NUCLEAR

REACTOR

AN ENGINE TO NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

PRESENTED BY : HARENDRA SINGH

(1102940048)
MECHANICAL
ENGG.
IIIrd YEAR

OVERVIEW OF
PRESENTATION

BASIC OF NUCLEAR
NUCLEAR REACTOR
MECHANISM (NUCLEAR CHAIN REACTION)
TYPES OF NUCLEAR REACTOR
NUCLEAR POWER DISTRIBUITION
NUCLEAR POWER IN INDIA
NUCLEAR PROBLEM
ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES

Nuclear Basics

Did you know...? Nuclear

energy is used to generate
around 11% of the world's
electricity, with almost no
greenhouse gas
emissions.

Did you know...?

Nuclear energy is used
by more than 30
countries around the
world. nuclear
technologies have many
uses, including powering
mars rovers.

Did you know...? A single

uranium fuel pellet
contains as much energy
as 480 cubic meters of
natural gas, 807 kilos of
coal or 149 gallons of oil.

Did you know...?

nuclear power plants can
generate electricity
continuously for many
months at a time,
without interruption.

NUCLEAR REACTOR
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a
sustained nuclear chain reaction. Nuclear reactors are
used at nuclear power plants for generating electricity
and in propulsion of ships. Heat from nuclear fission is
passed to a working fluid (water or gas), which runs
through turbines. These either drive a ship's
propellers or turn electrical generators. Nuclear
generated steam in principle can be used for
industrial process heat or for district heating. Some
reactors are used to produce isotopes for medical and
industrial use, or for production of plutonium for
weapons. Some are run only for research.

Basic principle of nuclear

reactor

Mechanism

Fission
Heat generation
Cooling
Reactivity control
Electrical power generation

Fission

NUCLEAR CHAIN REACTION

Nuclear power reactor in

common use

Pressurized water reactor (PWR)

Boiler water reactor (BWR)
Pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR
or CANDU)
Advanced gas-cooled reactor(AGR)
Light water graphite-moderated reactor
(RBMK)
Liquid metal cooled reactor

Pressure water reactor

Nuclear Fission from Slow

Neutrons and Water Moderator

Advantages of PWR

Compactness.
Isolation of radioactive from main steam
system.
Light water used as coolant &
moderator.

Disadvantages of PWR

Formation of low temperature steam.

High loses from heat exchanger.
High power consumption from auxiliaries.
Strong pressure vessel is required.

Boiler water reactor

Boiler water reactor

Fuel used rich in uranium oxide

Ordinary water both used as moderator &
coolant
Cant meet sudden increase in load
Low thermal efficiency
Radioactive steam passes through
turbine.

Nuclear power in france

France derives over 75% of its electricity

from nuclear energy.
France is the world's largest net exporter
of electricity due to its very low cost of
generation, and gains over EUR 3 billion
per year from this.
France has been very active in developing
nuclear technology. Reactors and fuel
products and services are a major export.
It is building its first Generation III
reactor.

Nuclear power in india

Nuclear power is the fourth-largest source of

electricity in India after thermal, hydroelectric
and renewable sources of electricity.
As of 2012, India has 20 nuclear reactors in
operation in six nuclear power plants,
generating 4,780MW while seven other
reactors are under construction and are
expected to generate an additional 5,300 MW.
In October 2010, India drew up "an ambitious
plan to reach a nuclear power capacity of
63,000 MW in 2032.

Worldwide nuclear reactor

They produce a total of 351 gigawatts (billion watts)

of electricity.

Nuclear Problems and Solutions

Three Mile Island 1979

50% core meltdown, stuck valve with no indicator

released water, but containment vessel held
More sensors added, better communication to
experts in Washington, dont turn off emergency
cooling
28 year US safety record since accident

Chernobyl 1986

Human stupidity turned off cooling system

Poor steam cooling reactor design allowed
unstable steam pocket to explode
Graphite caught fire
Design not used in other countries

Three Mile Island

March 28, 1979, 4:00 am

Secondary cooling loop stops pumping.

Rising temperatures caused emergency
valve to open to release pressure, but
indicator light malfunctioned
Due to loss of steam, water level drops,
water overheats and burns out pump
Reactor core overheats and begins to
melt (a meltdown)

Chernobyl Accident
world worst nuclear power plant accident.
Flow of coolant water interrupted, insufficient control rods, core
breach
Graphite used to slow neutrons in reactor caught fire. Water sprayed
on graphite, resulting in hydrogen gas formation- chemical combustion
reaction and explosion
2H2O(l) + C(graphite) 2 H2(g) + CO2(g)
2H2(g) + O2(g) 2H2O(g)
Large amount of radioactive fission products dispersed into
atmosphere for 10 days (about 100X greater than Hiroshima/Nagasaki)
150,000 people in 60 km radius permanently evacuated
Toll: several workers immediately, about 30 firefighters/emergency
workers from acute radiation exposure, and a smaller from effects
(overall, about 60 deaths)
About 250 million people exposed to radiation levels which may
reduce lifespan.

Pathways Of Exposure To Man From

Release of Radioactive Materials

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

Following a major earthquake, a 15metre tsunami disabled the power supply

and cooling of three Fukushima Daiichi
reactors, causing a nuclear accident on
11 March 2011. All three cores largely
melted in the first three days.
The accident was rated 7 on the INES
scale, due to high radioactive releases
over days 4 to 6.
Generally emergency generators are
placed in low lying rooms.

The Main Advantages Of Using Nuclear Power

Modern nuclear power plants is that a single plant can

generate a very high amount of electricity.
Another important advantage is that the greenhouse gas
emissions are very low.
The running costs are relatively low in the long run.
The plants almost never experience problems if not from
human error, which almost never happens anyway because
the plant only needs like 10 people to operate it.
A nuclear aircraft carrier can circle the globe continuously
for 30 years on its original fuel while a diesel fueled carrier
has a range of only about 3000 miles before having to
refuel.
A truckload of Uranium is equivalent in energy to 10,000+
truckloads of coal. (Assuming the Uranium is fully utilized.)

The Drawbacks Of Nuclear Power

Nuclear plants are more expensive to build

and maintain .
Nuclear power plants are known to generate a
lot of radioactive waste.
In addition to the radioactive waste, building
and running a nuclear power plant does
involve some risks.
Mishaps at nuclear plants can render hundreds
of square miles of land uninhabitable and
unsuitable for any use for years, decades or
longer, and kill off entire river systems.

Safety

Public Remains Wary Of Nuclear Power

Due To Chernobyl And Three Mile Island
Accidents

Nuclear Plants Vulnerable To Terrorist

Attacks

Safer, More Efficient, And More Secure

Plants Planned For The Future

REFERENCES
WWW.GOOGLE.COM

WWW.WIKIPEDIA.COM

WWW.NUCLEAR.ORG

PRINCIPLES OF NUCLEAR REACTOR ENGINEERING BY GLASSTONE SAMUEL

NUCLEAR ENGINEERING -1959 BY DAN GERFIELD, ROLAND

NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING BY MILES,F.T

THANKS A MILLION
FOR PAYING ATTENTION