Friends, today in this article I am going to give information about the main parts of a nuclear power plant in a very good way. So let’s start.
Main parts of a nuclear power plant
Reactor – The reactor is that part of a nuclear power plant where nuclear fission radioactive material is used to heat the coolant, as a result of which it can be used in steam production or gas turbine. The basic components of a nuclear reactor are shown in the picture
Reactor core – The core contains several fuel rods made of fissile material.
Moderator – The function of the moderator is to moderate the speed of neutrons in the reactor core so that the possibility of fission can be increased. Graphite, heavy water or beryllium are used as a moderator along with natural uranium.
Shielding – Shielding is the function of shielding to protect the neutrons emitted from the deadly a, b-particle radiation and -rays as well as the radiation emitted during fission in the reactor. A good shield absorbs the radiation emitted all around.
Control rods – Used to initiate chain reaction in the reactor. This chain reaction is kept at a constant value during reactor operation. In case of emergency the reactor should shut down automatically. All these should be done to control the reactor so that the fuel rods can be prevented from melting because the amount of energy released is huge. The chain reaction can be controlled by removing the fuel rods or by adding neutron absorbing materials. The materials used for control rods should have very high absorption capacity for neutrons. Common materials used for control rods are cadmium, boron or hafnium.
Reflector – It surrounds the core of the reactor inside the thermal envelope and helps in directing the escaping neutrons back to the core. This conserves nuclear fuel as the low speed neutrons are very useful in continuing the chain reaction on return. It is necessary to provide cooling to the reflector as those neutrons get heated due to collision with their atoms.
Coolant – The coolant transfers the heat generated inside the reactor for further use in power generation through the heat exchanger. When water is used as coolant, it takes the heat and gets converted into steam in the reactor which is directly used in the turbine. The coolant flows through the reactor and around the reactor core. The coolants commonly used are gas (carbon dioxide), air, hydrogen, helium, water, heavy water, liquid metals (sodium or sodium potassium) and some organic materials. If the proportion of U-235 or plutonium is high, then fission also occurs due to fast neutrons. In such a situation, the possibility of neutrons being absorbed by U-235 or plutonium is very high. Such a reactor is called a fast reactor.
Pressure vessel of reactor – It surrounds the reactor core, converter and cover. It is a vessel with strong walls, it has to bear high pressure. The pressure vessel is made of such material that is corrosion resistant, high temperature tolerant and can withstand high tension stress. The structure of the complete nuclear reactor power plant is shown in the figure.
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