Deepakkumar Yadav
The Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) Power Plant and its Advantages and Disadvantages The schematic diagram of PWR power plant is shown in Figure. It uses enriched uranium. The water or heavy water (usually) under pressure is used both as coolant and moderator. Before starting the reactor the water in pressuriser is boiled and converted into … Read more
Types of Nuclear Reactor Power Plants There are many concepts for nuclear reactors, however, we shall limit our discussion to the following types of plants which have been built commercially. These are : Thermal reactors : Pressurized water reactor (PWR) power plant. Boiling water reactor (BWR) power plants. The gas cooled reactor (GCR) power plants. … Read more
Classification of Nuclear Reactors The nuclear reactors can be classified based on the following systems : 1. Based on neutron energy : There are further classified as : (i) Fast reactors : A reactors in which the fission is due to non-moderated neutrons is called fast reactor. Such reactors use enriched uranium. (ii) Slow or thermal … Read more
Main Components of a Nuclear Reactor and their Functions The main components of a nuclear reactor are shown in Figure. The function of various components and the reactor control is described below. 1. Reactor vessel : The reactor vessel is designed to withstand high pressures and it is usually made from low carbon steel. It … Read more
Radioactivity Most of the naturally occurring elements are stable. However, some of the isotopes of heavy elements such as thallium, bismuth, radium and uranium are unstable isotopes. These unstable elements undergo stages of disintegration and emit radiations till a more stable nucleus is reached. Such elements are called radioactive isotopes. Thus the radioactivity can be … Read more
Elements of a Nuclear Power Plant Basic elements of a nuclear power plant as shown in Figure are : Nuclear reactor. Coolant and coolant pump. Heat exchanger. Steam turbine, condenser and generator. In a nuclear power plant, a nuclear reactor is used to generate heat energy by splitting the atom of the nuclear fuel in … Read more
Conversion of Nuclear Energy Natural uranium consists of three isotopes of uranium as 92U238, 92U235, 93U234. In natural uranium the availability of U238 is largest upto the extent of 99.28%, U235 is only 0.715% which is most unstable and the remainder 0.006% is U234. In 92U238, number 92 represent 92 protons, number 238 represent its mass number and the difference (238-92) … Read more
Distinguish Between Fission and Fusion Reaction Sr. No. Fission Fusion 1. Enormous amount of energy is liberate. Enormous amount of energy is liberated. 2. A heavy nucleus splits into two nuclei. Two lighter nuclei fuse together. 3. The process is possible at room temperature. Process is possible only at very high temperature. 4. The link … Read more
Nuclear Fusion Nuclear fusion is the process in which two lighter nuclei are combined to be fused together to from a heavier and stable nucleus. The mass of the product nucleus formed is less than the sum of the masses of the nuclei fused. The mass difference or the mass defect is converted into energy … Read more
Nuclear Binding Energy There exists a difference in the theoretically calculated mass of nuclei (i.e. sum of masses of protons and neutrons) and the actual mass of the atomic nucleus. This difference in mass is called the mass defect (△m). This mass defect is found by adding up the masses of all the individual particles … Read more