Energy Conversion

(week 12)

12 – Nuclear Power

E. Byan Wahyu R., Ph.D

Program Studi Teknik Mesin – Universitas Pertamina
Nuclear Power
• Produce neither carbon dioxide nor oxides of sulfur
and nitrogen
• Around 11% of the world's electricity is generated by
about 450 nuclear power reactors. About 60 more
reactors are under construction, equivalent to about
15% of existing capacity.
Myth and Reality (nuclearconnect.org)
• # 1: Americans get most of their yearly radiation dose from nuclear
power plants.
• Truth: We are surrounded by naturally occurring radiation. Only
0.005% of the average American’s yearly radiation dose comes from
nuclear power; 100 times less than we get from coal [1], 200 times less
than a cross-country flight, and about the same as eating 1 banana
per year [2].
• # 2: A nuclear reactor can explode like a nuclear bomb.
• Truth: It is impossible for a reactor to explode like a nuclear weapon;
these weapons contain very special materials in very particular
configurations, neither of which are present in a nuclear reactor.
Myth and Reality (nuclearconnect.org)
• #3: Nuclear energy is bad for the environment.
• Truth: Nuclear reactors emit no greenhouse gases during operation. Over
their full lifetimes, they result in comparable emissions to renewable forms
of energy such as wind and solar [3]. Nuclear energy requires less land use
than most other forms of energy.
• # 4: Nuclear energy is not safe.
• Truth: Nuclear energy is as safe or safer than any other form of energy
available. No member of the public has ever been injured or killed in the
entire 50-year history of commercial nuclear power in the U.S. In fact,
recent studies have shown that it is safer to work in a nuclear power plant
than an office [4].
Myth and Reality (nuclearconnect.org)
• # 5: There is no solution for huge amounts of nuclear waste being generated.
• Truth: All of the used nuclear fuel generated in every nuclear plant in the past 50
years would fill a football field to a depth of less than 10 yards, and 96 % of this
“waste” can be recycled [5]. Used fuel is currently being safely stored. The U.S.
National Academy of Sciences and the equivalent scientific advisory panels in
every major country support geological disposal of such wastes as the preferred
safe method for their ultimate disposal[6].
• # 6: Most Americans don’t support nuclear power.
• Truth: In a survey conducted in September 2016, it was found that 75% of
Americans feel nuclear energy will be important in meeting the country’s future
electricity needs, and 45 % believe this importance will increase with time. In
addition, 80% of respondents favor renewing operating licenses for nuclear
power plants that continue to meet federal safety standards. Also, 68% believe
that nuclear power plants operating in the United States are safe and secure.
Myth and Reality (nuclearconnect.org)
• # 7: An American “Chernobyl” would kill thousands of people.
• Truth: A Chernobyl-type accident could not have happened outside of the
Soviet Union because this type of reactor was never built or operated
here. The known fatalities during the Chernobyl accident were mostly
emergency first responders [8]. Of the people known to have received a
high radiation dose, the increase in cancer incidence is too small to
measure due to other causes of cancer such as air pollution and tobacco
use.
• # 8: Nuclear waste cannot be safely transported.
• Truth: Used fuel is being safely shipped by truck, rail, and cargo ship
today. To date, thousands of shipments have been transported with no
leaks or cracks of the specially-designed casks [9].
Myth and Reality (nuclearconnect.org)
• # 9: Used nuclear fuel is deadly for 10,000 years.
• Truth: Used nuclear fuel can be recycled to make new fuel and byproducts [10]. Most of
the waste from this process will require a storage time of less than 300 years. Finally,
less than 1% is radioactive for 10,000 years. This portion is not much more radioactive
than some things found in nature, and can be easily shielded to protect humans and
wildlife.
• # 10: Nuclear energy can’t reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
• Truth: Nuclear-generated electricity powers electric trains and subway cars as well as
autos today. It has also been used in propelling ships for more than 50 years. That use
can be increased since it has been restricted by unofficial policy to military vessels and
ice breakers. In the near-term, nuclear power can provide electricity for expanded mass-
transit and plug-in hybrid cars. Small modular reactors can provide power to islands like
Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Nantucket and Guam that currently run their electrical grids on
imported oil. In the longer-term, nuclear power can directly reduce our dependence on
foreign oil by producing hydrogen for use in fuel cells and synthetic liquid fuels.
Review of Atomic Structure
• More than a hundred elements are known
• A gram-mole of any element has Avogadro’s number (6.023 x 1023) of
atoms.
• The nucleus typically is of the order of 10-5 Angstroms (1 Angstroms =
10-8 cm)
• Molecules are collections of atoms held together by electromagnetic
forces between the nuclei and the electrons
• Interactions of molecules, called chemical reactions, have little to do
with the nucleus
• Changes in the nucleus is more powerful
Review of Atomic Structure
• Proton is a massive particle, having a mass which is about 1800 times the
mass of the electron
• A neutron, is an electrically neutral particle with a mass only slightly larger
than that of the proton
• The number of protons in an atom of an element is called the atomic
number of the element
• The mass number of an element is the number of nucleons in an atom of
that element and is therefore the sum of the number of protons and
neutrons in the nucleus.
• Atoms of a given element that have differing mass numbers are called
isotopes of the element. examples are the isotopes of hydrogen,
deuterium, 1H2, and tritium, 1H3
Nuclear Reactions
• nuclei may participate in energy-releasing nuclear reactions where
the reacting elements are converted to atoms of other elements
• Energy release to the annihilation of matter consistent with the
famous Einstein formula, E = mc2
• These energy releases are usually measured in MEV, millions of
electron-volts.
• The most energetic of chemical reactions releases much less energy,
only a few EV per molecule.
Fission and Fusion
• Fusion occurs when light atoms interact to form a heavier atom in
reactions such as
• 1D2 + 1D3  2He4 + 3.2 MEV 0n1 + 14.1 MEV.
• Since the reactants are two positively charged nuclei, they must have high
kinetic energies to overcome their mutual repulsion. These high energies
imply a gaseous state with enormously high temperature, a condition
known as a plasma. (Sun need 15 million deg C and 200 millions bar to
operate)
• Because solid materials cannot exist at plasma conditions and plasmas
would be cooled by the presence of solids, magnetic confinement of
plasmas has been one approach to achieving a thermonuclear plasma.
Fission and Fusion
• The many such fissions occurring in a reactor may be expressed as an
average reaction:
• 92U235 + 0n1  92U236  F1 + F2 + 2.47 0n1 + 203 MEV
• One of the many reactions that participate in the average reaction
above creates xenon and strontium fission fragments and two
neutrons:
• 92U235 + 0n1  92U236  54Xe139 + 38Sr95 + 2 0n1 + energy
• Over 80% of the 203 MEV of energy released by the average U-235
fission reaction is the kinetic energy of the fission fragments
associated with their large mass and high velocity.
Fission Reactor Design Considerations
• The reactor designer pays close attention to all of the details of the
neutron economy.
• Almost all commercial power reactors are thermal reactors in which
fission is caused by thermal neutrons.
• A thermal neutron is a neutron that is in thermal equilibrium with the
surrounding atoms. (0.02 EV).
• Thermal neutrons are much more likely to cause fission of U-235
• The neutrons created by fission have kinetic energies that range from
about 1 to 10 MEV. They are called fast neutrons because of this high
kinetic energy.
Fission Reactor Design Considerations
• fast neutrons need to be slowed, or
thermalized, to much lower energies
so that they can cause fissions chain
reaction by colliding with certain
other nuclei in the core.
• These nuclei are called moderators
(light element)
• Ordinary water, heavy water,
graphite, and beryllium are all used as
moderators because they are light
and are poor absorbers of neutrons.
Hydrogen and deuterium are the
moderators in water.
Fission Reactor Design Considerations
• Four events can influence local neutron densities as they pass
through the surrounding reactor core:
• 1. The neutrons can be captured by a fissionable atom and produce a
fission.
• 2. They can be absorbed non-productively by fission products,
structural materials, or nonfissioning fuel.
• 3. They can escape through the walls of the reactor.
• 4. They can be absorbed in nuclei that create more fuel.
Fission Reactor Design Considerations
• to sustain the chain reaction suggest several important considerations
for reactor design:
• The reactor should be large enough that only events of types 1, 2,
and 4 take place and hence that escape of neutrons from the reactor
is rare. Since reactor size is dictated primarily by the cooling
requirements imposed by nuclear heat generation, this usually
follows automatically from the design process.
• In addition, positioning moderating material such as water at the
boundaries of the reactor as a reflector, to deflect escaping neutrons
back into the reactor, may allow a more compact design, in some
cases.
Fission Reactor Design Considerations
• Materials to be used in the reactor design are selected so that type 2
events are minimized. The gradual buildup of poisons must also be
considered in designing for the change in reactor performance with
time between refuelings.
• The reactor should be designed to minimize the amount of structural
materials in the active fuel region, to reduce the frequency of type 2
events.
• Neutron-absorbing materials may be moved into and out of the
reactor to change the average neutron density for reactor control
purposes.
Neutron Economy
• The manner in which the
neutrons in a reactor are used
is called the neutron economy.
• Critical (k = 1) neutron
density and power levels are
constant
• heat from radioactive decay of
fission products after
shutdown amounts to as much
as 7% of full power output
Nuclear Fuels

• The composition of uranium ore is about 99.3% U-238 and 0.7% U-235.
• The power reactors in the United States and most other parts of the world are
thermal reactors that employ uranium enriched to between 2% and 5% U-235.
Such reactors use ordinary (light) water for both cooling and moderation and are
therefore commonly called light-water reactors.
• Uranium enrichment is an expensive and difficult process
Group Assignment (40% Final Exam)
• Make presentation (ppt) about :
• Nuclear Reactors Category Group 10: Pressurized water reactor (PWR)
Group 9: Boiling water reactor (BWR)
Group 8: Pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR)
Group 7: Light water graphite reactor (LWGR)
Group 6: Gas-cooled reactor (GCR)
Group 5: Fast breeder reactor (FBR)
Group 4: Small modular reactors (SMR)

• Advanced System Category Group 3: Combined-cycle power

Group 2: Integrated Gasification Combined-cycle (IGCC)
Group 1: Fluidized bed Combustion
Group Assignment (40% Final Exam)
• Target presentation time : +/- 20 minutes (starts from group 10; 16 April
2019) & target Q&A time : +/-5 minutes (5 points addition for questioner)
• Completed the ppt until 1 pm (13 April 2019), send to
[email protected]; format : [Group no][tittle of presentation]
• Content should be including:
• History and real examples, definition, system diagram and components,
Specification (fuel, efficiency, moderator, etc), how they work, advantages
and disadvantages (nuclear reactors and advanced system comparing only
in their group category)
• Give references (link for internet resources  [1] and avoid wikipedia) and
Harvard styles for books resources
• Write contribution for each group members at the last slide
Presentation Scoring
The presentation contain all aspects in a clear manner:
1. History and real examples,
2. Definition,
Presentation 50 3. System diagram and components,
4. Specification (fuel, efficiency, moderator, etc)
5. How they work,
6. Advantages and disadvantages,
1. All members contributed positively to achieve the goal,
2. All members communicated with respect to others' opinions
Teamwork 30

1. Asked and answered questions with respect and clear manner.

2. All members presented with balanced role.
3. Achieved all 5 clearance aspects in delivering ideas (sentences,
Communication 20 volume, eye contact, interaction, and body language).
4. The presentation media is clear in conveying the ideas and also
attractive