Mohammad Shohel Rana

NUCLEAR Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

POWER PLANT 4th year 2nd semester
Reg. No: 2016339039
 ❑ Electricity was generated by a nuclear reactor for the first time ever
on September 3, 1948, at the X-10 Graphite Reactor in Oak Ridge,
Tennessee, US which was the first nuclear power station to power a
light bulb.

HISTORY ❑ The second, rather larger experiment occurred on December 20,

1951, at the EBR-I experimental station near Arco, Idaho.
OF ❑ On June 27, 1954, the world's first nuclear power station to
NUCLEAR generate electricity for a power grid, the Obninsk Nuclear Power
Plant, started operations in Obninsk of the Soviet Union.

POWER ❑ The world's first full scale power station, Calder Hall in England,
opened on October 17, 1956.
PLANT ❑ The world's first full scale power station solely devoted to
electricity production—Calder Hall was also meant to produce
plutonium—the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in
Pennsylvania, United States—was connected to the grid on
December 18, 1957.
 ❑ A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the
heat source is a nuclear reactor.

WHAT IS ❑ As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate

steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that
NUCLEAR produces electricity.

POWER ❑ As of 2018, the International Atomic Energy Agency

reported there were 450 nuclear power reactors in operation in
PLANT 30 countries.

❑ Nuclear power plants are usually considered to be base load

stations, which are best suited to constant power output.
Nuclear Energy
❑ Nuclear energy is the energy in the nucleus of an atom.

❑ In other word, nuclear energy is the energy that holds neutrons and protons.

❑ This energy can be obtained in two ways:

Nuclear Fusion

Nuclear Fission reaction is used in Nuclear

Power Plant.
Nuclear Fission
 ❑ Nuclear fuel is the fuel that is used in a nuclear reactor to
sustain a nuclear chain reaction.

❑ These fuels are fissile.

NUCLEAR
FUEL ❑ and the most common nuclear fuels are the radioactive metals
uranium-235 and plutonium-239.

❑ All processes involved in obtaining, refining, and using this fuel

make up a cycle known as the nuclear fuel cycle.
Nuclear Fuel Cycle
The Nuclear fuel cycle is the series of industrial processes
that describe uranium throughout its life cycle; from
mining to processing to generating electricity and finally to
its reprocessing and waste.

Essentially all activities involved with nuclear power from

its beginning to end are considered to be part of the nuclear
fuel cycle.

The cycle is split into two parts;

• The front end
• The back end
❑ Front end includes mining, milling, processing,
enrichment, and nuclear fuel fabrication.
❑ The back end includes the primary goal of the fuel
cycle, the generation of electricity, along with
temporary storage, reprocessing, recycling, and wastes.
 ❑ Nuclear fission is a process in nuclear physics in which the nucleus
of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei as fission
products, and usually some by-product particles.

❑ Hence, fission is a form of elemental transmutation.

❑ The by-products include:

NUCLEAR •
•
free neutrons,
photons usually in the form gamma rays, and

FISSION • other nuclear fragments such as beta particles and alpha particles.

❑ Fission of heavy elements is an exothermic reaction and can

release substantial amounts of useful energy both as gamma rays
and as kinetic energy of the fragments (heating the bulk material
where fission takes place).

❑ Nuclear fission produces energy for nuclear power and to drive

explosion of nuclear weapons.
NUCLEAR
FISSION
 ❑ Nuclear chain reactions are series of nuclear fissions (splitting
NUCLEAR of atomic nuclei), each initiated by a neutron produced in a
preceding fission.
CHAIN 1
❑ For example, 2 2 neutrons on the average are released by the
REACTION fission of each uranium-235 nucleus that absorbs a low-energy
neutron.
 NUCLEAR
CHAIN
REACTION
WHY NUCLEAR ❑ It requires 100 million degrees Celsius which is 6 times hotter
than sun to occur nuclear fusion.
FISSION
IS PREFERRED ❑ Which can’t be created on earth.
 U-235
U-238
(99.282%) (0.712%)
❑ Natural Uranium consists of

URANIUM U-234

AS FUEL
❑ U-235 is used as fuel in nuclear power plants.
 ❑ The whole arrangement can be divided into the following
main stages.

ARRANGEMENT Nuclear
Reactor

OF NUCLEAR
POWER PLANT Nuclear
Heat
Exchanger Power Steam
Turbine

Plant

Alternator
NUCLEAR
REACTOR
 ❑ Control Rods
❑ Steam Generators
❑ Steam Turbine
COMPONENTS ❑ Coolant Pump
OF NUCLEAR ❑ Feed Pump
REACTOR ❑ Condenser
❑ Cooling Tower
CONTROL RODS
❑ Control rods are made of a material that
absorbs neutrons are inserted into the
bundle 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
❑ Steam generators are heat exchangers
used to convert water into steam from
heat produced in a nuclear reactor core.
❑ Either ordinary or heavy water is used as
the coolant
STEAM
TURBINE
❑ Steam turbine is a mechanical device
that extracts thermal energy from
pressurized steam and converts in into
useful mechanical.
❑ Various high-performance alloys and
super alloys have been used for steam
generator tubing.
TYPES OF NUCLEAR
REACTOR Boiling water
reactor (BWR)

Pressurized
❑ Reactors can be heterogeneous or heavy water
homogeneous. A heterogeneous reactor reactor
has a large number of fuel rods with (PHWR)
coolant circulating around them and
carrying away the heat released by
Nuclear
nuclear fission. Reactor
❑ In a homogeneous reactor, the fuel and Pressurized Liquid-metal
moderator are mixed, e.g. A fissionable water reactor fast breeder
(PWR) reactor
salt of uranium like uranium sulphate or (LMFBR)
nitrate dissolved in the moderator like High-
H2O or D2O temperature
gas-cooled
reactor
(HTGR)
 HOW A NUCLEAR REACTOR
WORKS
❑ U-235 fissions by absorbing a neutron and producing 2 to 3 numbers, which initiate on average
one more fission to make a controlled chain reaction.
❑ Normal water is used as a moderator to slow the neutrons since slow neutrons take longer to pass
by a U nucleus and have more time to be absorbed.
❑ The protons in the hydrogen in the water have the same mass as the neutron and stop them by a
billiard ball effect.
❑ The extra neutrons are taken up by protons to form deuterons.
❑ U-235 is enriched from 0.7% in nature to about 3% to produce reaction and is contained in rods in
the water.
❑ Boron control rods are inserted to absorb neutrons when it is time to shut down the reactor
❑ The hot water is boiled or sent through a heat exchanger to produce steam, then the steam powers
the turbines.
 WHY NUCLEAR POWER
PLANT
❑ If all the atoms of 1kg of pure U-235 are fissioned, the energy released it will be equivalent to that
contained in 3 × 106 kg of coal.

❑ It has low running charges as a small amount of fuel is used for producing bulk electrical.

❑ Nuclear power plants operate at much higher capacity factors than renewable energy sources or
fossil fuels.
Nuclear Power in the
World Today
❑ The first commercial nuclear power stations started operation in the 1950s

❑ There are over 440 nuclear power station in 31 countries.

❑ Electric net capacity of about 392 GW are in operation.

❑ About 60 plants with an installed capacity of 60 GW are in 16 countries under

construction.

❑ 11% of total power generation comes from nuclear power station

 Developed countries

Percentage of nuclear power generation of total power generation.

Top 10 Nuclear Generating
countries
Nuclear Power Plant in
Bangladesh
❑ Having a vastly populated country we need to meet our demand of electricity.

❑ We need to decrease pressure on gas and coal base power plants.

❑ 66% of total generation comes from gas-based power plants.

❑ We need to stop rental power plants generate more by using nuclear power as the running cost is
very low and required less space
Current status on Nuclear
Power Plant in Bangladesh
❑ June 2007, Bangladesh's government announced plans to build a nuclear power
plant.

❑ February 2011, Bangladesh reached an agreement with Russia to build the

2,400megawatt (MW) Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant with two reactors, each of
which will generate 1,200 MW of power to meet electricity shortages.
Roopur Nuclear Power Plant

❑ It will be the country's first

nuclear power plant.

❑ The two units generating

2.4 GWe are planned to be
operational in 2023 and
2024.

❑ It was built by the Russian

Rosatom State Atomic
Energy Corporation.

Ongoing project
Roopur Nuclear Power Plant
Nuclear Energy & its future
in Bangladesh
❑ Plan to have two 1000 MW Russian nuclear power reactors in operation from 2018.

❑ Building a nuclear power plant was first proposed in 1961.

❑ The Rooppur site in Pabna district was selected in 1963.

❑ In 2007 the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission proposed two 500 MW nuclear reactors for Rooppur by
2015, costs of US$ 0.9-1.2 billion for a 600 MW unit and US$ 1.5-2.0 billion for 1000 MW.

Why we will be benefitted

❑ The plant will cost more at first, but the overall costs will come down due to long-term power
generation.
Is it safe
❑ The Rooppur nuclear power plant in Pabna will be built using the ‘safest technology’, says Bangladesh
Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) Chairman Md. Ali Zulquarnain.

❑ Locals of the area will not have to move from the project area, he says, even if an accident happens.

Advantages
The amount of fuel required is quite small.
❑ A nuclear power plant requires less space as compared to any other power plants.
❑ This type of power plant is very economical for producing large amount of electric power.
❑ Running cost is low as it takes small amount of fuel.
❑ It can be located near to the load centers.

Disadvantages
❑ The fuel used is very expensive & difficult to recover. • The capital cost is also very high.
❑ This plant is not well suited for varying loads as the reactor does not respond instantly.
❑ The fission by product are radioactive and may cause a dangerous radioactive pollution.
❑ Maintenance cost is very high.
Thank you