NUCLEAR FISSION AND

FUSSION
Presented by Presented to
 Nikhil Gaurav  Dr. Ajay Kr. Jha
 MSESP75010  Mechanical Department
CONTENTS
• History
• Introduction
• Nuclear Fuel
• Nuclear fission and fusion
• Nuclear Chain reaction
• Nuclear power plant and its constituents
• Types of Power reactor commonly used
• Combination of power plants
 History :
Hahn & Strassman

Meitner & Frisch

In 1939 They First Identified The Nuclear Fission

Ø Explained Hahn & Strassman results
Ø Instead of heavier Uranium, it had split into smaller elements = Nuclear Fission

Their Statement Was :

•Bombarded Uranium-235 samples with neutrons expecting the Uranium-235 to capture neutrons
NUCLEAR FUEL
 Nuclear fuel is any material that can be consumed to derive nuclear energy. The
most common type of nuclear fuel is fissile elements that can be made to undergo
nuclear fission chain reactions in a nuclear reactor.

 The most common nuclear fuels are U235 and Pu239. Not all nuclear fuels are
used in fission chain reactions.
 Natural uranium is only made of 0.71% U-235, our main fuel. The rest is U-238
NUCLEAR FISSION
 When a neutron strikes an atom of Uranium, the Uranium splits into two lighter
atoms and releases heat simultaneously.

 Fission of heavy elements is an exothermic reaction which can release large

amounts of energy both as electromagnetic radiation and as kinetic energy of the
fragments.
NUCLEAR CHAIN REACTIONS
A chain reaction refers to a process in which neutrons released in fission produce
an additional fission in at least one further nucleus. This nucleus in turn produces
neutrons, and the process repeats. If the process is controlled it is used for nuclear
power or if uncontrolled it is used for nuclear weapons.

U235 + n → fission + 2 or 3 n + 200 MeV

 If each neutron releases two more neutrons, then the number of fissions doubles
each generation. In that case, in 10 generations there are 1,024 fissions and in 80
23
generations about 6 x 10 (a mole) fissions.
 Energy from Fission
Each uranium-235 atom has a mass of 3.9014 x 10-25 kg.

The total number of atoms in 1 kg of uranium-235 can

be found as follows:

No. of atoms in 1 kg of uranium-235 = 1/3.9014 x 10-25

If one uranium-235 atom undergoes a fission
reaction and releases 2.385 x 10-11 J of energy, then
No. of atoms in 1 kg of uranium-235 = 2.56 x 1024 atoms
the amount of energy released by 1 kg of uranium-
235 can be calculated as follows:

Total energy = energy per fission x number of atoms

Total energy = 2.385 x 10-11 x 2.56 x 1024

Total energy = 6.1056 x 1013 J

 Nuclear Fusion (brief)
Nuclear fusion involves joining of smaller nuclei to
form a larger nucleus and giving out a large amount
of energy in the reaction
In the picture alongside, two isotopes of hydrogen,
deuterium and tritium, combine to form a helium
atom, releasing a neutron and a large amount of
energy.

The idea of fusion is literally to put ‘sun in a box’.

But the problem is how to make the box?

The vessel in which the fusion takes place has to

withstand temperatures in excess of 1000000000C
 Fusion occurs in celestial bodies like stars.

 TRITIUM:
Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen, which has two neutrons. It
does not occur naturally. It can however be easily produced
form the neutron bombardment of lithium, which is naturally
abundant. Currently accessible reserves of lithium could supply
all the world’s energy demands for more than 1000 years.

 DEUTERIUM:
Deuterium is an isotope of hydrogen, which has one neutron.
NUCLEAR REACTOR

 A nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear chain reactions are

initiated, controlled, and sustained at a steady rate, as opposed to a
nuclear bomb, in which the chain reaction occurs in a fraction of a
second and is uncontrolled causing an explosion.
 Nuclear Reactors
The control of fission in a nuclear reactor involves two steps, neutron
moderation and neutron absorption.
–Neutron Moderation
Neutron moderation is a process that slows down neutrons so the reactor fuel (uranium-235 or plutonium-
239) captures them to continue the chain reaction (water or graphite serves as moderators).

–Neutron Absorption
Neutron absorption is a process that decreases the number of slow-moving neutrons. Control rods, made of
a material such as cadmium, are used to absorb neutrons.
 MAIN COMPONENTS OF NUCLEAR POWER
PLANT
 Fuel Tube
• Tube filled with pellets of Uranium
 Shielding -
• Protection against alpha, beta and Gamma Rays
 Moderator -
• Slow down the neutron release(Heavy water, Beryllium, Graphite)
 
 Control Rods
• Control rods made of a material (boron Carbide, cadmium) that
absorbs neutrons are inserted into the bundle using a mechanism that
can rise or lower the control rods.
• The control rods essentially contain neutron absorbers like, boron,
cadmium or indium.
 MAIN COMPONENTS OF NUCLEAR POWER
PLANT
 Coolant -
• To transfer the heat generated inside the reactor to a heat exchanger for
utilization of power generation
• Either ordinary water or heavy water is used as the coolant
 Containment -
• Concrete lined cavity acting as a radiation shield
 Steam Generators -
• Steam generators are heat exchangers used to convert water into steam
from heat produced in a nuclear reactor core
 Steam Separator -
• Steam from the heated coolant is fed to the turbines to produce
electricity from generator
 MAIN COMPONENTS OF NUCLEAR POWER
PLANT
 Steam Turbine -
• A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy
from pressurized steam, and converts it into useful mechanical
• Various high-performance alloys and super alloys have been used for
steam generator tubing

 Coolant Pump

• The coolant pump pressurizes the coolant to pressures of the order of

155 bar
• The pressure of the coolant loop is maintained almost constant with the
help of the pump and a pressurizer unit.
 MAIN COMPONENTS OF NUCLEAR POWER
PLANT
 Feed Pump -
• Steam coming out of the turbine, flows through the condenser for
condensation and re-circulated for the next cycle of operation
• The feed pump circulates the condensed water in the working fluid loop.

 Condenser -
• Condenser is a device or unit which is used to condense vapor into
liquid
• The objective of the condenser are to reduce the turbine exhaust pressure
to increase the efficiency and to recover high quality feed water in the
form of condensate & feed back it to the steam generator without any
further treatment.
 MAIN COMPONENTS OF NUCLEAR POWER
PLANT
 Cooling Towers -
• Cooling towers are heat removal devices used to transfer process waste
heat to the atmosphere
• Water circulating through the condenser is taken to the cooling tower
for cooling and reuse
 Current Power Reactor Types
Reactor Type Moderator Coolant Comments
Gas Cooled Reactor Graphite L. Water CO2 Coolant.)
Primarily Built in UK

Pressurized Water Reactor L. Water L. Water >50% Reactors in 24

Countries
(PWR) Water Pressure = 2000
psi

Boiling Water Reactor L. Water L. Water 2nd most common, >10% of

World
(BWR) Water Pressure = 1000psi

Canadian Deuterium U. H. Water H. water Uses natural U fuel (<1%

U235)
(CANDU) Can refuel while operating.
Canada
+ a few foreign sales

Chernobyl Type Graphite L. Water Infamous. 2% enriched fuel.

 Combined Operation of Power Plants

Advantages of Combined operation of Power

Plants
If several power plants work together to meet the demand of the consumer then the system is known as
“Interconnected System”
Advantages:
1. Greater reliability of supply to the consumers.
2. When one of the stations fails to operate the consumers can be fed from the other stations, thus
avoiding complete shut down.
3. The overall cost of the energy per unit of an interconnected system is less.
4. There is more effective use of transmission line facilities at higher voltage.
5. Less capital investment required.
6. Less expenses on supervision, operation and maintenance.
7. Spinning reserve required is reduced.(Spinning reserve is any back-up energy production capacity which is can be made
available to a transmission system within ten minutes' notice and can operate continuously for at least two hours once it is brought
online.)
Load Division between power stations

A load duration curve illustrates the variation of a certain load in a downward form such that the greatest
load is plotted in the left and the smallest one in the right. On the time axis, the time duration for which
each certain load continues during the day is given.

• When the load curve has a very high peak value, it is

usually supplied for two or more power stations by
interconnection.
• Total load my be divided into two parts.
A. Base Load B. Peak Load
Base load is supplied by one power station and other power
station takes care of the peak load.
Requirements of a plant supplying “Base Load”
 Hydroelectric Plant in combination with Steam Power Plant.

• Hydro Electric plants can take up the load quickly and follow the peak variations much better than
thermal plants.
• When the run-off is sufficient (in monsoons) Hydro plant is used as base load plant and thermal plant
is used as peak load plant.
Thermal plant is used as base load plant during the draught period and hydro plant works as peak load
plant.
 Hydrothermal Scheduling
• Hydrothermal scheduling is performed in order to find the optimum allocation of hydro energy so
that the annual operating cost of a mixed hydro-thermal system is minimized.

Hydro Thermal Scheduling Methods

 

1. Constant Hydro generation: In this method the hydro generation is kept constant, throughout the operation
period, at such a value as to use the desired amount of water. The remaining load is met by the steam plant.
Load on steam plant keep on varying from time to time.
2. Constant Steam Generation: In this method the steam generation is kept fixed throughout the operating
period. The remaining load is supplied by hydro plants. The steam generation is kept fixed at such a value
that hydrogeneration would use the desired amount of water over the operating period. The hydro plant
operate on varying schedules.
3. Maximum hydro efficiency method: In this method the hydro plants during peak load periods
are operated at maximum efficiency.