converts it into steam. The gas is recirculated with theb##! blowers. The steam generated drives the turbo-generator to generate eles ti | ‘Nuclear Power Station 163 Charge Floor ‘A ‘Seam Biological Cool Gas Shield Duct Condenser Cool Water Fig. 3.11 Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor Apanages and disadvantages of an advanced gas cooled reactor are renbeow - ‘Advantages — {9 Use of CO, as coolant eliminates the possibility of explosion in : {i) There is no corrosion problem, {i It gives better neutron economy. {iv) Graphite remains stable under irradiation at high temperatures. Disadvantages — (i) Heat transfer coefficient of CO, is low, therefore boilers with azaed surfaces (fins) have to be used to improve heat transfer rates. (i) The loading of fuel is more complex and costly (ii) Coolant circulation requires 10-12% of plant capacity, as fated fo 5% in water cooled reactors. (iy) The vessels and pipings would be considerably larger because Mtelighter density of the coolant. 1, (¥) The leakage of gas is a major problem if helium is used instead _“464 Power Plant Engineering (VIl-Sem.) 0.54, Explain a homogeneous reactor ang Bive disadvantages. ‘Ans. Areacior in which fuel is homogeneously dig ‘and forms an uniform mixture is called homog, neon wet ‘uses heavy water as coolant and moderator. It makes wee Te of bon its aa fsioable materials which circulate withthe clan, ig, Ph eS mabe iseontained inthe central core and slur of eile my Ay oxide and Deuterium oxide forms a blanket over the gi Such A hheated solution of U>* and slurry are pumped to heat exalt “ore, is generated. The pump removes the cooled solution ang nt Wh ba reactor. The steam generated in the boiler expands in turbine ita boiler through condenser and pump, ine ang se Advantages — A homogeneous reactor possess ) advantages = * Me fon, (@_ Higher degree of inherent stability, as mecha F nical are not required. | Gi) Heavy water used as a moderator and coolant neutron economy. us Gi) Problems associated with solid fuels ate ctiminateg the solution, which ean be added or removed continuously, Sli (iv) In these reactors, intense heating of whole req place, thus heat transfer rates are high. Disadvantages — This system also has several disadvantages (i), Presence of large quantities of highly radioactive fission ae circulating through the entire primary system at high pressure ma whole components to become radioactive. ca Large amount of fuel at high vapour pressure is requ (ii) Entire system have to be made absolutly leak tight op any leakage of radioactive products. 0.55. Explain a heterogeneous nuclear reactor system, stating fancy of each component. (R.GPY, Dec, tl Ans, In heterogeneous reactors, fuel rods are generally arranged ins regular order forming lattice. Conversion of kinetic energy of fragmenta thermal energy takes place in the immediate vicinity of the fissioned mks This leads to the intense heating of the uranium rods (solid fuel elements) uranium rods are placed in the moderator, thus, neutron moderation alsohe up the moderator, though to a lesser extent than uranium rods ‘ny heterogeneous reactor system, the temperature of the whole core isnotutia ‘as most of the heat is released to the uranium rods. For various components ofa heterogeneous nuclear reactor, re" inh OT core pao ‘Nuclear Power Station 165 parison of homogeneous and heterogeneous reactor parison of homogeneous and heterogeneous reactor systems ‘Aco moderator form a uniform euch as an aqueous solution ym salt. 2 d uniform heating of the core takes place. of want se al wale reactor C Heterogeneous Reactor System Fuel rods are inserted in moderator, in some regular order. Only uranium futel rods get heated, and to a lesser extent moderator also gets heated due to neutron moderation. 57. Explain the various types of thermal ae Lanett prs Refer Q4T, 49, Q.52, Q.53, Q.54 and Q55. st, Explain the principle of breeder reactors. How they are more sent in Indian comet ? Es as Fission of U5 by a slow moving neutron releases an average of 2.5 Out ofthese 2.5 neutrons, one is used to maintain steady state chain a ‘Among the remaining 1.5 neutrons, 0.9 neutron is captured by es Bont neutron is absorbed by the coolant, moderator, structural material alte amount gets escaped from the reactor. Absorption of neutron by {P% converts it into Pur”, a fissile material. This Pu? can be used for furer fission, thus known secondary fuel. Similarly, Th?3? can also be tanered into U2, which is also a secondary fissionable fuel. Thus, the bum up of primary nuclear fuel is get compensated fo some axeni bythe production of secondary fuel. The compensation is measured by factor known as conversion factor or conversion ratio. This conversion facor is aratio of number of secondary fuel atoms formed to number of pinary fuel atoms consumed. Areactor, which is designed to have conversion ratio, unity or above is termed as breeder reactor. In practice, any reactor that uses natural uranium as fuel produces qlufonium which either can be used in the same reactor or can be separated fiom fission product and can be used elsewhere. But this is an inefficient Hueess of conversion, a much larger prospect is offered by breeding fuel ‘when the conversion factor is greater than one. This principle of breeding is Gedinbreeder reactors, viz. fast breeder reactors or thermal breeder reactors. ii ia+08 Power Piet Engineering (V-Sem) ft | a, total reserves of U* are estimated to aie or lite 10,000 MW nuclear power for Bae pec 500g, using this uranium is very high about € 400000/kg. pi, 2 But oy reduced to © 630/kg by using a breeder reactor Which, a igh tog, yy YS into Pu. In having large reserves of fissionaby 3 {bout 500000 tonnes) which can be converted into [2 THe Mae ff thorium is equivalent to all- world’s known uraniuny por ofbreeder reactors in India, which can convert Se a quite understandable. ee 0.59, What isa thermal breeder reactor ? ‘Ans. The fissionable U™ is more attractive fuel than cit latonium, as it emits 2.31 thermal neutrons on fission ag coy, li, for U5 and 1.94 for Pu. This gives an ample margin ie a uss breeding of Th?t0 U™ has become increasingly importan, Ty "8 Ty ‘Th2® into U2 can be efficiently done by slow thermal neutron, is breetingy used for this purpose is known as thermal breeder reactor, "™ttgy (0.60, Describe with neat diagram, breeder reactor used in ny plant. Write its advantages and disadvantages. (R.GPY., Jung ty Or 4 2 With the help of « neat sketch, explain construction and yori breeder reactor. (RGPY, inet fast! re + Sune 241 Discuss fast breeder reactors. GPK, Des my Or Explain a fast breeder reactors working principle. (R.GRV, June yy Ans, A nuclear reactor, while using a primary fuel, also produc secondary fel. Ratio of number of atoms formed of secondary fuel t number of atoms consumed of primary fuel is known as conversion rat, 4 reactor haying conversion ratio more than one is known as breeder reactor 4 ‘breeder reactor using fast neutrons is known as fast breeder reactor (FBR, The average number of thermal (slow moving) neutrons emitted wi U** asa fuel is 2.12. With one being used to maintain chain reaction only L.12 remains forbreeding. These 1.12 neutrons are not enough for breedingbecuse the margin of 0.12 neutron is not sufficient to allow for neutron losses. ih Pu? used as a fuel, the situation is even worse as there are only 1.94 neutron at thermal energy level. But, if we use fast neutrons, there will be less chancs of fission of U® and chances of neutron capture by U>** to change Pu’ at relatively greater. Therefore, the breeding possibility is considerably hight with fast neutrons and therefore reactors used for these fuels are fast beats which do not use moderators to slow down the neutrons. ‘Nuclear Power Station 167 reactor Core radioactive) xatrasioactivo Na(Non elt [Condenser ‘Cooling ‘Water Coolant Feed tant F Sump Pump Pump Fig. 3.12 Fast Breeder Reactor preeder reactor as shown in fig. 3.12, @ highly enriched tue ina eptin the core without moderator. The core i surounde« P87 blanket of ete material U. The exces fst movingnenton (so fision of U2" are absorbed by the U>® and converted int one eal Pu?” which is capable of sustaining chain reaction. Th Fanible Ma oled by tvo liquid metal coolant circuits. Liquid sodium (Eee olant which when circulated through te tubes of intermedia ine ansers its hea to secondary coolant sodium potassium all wate ondary coolant transfers its heat to the feed water in the tubes eral ; central portion of this reactor is a stainless steel pot in which a cc sraterial is Kept. The reactor core is separated from primary he ~The 4 utron shield provided by boron, light water oil or graphite ile changer by 2 € a Beasiy of a FBR is as high as 430 kW per litre of core volume ty i540 times more than the CANDU type and 200 times more than th W gs cooled reactor. “Advantages — Advanta (i) The structural materials of the reactor do not absorb high energ: eur, thus constructional material does not need to be special. (i) High breeding gain is possible. {ii) No moderator is required. (iv) Small core is sufficient, because of high power density, (¥) High burn-up of fuel is achievable. Disadvantages — Disadvantages of fast breeder reactor are as follows — (i) Requires highly enriched fuel (i) A small core with a minimum area intensifies heat transfer fublems and special safety measures need to be taken against melt down. (ii) Neutron flux is high at the centre of the core. - (iv) Core physics, along with short neutron life time makes control ficult. of fast breeder reactor are as follows — -| ‘18 Power Pant Engineering (VI-Ser,) (Handing sodium mor robe, a ‘hot and radioactive. s (vi) The specific power of reactor is low as com; Ni reactors. Pated ty Q.61. Discuss thermal and fast breeder reactors, Rap “Ans. Refer Q.59 and Q.60. i 0.62 Site the lasifiation of nuclear power plang, ¢ ‘and thermal reactors. Ray, pete joy ‘Ans, Classification of Nuclear Power Plants —Nucie, an be classified on the basis of nuclear reactor used, whi 4s. Comparison of Fast and Thermal Reactors ~The most hug. between fist and thermal breeder reactors is in the type of neyp sy producing fission. In fast reactors, the fission is effected by ied Used trout any use of moderators. While in case of thermal gat ty neutrons are slowed down with the use of moderators, OT the fay Fel used ina fist reactor contain about 20% of fissile materia yp sed in themal reactor contains only 0.7-3% of fisile material. Furthoe of moderator in fst reactors, results in a much smaller core (with ding ofthe order of m compared with 3 m for light water reactors and fp graphite or heavy water reactors), and a much higher power density, a Thermal reactors require use of materials having high thermal Teuty absorplion cross-sections, There is no such limitations for material useing fast reactor, because most materials have similar cross-sections for jy neutrons. Also, fast reactors do not have problem of xenon Poisoning ang decrease of reactivity with burnup ofthe fuel, because accumulation of fssig products is much smaller than in a thermal reactor. The mean free path of fast neutrons is longer than that of thermal neu, as aresult ofthis the core of a fast reactor is more closely coupled than hati a thermal reactor. Fast reactors thus, do not have problem of zonal sili and neutron flux depression in the fuel ciement is also not much significat Temperature coefficients of reactivity for a fast reactor are measured in terms of Doppler effect and coolant expansion, while for a thermal rece they depend upon moderator expansion and change in thermal energy. Although the design ofa fast reactors simple, neutron flux calculations such a reactor are much more complex than for a thermal reactor. In thems reactor most of the neutrons have energies in a narrow range and one-group few-group calculations are sufficient, But in case of a fast reactor, the nuts have a wide range of energies and multigroup calculations are requited ] k, Noy, ay iClear Powe, Dl Ich are Chiat Nuclear Power Station 169 vest an thermal reactors. Describe working priniple er dodear reactor best suitable for Indian situation ope (R.GPY,, Dec. 2015) « comparison of fast and thermal reactors, refer Q.62. je jer reactoss, which can use thorium asa fuel ean be the ideal ost OS of the fact that India has large reserves of thorium, Working ieee reactor is discussed in Q.60, refer that, o Pet ate principles of reactor control. (R.GRY., Dec. 2010) a sh nerve ¢ mca reactor du isin of fl as Tis not controlled property, the entire core and surounding ite ey melt and radioactive fission products may come out of the 0 cause radioactive pollution. Thus, it is always necessary to control atin ection in he reactor. This is done by means of contol rods genre made of neutron absorbing materials to control the number (a lable for chain reaction. Materials used for contol rods should yyate heat transfer properties, high resistance to corrosion and must 5 gable under heat and radiation Materials used commonly for control 120 poron, cadmium, hafnium, silver and indium. Control rods are moved ar tof he oles in the core either by manually or automatically. Theit sated prs more neutrons and slows down the rate of reaction, and ibaa absorbs less neutrons. trol rods may be of various types. The shut off rods are normally Bae are used for reducing the reactivity in the case of emergency. ereulstion rods are used for starting and continuous control. The coarse cntol ods are used for taking the reactor to the required power level after it tsten started and for effecting large changes. The fine control rods are sal for maintaining the reactor critical under normal working conditions. Be Me 65, Explain the properties of moderator and control rods used in clear reactor. (R.GPV, June 2012) Ans, Moderators — Refer Q.33. Control Rods — Refer Q.64. 66, Explain the safety and reliability features for the nuclear power semeration, (R.GRY., June 2013) Or Listsafety and reliability features of nuclear power plant. (R.GRY., June 2017) Or Write Some safety and reliability features of a nuclear power plant. (R.GP¥, June 2010) _