MUHAMMAD AHKAM KHAN (09-6394) MUHAMMAD WAQAR (09-6391)

Nuclear fuel is any material that can be consumed to derive nuclear energy. The most common type of nuclear fuel is fissile elements that can be made to undergo nuclear fission chain reactions in a nuclear reactor.

The most common nuclear fuels are 235U and 239Pu. Not all nuclear fuels are used in fission chain reactions.

When a neutron strikes an atom of uranium, the uranium splits into two lighter atoms and releases heat simultaneously.

Fission of heavy elements is an exothermic

reaction which can release large amounts of

energy both as electromagnetic radiation and

as kinetic energy of the fragments.

A chain reaction refers to a process in which neutrons released in fission produce an additional fission in at least one further nucleus. This nucleus in turn produces neutrons, and the process repeats. If the process is controlled it is used for nuclear power or if uncontrolled it is used for nuclear weapons.

A major design advantage is the fact that fuel leaks, such as ruptured fuel rods, are isolated in the core and primary loop. That is, radioactive material contained inside the fuel is not allowed to go outside of the containment shell. The pressurized water reactor can be operated at higher temperature/pressure combinations, and this allows an increase in the efficiency of the turbine generator system. Another advantage is that it is believed that a pressurized water reactor is more stable than other designs. This is because boiling is not allowed to take place inside the reactor vessel.

The coolant water must be highly pressurized to remain liquid at high temperatures. This requires high strength piping and a heavy pressure vessel and hence increases construction costs. Under certain circumstances, the pressurized water reactor can produce power at a faster rate than the cooling water can remove heat. If this event takes place, there is a high probability of fuel rod damage.

A major advantage of the BWR is that the overall thermal efficiency is greater than that of a pressurized water reactor because there is no separate steam generator or heat exchanger. Controlling the reactor is a little easier than in a PWR because it is accomplished by controlling the flow of water through the core. Increasing the water flow increases the power generated. Because of the nature of the design, the reactor vessel is subjected to less radiation, and this is considered to be an advantage because some steels become brittle with exposure to excessive radiation.

Much larger pressure vessel than for a PWR of similar power, with correspondingly higher cost. This larger pressure vessel also increases the cost of the BWR. The design does allow a small amount of radioactive contamination to get into the turbine system. This modest radioactivity requires that anybody working on the turbine must wear appropriate protective clothing and use the proper equipment.

A nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear chain reactions are initiated, controlled, and sustained at a steady rate, as opposed to a nuclear bomb, in which the chain reaction occurs in a fraction of a second and is uncontrolled causing an explosion.

Control rods, made of a material that absorbs neutrons are inserted into the reactor to control the nuclear reaction using a mechanism that

can rise or lower the control rods.

The control rods essentially contain neutron

absorbers like, boron, cadmium or indium.

Steam generators are heat exchangers used to convert water into steam from heat produced in a nuclear reactor core.

Either ordinary water or heavy water is used as

the coolant.

A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into useful mechanical

energy.

Various high-performance alloys and super

alloys have been used for steam generator

tubing.

The coolant pump pressurizes the coolant to pressures of the order of 155bar.

The pressure of the coolant loop is maintained almost constant with the help of the pump and a pressurizer unit.

Steam coming out of the turbine, flows through the condenser for condensation and recirculated for the next cycle of operation.

The feed pump circulates the condensed water

in the working fluid loop.

Condenser is a device or unit which is used to condense vapor into liquid.

The objective of the condenser is to reduce the

turbine exhaust pressure to increase the efficiency

and to recover high quality feed water in the form of condensate & feed back it to the steam generator without any further treatment.

Cooling towers are heat removal devices used to transfer process waste heat to the atmosphere.

Water circulating through the condenser is

taken to the cooling tower for cooling and

reuse.

Nuclear power generation does emit relatively low

amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). The emissions of

green house gases and therefore the contribution of nuclear power plants to global warming is therefore

relatively little.

This technology is readily available, it does not have to be developed first. It is possible to generate a high amount of electrical energy in one single plant.

The problem of radioactive waste is still an unsolved one. It is technically impossible to build a plant with

100% security.

The energy source for nuclear energy is Uranium. Uranium is a scarce resource, its supply is estimated to last only for the next 30 to 60 years depending on the actual demand.

Nuclear power plants as well as nuclear waste could be preferred targets for terrorist attacks..

During the operation of nuclear power plants, radioactive waste is produced, which in turn can be used for the production of nuclear

weapons.