Subject Name: Power Plant Engineering

Subject Code: ME-6005

Semester: 6th
Downloaded from be.rgpvnotes.in

POWER PLANT ENGINEERING (ME-6005)

UNIT III: Nuclear Power Station

3.1 Importance of Nuclear Power Plant
“i e the s, u lea e e g has ee a i po ta t pa t of the o ld s fuel i . I , u lea e e g
satisfied about 14 percent of global electricity needs (World Nuclear Association, World Energy Needs and
Nuclear Power, 2012). In 2011, there were 440 nuclear plants in operation worldwide with 60 under
construction in 14 countries (World Nuclear Association, Plans for New Reactors Worldwide, 2012).

In 2011, some of the countries that rely most heavily on nuclear power for electricity generation included:
France (77.7 percent), Slovakia (54 percent), Belgium (54 percent), Ukraine (47.2 percent), Hungary (43.3
percent), Slovenia (41.7 percent) and Switzerland (40.9percent) (Nuclear Energy Institute, 2011). Nuclear
po e ge e ates pe e t of the U ited “tates ele t i it a d ep ese ts pe e t of its non-carbon
power supply.

The development of the civilian nuclear power industry in the United States was fostered by the policies of
the Eise ho e ad i ist atio . P eside t D ight D. Eise ho e fi st a ti ulated the idea of Ato s fo
Pea e i a spee h i . Co g ess as ui k to a t. I , it passed the P i e-Anderson Act, which
capped the liability of private operators for reactor accidents at $560 million. This was an important first
step in providing the insurance required to make the risks undertaken when building a nuclear power plant
acceptable to the private sector.

Shortly thereafter, Eisenhower spearheaded the establishment of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), the organization charged with promoting cooperation, safety, security, and technology in the global
nuclear industry. In the 1970s, the newly created Department of Energy (DOE) took an active role in
supporting nuclear power in the United States while the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was founded to
regulate the adolescent industry.

A se ies of high p ofile a ide ts lesse ed the o ld s i te est i u lear expansion and were a sobering
reminder of the risks to public health posed by nuclear power generation. In 1979, a reactor at Three Mile
Island in Pennsylvania experienced a partial meltdown that unfolded over five days. Although no one was
killed as a direct result of the accident, the debate about the safety of nuclear technology was rekindled.

Then, in 1986, in Chernobyl, Ukraine (then still a part of the Soviet Union), a full nuclear disaster occurred,
unleashing a wave of radiation across Russia and Europe. The accident killed 31 people and caused lingering
health effects for thousands more.

The most recent high profile nuclear disaster occurred on March 11, 2011 at the Fukishima Nuclear Power
Pla t i Japa he se e al of the pla t s ea to s egan leaking radiation and entered a meltdown in the
wake of a 9.0 earthquake. The scope of the disaster has been compared to Three Mile Island and Chernobyl,
prompting governments to reassess their nuclear policies. Germany decided to stop using nuclear power by
, a d othe ou t ies o side the disaste a ig da pe e fo their nuclear ambitions.

3.2 Review of Atomic Structure and Radioactivity

Structure of the Atom
In order to understand radioactivity, it is necessary to understand the atom and its structure. The atom is
the simplest unit into which an element can be divided and still retain the properties of the original element.
Atoms of all elements are made of three primary building blocks:
Protons are large particles and have a positive electrical charge.
Electrons are small particles and have a negative electrical charge.
1
Page no: 1 Follow us on facebook to get real-time updates from RGPV
Downloaded from be.rgpvnotes.in
Chameli Devi Group of Institutions
Department of Mechanical Engineering

Neutrons are large particles and have no electrical charge.

The neutrons and protons are located in the nucleus and the electrons orbit the nucleus in the electron
cloud.
Radioactivity
Radioactivity is the process by which an unstable nucleus tries to become more stable by the release of
radiation energy. There are many ways in which this can happen, most of which results in the emission of
energy from the nucleus. An unstable nucleus has too few or too many neutrons and must transform in order
to become stable. These transformations usually result in the release of energy called radiation.

Radioactive Decay
The process by which radioactive atoms give up energy is called
radioactive decay, disintegration, or transmutation. The rate at
which radioactive atoms undergo change depends on the isotope.
All radioactive isotopes decay and become stable at their own
characteristic rate. The rate of decay of a radioactive material is
known as the "activity or radioactivity" of the material.

3.3 Binding Energy Concept

Nuclei are made up of protons and neutron, but the mass of a
nucleus is always less than the sum of the individual masses of the protons and neutrons which constitute
it. The difference is a measure of the nuclear binding energy which holds the nucleus together. This binding
energy can be calculated from the Einstein relationship:

Nu lear inding energy = Δmc2

Fo the alpha pa ti le Δ = . u hi h gi es a i di g e e g of . MeV.

The enormity of the nuclear binding energy can perhaps be better appreciated by comparing it to the binding
energy of an electron in an atom. The comparison of the alpha particle binding energy with the binding
energy of the electron in a hydrogen atom is shown below. The nuclear binding energies are on the order of
a million times greater than the electron binding energies of atoms.

2
Page no: 2 Follow us on facebook to get real-time updates from RGPV
Downloaded from be.rgpvnotes.in
Chameli Devi Group of Institutions
Department of Mechanical Engineering

3.4 Nuclear Fission

Nuclear fission is the process of releasing the atomic energy by splitting the nucleus thus creating two
products of roughly half the mass of the original. A nuclear reactor splits the nuclei of uranium atoms,
creating large amounts of energy. This process also creates radioactive waste and radiation, which can
contaminate the environment. Nuclear fission is the physical process responsible for all types of power
generation, including that used in both nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants.

3.5 Nuclear Fusion

Nuclear fusion is the energy source of the future. It is what provides the sun and the stars with the energy
to shine continuously for billions of years. Nuclear fusion is when multiple atomic particles join together to
create a larger atom. Fusion reactors join hydrogen atoms together to form helium atoms, neutrons and
other forms of energy. This is the same type of nuclear energy used in hydrogen bombs. Fusion has been
used here on earth to produce nuclear bombs, but has not yet been controlled so that we can obtain useful
energy. Unlike nuclear fission, there is no limit on the amount of the fusion that can occur.

3
Page no: 3 Follow us on facebook to get real-time updates from RGPV
Downloaded from be.rgpvnotes.in
Chameli Devi Group of Institutions
Department of Mechanical Engineering

3.6 Fissionable and Fertile Materials

All heavy nuclides have the ability to fission when in an excited state, but only a few fission readily and
consistently when struck by slow (low-energy) neutrons. Such species of atoms are called fissile. The most
prominently utilized fissile nuclides in the nuclear industry are uranium-233 (233U), uranium-235 (235U),
plutonium-239 (239Pu), and plutonium-241 (241Pu). Of these, only uranium-235 occurs in a usable amount in
nature—though its presence in natural uranium is only some 0.7204 percent by weight, necessitating a
lengthy and expensive enrichment process to generate a usable reactor fuel
As an alternative to processing and enriching uranium-235, it is possible to go through the process of
generating quantities of other fissile nuclides that are not as prevalent as uranium-235. Prominent sources
of these nuclides are thorium-232 (232Th), uranium-238 (238U), and plutonium-240 (240Pu), which are known
as fertile materials owing to their ability to transform into fissile materials. For example, thorium-232, the
predominant isotope of natural thorium, can be used to generate uranium-233 through a process known as
neutron capture. When a nucleus of thorium-232 absorbs, o aptu es, a eut o , it e o es tho iu -
233, whose half-life is approximately 21.83 minutes. After that time the nuclide decays through electron
emission toprotactinium-233, whose half-life is 26.967 days. The protactinium-233 nuclide in turn decays
through electron emission to yield uranium-233.
Neutron capture may also be used to create quantities of plutonium-239 from uranium-238, the principal
constituent of naturally occurring uranium. Absorption of a neutron in the uranium-238 nucleus yields
uranium-239, which decays after 23.47 minutes through electron emission intoneptunium-239 and
ultimately, after 2.356 days, into plutonium-239.
If desired, plutonium-241 may be generated directly through neutron capture in plutonium-240, following
the formula 240Pu + 1n = 241Pu.
A power reactor contains both fissile and fertile materials. The fertile materials partially replace fissile
materials that are destroyed by fission, thus permitting the reactor to run longer before the amount of fissile
material decreases to the point where criticality is no longer manageable. Plutonium-240 is particularly
found to build up in reactors after long periods of operation, as it has a longer half-life than all its parent
nuclides.

3.7 Thermal Neutron Fission

Thermal neutron, any free neutron (one that is not bound within an atomic nucleus) that has an average
energy of motion (kinetic energy) corresponding to the average energy of the particles of the ambient
materials. Relatively slow and of low energy, thermal neutrons exhibit properties, such as large cross
sections in fission, that make them desirable in certain chain-reaction applications. Furthermore, the long
de Broglie wavelengths of thermal neutrons make them valuable for certain applications of neutron optics.
Thermal neutrons are produced by slowing down more energetic neutrons in a substance called a moderator
after they have been ejected from atomic nuclei during nuclear reactions such as fission.
4
Page no: 4 Follow us on facebook to get real-time updates from RGPV
Downloaded from be.rgpvnotes.in
Chameli Devi Group of Institutions
Department of Mechanical Engineering

Quantitatively, the thermal energy per particle is about 0.025 electron volt—an amount of energy that
corresponds to a neutron speed of about 2,000 meters per second and a neutron wavelength of about 2 ×
10-10 meter (or about two angstroms). Because the wavelength of thermal neutrons corresponds to the
natural spacing between atoms in crystalline solids, beams of thermal neutrons are ideal for investigating
the structure of crystals, particularly for locating positions of hydrogen atoms, which are not well located by
X-ray diffraction techniques. Also, thermal neutrons are required for inducing nuclear fission in naturally
occurring uranium-235 and in artificially produced plutonium-239 and uranium-233.

3.8 Important Nuclear Fuels

Nuclear fuel is a material that can be 'burned' by nuclear fission or fusion to derive nuclear energy. Nuclear
fuel can refer to the fuel itself, or to physical objects (for example bundles composed of fuel rods) composed
of the fuel material, mixed with structural, neutron-moderating, or neutron-reflecting materials. Most
nuclear fuels contain heavy fissile elements that are capable of nuclear fission. When these fuels are struck
by neutrons, they are in turn capable of emitting neutrons when they break apart. This makes possible a self-
sustaining chain reaction that releases energy with a controlled rate in a nuclear reactor or with a very rapid
uncontrolled rate in a nuclear weapon. The most common fissile nuclear fuels are uranium-235 (235U)
and plutonium-239 (239Pu). The actions of mining, refining, purifying, using, and ultimately disposing of
nuclear fuel together make up the nuclear fuel cycle. Not all types of nuclear fuels create power from nuclear
fission. Plutonium-238 and some other elements are used to produce small amounts of nuclear power
by radioactive decay in radioisotope thermoelectric generators and other types of atomic batteries. Also,
light nuclides such as tritium (3H) can be used as fuel for nuclear fusion. Nuclear fuel has the highest energy
density of all practical fuel sources.
Oxide Fuel
For fission reactors, the fuel (typically based on uranium) is usually based on the metal oxide; the oxides are
used rather than the metals themselves because the oxide melting point is much higher than that of the
metal and because it cannot burn, being already in the oxidized state.
UOX
Uranium dioxide is a black semiconducting solid. It can be made by reacting uranyl nitrate with a base
(ammonia) to form a solid (ammonium urate). It is heated (calcined) to form U3O8 that can then be converted
by heating in an argon / hydrogen mixture (700 °C) to form UO2. The UO2 is then mixed with an organic
binder and pressed into pellets, these pellets are then fired at a much higher temperature (in H2/Ar)
to sinter the solid. The aim is to form a dense solid which has few pores.
The thermal conductivity of uranium dioxide is very low compared with that of zirconium metal, and it goes
down as the temperature goes up.
It is important to note that the corrosion of uranium dioxide in an aqueous environment is controlled by
similar electrochemical processes to the galvanic corrosion of a metal surface.
MOX
Mixed oxide, or MOX fuel, is a blend of plutonium and natural or depleted uranium which behaves similarly
(though not identically) to the enriched uranium feed for which most nuclear reactors were designed. MOX
fuel is an alternative to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel used in the light water reactors which
predominate nuclear power generation.
Some concern has been expressed that used MOX cores will introduce new disposal challenges, though MOX
is itself a means to dispose of surplus plutonium by transmutation.
Currently reprocessing of commercial nuclear fuel to make MOX is done in England and France, and to a
lesser extent in Russia, India and Japan. China plans to develop fast breeder reactors and reprocessing.

5
Page no: 5 Follow us on facebook to get real-time updates from RGPV
Downloaded from be.rgpvnotes.in
Chameli Devi Group of Institutions
Department of Mechanical Engineering

The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, is a U.S. plan to form an international partnership to see spent
nuclear fuel reprocessed in a way that renders the plutonium in it usable for nuclear fuel but not for nuclear
weapons. Reprocessing of spent commercial-reactor nuclear fuel has not been permitted in the United
States due to nonproliferation considerations. All the other reprocessing nations have long had nuclear
weapons from military-focused "research"-reactor fuels except for Japan.
Metal Fuel
Metal fuels have the advantage of much higher heat conductivity than oxide fuels but cannot survive equally
high temperatures. Metal fuels have a long history of use, stretching from the Clementine reactor in 1946 to
many test and research reactors. Metal fuels have the potential for the highest fissile atom density. Metal
fuels are normally alloyed, but some metal fuels have been made with pure uranium metal. Uranium alloys
that have been used include uranium aluminum, uranium zirconium, uranium silicon, uranium molybdenum,
and uranium zirconium hydride. Any of the fuels can be made with plutonium and other actinides as part of
a closed nuclear fuel cycle. Metal fuels have been used in water reactors and liquid metal fast breeder
reactors, such as EBR-II.
TRIGA fuel

TRIGA fuel is used in TRIGA (Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics) reactors. The TRIGA reactor uses
UZrH fuel, which has a prompt negative fuel temperature coefficient of reactivity, meaning that as the
temperature of the core increases, the reactivity decreases—so it is highly unlikely for a meltdown to occur.
Most cores that use this fuel are "high leakage" cores where the excess leaked neutrons can be utilized for
research. TRIGA fuel was originally designed to use highly enriched uranium; however, in 1978 the U.S.
Department of Energy launched its Reduced Enrichment for Research Test Reactors program, which
promoted reactor conversion to low-enriched uranium fuel. A total of 35 TRIGA reactors have been installed
at locations across the USA. A further 35 reactors have been installed in other countries.
Actinide fuel

In a fast neutron reactor, the minor actinides produced by neutron capture of uranium and plutonium can
be used as fuel. Metal actinide fuel is typically an alloy of zirconium, uranium, plutonium, and minor
actinides. It can be made inherently safe as thermal expansion of the metal alloy will increase neutron
leakage.
Molten plutonium

Molten plutonium, alloyed with other metals to lower its melting point and encapsulated in tantalum, was
tested in two experimental reactors, LAMPRE I and LAMPRE II, at LANL in the 1960s. "LAMPRE experienced
three separate fuel failures during operation."

3.9 Moderators and coolants

In a thermal nuclear reactor, the nucleus of a heavy fuel element such as uranium absorbs a slow-moving
free neutron, becomes unstable, and then splits ("fissions") into two smaller atoms ("fission products"). The
fission process for 235U nuclei yields two fission products: two to three fast-moving free neutrons, plus an
amount of energy primarily manifested in the kinetic energy of the recoiling fission products. The free
neutrons are emitted with a kinetic energy of ~2 MeV each. Because more free neutrons are released from
a uranium fission event than thermal neutrons are required to initiate the event, the reaction can become
self-sustaining — a chain reaction — under controlled conditions, thus liberating a tremendous amount of
energy.
6
Page no: 6 Follow us on facebook to get real-time updates from RGPV
Downloaded from be.rgpvnotes.in
Chameli Devi Group of Institutions
Department of Mechanical Engineering

Fission cross section, measured in barns (a unit equal to 10− m2), is a function of the energy (so-
called excitation function) of the neutron colliding with a235U nucleus. Fission probability decreases as
neutron energy (and speed) increases. This explains why most reactors fueled with 235U need a moderator
to sustain a chain reaction and why removing a moderator can shut down a reactor.
The probability of further fission events is determined by the fission cross section, which is dependent upon
the speed (energy) of the incident neutrons. For thermal reactors, high-energy neutrons in the MeV-range
are much less likely to cause further fission. (Note: It is not impossible for fast neutrons to cause fission, just
much less likely.) The newly released fast neutrons, moving at roughly 10% of the speed, must be slowed
down or "moderated," typically to speeds of a few kilometers per second, if they are to be likely to cause
further fission in neighboring 235U nuclei and hence continue the chain reaction. This speed happens to be
equivalent to temperatures in the few hundred Celsius range.
In all moderated reactors, some neutrons of all energy levels will produce fission, including fast neutrons.
Some reactors are more fully thermalized than others; for example, in a reactor nearly all fission reactions
are produced by thermal neutrons, while in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) a considerable portion of the
fissions are produced by higher-energy neutrons. In the proposed water-cooled supercritical water
reactor (SCWR), the proportion of fast fissions may exceed 50%, making it technically a fast neutron reactor.
A fast reactor uses no moderator, but relies on fission produced by unmoderated fast neutrons to sustain
the chain reaction. In some fast reactor designs, up to 20% of fissions can come from direct fast neutron
fission of uranium-238, an isotope which is not fissile at all with thermal neutrons. Moderators are also used
in non-reactor neutron sources, such as plutonium-beryllium and spallation sources.

Coolant System
The function of a power reactor installation is to extract as much heat of nuclear fission as possible and
convert it to useful power, generally electricity. The coolant system plays a pivotal role in performing this
function. A coolant fluid enters the core at low temperature and exits at a higher temperature after collecting
the fission energy. This higher-temperature fluid is then directed to conventional thermodynamic
components where the heat is converted into electric power. In most light-water, heavy-water, and gas-
cooled power reactors, the coolant is maintained at high pressure. Sodium and organic coolants operate at
atmospheric pressure.
Research reactors have very simple heat-removal systems, as their primary purpose is to perform research
and not generate power. In research reactors, coolant is run through the reactor, and the heat that is
removed is transferred to ambient air or to water without going through a power cycle. In research reactors
of the lowest power, running at only a few kilowatts, this may involve simple heat exchange to tap water or
to a pool of water cooled by ambient air. During operation at higher power levels, the heat is usually removed
by means of a small natural-draft cooling tower.

3.10 Thermal Breeder Reactor

7
Page no: 7 Follow us on facebook to get real-time updates from RGPV
Downloaded from be.rgpvnotes.in
Chameli Devi Group of Institutions
Department of Mechanical Engineering

The advanced heavy water reactor (AHWR) is one of the few proposed large-scale uses of thorium. India is
developing this technology, their interest motivated by substantial thorium reserves; almost a third of the
world's thorium reserves are in India, which also lacks significant uranium reserves.
The third and final core of the Shipping port Atomic Power Station 60 MWe reactor was a light water thorium
breeder, which began operating in August 1977 and after testing was brought to full power by the end of
that year. It used pellets made of thorium dioxide and uranium-233 oxide; initially, the U-233 content of the
pellets was 5-6% in the seed region, 1.5-3% in the blanket region and none in the reflector region. It operated
at 236 MWe, generating 60 MWe and ultimately produced over 2.1 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. After
five years, the core was removed and found to contain nearly 1.4% more fissile material than when it was
installed, demonstrating that breeding from thorium had occurred.
The liquid fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR) is also planned as a thorium thermal breeder. Liquid-fluoride
reactors may have attractive features, such as inherent safety, no need to manufacture fuel rods and possibly
simpler reprocessing of the liquid fuel. This concept was first investigated at the Oak Ridge National
Laboratory Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment in the 1960s. It has recently been the subject of a renewed
interest worldwide. Japan, China, the UK, as well as private US, Czech and Australian companies have
expressed intent to develop and commercialize the technology.

3.11 Fast Breeder Reactor

As of 2006, all large-scale fast breeder reactor (FBR) power stations have been liquid metal fast breeder
reactors(LMFBR) cooled by liquid sodium. These have been of one of two designs:

 Loop type, in which the primary coolant is circulated through primary heat exchangers outside the
reactor tank (but inside the biological shield due to radioactive sodium-24 in the primary coolant)
 Pool type, in which the primary heat exchangers and pumps are immersed in the reactor tank
All current fast neutron reactor designs use liquid metal as the primary coolant, to transfer heat from the
core to steam used to power the electricity generating turbines. FBRs have been built cooled by liquid metals
other than sodium—some early FBRs used mercury, other experimental reactors have used a sodium-
potassium alloy called NaK. Both have the advantage that they are liquids at room temperature, which is
convenient for experimental rigs but less important for pilot or full-scale power stations. Lead and lead-
bismuth alloy have also been used. The relative merits of lead vs. sodium are discussed here. Looking further
ahead, three of the proposed generation IV reactor types are FBRs:

 Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (GFR) cooled by helium.

 Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) based on the existing Liquid Metal FBR (LMFBR) and Integral Fast
Reactor designs.
 Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor (LFR) based on Soviet naval propulsion units.
FBRs usually use a mixed oxide fuel core of up to 20% plutonium dioxide (PuO2) and at least 80% uranium
dioxide (UO2). Another fuel option is metal alloys, typically a blend of uranium, plutonium,
and zirconium (used because it is "transparent" to neutrons). Enriched uranium can also be used on its own.
In many designs, the core is surrounded in a blanket of tubes containing non-fissile uranium-238 which, by
capturing fast neutrons from the reaction in the core, is converted to fissile plutonium-239 (as is some of the
uranium in the core), which is then reprocessed and used as nuclear fuel. Other FBR designs rely on the
geometry of the fuel itself (which also contains uranium-238), arranged to attain sufficient fast neutron
capture. The plutonium-239 (or the fissile uranium-235) fission cross-section is much smaller in a fast
spectrum than in a thermal spectrum, as is the ratio between the 239Pu/235U fission cross-section and the 238U

8
Page no: 8 Follow us on facebook to get real-time updates from RGPV
Downloaded from be.rgpvnotes.in
Chameli Devi Group of Institutions
Department of Mechanical Engineering

absorption cross-section. This increases the concentration of239Pu/235U needed to sustain a chain reaction,
as well as the ratio of breeding to fission.
On the other hand, a fast reactor needs no moderator to slow down the neutrons at all, taking advantage of
the fast neutrons producing a greater number of neutrons per fission than slow neutrons. For this reason
ordinary liquid water, being a moderator as well as a neutron absorber, is an undesirable primary coolant
for fast reactors. Because large amounts of water in the core are required to cool the reactor, the yield of
neutrons and therefore breeding of 239Pu are strongly affected. Theoretical work has been done on reduced
moderation water reactors, which may have a sufficiently fast spectrum to provide a breeding ratio slightly
over 1. This would likely result in an unacceptable power derating and high costs in an liquid-water-
cooled reactor, but the supercritical water coolant of the SCWR has sufficient heat capacity to allow
adequate cooling with less water, making a fast-spectrum water-cooled reactor a practical possibility.

Integral Fast Reactor

One design of fast neutron reactor, specifically designed to address the waste disposal and plutonium issues,
was the Integral Fast Reactor (also known as an Integral Fast Breeder Reactor, although the original reactor
was designed to not breed a net surplus of fissile material).
To solve the waste disposal problem, the IFR had an on-site electrowinning fuel reprocessing unit that
recycled the uranium and all the transuranics (not just plutonium) via electroplating, leaving just short half-
life fission products in the waste. Some of these fission products could later be separated for industrial or
medical uses and the rest sent to a waste repository (where they would not have to be stored for anywhere
near as long as wastes containing long half-life transuranic). The IFR pyro processing system uses
molten cadmium cathodes and electro refiners to reprocess metallic fuel directly on-site at the reactor. Such
systems not only commingle all the minor actinides with both uranium and plutonium, they are compact and
self-contained, so that no plutonium-containing material ever needs to be transported away from the site
of the breeder reactor. Breeder reactors incorporating such technology would most likely be designed with
breeding ratios very close to 1.00, so that after an initial loading of enriched uranium and/or plutonium fuel,
the reactor would then be refueled only with small deliveries of natural uranium metal. A quantity of natural
uranium metal equivalent to a block about the size of a milk crate delivered once per month would be all
the fuel such a 1-gigawatt reactor would need. Such self-contained breeders are currently envisioned as the
final self-contained and self-supporting goal of nuclear reactor designers. The project was canceled in 1994,
at the behest of then-United States Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary.

Other fast reactors

Another proposed fast reactor is a fast Molten Salt Reactor, one in which the molten salt's moderating
properties are insignificant. This is typically achieved by replacing the light metal fluorides (e.g. LiF, BeF 2) in
the salt carrier with heavier metal chlorides (e.g., KCl, RbCl, ZrCl4).
Several prototype FBRs have been built, ranging in electrical output from a few light bulbs' equivalent (EBR-
I, 1951) to over 1,000 MWe. As of 2006, the technology is not economically competitive to thermal reactor
technology—but India, Japan, China, South Korea and Russia are all committing substantial research funds
to further development of Fast Breeder reactors, anticipating that rising uranium prices will change this in
the long term. Germany, in contrast, abandoned the technology due to safety concerns. The SNR-300 fast
breeder reactor was finished after 19 years despite cost overruns summing up to a total of 3.6 billion Euros,

9
Page no: 9 Follow us on facebook to get real-time updates from RGPV
Downloaded from be.rgpvnotes.in
Chameli Devi Group of Institutions
Department of Mechanical Engineering

only to then be abandoned. As well as their thermal breeder program, India is also developing FBR
technology, using both uranium and thorium feed stocks.

3.12 Reactor Controls

A nuclear power plant, like any other industrial facilities, requires means for monitoring and controlling its
processes and equipment, called the Instrumentation and Control system.

Control system:
The overall design of the I&C system and associated equipment has to comply with requirements imposed
by the process, nuclear safety and operating conditions.
The Instrumentation and Control system comprises several subsystems with their electrical and electronic
equipment:
sensors which supply measured data – p essu e, te pe atu e of the p i a i uit, the li uid le el … - and
transform physical data into electrical signals,
Programmable controllers to process those signals, and drive the actuators. These systems, based on a
number of input data, provide automatic orders to ensure that process parameters are kept within the range
on which the safety is based or to trigger protection actions such as reactor trip. monitoring and control
means for use by the plant operators (control panels, alarms ...). In the control room, are centralized
sufficient and relevant information and remote control means to monitor the plants.

I&C architecture: a several level structures

Inside the overall I&C architecture, each system is characterized depending on its functions (measurement,
actuation, automation, man-machine interface) and its role in safety or operation of the plant. They are
categorized into classes in accordance with their importance to safety.
Level 0 – The Process interface comprises the sensors, and the switchgears which supply measured data for
control, surveillance and protection systems and for information of the control room staff.
Level 1 – The s ste auto atio e o passes I&C s ste s to pe fo ea to a d tu o-generator
protection, reactor control, surveillance and limitation functions, safety and process automation.
Level 2 – The p o ess supe isio a d o t ol le el o sists of:
The workstations and panels located in the Main Control Room, the Remote Shutdown Station and the
Technical Support Centre, which are also called the Man-Machine Interface (MMI),
The I&C s ste s hi h a t as li k et ee the MMI a d the «s ste auto atio le el.

*****

10
Page no: 10 Follow us on facebook to get real-time updates from RGPV
 We hope you find these notes useful.
You can get previous year question papers at
https://qp.rgpvnotes.in .

If you have any queries or you want to submit your

study notes please write us at
[email protected]