Lecture 2: Nuclear Power Plants PDF

NUCE 402: Introduction to Nuclear System and Operation Chapter 1-2: Types of Nuclear Power Plants Dr. Ahmed Alkaabi Type of Plants  Neutron Energy  Coolant Light water (H2O) Light Water Reactors(LWR) Heavy Water (D2O) Pressurized Water Rea...

NUCE 402: Introduction to Nuclear System and Operation Chapter 1-2: Types of Nuclear Power Plants Dr. Ahmed Alkaabi Type of Plants  Neutron Energy  Coolant Light water (H2O) Light Water Reactors(LWR) Heavy Water (D2O) Pressurized Water Reactors(PWR) Boiling Water Reactors(PWR) Gas RBMK Reactor VVER Reactor Liquid Metal Heavy Water Reactors Molten Salt Canada Deuterium Uranium(CANDU) Indian Heavy Water Reactor(KNUPP)  Moderator Gas-Cooled Reactors Light Water Advanced Gas Reactor(AGR) High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor(HTGR) Heavy Water Pebble Bed Modular Reactor(PBMR) Graphite Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor(GCFR) Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactors(LMFBR) Sodium Fast Breeder Reactor (SFR) Molten Salt Breeder Reactor (MSBR) Light Water Breeder Reactor (LWBR) 2  Nuclear power plants in the world  Reactor types Mainly pressurized water reactors (PWR) are used in the nuclear power plants world-wide – 70 (63) % according to the number, 74 (68) % according to the output - followed by boiling water reactors (BWR) – 14 (18) % according to the number, 16 (20) % according to the output. *( ) data from 2015 Reactor type Main countries Number GWe Fuel Coolant Moderator USA, France, Japan, Russia, Pressurized water reactor (PWR) 304 288.7 enriched UO2 water water China, South Korea USA, Japan, Boiling water reactor (BWR) 61 61.8 enriched UO2 water water Sweden Pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) Canada, India 48 24.5 natural UO2 heavy water heavy water natural U (metal), Advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR) UK 11 6.1 CO2 graphite enriched UO2 Light water graphite reactor (LWGR) Russia 11 7.4 enriched UO2 water graphite Fast neutron reactor (FBR) Russia 2 1.4 PuO2 and UO2 liquid sodium none High temperature gas-cooled reactor China 1 0.2 enriched UO2 helium graphite (HTGR) TOTAL 438 390.1 *Nuclear Power Plants, world-wide, reactor types, January 2022 https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/nuclear-power-reactors/nuclear-power-reactors.aspx 3 Type of Plants Power Reactors and Nuclear Steam Supply systems  Pressurized water reactor and boiling water reactors  Evolutionary pressurized water reactors (next time~)  Evolutionary boiling water reactors (next time~)  Heavy-water moderated reactors  Gas cooled reactors (next time~)  Pressurized Water Reactor Most Successful Power Reactor  Coolant : H2O  Fuel : enriched UO2  Operating conditions  15.5 MPa primary: ~320oC  7.4 MPa secondary: ~290oC  h ~33% The pressurized water Reactor Schematic arrangement of the major components of a PWR The pressurized water Reactor Reactor vessel Figure 4.6 Cross-sectional view of a PWR. (Courtesy of Combustion Engineering, Inc.) The pressurized water Reactor U-tube steam generator (Courtesy of Westinghouse Electric Corporation.) The pressurized water Reactor Pressurizer (Courtesy of Westinghouse Electric Corporation.) The pressurized water Reactor Fuel Assembly for a PWR (Courtesy of Babcock & Wilcox Company.)  Boiling Water Reactor Second Popular Reactor Type  Direct Cycle  Coolant : H2O  Fuel : enriched UO2 The Boiling-Water Reactor Reactor vessel of BWR  Advantage Direct cycle – No IHX required – Less pumping power – Less pressure – Less thickness of RV – Effective to remove latent heat – Operating pressure: – ~7.2 MPa or 900 psi – Tout = 290oC cf) PWR 15 Mpa  Disadvantage All component must be shielded Figure 4.1 1 Cross-sectional view of a boiling-water reactor. The motion of the water is shown by arrows. (Courtesy of General Electric Company.) The Boiling-Water Reactor Jet Pump of BWR Saturated steam : 290’C Pressure: 7 Mpa Overall efficiency : 33~34% Figure 4.12 Schematic drawing of a jet pump. Drawing is not to scale-the actual pump is much more elongated than indicated. (Courtesy of General Electric Company.)  Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor D2O moderator  Natural U No enrichment plants  Choice for Canada CANDU (CANadian Deuterium Uranium)  Less thermal n absorption than H 2O But with more collision Larger core  Separate moderator and coolant Pressure Tube  10MPa, 310C max PHWR Fuel Channel ( Calandria)  Feeders  Allows on-line refueling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YhHNjjFqb0  Russian Reactor Designs -RBMK RBMK (16 reactors operating now)  Channelized large power reactor Two loop of main coolant circulation system (MCC) Online refueling - (like CANDU) Graphite moderator Light water cooled Vertical pressure tube Boiling water reactor Low enrichment ~2 w/o No containment Russian Reactor Designs -RBMK RBMK – Fuel Assembly Figure 4.20 Fuel assembly: 1 -suspension bracket, 2-top plug, 3-adapter, 4-onnecting rod, 5-fuel element, carrier rod, 7-end sleeve, 8-endcap, 9-retaining nut. (lgnalina RBMK-1500, A Source Book, Lithuanian Energy Institute.) Russian Reactor Designs -VVER VVER  Russian designed PWR VVER 440 - No containment VVER 1000 - Containment Gas Cooled Thermal Reactor GCR  Choice for UK & France  Natural Uranium  Graphite-moderated  Conversion 238U to 239 Pu for military purpose during World War II  AGR Coolant gas CO2 Figure 4.23 The Hinkley Point B advanced gas reactor: (1) reactor core, (2) supporting grid. Chemically stable below 540oC (3) gas baffle, (4) circulator outlet gas duct. (5) steam generator, (6) thermal insulation. (7,8) steam duct penetrations, (9) steam generator feed water inlet penetrations, (10) gallery for access to cable stressing concrete reactor vessel, (11) gas circulators. Courtesy of the Nuclear Power Group, Limited.