NUCLEAR

REACTORS
Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR)
Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (CANDU) or (PHWR)
Gas Cooled reactor (AGR, Magnox)
Light Water graphite Reactor (RBMK)
Fast neutron Reactor (FBR) “ Breeder Reactors”

Details: PWR

Coolant: Light water

Moderator: water Cladding: Zirconium alloy
Efficiency: 32% Outlet temperature: 3170 C

Fuel: After enrichment, the uranium dioxide (UO2) powder is fired in a high-
temperature, sintering furnace to create hard, ceramic pellets of enriched uranium
dioxide.
Control: Boron and control rods are used to maintain primary system temperature at
the desired point. In order to decrease power, the operator throttles shut turbine inlet
valves. This would result in less steam being drawn from the steam generators.
PWR is the most common type of reactor. Powerful pumps circulate the water through
pipes, transferring heat that boils water in a separate, secondary loop. The resulting
steam drives the electricity producing turbine generators.
1
Advantage:
• PWR turbines cycle loop is separate from the primary loop, so the water in the
secondary loop is not contaminated by radioactive materials.
• PWR technology is favored by nations seeking to develop a nuclear navy, the
compact reactors fit well in nuclear submarines & other nuclear ships.
Disadvantage:

• Additional high pressure components such as reactor coolant pumps, pressurizer, steam
generators, etc. are also needed. This also increases the capital cost and complexity of
a PWR power plant.
• The coolant water must be highly pressurized to remain liquid at high temperatures.
• Because water acts as a neutron moderator, it is not possible to build a fast neutron
reactor with a PWR design. A reduced moderation water reactor may however achieve
a breeding ratio greater than unity, though this reactor design has disadvantages of its
own.
BWR

Reactor power is controlled via two methods:

By inserting or withdrawing control rods
By changing the water flow through the reactor
Fuel: Enriched Uranium dioxide (UO2)
Coolant & Moderator: Water
• A modern BWR fuel assembly comprises 74 to 100 fuel rods.
• Reactor water level is controlled by the main feed water system. From about 0.5%
power to 100% power, feed water will automatically control the water level in the
reactor.
• The cooling water is maintained at about 75 atm (7.6 MPa, 1000–1100 psi) so that it
boils in the core at about 285 °C (550 °F).
• Efficiency: 32%
• The core damage frequency of the reactor was estimated to be between 10−4 and 10−7
(i.e., one core damage accident per every 10,000 to 10,000,000 reactor years)

Advantage:
• Pressure vessel is subject to significantly less irradiation compared to a PWR,
and so does not become as brittle with age.
• Operates at a lower nuclear fuel temperature.
• Fewer components due to no steam generators and no pressurizer vessel. (Older
BWRs have external recirculation loops, but even this piping is eliminated in
modern BWRs, such as the ABWR.)
• Lower risk (probability) of a rupture causing loss of coolant compared to a PWR,
and lower risk of core damage should such a rupture occur. This is due to fewer
pipes, fewer large diameter pipes, fewer welds and no steam generator tubes.

Disadvantage:
• BWRs require more complex calculations for managing consumption of nuclear
fuel during operation due to "two phase (water and steam) fluid flow" in the upper
part of the core. This also requires more instrumentation in the reactor core.
• Larger pressure vessel than for a PWR of similar power, with correspondingly
higher cost, in particular for older models that still use a main steam generator
and associated piping.
• Contamination of the turbine by short-lived activation product
 CAND
U
The CANDU (short for Canada Deuterium Uranium) reactor is a Canadian-
invented, PWR used for generating electric power. The acronym refers to its deuterium-
oxide (heavy water) moderator and its use of (originally, natural) uranium fuel.

1 Fuel bundle 8 Fueling machines

Calandria Heavy
2 9
(reactor core) water moderator

3 Adjuster rods 10 Pressure tube

Heavy
Steam going
4 water pressure 11
to steam turbine
reservoir

Cold water
5 Steam 12 returning from
generator turbine

Containment
Light
6 13 building made of
water pump
reinforced

Heavy water
7
pump

Core – The core of a CANDU reactor is kept in a horizontal, cylindrical tank called a
calandria. Fuel channels run from one end of the calandria to the other. Each channel
within the calandria has two concentric tubes. The outer one is called the calandria tube
& the inner one is called the pressure tube.
CANDU reactors use non-enriched (natural) uranium oxide as fuel and heavy
water as a moderator [deuterium oxide (D2O)]

Coolant: Heavy water or light water Outlet Temperature: 3050 C

Advantage: No Enriched uranium fuel
Heavy water as moderator which has low Fuel consumption
Disadvantage: cost of heavy water is very high.
Leakage problems.
Fuel: CANDU can also Breed Fuel from the more abundant Thorium. CANDU can
burn a mix of uranium and plutonium oxides (MOX Fuel).
Pressure: 1285psia Efficiency: 30%
 MIXED OXIDE
Commonly referred to FUEL
as MOX fuel, is nuclear fuel that contains more than
one oxide of fissile material, usually consisting of plutonium blended with natural
Uranium, reprocessed uranium, or depleted uranium. MOX fuel is an alternative to the
low- enriched uranium (LEU) fuel used in the light water reactors that predominate
nuclear power generation.
Licensing and safety issues of using MOX fuel include:

• As plutonium isotopes absorb more neutrons than uranium fuels, reactor control systems
may need modification.
• MOX fuel tends to run hotter because of lower thermal conductivity, which may be an
issue in some reactor designs.
• Fission gas release in MOX fuel assemblies may limit the maximum burn-up time of
MOX fuel.

Note: MOX fuel containing thorium and plutonium oxides.

NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE:

 FAST BREEDER
REACTORS:
In 2006 all large-scale fast breeder reactor (FBR) power stations were liquid metal fast
breeder reactors (LMFBR)cooled by liquid sodium. These have been of one of two
designs:
Loop type: In this primary coolant is circulated through primary heat exchangers outside
the reactor tank Pool type: the primary heat exchangers and pumps are immersed in the
reactor tank

Fuel used: PuO 2 & UO2 Moderator: None

Coolant: Liquid sodium (Metal)

FBR use fast neutrons to convert materials such as U-238 & Th-232 into fissile materials,
which then fuel the reactor. This process combined with recycling, has the potential to
increase available nuclear fuel resources in the very long term.

A breeder reactor creates 30% more fuel than it consume.

Working temperature of Liquid metals are higher. (Sodium is a solid at room temp. but
liquefies at 980 C. It has a wide working temp. Since it doesn’t boil until 8920 C)
LIGHT WATER GRAPHITE
MODERATED REACTOR
(RBMK)

Moderator: Graphite
Coolant: Light Water

2
Nuclear fuel: Uranium Oxide (UO ) enriched to 1.8% natural Uranium. Cladding:
Zirconium alloy Pressure: 1000psia
Outlet temperature: 2840C
Efficiency: 31%
A D VA N C E GAS COOLED REACTOR: (AGR)

Uranium Oxide (UO2) enriched to 2.3% natural Uranium

Cladding: Stainless Steel

Moderator: graphite
Coolant: CO2
Outlet temperature: 6500
C Efficiency: 42% Pressure: 600psia
 LIQUID METAL COOLED REACTOR:
Sodium graphite reactor (SGR)
Sodium as coolant
Graphite as moderator
Liquid sodium= Boiling point:
8800 C

freezing point: 950C

Mixed oxide fuel core of up to 20% plutonium dioxide (PuO2) and at least 80% uranium dioxide
(UO2).
Particularly uranium-238 and thorium-232- plutonium-239
Stainless steel is used as canning material

Because the metal coolants have much higher density than the water used in most reactor
designs, they remove heat more rapidly and allow much higher power density. This makes them
attractive in situations where size and weight are at a premium, like on ships and submarines. To
improve cooling with water, most reactor designs are highly pressurized to raise the boiling
point, which presents safety and maintenance issues that liquid metal designs lack.
Liquid metals, being electrically highly conductive, can be moved by electromagnetic pumps.
Applications of Nuclear Reactor:

Military uses , Nuclear weapons

in making plastics and sterilization of single-use
products
as a prerequisite for the full automation of
high speed production lines
Nuclear medicine
Agriculture (fertilizer etc.)
food preservation
Hydrology, mining or the
space industry.
Solving problems such as the "greenhouse
effect" and acid rain.
Future of Nuclear energy:
Thorium power is the safe future of nuclear energy. (Th-232)
In accepting a neutron from the beam, Th-232 becomes Th-233, but this heavier isotope doesn’t
last very long. The Th-233 decays to protactinium-233, which further decays into U-233. The U-
233 remains in the reactor and, similar to current nuclear power plants, the fission of the uranium
generates intense heat that can be converted to electricity.
Germany will shut down all his Nuclear reactors till 2022.
Components of Nuclear Waste:

Hydro
carbons Radio
isotopes
Uranium
Mercur
y
Cyanide
High Level waste (By products) are: 3% Volume of Waste
Plutonium (238, 239, 240, 241, 242)
Neptunium-
237 Uranium-
236
Other: Xenon-
133, iodine,
Tritium
 VAP O U R POWER
CYCLE
Carnot cycle
Rankine cycle
Reheat Rankine cycle
Regenerative Rankine cycle
Carnot cycle:
Process:
1 Reversible isothermal expansion
2 Isentropic (Reversible adiabatic)

3 Reversible isothermal compression

4 Isentropic compression
RANKINE CYCLE:

The Rankine cycle is a model that is used to predict the performance of steam turbine systems.
The Rankine cycle is an idealized thermodynamic cycle of a heat engine that converts heat into
mechanical work.

Process:

1-2 isentropic compression in water pump

2-3 constant pressure heat addition
3-4 isentropic expansion in turbine
4-1 constant pressure heat rejection in
condenser

Diagrams:
P-V, T-S, H-S
Irreversibility’s and losses in Rankine cycle:
(a) Deviation of actual VPC from rankine cycle
(b) The effect of pumps and turbine irreversibility’s on rankine cycle

The actual VPC differs from the ideal Rankine cycle as a result of irreversibility’s in various
components.
Fluid friction & heat losses to the surroundings are the two common sources of irrerversibilties.
Reheat Rankine cycle: (a)

The purpose of a reheating cycle is to remove the moisture carried by the steam at the final
stages of the expansion process.. The reheat temperatures are very close or equal to the inlet
temperatures, whereas the optimum reheat pressure needed is only one fourth of the original
boiler pressure., this prevents the vapor from condensing during its expansion and damaging the
turbine blades, and improves the efficiency of the cycle

Regenerative Rankine cycle: (b)

Regeneration increases the cycle heat input temperature by eliminating the addition of heat from
the boiler/fuel source at the relatively low feed water temperatures that would exist without
regenerative feed water heating. This improves the efficiency of the cycle, as more of the heat
flow into the cycle occurs at higher temperature.

(a) (b)
Example 2.1. A steam power station has an overall efficiency of 20% and 0·6 kg of coal is burnt
Per kWh of electrical energy generated. Calculate the calorific value of fuel?
Example 2.14. A diesel power station has fuel consumption of 0·28 kg per kWh, the calorific
value of fuel being 10,000 kcal/kg. Determine (i) the overall efficiency, and (ii) efficiency of the
engine if alternator efficiency is 95%.
Solution.
Heat produced by 0·28 kg of oil = 10,000  0·28 = 2800
kcal Heat equivalent of 1 kWh = 860 kcal
Example 2.17. An atomic power reactor can deliver 300 MW. If due to fission of each atom of
U-235 , the energy released is 200 MeV, calculate the mass of uranium fissioned per hour?
Solution:
I N T R O D U C T I O N TO T H E R M O DY NA M I C S :

Enthalpy: Amount of energy in a system capable of doing mechanical work.

Entropy: Amount of energy in a system no longer available for doing mechanical work.

1st law of thermodynamics:

Energy can neither be created nor be destroyed but it can change from one form to another form.
Change in internal energy=total heat added and work done
+W work done on system & –W work done by the system

2nd law of thermodynamics:

Indicates that in any complete cycle the gross heat supplied plus the Wnet input must be greater than zero.
Adiabatic Process: Occurring without loss of heat or gain.
Adiabatic compression: Gain in internal energy (+U)
Adiabatic expansion: Loss of internal energy (-
U)

Temperature is an objective comparative measure of

hot or cold.
Pressure is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which
that force is distributed.
Internal Energy: The total energy contained by the thermodynamic system.
Alternator: is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the
form of alternating current.
Cogeneration:
Combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station
to generate electricity and useful at the same time.
Cogeneration is a thermodynamically efficient use of fuel.

Total input energy: . Electricity = 45% Heat + Cooling = 40% Heat Losses = 13%
Electrical Line Losses = 2%
 CLEAN COAL
TECHNOLOGY:
"Clean" coal technology is a collection of technologies being developed to mitigate
the environmental impact of coal energy generation. When coal is used as a fuel source, the
gaseous emissions generated by the thermal decomposition of the coal include sulphur
dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon dioxide (CO2), mercury, and other chemical byproducts that
vary depending on the type of the coal being used. These emissions have been established to
have a negative impact on the environment and human health, contributing to acid rain, lung
cancer and cardiovascular disease. As a result, clean coal technologies are being developed to
remove or reduce pollutant emissions to the atmosphere.
Clean coal technology usually addresses atmospheric problems resulting from burning coal.

COMBINED CYCLE:
The thermodynamic cycle of the basic combined cycle consists of two power plant cycles. One is
the Joule or Brayton cycle which is a gas turbine cycle and the other is Rankine cycle which is
a steam turbine cycle.[1] The cycle 1-2-3-4-1 which is the gas turbine power plant cycle is the
topping cycle. It depicts the heat and work transfer process taking place in high temperature
region.
The cycle a-b-c-d-e-f-a which is the Rankine steam cycle takes place at a low temperature and is
known as the bottoming cycle. Transfer of heat energy from high temperature exhaust gas to
water and steam takes place by a waste heat recovery boiler in the bottoming cycle. During the
constant pressure process 4-1 the exhaust gases in the gas turbine reject heat. The feed water, wet
and super-heated steam absorb some of this heat in the process a-b, b-c and c-d.
Classification of nuclear power plant by generation: