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Fuel rod

Geometrical form in which nuclear fuel surrounded by cladding material is inserted into a reactor.
Several fuel rods are normally compiled into a fuel element. In the Krümmel Nuclear Power Plant with a
boiling water reactor, 72 fuel rods form a fuel element, in the pressurized water reactor of the Emsland
Nuclear Power Plant a fuel element contains 300 fuel rods. [1]

Fuel rod

Heat Transfer in Nuclear Engineering – Application


Heat transfer is commonly encountered in engineering systems and other aspects of life, and
one does not need to go very far to see some application areas of heat transfer.
Example of flow rates in a reactor. It is an illustrative
example; data do not represent any reactor design.

Detailed knowledge of heat transfer mechanisms is also essential for reactor engineers as well
as all other engineers. A nuclear power plant (nuclear power station) looks like a standard
thermal power station with one exception. The heat source in the nuclear power plant is
a nuclear reactor. As is typical in all conventional thermal power stations the heat is used to
generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces
electricity. But in nuclear power plants reactors produce enormous amount of heat (energy) in
a small volume. The density of the energy generation is very large and this puts demands on
its heat transfer system (reactor coolant system). Therefore we have to start by the reactor
heat generation and removal from the reactor.

For a reactor to operate in a steady state, all of the heat released in the system must be
removed as fast as it is produced. This is accomplished by passing a liquid or gaseous coolant
through the core and through other regions where heat is generated. The heat transfer must be
equal to or greater than the heat generation rate or overheating and possible damage to the
fuel may occur. The nature and operation of this coolant system is one of the most important
considerations in the design of a nuclear reactor.
It should be noted that from a strictly nuclear standpoint, there is theoretically no upper limit to
the reactor thermal power, which can be attained by any critical reactor having sufficient excess
of reactivity to overcome its negative temperature feedbacks. In each nuclear reactor, there is
a direct proportionality between the neutron flux and the reactor thermal power. The term
thermal power is usually used, because it means the rate at which heat is produced in the
reactor core as the result of fissions in the fuel. Moreover, for a short period, a critical reactor
does not need to have high excess of reactivity as in case of rapid reactivity excursions.
In short, almost any reactor is able to exceed the ability of heat removal of its coolant system.
Beyond this point, the fuel would heat up and can reach very high temperatures. This situation
must be avoided by reactor operator and by reactor safety systems. It is essential, that the heat
generation – heat removal rate balancemust be maintained to prevent these temperatures
that might result in the failure of fuel or other structural materials. In reactor engineering, the
thermal-hydraulics of nuclear reactors describe the effort involving the coupling of heat transfer
and fluid dynamics to accomplish the desired heat removal rate from the core under both
normal operation and accident conditions. [2]

Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient


Newton’s Law of Cooling
Despite the complexity of convection, the rate of convection heat transfer is observed to
be proportional to the temperature difference and is conveniently expressed by Newton’s
law of cooling, which states that:
The rate of heat loss of a body is directly proportional to the difference in the temperatures
between the body and its surroundings provided the temperature difference is small and the
nature of radiating surface remains same.

Note that, ΔT is given by the surface or wall temperature, Twall and the bulk temperature, T∞,
which is the temperature of the fluid sufficiently far from the surface.
Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient
As can be seen, the constant of proportionality will be crucial in calculations and it is known
as the convective heat transfer coefficient, h. The convective heat transfer coefficient, h,
can be defined as:
The convective heat transfer coefficient is dependent upon the physical properties of the
fluid and the physical situation. The convective heat transfer coefficient is not a property of the
fluid. It is an experimentally determined parameter whose value depends on all the variables
influencing convection such as the surface geometry, the nature of fluid motion,
the properties of the fluid, and the bulk fluid velocity.
Typically, the convective heat transfer coefficient for laminar flow is relatively low compared
to the convective heat transfer coefficient for turbulent flow. This is due to turbulent flow
having a thinner stagnant fluid film layer on the heat transfer surface. [3]
Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) VS Boiling Water
Reactor (BWR)
BOILING WATER REACTOR (BWR)

In a BWR, water boils inside the reactor itself, and the steam goes directly to the turbine generator to produce
electricity. Similar to other steam power plants, the steam is condensed and reused. Note that the turbine
building is closely coupled to the reactor building, and special constraints exist in entering the turbine building
because the water can pick up radioactivity.

Note the torus at the bottom of the reactor. If there should be a reactor rupture, the water inside the reactor
will flash into steam and create a very high pressure surge in the reactor building. The reactor torus is filled
with cold water, which will instantly condense the steam. The torus system ensures that the pressure inside
the containment dome never exceeds an acceptable level.

As with the pressurized water reactor, the reactor housing contains the fuel core and water supply flow paths.
The reactor recirculation system consists of the pumps and pipes that circulate the water through the reactor.
The water circulating through the reactor actually goes into the turbine itself and then condensed water goes
back into the reactor. The steam separator in the reactor shell separates the water from the steam and allows
the steam to pass
to the steam generator. The separated water is returned to the reactor for recirculation.

The boiling water reactor utilizes one cooling loop. Both water and steam exist in the reactor core (a definition
of boiling). Reactor power is controlled by positioning the control rods from start-up to approximately 70% of
rated power. From 70% to 100% of rated power, the reactor power is controlled by changing the flow of water
through the core. As more water is pumped through the core and more steam generated, more power is
produced.

In the boiling water reactor, control rods are normally inserted from
the bottom. The top of the reactor vessel is used to separate water and steam. [4]

PRESSURIZED WATER REACTOR (PWR).

The reactor and the primary steam generator are housed inside containment structure. The structure is
designed to withstand accidental events such as small airplane crashes. The PWR steam generator
separates the radioactive water that exists inside the reactor from the steam that is going to the turbine
outside the shell.

In a PWR, the heat is removed from the reactor by water flowing in a closed, pressurized loop. The heat is
transferred to a second water loop through a heat exchanger (or steam generator). The second loop is kept at
a lower pressure, allowing the water to boil and create steam, which is used to turn the turbine generator and
produce electricity. Afterward, the steam is condensed back into water and returned to the heat exchanger
where it is recycled into useable steam.

The normal control of the reactor power output is by means of the control rod system. These control rods are
normally inserted and controlled from the top of the reactor. Because the control rods are inserted and
controlled from the top of the reactor, the design also includes special springs and release mechanisms so
that if all power is lost, the control rod will be dropped into the reactor core by gravity to shut down the
reactor.[5]

EFFICIENCY COMPARISON:
Boiling water reactors (BWR) are a type of nuclear reactor that use light water (ordinary
water, as opposed to heavy water) as their coolant and neutron moderator. They are the
second most used reactor for nuclear power generation in the world, next to the pressurized
water reactor (PWR)—with 80 in operation as of 2015.
With maximum operating temperatures of around 285oC, the Carnot
efficiency (maximum efficiency) of boiling water reactors in the production of power is
46%. However, the realistic efficiency of these reactors in power production is around 33-
34%.[6]
PWR Ordinary water has a double function as coolant and moderator. The cycle efficiency
of a PWR is about 32 percent. Its capital cost is low, however, since it operates at a high
power density reaching 100 MWth/m3. 2.2 POWER LOOP.[7]

References:

[1] https://www.euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/f/fuel-rod.htm
[2] https://www.nuclear-power.net/nuclear-engineering/heat-transfer/
[3] https://www.nuclear-power.net/nuclear-engineering/heat-transfer/convection-convective-heat-
transfer/convective-heat-transfer-coefficient/
[4] http://electrical-engineering-course.blogspot.com/2011/06/pressurized-water-reactorpwr-vs-boiling_29.html
[5] http://electrical-engineering-course.blogspot.com/2011/06/pressurized-water-reactorpwr-vs-boiling_29.html
[6] https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Boiling_water_reactor
[7]http://mragheb.com/NPRE%20402%20ME%20405%20Nuclear%20Power%20Engineering/Pressurized%2
0Water%20Reactors.pdf

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