Friends, today in this article we will know about pressurized water reactor. I am going to give information about all these in a very good way. So let’s start.
Pressurized Water Reactor
In normal conditions, pressurized water reactor is like a light water coolant and moderator reactor. High quality uranium is used in it.
The pressure tank present in the circuit maintains a constant pressure in the circuit for the entire load range. Due to electric coil heating in the reactor, water boils and turns into steam, which is collected in the dome as shown in the picture and the pressure of the entire coolant circuit increases before the reactor starts. To reduce the pressure, the steam is condensed with the help of water spray.
UO₂ is used as fuel in the reactor. Uranium oxide is highly resistant to radiation degradation and is more useful for high 1 burn ups. At the same time, it is also resistant to corrosion caused by high pressure water.
In the primary circuit, the reactor core absorbs fission energy and the water gets heated and this heated water provides the same energy for steam generation in the heat exchanger. The water coming out of the heat exchanger is circulated with the help of a pump so that the pressure inside the circuit remains in the range of 100 to 130 bar. After passing through the reactor, water acts like a radioactive substance, so the entire primary circuit including the steam generator heat exchanger is covered so that the operator does not get harmed.
Advantages
- The cost of water used as coolant, moderator and reflector is very low and it is available in large quantities.
- The reactor is small in size and high power density can be generated by modern PWR cores.
- Separate secondary and primary circuits provide the ability to optimize the turbine cycle.
- There is complete freedom to inspect and repair turbine and condenser during the process.
- The reactor can be made smaller due to the use of high quality fuel.
Disadvantages
- Due to high pressure in the primary circuit, strong pressure vessels are required and the cost of these pressure vessels is high.
- Due to low pressure (about 60-70) in the secondary circuit, the thermal efficiency of the power plant is very low.
- Corrosion is a big problem because the process of corrosion increases rapidly at high pressure and temperature. Therefore, stainless steel is used for the vessels and cladding is necessary. As a result, the cost of the power plant increases further.
- It is necessary to shut down the reactor for charging the fuel and charging takes several months.
What did you learn today :-
Now you must have known what is pressurized water reactor and you must have got the answer to all these questions well.
I hope you liked the information given by me, if you have any question/suggestion in your mind, then you can tell me by commenting below, I will definitely answer your comment. If you liked this post, then you can also share it with your friends and relatives.