EEE 2525 POWER STATION PRACTICE

(I) INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRICAL ENERGY

Energy is the basic necessity for the economic development of a country. Many functions
necessary to present-day living grind to halt when the supply of energy stops. It is practically
impossible to estimate the actual magnitude of the part that energy has played in the building up
of present-day civilisation. The availability of huge amount of energy in the modern times has
resulted in a shorter working day, higher agricultural and industrial production, a healthier and
more balanced diet and better transportation facilities.
As a matter of fact, there is a close relationship between the energy used per person and his
standard of living. The greater the per capita consumption of energy in a country, the higher is
the standard of living of its people. Energy exists in different forms in nature but the most
important form is the electrical energy. The modern society is so much dependent upon the use
of electrical energy that it has become a part and parcel of our life.

Importance of electrical energy

Energy may be needed as heat, as light, as motive power etc. The present-day advancement in
science and technology has made it possible to convert electrical energy into any desired form.
This has given electrical energy a place of pride in the modern world. The survival of industrial
undertakings and our social structures depends primarily upon low cost and uninterrupted supply
of electrical energy. In fact, the advancement of a country is measured in terms of per capita
consumption of electrical energy.
Comparison of electrical energy with other forms of energy
Electrical energy is superior to all other forms of energy due to the following reasons:
(i) Convenient form. Electrical energy is a very convenient form of energy. It can be easily
converted into other forms of energy. For example, if we want to convert electrical energy into
heat, the only thing to be done is to pass electrical current through a wire of high resistance e.g.,
a heater. Similarly, electrical energy can be converted into light (e.g. electric bulb), mechanical
energy (e.g. electric motors) etc.
(ii) Easy control – The electrically operated machines have simple and convenient starting,
control and operation. For instance, an electric motor can be started or stopped by turning on or

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off a switch. Similarly, with simple arrangements, the speed of electric motors can be easily
varied over the desired range.
(iii) Greater flexibility – One important reason for preferring electrical energy is the flexibility
that it offers. It can be easily transported from one place to another with the help of conductors.
(iv) Cheapness – Electrical energy is much cheaper than other forms of energy. Thus it is overall
economical to use this form of energy for domestic, commercial and industrial purposes.
(v) Cleanliness – Electrical energy is not associated with smoke, fumes or poisonous gases.
Therefore, its use ensures cleanliness and healthy conditions.
(vi) High transmission efficiency – The consumers of electrical energy are generally situated
quite away from the centres of its production. The electrical energy can be transmitted
conveniently and efficiently from the centres of generation to the consumers with the help of
overhead conductors known as transmission lines.

Global Energy Scenarios

Due to rapid deployment of intermittent renewables, around 70 per cent of power generation will
be covered by renewable sources by 2040 in the Low Emissions Scenario. Then, solar (at 30 per
cent) will generate more electricity than wind (20 per cent) and be the largest source of power
generation.
It is also focused that a large portion of power generation will occur in a more decentralised
manner in the future than it does today. In particular, solar power production can be constructed
in a far more decentralised manner than traditional power plants. Globally, this is especially
important in remote areas that can be electrified through distributed solutions. In addition, the
reduction in battery costs presents opportunities for an increase in self-generation of electricity
by both households and industry. New smart technologies facilitate more proactive and flexible
demand profiles from consumers, and smart power grids will be able to handle this fragmented
production and consumption.
Global power production towards 2040 TWh

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Figure : Growth of power demand towards 2040 in the Low Emissions Scenario by source
(TWh)

Figure: Cost declines in solar and on- shore wind power

Source: Global energy trends – Statkrafts low emissions scenario report (2018)
*** See reference source for more insights. (Supplementary/Optional)

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 2. POWER PLANT ECONOMICS AND TARIFFS

Types of Loads
Domestic Load
Commercial Load
Industrial Load
Municipal Load

Variable load on Power station

The load on a power station varies from time to time due to uncertain demands of the consumers

Effects of variable load

 Need of additional equipment or load shedding
 Increase in production cost

Load Curve
This is a curve showing the variation of load on the power station with respect to time.

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Importance of Load Curve

Load duration Curve

When the load elements of a load curve are arranged in the order of descending magnitude, the
curve thus obtained is called load duration curve.

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Important terms and factors
Connected load – It is the sum of continuous rating of all the equipment connected to the supply
system.
Maximum Demand – It is the greatest demand of load of the power station during a given
period.
Demand factor – it is the ratio of maximum demand on the power station to its
connected load.
Average load – The average of loads occurring on the power station in a given period (day or
month or year) is known as average load or average demand.
Load factor – Is the ratio of average load to the maximum demand during a period. as load
factor.
Diversity factor – The ratio of the sum of individual maximum demands to the maximum
demand on power station
Coincidence factor – Is the reciprocal of the diversity factor
Contribution factor – it is the contribution of a particular load, in per unit of the individual
demand, to the group maximum demand
Plant Capacity factor – This is the ratio of actual energy produced to the maximum possible
energy that could have been produced during a given period.
Plant use factor – It is ratio of kWh generated to the product of plant capacity and the number
of hours for which the plant was operation.
Plant Utilization factor – it is the ratio of maximum load to the rated capacity.

Tariff
The rate at which electrical energy is supplied to a consumer is known tariff.
Objectives of tariff
 Recovery of production cost
 Recovery of capital investment cost
 Recovery of operation and maintenance cost
 A suitable profit

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Desirable characteristics of a tariff
 Proper return
 Fairness
 Simplicity
 Reasonable profit

Types of Electricity tariffs

Some of the different types of electricity tariffs include;

a) Simple or uniform rate tariff

There is a fixed rate per unit of energy consumed.

Advantages
 Simplest tariff method and is readily understood by the consumers.

Disadvantages
 There is no discrimination between consumers
 The cost per unit delivery is high
 It does not encourage the use of electricity
b) Flat rate tariff
When different types of consumers are charged at different uniform per unit rate ,it is called a
flat rate tariff.

Advantages
It is more fair to different types of consumers and is quite simple in calculations.

Disadvantages
Separate meters are required for light and power load.
Particular classes of consumers are charged at the same rate irrespective of the magnitude
of energy consumed
c) Two part tariff
When the rate of electrical energy is charged on the basis of maximum demand of the consumers
and the units consumed, it is called a two-part tariff.

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In two-part tariff, the total charges to be made from the consumer is split into two
components, fixed charges and running charges.
The fixed charge depends on the maximum demand in kW and running cost depends on the
number of units consumed by the consumer in kWh.
Total charges = b X kW+ c X kWh

Advantages
 It is easily understood by the consumers
 It recovers the fixed charges which depend upon the maximum demand

Disadvantages:
 The consumer has to pay the fixed charges irrespective of the fact whether he has consumed
or not.
 There is always error in assessing the maximum demand of the consumer

d) Power factor tariff

The tariff in which power factor of the consumer’s load taken in to consideration is known as
power factor tariff.

Types of power factor tariff:

(i) kVA maximum demand tariff – Is modification of two part tariff where the fixed charges are
made on the basis of maximum demand in kVA and not in Kw. As kVA is inversely
proportional to power factor, consumers with lower pf contribute more towards the fixed
charges.
(ii) Sliding scale tariff – Also known as average power factor tariff. In this case, an average
power factor is taken as reference. If the pf of consumer falls below this factor, suitable
additional charges are made or if pf of consumer is above the reference, a discount is given to
the consumer.
(iii) kW and kVAR tariff – In this type, both the active power (kW) and the reactive power
(kVAR) supplied are charged separately. A consumer having low power factor draws more
reactive power and hence pays more charges.

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 e) Three part tariff

When the total charges to be made from the consumer is split into three parts, fixed charge, semi
fixed charge and running charge ,it is known as three part tariff.

Total charge = a + bX kW + cX kWh

a – fixed charge including intrest and depreciation on the cost of secondary
distribution and labor cost of the collecting revenues.
b – charge per kW maximum demand
c – charge per kWh of energy consumed.

Power factor and economics of power factor correction

Power factor – The cosine of the angle between voltage and current in an AC circuit is known as
power factor.

Disadvantages of low power factor

 Large kVA rating equipment

kVA = kW/cos ϕ
 Greater conductor size
 Large copper losses
 Poor voltage regulation
 Reduced handling capacity of system

Causes of low factor

 AC induction motors
 Arc lamps ,electric discharge and industrial heating furnaces
 Varying load on the power system

Methods for Power Factor Improvement

The following devices and equipment are used for power factor (p.f) improvement.
• Static Capacitor
• Synchronous Condenser
• Phase Advancer

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 1. Static Capacitor
• Most of the industries and power system loads are inductive that take lagging current which
decrease the system power factor (See Disadvantages of Low Power factor) .
For Power factor improvement purpose, Static capacitors are connected in parallel with those
devices which work on low power factor.

Advantages
Capacitor bank offers several advantages over other methods of power factor
improvement such as;
• Losses are low in static capacitors
• Low maintenance since it has no moving parts.
• It can work in normal conditions (i.e. ordinary atmospheric conditions)
• Do not require a foundation for installation
• They are lightweight so it is can be easy to installed

Disadvantages
• Has lower lifetime - the age of static capacitor bank is less (about 8 – 10 years)
• The ON/OFF operation of the capacitor bank due to the changing loads results into switching
surges on the system
• Exceeding the rated voltage can cause damage to the capacitors
• Repairing damaged capacitors is costly.

2. Synchronous Condenser (over-excited synchronous motor running on no load).

An over-excited synchronous motor running on no load (synchronous condenser) provides
leading current and works more-less like a capacitor.
When a synchronous condenser is connected across the supply voltage (ie in parallel), then it
draws leading current and partially eliminates the re-active component and in this way, the
power factor is improved. Generally, synchronous condensers are used to improve the power
factor in large industries.

Advantages
 They have longer life (almost 25 years),
 High Reliability

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 Step-less adjustment of power factor.
 The faults can be removed easily
 It is not affected by harmonics.

Disadvantages
• It is expensive (maintenance cost is also high) and therefore mostly used by large power users.
• An auxiliary device has to be used for this operation because synchronous motor has no self-
starting torque
• It produces noise

3. Phase Advancer
Phase advancer is a simple AC exciter which is connected on the main shaft of the motor and
operates with the motor’s rotor circuit for power factor improvement.
Phase advancer is used to improve the power factor of induction motor in industries.
Stator windings of induction motors take lagging current - 90° out of phase with voltage, thus
they have lower power factor. If the exciting ampere-turns are excited by external AC source,
then there would be no effect of exciting current on stator windings. Therefore, the power factor
of induction motor will be improved. This process is done by Phase advancer.

Advantages
• Lagging kVAR (Reactive component of Power or reactive power) drawn by the motor is
sufficiently reduced because the exciting ampere turns are supplied at slip frequency (fs).
• The phase advancer can be easily used where the use of synchronous motors is unacceptable

Disadvantage

• Using phase advancer is not economical for motors below 200 H.P. (about 150kW)

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Power Plants Generation Economics

Capital cost for various power generation technologies is presented below

The cost of electricity with various power technologies is summarised in the table below (Data
for 2003)

Secondary reference – Wind and Solar Power Systems. (Mukund R. Patel)

Home work: Discuss the energy situation in Kenya outlining the percentage contribution of each of the
power generation technologies to the country’s energy mix.

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Tutorial problems
1) A substation has a maximum demand of 150,000 kW. The annual load factor is 50% and
plant capacity factor is 40%. Determine the reserve capacity of the plant.

2) A substation supplies the following loads to various consumers:

Industrial consumer = 1500kW;
Commercial establishment = 750Kw
Domestic power = 100 kW;
Domestic light = 450 kW
If the maximum demand on the station is 2500 kW and the number of kWh generated per year is
45 x 105 , determine (i) the diversity factor and (ii) annual load factor.

3). A generating station has a maximum demand of 25MW, a load factor of 60%, a plant
capacity factor of 50% and a plant use factor of 72%. Find (i) the reserve capacity of the plant

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(ii) the daily energy produced and (iii) maximum energy that could be produced daily if the plant
while running as per schedule, were fully loaded.

4) The daily demands of three consumers are given below:

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 MULTIMEDIA UNIVERSITY OF KENYA
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
ETE Y5S2 – 2018/2019
ASSIGNMENT 1 - EEE 2525 POWER STATIONS PRACTICE

Notes: No late submissions will be accepted.

Plagiarized work will be nullified.

_____________________________________________________________________________
1. Electricity supply is offered on the basis of fixed charges of Ksh. 10,000 per annum plus
Ksh. 8 per unit or alternatively at the rate of Ksh. 12 per unit for the first 400 units per
annum and Ksh. 10 per unit for all additional units. Find the number of units taken per
annum for which the cost under the two tariffs becomes the same.
2) Find the power produced by fissioning 5 grams of U235 per day. (Take Avogadro’s number to
be 6.023 *1026 per kilo mole and the energy released per fission as 200 MeV)

3) A proposed substation has the following daily load cycle:

Time in 6-8 8-11 11-16 16-19 19-22 22-24 24-6
hours
Load in MW 10 20 25 17.5 35 20 10

i) Draw the load curve and load duration curve for the substation.
ii) Determine the average load and the load factor from the curves
iii) Select suitable generator units from the 10,000, 20,000, 25,000, 30,000 kVA.
iv) Prepare the operation schedule for the machines selected.

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 3. POWER SUB STATIONS
The present electrical power system is a complex interconnection of generating stations-
transmission systems- receiving stations- distribution systems and load points.
In all the above phases of power flow, the transfer of electrical energy takes place in the electric
sub stations.
A substation receives electrical power from generating station through incoming transmission
lines and delivers electrical power through the outgoing transmission lines. Substation is an
integral part of a power system and is an important link between the generating stations,
transmission systems, distribution systems and load points.
The following are the important points which must be kept in view while laying out a sub-station
 It should be located at a proper site. As much as possible, it should be located at the
centre of gravity of load.
 It should provide safe and reliable arrangement. For safety, consideration must be given
to the maintenance/adherence to set regulation clearances, facilities for carrying out
repairs and maintenance, abnormal occurrences such as possibility of explosion or fire
etc. For reliability, consideration must be given for good design and construction, the
provision of suitable protective gear etc.
 It should be easily operated and maintained.

Classification of Sub-Stations
There are several ways of classifying sub-stations. However, the two most important ways of
classifying them are according to;
a) Service requirement
b) Constructional features.

1. According to service requirement. Based on this criterion, sub-stations may be classified into:
i). Power factor correction sub-stations – They improve the power factor of the system using
equipment like synchronous condensers. They are generally located at the receiving end of
transmission lines.
ii). Transformer sub-stations – They change the voltage level of electric supply. These sub-
stations receive power at some voltage, transform and deliver it at some other voltage level.

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iii). Switching sub-stations – These sub-stations simply perform the switching operations of
power lines without changing the voltage level.
iv). Frequency changer sub-stations – They change the supply frequency of power, which
may be necessary for some industrial utilisation.
v). Converting sub-stations – These sub-stations receive a.c. power and convert it into d.c. power
with suitable apparatus to supply for certain purposes as traction, electroplating etc.
vi). Industrial sub-stations – Those sub-stations which supply power to individual industrial
concerns are known as industrial sub-stations.

2. According to constructional features. A sub-station has many components (e.g. circuit

breakers, switches, fuses, instruments etc.) which must be housed properly to ensure continuous
and reliable service. According to constructional features, the sub-stations are classified as:
a) Indoor sub-station
b) Outdoor sub-station
c) Underground sub-station
d) Pole-mounted sub-station
i). Indoor sub-stations. For voltages upto 11 kV, the equipment of the sub-station is installed
indoor because of economic considerations. However, when the atmosphere is contaminated
with impurities, these sub-stations can be erected for voltages upto 66 kV.
ii). Outdoor sub-stations. For voltages beyond 66 kV, equipment is invariably installed outdoor.
It is because for such voltages, the clearances between conductors and the space required for
switches, circuit breakers and other equipment becomes so great that it is not economical to
install the equipment indoor.
iii). Underground sub-stations. In thickly populated areas, the space available for equipment
and building is limited and the cost of land is high. Under such situations, the sub-station is
created underground.
iv). Pole-mounted sub-stations. This is an outdoor sub-station with equipment installed
overhead on H-pole or 4-pole structure. It is the cheapest form of sub-station for voltages not
exceeding 11kV (or 33 kV in some cases). Electric power is almost distributed in localities
through such substations.

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 Substation layout and equipment
Basically, an electrical substation consists of a number of incoming circuits and outgoing circuits
connected to common bus bar systems.

Bus bars are conducting bars to which a number of incoming or outgoing circuits are connected
Each circuit connected to the bus bar will have certain electrical component such as circuit
breakers, isolators, earth switches, current transformers and voltage transformers
These components are connected in a definite sequence such that a circuit can be switched off
during normal operation by manual command and/or automatically during abnormal conditions
such as short circuits.

Design considerations
The substation is designed with an objective to provide maximum reliability, flexibility,
continuity of service and to meet these objectives with the lowest investment costs that satisfy
system requirement.

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Sub - station layout and bus bar schemes
The term layout denotes the physical arrangement of various components in the substation
relative to one another. The layout is significant as it influences the operation, maintenance, cost
and protection of the substation. These aspects are considered while designing the substation
layout. Mostly, the layout is illustrated by means of single line diagrams.
The design of substation layout need careful consideration of several aspects such as:
 Switching requirement for normal operation.
 Switching requirement during abnormal conditions like short circuits and overloads.
 Degree of flexibility in operations.
 Freedom from total shutdowns.
 Maintenance requirements, space for approaching various equipment for maintenance.
 Road/ rail for transporting main and auxiliary equipment.
 Safety of personnel.
 Protective zones for main and back up protection.
 Provision for bye pass facilities and for extensions, space requirements.
 Technical requirements such as ratings, clearances, earth system, lightning protection
 Requirement for SCADA and communication.
 Compatibility for local and ambient condition.

Bus bar schemes

There exist several bus bar schemes, some of which include;
a) Single bus bar scheme

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Advantage
 Lowest cost

Disadvantage
 Maintenance without interruption of supply is not possible.
 Substation cannot be extended without completely de-energizing the sub station
 Can be used only where loads can be interrupted or have other supply arrangements.
 Least flexibility.

b) Single bus bar scheme with bus sectionaliser

Sectionalizing the single bus improves slightly the reliability if the incoming and outgoing
circuits are distributed evenly on both sections.
Where double feed is provided for any single load it is preferable to have one circuit from each
section.
In this arrangement, each section behaves as a separate bus bar and any outage can be confined
to one section of the bus bar.
Only the faulty section will be tripped by bus differential protection.

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 c) Double bus bar with one breaker per circuit

This arrangement has the following advantages:

 Each load may be fed from either bus.
 Operational flexibility may be increased by grouping the incoming and outgoing feeders in
separate groups.
 Either bus bar can be taken out for maintenance.
 Bus coupler helps in ‘on load change over ‘from one bus to the other.
 Adopted where load and continuity justify additional cost.

Disadvantages
 The breaker cannot be taken out for maintenance without interrupting supply to the
concerned circuit.
 Bus protection scheme may cause loss of substation when it operates if all circuits are
connected to that bus.
 High exposure to bus faults.
 Line breaker failure takes all circuits connected to that bus out of service.
 Bus tie-breaker failure takes the entire substation out of service

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 d) Main and transfer bus

This is an alternative to double bus single breaker arrangement which provides for change over
to the other bus when carrying out maintenance on one bus.
This arrangement provides facility for carrying out breaker maintenance but does not permit bus
maintenance. Any breaker can be taken out of service for maintenance. Wherever maintenance is
required on any breaker, the circuit is changed over to the transfer bus and controlled through the
bus coupler breaker.
The cost is increased due to use of an extra isolator for each circuit and providing interlock for
bus coupler and circuit isolators.
Relaying sensitivity decreases as the same bus coupler is used to energize the concerned circuit
for all the circuit breakers whenever they are taken out for maintenance.
e) Ring bus or mesh scheme
In this scheme, the breakers are arranged in a ring with circuits connected between breakers.
There are same number of circuits as there are breakers.
During normal operation, all breakers are closed. For a circuit fault, two breakers are tripped, and
in the event one of the breaker fails to operate to clear the fault, an additional circuit will be
tripped by operation of breaker failure back up relays.
During breaker maintenance, the ring is broken, but all lines remain in service

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Advantages
The ring bus scheme;
 is economical in cost,
 has good reliability,
 is safe for operation,
 is flexible
Because of these, this scheme is normally considered suitable for important sub stations up to a
limit of five circuits.
It is common practice to build major sub stations initially as a ring bus; for more than five
outgoing circuits, the ring

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 4. NUCLEAR POWER STATION

A generating station in which nuclear energy is converted into electrical energy is known as
a nuclear power station.

Selection of Site for Nuclear Power Station

The following points should be kept in view while selecting the site for a nuclear power station:
(i) Availability of water – Sufficient water is required for cooling purposes, therefore, the plant
site should be located where ample quantity of water is available, e.g., by sea-side or across a
river.
(ii) Disposal of waste – The waste produced by fission in a nuclear power station is generally
radioactive which must be disposed off properly to avoid health hazards. The waste should
either be buried in a deep trench or disposed off in sea quite away from the sea shore.
Therefore, the site selected for such a plant should have adequate arrangement for the disposal
of radioactive waste.
(iii)Distance from populated areas – The site selected for a nuclear power station should be quite
away from the populated areas as there is a danger of presence of radioactivity in the
atmosphere near the plant. However, as a precautionary measure, reactor of a nuclear power
plant is enclosed in a dome which does not allow the radioactive wastes to be spread by wind
or underground waterways.

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(iv) Transportation facilities – The site selected for a nuclear power station should have adequate
facilities in order to transport the heavy equipment during erection and to facilitate the
movement of the workers employed in the plant.
From the above mentioned factors, it becomes apparent that ideal choice for a nuclear power
station would be near sea or river and away from thickly populated areas (just as can also be
observed in the above diagram of an existing nuclear plant).

Mechanism of operation

In nuclear power station, heavy elements such as Uranium (U235) or Thorium (Th232) are
subjected to nuclear fission in a special apparatus known as a reactor. The heat energy thus
released is utilised in raising steam at high temperature and pressure. The steam runs the steam
turbine that converts steam energy into mechanical energy. The turbine drives the alternator,
which converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.
The most important feature of a nuclear power station is that huge amount of electrical energy
can be produced from a relatively small amount of nuclear fuel as compared to other

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conventional types of power stations. It has been found that complete fission of 1 kg of Uranium
(U235) can produce as much energy as can be produced by the burning of 4,500 tons of high-
grade coal. Although the recovery of principal nuclear fuels (i.e., Uranium and Thorium) is
difficult and expensive, yet the total energy content of the estimated world reserves of these fuels
are considerably higher than those of conventional fuels, viz., coal, oil and gas.
At present, energy crisis is gripping us and, therefore, nuclear energy can be successfully
employed for producing low cost electrical energy on a large scale to meet the growing
commercial and industrial demands.

Advantages
(i) The amount of fuel required is quite small. Therefore, there is a considerable saving in the
cost of fuel transportation.
(ii) A nuclear power plant requires less space as compared to any other type of the same size.
(iii) It has low running charges as a small amount of fuel is used for producing bulk electrical
energy.
(iv) This type of plant is very economical for producing bulk electric power.
(v) It can be located near the load centres because it does not require large quantities of water
and need not be near coal mines. Therefore, the cost of primary distribution is reduced.
(vi) There are large deposits of nuclear fuels available all over the world. Therefore, such plants
can ensure continued supply of electrical energy for thousands of years.
(vii) It ensures reliability of operation.

Disadvantages
(i) The fuel used is expensive and is difficult to recover.
ii) Capital cost on a nuclear plant is very high as compared to other types of plants.
(iii) Erection and commissioning of the plant requires greater technical know-how.
(iv) The fission by-products (nuclear waste) are generally radioactive and may cause a dangerous
amount of radioactive pollution
(v) Maintenance charges are high due to lack of standardisation. Moreover, high salaries of
specially trained personnel employed to handle the plant further raise the cost.
(vi) Nuclear power plants are not well suited for varying loads as the reactor does not respond to
the load fluctuations efficiently.
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(vii) The disposal of the by-products, which are radioactive, is a big problem. They have either to
be disposed off in a deep trench or in a sea away from sea-shore.
(viii) Perception problems

General layout of Nuclear Power Station

The schematic arrangement of a nuclear power station is as shown below. The whole
arrangement can be divided into the following main stages:
(i) Nuclear reactor (ii) Heat exchanger (iii) Steam turbine (iv) Alternator.

***Heat Exchanger and Steam Generator ( Partially visible in the diagram)

(i) Nuclear reactor – A nuclear reactor is an apparatus in which nuclear fuel (i.e. U 235) is
subjected to nuclear fission. It controls the chain reaction that starts once the fission is done. If the chain
reaction is not controlled, the result will be an explosion due to the fast increase in the energy released.
A nuclear reactor is a cylindrical stout pressure vessel and houses;
 fuel rods (of Uranium or Thorium)
 moderator and
 control rods.

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 The fuel rods – constitute the fission material and release huge amount of energy when
bombarded with slow moving neutrons.
 The moderator – consists of graphite rods which enclose the fuel rods. The moderator slows
down the neutrons before they bombard the fuel rods.
 The control rods – are of cadmium and are inserted into the reactor. Cadmium is strong
neutron absorber and thus regulates the supply of neutrons for fission. When the control rods
are pushed in deep enough, they absorb most of fission neutrons and hence few are available
for chain reaction, which, therefore, stops.
However, as they are being withdrawn, more and more of these fission neutrons cause fission
and hence the intensity of chain reaction (or heat produced) is increased. Therefore, by pulling
out the control rods, power of the nuclear reactor is increased, whereas by pushing them in, it is
reduced. In actual practice, the lowering or raising of control rods is accomplished automatically
according to the requirement of load. The coolant, generally a sodium metal, removes the heat
produced in the reactor. The coolant carries the heat to the heat exchanger.
(ii) Heat exchanger – The coolant gives up heat to the heat exchanger which is utilised in
raising the steam. After giving up heat, the coolant is again fed to the reactor
(iii)Steam turbine – The steam produced in the heat exchanger is led to the steam turbine
through a valve. After doing a useful work in the turbine, the steam is exhausted to
condenser. The condenser condenses the steam which is fed to the heat exchanger through
feed water pump.
(iv) Alternator – The steam turbine drives the alternator which converts mechanical energy into
electrical energy. The output from the alternator is delivered to the bus-bars through
transformer, circuit breakers and isolators.

Moderators, reflectors and control rods explained

Moderators
Neutrons released in fission have about 1-2 MeV of energy. Such fast neutrons have a very low
probability of causing fission of 235U and so these neutrons will pass by many, many nuclei
before being absorbed by one of them and inducing fission. One solution is to slow them down,
such that they have energies of the order of a fraction of eV.

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 Figure: Main components and processes in a thermal nuclear plant.

One can think of the higher probability as arising from the fact that slow neutrons spend a longer
time in contact with the Uranium nucleus. We call such neutrons thermal neutrons, because their
kinetic energies are close to the kinetic energies of the molecules in the air around us. To slow
down neutrons in a fission reactor for example, one fills the voids between the fissile material
with a so-called moderator, for example water or graphite.

Reflectors
If a neutron collides with a nucleus, the neutron could scatter in any direction, including out of
the active area. Therefore, surrounding the fissile material with a non-absorbing substance that
will scatter the neutrons back increases the number of possible collisions.
Such a material surrounding the fissile material in nuclear reactors is called a reflector. A
neutron reflector can make an otherwise subcritical mass of fissile material critical.
Steel, beryllium or graphite are common reflector materials. A reflector made of a light material
like graphite or beryllium will also act as a neutron moderator, reducing neutron kinetic energy,
while a heavy material like lead will have less effect on neutron energy.

Control rods
We want to have the energy production as efficient as possible. However, if the efficiency is too
high, one could end up with a nuclear explosion, a situation to be avoided for safety purposes.

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Nuclear reactors are built so that a nuclear explosion is not possible. To reach this goal one has
to have the possibility of hindering a chain reaction if it develops too rapidly. This is achieved
this by dividing the fissile material into masses smaller than the so-called critical mass, so the
neutrons will not find fissile nuclei as readily. The uranium pieces in question are then
called subcritical.
Neutrons can easily escape from the uranium surfaces, before any dangerous build-up of energy
is possible. In addition, in between the blocks of fissile material one can position so
called control rods that strongly absorbs neutrons. The deeper the control rods are inserted in
between the fissile material (fuel rods), the more difficult it is for neutrons produced from fission
to collide with another uranium nucleus, resulting in a more limited chain reaction, and a
decrease in the energy production.

Reactor fuel
Most thermal nuclear reactors use 235U as fuel. However, its low abundance in nature (0.72% of
the natural uranium, mostly 238U) makes the chain reaction impossible when natural uranium
itself is used. Therefore, the reactor fuel must be enriched with 235U. The degree of enrichment in
nuclear power and research reactors varies from about 2% to about 40%. In reactors of older
types, especially the ones used in submarines, the enrichment could even exceed 90%.
The fuel can be prepared in the form of pellets of UO2, a few centimeters thick. These pellets are
arranged in the form of fuel rods. One can also use various alloys of uranium with other metals,
for example aluminium. One recent proposal is to use specially designed spherical nuclear fuel
elements.
There are also reactors that employ fast neutrons. In such reactors, absorption of a neutron
by 238U leads to the formation of fissile 239Pu. This plutonium isotope can be extracted from
burnt fuel and used for production of so-called MOX fuel containing the two fissile
materials, 235U and 239Pu.

Home work: Explain the different types of nuclear power reactors

{Power reactors – light water (Boiling water, pressurized water etc), high temperature gas
cooled, liquid – metal, CANDU, advanced gas cooled and other power reactor types}

31 Dan. Gombe