DUHOK POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY
TECHNICAL COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
ENERGY ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
((Nuclear power plant ))
Prepared by : Avend Sami
mustefa
Introduction
A nuclear power plant (sometimes abbreviated as NPP)is a thermal power station in which the
heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate
steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces electricity. As of 2022,
the International Atomic Energy Agency reported there were 439 nuclear power reactors in
operation in 32 countries around the world.
Nuclear power plants heat water to produce steam. The steam is used to spin large turbines
that generate electricity. Nuclear power plants use heat produced during nuclear fission to heat
water. In nuclear fission, atoms are split apart to form smaller atoms, releasing energy.
Introduction
Nuclear plants are very often used for base load since their operations, maintenance, and fuel costs are at the
lower end of the spectrum of costs. However, building a nuclear power plant often spans five to ten years,
which can accrue to significant financial costs, depending on how the initial investments are financed.
Nuclear power plants have a carbon footprint comparable to that of renewable energy such as solar farms
and wind farms ,and much lower than fossil fuels such as natural gas and brown coal. Despite some
spectacular catastrophes, nuclear power plants are among the safest mode of electricity generation,
comparable to solar and wind power plants.
NUCLEAR MATERIAL REFERS TO THE METALS URANIUM, PLUTONIUM, AND THORIUM, IN
ANY FORM, ACCORDING TO THE IAEA.
What Is Nuclear Energy? Energy is the ability to do work, where work is the movement of something when
an effort is applied. We need and we use energy in our lives every day. We use energy to contract our
muscles and move our cars. We use energy to warm our homes and toast our bread. Scientists are busy
researching new ways to make energy available for our use. The sun seems an inexhaustible source of
energy. Energy from the sun lights the sky and warms the planet. The energy from the sun is a type of
nuclear energy or energy created from nuclear reactions.
History
•The first time that heat from a nuclear reactor was used to generate electricity was on December 20, 1951 at the
Experimental Breeder Reactor I, feeding four light bulbs.
•Nuclear power plants have generated about 20% of U.S. electricity since 1990
•As of December 31, 2020, 94 nuclear reactors were operating at 56 nuclear power plants in 28 states. Thirty-two of the plants have
two reactors, and three plants have three reactors. Nuclear power plants have supplied about 20% of total annual U.S. electricity
since 1990. Learn more about the U.S. nuclear energy industry.
•The United States generates more nuclear power than any other country
•In 2019, 31 countries had commercial nuclear power plants, and in 14 of the countries, nuclear energy supplied at least 20% of their
total annual electricity generation. The United States had the largest nuclear electricity generation capacity and generated more
nuclear electricity than any other country. France, with the second-largest nuclear electricity generation capacity and second-highest
nuclear electricity generation, had the largest share—about 70%—of total annual electricity generation from nuclear energy.
Introduction
•The Many Uses of Nuclear Technology:
• The first power station to produce electricity by using heat from the splitting of uranium atoms began operating in
the 1950s. Today most people are aware of the important contribution nuclear energy makes in providing a significant
proportion of the world's low-carbon electricity. The applications of nuclear technology outside of civil electricity
production in power plants are less well-known. Radioisotopes, nuclear power process heat and non-stationary
power reactors have essential uses across multiple sectors, including consumer products, food and
agriculture, industry, medicine and scientific research, transport, and water resources and the
environment.
•Types of Moderating Materials:
•There are several different types of moderating materials, and each have places where they are used more
effectively. Typically-used moderator materials include heavy water, light water, and graphite. The relative properties
of these materials are compared below. The moderators vary in terms of their moderating abilities, as well as in their
costs.
Introduction
•Light water
•Light water (no different than regular water) is used in many reactors because it contains large amounts of
hydrogen.
•Heavy water
•Heavy water is used in reactors because its benefits are similar to light water, but since it contains deuterium
atoms, its neutron absorption cross section is much lower.
•Graphite
•Graphite has been a popular moderator in the past, however, one drawback is that it needs to be extremely
pure to be effective.
Introduction
•Safety and accidents
•Nuclear power plants are among the safest and most secure facilities in the world. But accidents can happen,
adversely affecting people and the environment. To minimize the likelihood of an accident, the IAEA assists Member
States in applying international safety standards to strengthen nuclear power plant safety.
•Modern nuclear reactor designs have had numerous safety improvements since the first-generation nuclear reactors.
A nuclear power plant cannot explode like a nuclear weapon because the fuel for uranium reactors is not enriched
enough, and nuclear weapons require precision explosives to force fuel into a small enough volume to go supercritical.
Most reactors require continuous temperature control to prevent a core meltdown, which has occurred on a few
occasions through accident or natural disaster, releasing radiation and making the surrounding area uninhabitable.
Plants must be defended against theft of nuclear material and attack by enemy military planes or missiles.
•The most serious accidents to date have been the 1979 Three Mile Island accident, the 1986
Chernobyl disaster, and the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, corresponding to the beginning of
the operation of generation II reactors.
Introduction
Advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power plant
Advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power plant
Nuclear Power Plants
•Why Are Nuclear Power Plants More Reliable?
•Nuclear power plants are typically used more often because they require less maintenance and are designed to operate for longer stretches before refueling
(typically every 1.5 or 2 years).
•Why are nuclear power plant near the water?
•Most nuclear power plants are located along lakes, rivers or seacoasts because the facilities use water to cool the reactors. Cooling water discharged from a
plant can affect the ambient habitat conditions for aquatic species.
•Can nuclear waste be recycled?
•Used nuclear fuel can be recycled to make new fuel and byproducts. More than 90% of its potential energy still remains in the fuel, even after five years of
operation in a reactor. The United States does not currently recycle used nuclear fuel but foreign countries, such as France, do.
•Nuclear energy is one of the largest sources of emissions-free power in the world.
•It generates nearly a fifth of America’s electricity and more than half of its clean energy.
•How are nuclear power plants good for the environment?
•Nuclear is a zero-emission clean energy source. It generates power through fission, which is the process of splitting uranium atoms to produce energy.
... According to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the United States avoided more than 476 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2019.
Conclusion
•Nuclear power is a major low carbon-emission energy source for generation of electricity in the world, and it is expected to remain so in the
foreseeable future. However, the nuclear power must be safe, reliable and economic compared to the other energy sources including hydro,
wind, solar, natural gas, and even coal.
•Besides all that good properties as an engineer we have to know how to make not a better work but the best one. So the
question here is
•How can nuclear power plants be improved?
•There
is growing interest in increasing nuclear energy efficiency by using heat and other forms of energy generated by nuclear power plants
as a by-product for seawater desalination, hydrogen production, district heating and various industrial applications.
