The temelin nuclear power plant, south bohemia, czech republic. In a research reactor the main purpose is to utilise the actual neutrons produced in the core. All of them have a supply of radioactive fuel pellets usually uranium oxide, which are arranged in tubes to form fuel rods in the reactor core source. A nuclear power plant is a facility that converts atomic energy into usable power. Uranium is an abundant metal and is full of energy. The three advantages of nuclear power are the significant amount of energy is available to us in the form of nuclear energy, we have been building and operating fission reactors for years, and there are obvious pollutants radioactive, thermal, it doesnt add to the greenhouse effect. Most reactors in the united states use ordinary water, but reactors in other countries sometimes use graphite, or heavy water, in which the hydrogen has been replaced with deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen with one proton and one neutron source. This chapter will discuss the purposes of some of the. Construction of the first nuclear power plant to the established safety. Nuclear power plant design characteristics iaea scientific and. Nuclear reactor fission reactor what is nuclear power. The basic components of the powergenerating portion of a nuclear power.
The heats produced by a reactor is generally used to drive a turbine which in turn drives an electric generator. A coolant fluid enters the core at low temperature and exits at a higher temperature after collecting the fission. Main electrical generator, isolated phase bus duct, stepup transformer, station auxiliary. In a nuclear power reactor, the energy released is used as heat to make steam to generate electricity. Safe, secure and efficient operation of the first nuclear power plant. Main condenser main turbine electric nuclear generator steam supply system throttle valve feedwater pump nuclear fuel steam plant in a nuclear power plant, many of th e components are similar to those in a fossilfueled plant, except that the steam boiler is replaced by a nuclear steam suppl y system nsss. Government and utility funding is required to establish major components of the basic nuclear infrastructure. Pressurized water reactor pwr systems for a nuclear power plant to perf orm the function of generating elect ricity, many different systems must perform their functions. This safety guide provides recommendations and guidance on how to meet the requirements established in specific safety requirements no. The progressive expansion of nuclear power production is put into perspective in. The only difference is that, instead of using heat generated due to coal combustion, here in a nuclear power plant, the heat generated due to nuclear fission is used to produce steam from water in the boiler.
The main components specific to a reactor are located in the nuclear island. A nuclear reactor produces and controls the release of energy from splitting the atoms of certain elements. The core of the reactor contains all of the nuclear fuel and generates all of the heat. As is typical in all conventional thermal power stations the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity. A large amount of heat energy is generated due to nuclear fission. There are four main circuits in any thermal power plant and these are. Containment building it is the building in which reactor is located, it is designed such as if in any emergency, to contain the escape of radioactive steam or gas to a maximum pressure in the range of 40 to 80 psi 410 to 1400 kpa materials used reinforced steel or lead structure. The reactor is a key component of a power plant, as it contains the fuel and its nuclear chain reaction, along with all of the nuclear waste products. A nuclear power plant is a type of power station that generates electricity using heat from. Rest parts of a nuclear power plant are very similar to conventional thermal power plants. Reactor core it consists of fuel elements, control rods, coolant, moderator and pressure vessels. The fuel is transported from mines via trains to the fuel storage facility in a power plant. From this point of view nuclear reactors are divided into. Condense and recover the steam that passes through the turbine condensers are used in all power plants that use steam as the driving force maintain a vacuum to optimize the efficiency of the turbine.
The basic principle of a nuclear power station is the same as a conventional thermal power station. Components and operation nuclear reactor main article. Section two offers an explanation of how nuclear power reactors are able to. In a nuclear power plant, many of the components are similar to those in a fossilfueled plant, except that. This diagram shows all the parts of a nuclear reactor. In a nuclear power plant, the heat source is the nuclear reactor, often referred to as the reactor core. Nuclear reactor, any of a class of devices that can initiate and control a selfsustaining series of nuclear fission s. Modern power plants have an extensive electrical distribution system to provide reliable power to all of the support equipment in the power plant. Uses the energy of the steam to turn a turbinegenerator that produces electricity. Nuclear reactor types 3 the most widely used reactor type in the world is the pressurised water reactor pwr see fig 1.
Main electric power and balance of plant systems and equipment of qinshan phas iii candu nuclear power plant ji yan, jin wanggui, he ping, and surya varanasi east china electric power design institute atomic energy of canada limited abstract this paper provides a brief description of major systems for the balance of plant bop. The cover photograph shows sizewell b nuclear power station under construction nuclear reactor types. Parts of thermal power plants bright hub engineering. After closure of a nuclear power plant, the licensee has to reduce the residual radioactivity to safe levels. Khalil department of mechanical power engineering, cairo university, cairo, egypt. India has a largely indigenous nuclear power programme which is controlled by nuclear power corporation of india ltd. The key components common to most nuclear power plants are. The utility operating the power plant is in the business of generating electrical power twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. In this way the plant was brought to meet widely recognised safety standards. The nuclear power plant npp design characteristics represent a fundamental part of the power reactor information system pris database. There are so many types with wildly different characteristics from boiling water reactors to high temperature gas cooled reactors. It does not come out of the ground ready to go into a reactor, though. The power reactor information system pris is a comprehensive data source on nuclear power plants npps in the world.
There are several components common to most types of. A reactor also has a moderator, a substance that slows the neutrons and helps control the fission process. The coolant system plays a pivotal role in performing this function. Main electric power and balance of plant systems and.
This article provides an overview of fossilfuel power plant ffpp con. One uranium fuel pellet creates as much energy as one ton of coal, 149 gallons of oil or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas. Main purpose of the nuclear reactor is to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. First, a brief introduction of ffpp fundamentals and con. Based on the analysis, it assesses and discusses different options to improve the efficiency of the system. Boiling water reactor bwr systems this chapter will discuss the purposes of some of the major systems and components associated with a boiling water reactor bwr in the generation of electrical power. This is basic rankine cycle, working principle the thermal power plant, which consists of primary four components including boiler, turbine, condenser and feed pump.
In each plant, whether nuclear or fossilfueled, the following basic components are present. It includes specification and performance history data of operating reactors as well as of reactors under construction or being decommissioned. Making the transition from operations to decommissioning. Objectives after studying this unit, you should be able to understand the concept of power plant, understand the types of power plants, know the types of fuels. 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. Components of nuclear power plant linkedin slideshare. Unit a at the decomissioned german biblis nuclear power plant was designed to modulate its output 15% per minute between 40% to 100% of its nominal power.
The npp design characteristics represent a fundamental part of the pris database. The reactor core consists of 241 fuel assemblies made of fuel rods containing uranium dioxide uo2 fuel. Nuclear fission of heavy elements such as uranium or thorium is carried out in a special apparatus called as a nuclear reactor. Reactor core and fuel design the reactor core of apr1400 is designed to generate 3,987 mw thermal power with an average volumetric power density of 100. They provide important information on the main components of an npp unit, such as the reactor or turbine, briefly describe safety and essential auxiliary systems. It is found that fission of only 1 kg of uranium produces as. Section four discusses the costs of building a nuclear power plant and the economic competitiveness of nuclear power compared with. It contains lowenriched uranium of thousands of individual fuel pins. Nuclear power station or nuclear power plant electrical4u. Mar 03, 2020 the basic principle of a nuclear power station is the same as a conventional thermal power station. Steam power plant configuration, design, and control.
There are several different types of nuclear reactors, but they all have some common characteristics. Basic infrastructure for a nuclear power project june 2006. Ill second simons nucleartourist site recommendation for a bunch of conventional nuclear reactors. Power plant electrical distribution systems gary w castleberry, pe. The heat source in the nuclear power plant is a nuclear reactor. As the scope of the nuclear energy is expanded, the role of materials is at the front and center. The main use of nuclear energy is the production of electric energy. Process description of a coalfired power plant a coalfired power plant burns coal to produce electricity.
A nuclear reactor is a key device of nuclear power plants. The fuel transported to the plant is generally bigger in particle size and before it is fed to the boiler furnace it is broken down into smaller pieces using crushers. Because india is outside the nuclear nonproliferation treaty due to its weapons programme, it was, for 34 years, largely excluded from trade in nuclear plant and materials. Operating lifetime of 60 years with a design plant availability of. The condenser support systems have the following functions.
They provide important information on the main components of an npp unit, such as the reactor or turbine, briefly describe safety. Government and utility funding is required to establish major components of the basic nuclear. Though each plant is unique in itself in terms of specific features and functionalities, still there is a broad outline to which all thermal power plants confirm to and in this article we will study about the general layout of a typical power plant. Nuclear reactors nuclear power plant nuclear reactor. It is an apparatus in which heat is produced due nuclear fission chain reaction for the generation of electricity. Nuclear power plants are routinely used in load following mode on a large scale in france, although it is generally accepted that this is not an ideal economic situation for nuclear stations. Thermal power station process flowchart and diagram. Nuclear power plant for generating a good amount of electricitynuclear energy now provides about 11% of the worlds electricity from about 450 power reactors. It contains lowenriched uranium bwr systems this chapter will discuss the purposes of some of the major systems and components associated with a boiling water reactor bwr in the generation of electrical power.
Nuclear reactors are used as research tools, as systems for producing radioactive isotope s, and most prominently as energy sources for nuclear power plants. The tianwan nuclear power plant uses many third party parts. Objectives after studying this unit, you should be able to understand the concept of power plant, understand the types of power plants, know the types of fuels, and describes the main components of power plants. Unit 1 introduction to power plants introduction to. A coolant fluid enters the core at low temperature and exits at a higher temperature after collecting the fission energy.