NUCLEAR REACTORS

Parts of Nuclear Reactor

Fuels
 The generally used nuclear fuels are U-235, Pu-
239 and U – 233.
 U -235 is naturally available upto 0.7% in the
uranium ore and remaining is U-238
 The fuel is shaped and placed in the reactor such
that the heat production within the reactor is
maximum
Moderator
 It is used to reduce the kinetic energy of the fast
neutron (13200 km/s to 2200 m/s) in a fraction of
second.
 The probability of neutron interacting with Uranium-
235 nuclei is greatly increased by slowing down the
neutrons. This will maintain the fission chain reaction in
the reactor.
 The moderator used commonly are lite elements. Ex:
H2 , D2O, CO2, C and Be.
 Graphite, heavy water or beryllium can be used for
natural uranium. The ordinary water is used for
enriched uranium.
Reflector
 It is necessary to conserve neutrons as much as
possible in order to reduce the consumption of fissile
material.
 Some neutrons will be absorbed by fuel, moderator,
coolant or structural materials, and some may escape
from core and will be lost forever
 To reduce the loss of escape the inner surface is
surrounded by materials which reflects escaping
neutrons
 Mostly the moderator material is used as as reflector.
Ex: H2O, D2O and carbon.
 Coolant
 The coolant is used in the reactor to transfer the heat
produce in the reactor.
Properties of good coolant:
 It must not absorb neutron

 It must have high chemical and radiation stability

 It must be non-corrosive

 It must have high boiling point

 It must be non-oxidizing and non-toxic

 It must have high density, low viscosity, high conductivity and

high specific heat
 Ex: Water, Heavy water, Gas (He, CO2) and liquid metal
(Na)
Control Rod
 The function of control rods are,
 To start the chain reaction from cold
 To maintain the chain reaction at steady state condition

 To shutdown the reactor automatically under any

emergency conditions
 The control prevents, melting of control rod,
disintegration of coolant and destruction of reactor
 Ex: Cadmium, Boron & hafnium
Shielding
 The reactor is a source of intense radioactivity, the
common radiation from the reactors are, α, β, γ rays
and fast neutrons.
 To prevent the effect of these in human life, it is
necessary to absorb them before emitting to the
atmosphere.
 The inner lining of the core is made of 50-60 mm thick
steel plate and further thickened by concrete. The
thermal shield (Steel plate) is cooled by circulating
water.
Boiling Water Reactor
 Boiling Water Reactor

 In this reactors enriched uranium is used as fuel and water is

used as coolant
 The water which passes over the reactor core to act as
moderator and coolant is also the steam source for the
turbine.
 The disadvantage of this is that any fuel leak might make
the water radioactive and that radioactivity would reach the
turbine and the rest of the loop.
 A typical operating pressure for such reactors is about 70
atm. at which pressure the water boils at about 285oC. This
operating temperature gives a Carnot efficiency of only 42%
with a practical operating efficiency of around 32%,
somewhat less than the PWR.
Boiling Water Reactor

Advantages:
 Heat exchanger circuit is eliminated – gain in

thermal efficiency
 Lower pressure vessel is used which reduces the

initial cost
 Outlet temperature of steam is relatively high

compared to PWR
 The thermal efficiency of the plant is high
compared to PWR
Boiling Water Reactor

 Disadvantages:
 Radioactive contamination in the turbine mechanism
 More safety precautions are required – which
increase the operating cost of the plant
 Wastage of steam in part load operation reduces
efficiency
 This type of reactor cannot meet a sudden increase
in power demand.
 The power density (thermal energy released per unit
volume of the fuel) is lower than PWR (50% of
PWR)
Pressurized Water Reactor
 Pressurized Water Reactor

 It is a light water cooled and moderated reactor.

 It uses enriched uranium
 The pressurizing tank included in the circuit maintains the
constant pressure in the circuit.
 The electric heater in the pressurizer boils the water to form
the steam which is collected in the dome to maintain pressure
in the coolant circuit.
 To reduce pressure water spray is used to condense the
steam
 The water which passes over the reactor core to act
as moderator and coolant does not flow to the
turbine, but is contained in a pressurized primary
loop. The primary loop water produces steam in the
secondary loop which drives the turbine.
 Another advantage is that the PWR can operate at
higher pressure and temperature, about 160
atmospheres and about 315oC. This provides a higher
Carnot efficiency than the BWR, but the reactor is
more complicated and more costly to construction.
Pressurized Water Reactor

Advantages:
 Water used in reactor is cheap and easily available

 The reactor is compact and power density is high

 Fission products remain contained in the reactor and

are not circulated
 A small number of control rods are required

 Reduces the fuel cost by extracting more energy per

unit weight of fuel – since enriched uranium
 There is complete freedom to inspect and maintain
the turbine, feed heaters and condenser during
operation
Disadvantages:
 High primary circuit pressure requires strong

pressure vessel and high initial cost

 It is necessary to shutdown the plant for fuel

charging (for every 18 months) which requires

a couple of months time.
Pressurized Heavy water Reactor or CANDU
Type Reactor
 A pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) or
CANada Deuterium Uranium(CANDU)is a
nuclear power reactor, commonly using
unenriched or natural uranium as its fuel, that
uses heavy water (deuterium oxide D2O) as its
coolant and moderator. The heavy water coolant
is kept under pressure, allowing it to be heated
to higher temperatures without boiling, much as
in a PWR. While heavy water is significantly
more expensive than ordinary light water, it
yields greatly enhanced neutron economy.
 Pressurized Heavy water Reactor

Advantages:
 The fuel need not be enriched

 The operating pressure is lower than PWR and BWR – less

heat from natural uranium

 The moderator can be kept at low temperature which

increases its effectiveness in slowing down neutrons

 Heavy water is a good moderator, hence low fuel
consumption
 Pressurized Heavy water Reactor
Disadvantages:
 Heavy water generally costs Rs.500 per kilogram, though this is
a trade-off against reduced fuel costs.
 It is also notable that the reduced energy content of natural
uranium as compared to enriched uranium necessitates more
frequent replacement of fuel
 The increased rate of fuel movement through the reactor also
results in higher volumes of spent fuel than in reactors employing
enriched uranium;
 However, as the unenriched fuel was less reactive, the heat
generated is less, allowing the spent fuel to be stored much
more compactly.
 Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors of India

 All the nuclear reactor units of Rajasthan, Kaiga, Kakrapar,

Kalpakkam and Narora are based on PHWRs.
 Two of the four units of Tarapur are also based on PHWRs.
 Also India is ready to sell Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors
of 220 MWe or 540 MWe capacity to other countries. These
reactors, which use natural uranium as fuel and heavy water
as both moderator and coolant, offered a basket of options for
countries looking for cost-competitive and proven technologies
in the small- and medium-sized reactors.
 India begins construction of 25th nuclear plant. The first pour of
concrete for the 700 MW indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water
Reactor (PHWR), the seventh nuclear plant at the Rajasthan
Atomic Power Station (RAPS) took place at Rawatbhata.
Gas Cooled Reactors
 Gas Cooled Reactors

 The coolant used can be air, hydrogen, helium or CO2.

 The moderator used is graphite

Advantages:
 The processing of fuel is simpler

 No corrosion problem

 Graphite remains stable under irradiation at high

temperature
 Use of CO2 eliminates possibility of explosion

 The uranium, carbide and graphite are able to resist

high temperature – limitation of fuel element
temperature is not a issue
 Gas Cooled Reactors

 Disadvantages:
 Power density is low (heat transfer coefficient is low,
therefore large vessel is required)
 Critical mass is high – large amount of fuel loading
is required
 More power required for coolant circulation
 The leakage is a major issue if helium is used
instead CO2
High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors
High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors

 The very high temperature reactor (VHTR), or

high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR), is
a Generation IV reactor concept that uses a
graphite-moderated nuclear reactor.
 The VHTR is a type of high temperature reactor
(HTR) that can conceptually have an outlet
temperature of 1000°C
 The high temperatures enable applications such
as process heat or hydrogen production
 High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors

 The design takes advantage of the inherent safety

characteristics of a helium-cooled, graphite-moderated
core with specific design optimizations.
 The graphite has large thermal inertia and the helium
coolant is single phase, inert, and has no reactivity effects.
 The core is composed of graphite, has a high heat
capacity and structural stability even at high temperatures.
 The fuel is coated uranium-oxycarbide which permits high
burn-up (approaching 200 GWd/t – giga watt days per
tonne) and retains fission products.
 The high average core-exit temperature of the VHTR
(1,000°C) permits emissions-free production of process
heat.
 Breeding Mechanism

 U-235 ejects 3 neutrons – 1 – chain reaction, 0.9

– captured by U-238, 0.5 – absorbed by coolant,
remaining escaped from reactor
 The absorbed neutron by U-238 converted to Pu-
239 – fissile material
 Pu-239 is a man made fuel can be used for
further fission
 Similarly, Th-232 can be converted to U-233
(fissile)
Breeding Mechanism
• Burnup of primary fuel compensated by
production of secondary fuel
• This compensation is “Conversion Ratio”
• It is the ratio of no. of secondary fuel atoms
formed to the no. of primary fuel atoms
consumed
• A reactor can be designed that the
conversion ratio is unity or higher
• This can be done by reducing losses by
absorption and capture of neutron
• A reactor with conversion ratio above unity is
known as “Breeder reactor”
 In practice, any reactor that uses natural
uranium produces plutonium which either
reused in same reactor or in some other
reactor
 Doubling Time – It is the time required for the
initial fissionable material to be doubled
 Typical fast breeding reactor have 10 to 20
years of doubling time.
Fast Breeder Reactor
 An enriched uranium or Plutonium is kept in
the reactor without moderator
 Liquid metal is used as coolant
 The casing is surrounded with thick blanket of
depleted fertile uranium
 The ejected neutrons are absorbed by the
fertile blanket and is converted into fissile
material
 The heat produced is carried by liquid metal
Fast Breeder Reactor
 Liquid-Metal Fast-Breeder Reactor

Sodium as Coolant:
 Sodium is a solid at room temperature but liquefies
at 98°C. It has a wide working temperature since it
does not boil until 892°C.
 That brackets the range of operating temperatures
for the reactor so that it does not need to be
pressurized as does a water-steam coolant system.
 It has a large specific heat so that it is an efficient

heat-transfer fluid.
 sodium metal is an extremely reactive chemical and

burns on contact with air or water (sometimes

explosively on contact with water).
Advantages
 It produces high energy
 The structural material of the reactor do not
absorb neutron
 The power density is very high – 430 kW per
litre of core volume
 The moderator is not required
 Small core is sufficient (power density is high)
India’s 3-Stage plan for Nuclear Power Development

 I-Stage: Natural uranium fueled reactor would be

established in the country which would produce
fissionable material (Pu-239)
 II Stage: The plutonium available from first stage would
be used as fuel in fast breeder reactor either to produce
more plutonium than consume from U-238 or to produce
U-233 from thorium
 III Stage: U-233 would be used only as fuel where
thorium would be again converted in to fissile U-233
 U-233 is best among all fissile material for breeder
reactor
 In third stage all the reactors would be fueled with U-
233 and only thorium have to be fed.
 Thorium Deposits in
India

35% (Andhra Pradesh,

excluding Telangana)

15–20% (Tamil Nadu, Odisha)

10–15% (Kerala, West

Bengal)

0–5% (Bihar)