РефератыИностранный языкPoPower Plants Essay Research Paper An electrical

Power Plants Essay Research Paper An electrical

Power Plants Essay, Research Paper


An electrical power plant has a nuclear reactor to produce


electricity. A nuclear reactor produces heat through nuclear


fission in which atomic muclei break apart releasing large amounts


of energy. In the core of the reactor, a self-sustaining


nuclear reaction takes place.


The power level of an operating reactor is monitored by a variety


of thermal, flow, and nuclear instruments. Power output is controlled


by inserting or removing from the core a group of netron-absorbing control


rods. The position of these rods determines the power level at which


the chain reaction is just self-sustaining.


In the pressurized water reactor, the water collant operates at a pressure


150 atmospheres. It is pumped through the reactor core, where it is heated


to about 620oF. The superheated water is pumped through a steam generator


where, through heat exchangers, a secondary loop of water is heated and


converted to steam. The steam drives turbine generators, is condensed back to


water, and pumped back to th

e steam generator. The secondary loop is isolated


from the reactor core water and, therefore is not radioactive. A third stream of


water from a cooling tower is used to condense the steam. The reactor


pressure vessels are 49 feet high and 16.4 feet in diameter, with walls 10 in.


thick.The core houses some 82 metric tons of uranium oxide contained in the


corrosion-resistant tubes. Finally generators produce electricity which is


delivered to a power grid by transmission lines.


During operation, and even after shutdown, this large 1000 megawatt power reactor


contains billions of curies of radioactivity. Radiation emitted from the reactor


during operation and from the fission products after shutdown is absorbed in thick


concrete shields around the reactor and primary collant system. Other safety


features include emergency core colling systems to prevent core overheating in the


event of malfunction of the main collant system and, a large steel and concrete


containment building to retain any radioactive elements that might escape in the


even of a leak.

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