Power Generation Systems

Nuclear Fission
The breaking up of nuclei of
heavy atoms into two nearly
equal parts with release of
huge amount of energy is
known as nuclear fission.
Nuclear Fission
• The release of huge amount of energy during fission is due to mass
• defect i.e. the mass of the final product comes out to be less than the
initial product.
• This mass defect is converted into heat energy according to Einstein’s
relation, E = mc2.
Chain reaction
• Nuclear fission is done by bombarding Uranium nuclei with slow
moving neutrons.
• This splits the Uranium nuclei with the release of huge amount of
energy and emission of neutrons (called fission neutrons).
• These fission neutrons cause further fission. If this process continues,
then in a very short time huge amount of energy will be released
which may cause explosion.
• This is known as explosive chain reaction.
Nuclear Power Station
• A generating station in which nuclear energy is converted into
electrical energy is known as a Nuclear Power Station.
• The most important Feature of a Nuclear Power Station is that Huge
Amount of Electrical Energy can be produced from a Relatively Small
Amount of Nuclear Fuel as compared to other Conventional Types of
Power Stations.
• It has been found that complete Fission of 1 kg of Uranium (U235) can
produce Energy that can be produced by the burning of 4,500 tons of
high grade coal.
• Although, The recovery of principal Nuclear Fuels (i.e., Uranium and
Thorium) is difficult and expensive, yet the Total Energy content of
the estimated world reserves of these Fuels are considerably Higher
than those of Conventional Fuels i.e. coal, oil and gas.

• Nuclear energy can be successfully employed for producing low cost

Electrical Energy on a large scale to meet the growing commercial and
industrial demands.
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• The schematic arrangement of a nuclear power station can be divided
into the following main stages :
• (i) Nuclear reactor (ii) Heat exchanger (iii) Steam turbine
(iv) Alternator.
(i) Nuclear reactor. It is an apparatus in which Nuclear Fuel (U235) is
subjected to nuclear fission.
• A Nuclear Reactor is a Cylindrical Pressure Vessel and Fuel Rods of
Uranium, Moderator and Control rods.
• The Fuel rods constitute the Fission material and release Huge
Amount of Energy when bombarded with slow moving Neutrons.
• The Moderator consists of graphite rods.
• The Moderator slows down the neutrons before they bombard the
fuel rods.
• The control rods are of Cadmium and are inserted into the Reactor.
• Cadmium is strong Neutron absorber and thus regulates the supply of
Neutrons for Fission.
• When the control rods are pushed in deep enough, they absorb most
of Fission Neutrons and Few are available for Chain Reaction which,
therefore, stops.
• However, as they are being withdrawn, more and more of these fission
neutrons cause fission and hence the intensity of chain reaction (or heat
produced) is increased.
• Therefore, by pulling out the control rods, power of the nuclear reactor
is increased, whereas by pushing them in, it is reduced.
• In Actual Practice, the lowering or raising of control rods is accomplished
automatically according to the requirement of load.
• The heat produced in the reactor is removed by the coolant (i.e. to carry
the heat), generally a sodium metal.
• The coolant carries the heat to the heat exchanger.
• Control rods in Reactor controls the Chain Reaction that starts once
the Fission is done. If the chain reaction is not controlled, the result
will be an Explosion due to the fast increase in the Energy released.
• Control of chain reaction is done by systematically removing the
Fission Neutrons from the Reactor.
• The greater the number of Fission Neutrons removed, the lesser is
the intensity (i.e., Fission rate) of energy released.
• If the controlling of chain reaction by control rod is not done in
adequate time then it might cause Nuclear Explosion.
• Load change on any generator is compensated by governor.
• Whenever the load on the Nuclear Power Station is increased,
governor set point activates the control rods.
• Control rods come out and Allow the chain Reaction to grow.
• This growth in Chain Reaction provide sufficient heat to increase the
Steam input to the Turbines.
• Whenever the load on the Nuclear Power Station is decreased,
governor set point activates the control rod.
• Control rods come out and slows down the chain reaction.
• The slowing down of chain reaction reduces heat to decrease the
Steam input to the Turbines.
1. MAGNOX reactor
2. Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor (AGR)
3. Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (CANDU)
4. Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)
5. Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs)
6. Sodium Graphite Reactor (SGR)
7. Fast Breeder Reactor
(ii) Heat exchanger

• It is also termed as steam generator.

• Role of boiler as that in thermal power station is replaced in nuclear
power station by heat exchanger.
• It extracts the heat coming from the reactor via coolant.
• The coolant gives up heat to the heat exchanger which is utilized in
raising the steam.
• After giving up heat, the coolant is again fed to the reactor via coolant
pumps.
(iii) Steam turbine

• Steam generated by heat exchanger comprises of severely high

temperature as well as pressure.
• This high pressure and temperature in the steam is required in order
to produce necessary mechanical work.
• In other words it can be said that the steam possessing high
temperature and pressure have the ability to rotate the turbines.
• The steam produced in the heat exchanger is led to the steam turbine
through a valve.
• After doing a useful work in the turbine, the steam is exhausted to
condenser.
• The condenser condenses the steam which is fed to the heat
exchanger through feed water pump.
Cylindrical type Alternator
• Used for a steam turbine driven alternator.
• The rotor of this generator rotates at very high speed with no. of
poles equal to 2 or 4
• The rotor consists of a smooth solid forged steel cylinder having
certain numbers of slots milled out at intervals along the outer
periphery for accommodating field coils.
• Designed for turbo generator running at 3000 rpm or 1800 rpm
respectively.

PGS/ENGR.SHOAIB SHEIKH 25
(i) The amount of fuel required is quite small. Therefore, there is a
considerable saving in the cost of fuel transportation.
(ii) A nuclear power plant requires less space as compared to an other
type of the same size.
(iii) It has low running charges as a small amount of fuel is used for
producing bulk electrical energy.
(iv) This type of plant is very economical for producing bulk electric
power.
(v) It can be located near the load centres because it does not require
large quantities of water and need not be near coal mines. Therefore,
the cost of primary distribution is reduced.
(vi) There are large deposits of nuclear fuels available all over the world.
Therefore, such plants can ensure continued supply of electrical energy
for thousands of years.
(vii) It ensures reliability of operation.
(i) The fuel used is expensive and is difficult to recover.
(ii) The capital cost on a nuclear plant is very high as compared to other
types of plants.
(iii) The erection and commissioning of the plant requires greater
technical know-how.
(iv) The fission by-products are generally radioactive and may cause a
dangerous amount of radioactive pollution.
(v) Maintenance charges are high due to radio active control. Moreover,
high salaries of specially trained personnel employed to handle the
plant further raise the cost.
(vi) Nuclear power plants are not well suited for varying loads as the
reactor does not respond to the load fluctuations efficiently.
(vii) The disposal of the by-products, which are radioactive, is a big
problem. They have either to be disposed off in a deep trench or in a
sea away from sea-shore.
(i) Availability of Water.
As sufficient water is required for cooling purposes, therefore, the plant
site should be located where ample quantity of water is available, e.g.,
across a river or by sea-side.
(ii) Disposal of waste.
• The waste produced by fission in a nuclear power station is generally
radioactive which must be disposed off properly to avoid health
hazards.
• The waste should either be buried in a deep trench or disposed off in
sea quite away from the sea shore.
• Therefore, the site selected for such a plant should have adequate
arrangement for the disposal of radioactive waste.
(iii) Distance from populated areas.
• The site selected for a nuclear power station should be quite away
from the populated areas as there is a danger of presence of
radioactivity in the atmosphere near the plant.
• However, as a precautionary measure, a dome is used in the plant
which does not allow the radioactivity to spread by wind or
underground waterways.
(iv) Transportation facilities.
• The site selected for a nuclear power station should have adequate
facilities in order to transport the heavy equipment during erection
and to facilitate the movement of the workers employed in the plant.
• From the above mentioned factors it becomes apparent that ideal
choice for a nuclear power station would be near sea or river and
away from thickly populated areas.
• Radiations might raise the temperature of the surroundings.
• Radiations can damage cells, DNA, materials.
• Nuclear Reactor, if not properly controlled can cause catastrophic
disaster in the nearby population.
• Radiations are severely dangerous for all the human being, animals
and plants in the nearby vicinity.
• Even Nuclear waster have the ability to emit sever radiations to cause
significant damages.
• In Nuclear Power Stations, it is very important to take care of the
disposal of the waste which is likely to have radioactivity.
• The main sources of gaseous discharge and any liquid waste are
sampled and recorded in order to keep a detail inventory.
• Waste from nuclear power station arise in three states.
1. Gaseous Waste
2. Liquid Waste
3. Solid Waste
1. Gaseous waste
• Gaseous waste require no treatment other than filtration before
being discharged.
• In the extremely unlikely event of a fire in a reactor fuel channel, the
gaseous fission products would be released.
• The gas should be passed through a clean up plant to remove
radioactive iodine which constitute major gaseous hazards.
• The loss of carbon dioxide from a reactor is monitored and should not
exceed 1 or 1.5 kg a day.
2. Liquid Waste
• At several nuclear stations, liquid waste can be discharged following
filtration, by adjustment of pH value and by diluting and mixing with
the station cooling water discharge.
• All potentially radioactive liquids discharged from stations are
monitored and the quantities discharged are noted in a register for
the record.
• Special care must be taken to prevent leakage of liquids containing
radioactive substance into ground in the area around power plant.
• This is facilitated by designing a special concrete tank as water
retaining structure.
• 3. Solid wastes
• Solid wastes arise from discarded control rods and pieces of fuel cans
of uranium.
• These wastes are to be kept in shielded concrete vaults. Care is taken
to isolated materials which are chemically combustible.
• These expired fuel elements comprise the most highly radioactive
wastes.
• That is why they are stored in a water or air cooled shielded area to
allow them to decay with the passage of time.
• Then returned to atomic energy authority for processing.
• Uranium produce highly Radioactive by products Strontium-90,
iodine-131 and caesium-137 which are severely dangerous for the
environment surrounding the plant.
• These by products need to be handled very carefully, otherwise they
might cause harmful impact.
• Numerous studies have been done on possible effect of nuclear
power in causing cancer.
• Such studies have looked for excess cancers in both plant workers and
surrounding populations due to releases during normal operations of
nuclear plants and other parts of the nuclear power industry, as well
as excess cancers in workers and the public due to accidental releases.
• One of the most negative impact of nuclear power generation is in
the terms of radiations.
• Radiation emitted by the plant have a significant effect on the wildlife
surrounding the areas and specially lake/river associated with the
nuclear power plant.
• Nuclear power plant generate more heat waste in the air as
compared to coal fired power plant.
• This is one the most important factor in evaluation of the
environmental assessment of the power plant in comparison with
steam power station.