Plant efficiency:

 Coal Based: 32% - 38% depending upon superheat & reheat temperature (5700 C)
 Ultra-supercritical(300 bar & 600oC) / Supercritical(220 bar & 600oC) power plants: 45% - 48% & 42%
 Gas Based thermal power plants: 32% - 38%
 Hydro-electric power plants: 85% - 90%
 Wind Turbines: 25% - 40%
 Solar Photovoltaic / Thermal Plants: 12% / 21%
 Geothermal plants: 16%
 Nuclear Power Plants: 27%
 Diesel Power plants: 35% - 42%

Difference between coal fired & nuclear power plants:

 Turbine inlet steam is superheated in Coal

fired whereas saturated in NPP at lower
pressures
 NPP have lower thermal efficiencies because
of lower inlet parameters & thus, require more
steam flow for the same MW as of Coal fired.
 More steam flow to the LP blades & at lower
pressure which require large last stage blades
to reduce the exit velocity of the blades.
 To reduce the stresses on the last stage blades
the speed of the turbine is reduced to 1500 –
1800 rpm
 NPP turbines are designed for wet steam & there will be moisture separators in the steam path at the
exit of HP/IP stage. Moisture separators re-heaters are also used.
 No reheating is done in NPP

Solar Photovoltaic plants:

 Capacity Utilization Factor: It is the ratio of the actual output from a solar plant over the year to the
maximum possible output from it for a year under ideal conditions. It is usually expressed in
percentage.
C.U.F = (Actual energy from the plant(kwh)) / (Installed Plant Capacity (kwp) x 24 x 365)
 CUF is affected by the solar radiation received and the number of clear sunny days experienced by the
plant’s location. According to the reports from MNRE in 2013, the average capacity utilization factor of
solar PV plants in India is in the range of 15-19%.
 The C.U.F doesn’t consider the degradation of solar panels and hence technically doesn’t paint a highly
accurate picture of the plant’s performance.
 Performance Ratio (PR) of a plant for a period of time = Energy measured(kWh)/(Irradiance(kWh/m2)
on the panel x Active area of PV module(m2) x PV module efficiency)
 Some more factors that can also be important when comparing PR vs. CUF:
o PR will take into account the availability of the grid, CUF will not.
o PR will take into account the minimum level of irradiation needed to generate electrical energy,
CUF will not.
o PR will take into account irradiation levels at a given period of time, CUF will not
Installed Nuclear Power Plants in India:

Sl. No. Name Type Capacity (in MWe)

1. TAPS-1, Tarapur BWR 160
2. TAPS-2, Tarapur BWR 160
3. TAPS-3, Tarapur PHWR 540
4. TAPS-4, Tarapur PHWR 540
5. RAPS-1, Rajasthan PHWR 100
6. RAPS-2, Rajasthan PHWR 200
7. RAPS-3, Rajasthan PHWR 220
8. RAPS-4, Rajasthan PHWR 220
9. RAPS-5, Rajasthan PHWR 220
10. RAPS-6, Rajasthan PHWR 220
11. MAPS-1, Kalpakkam PHWR 220
12. MAPS-2, Kalpakkam PHWR 220
13. NAPS-1, Narora PHWR 220
14. NAPS-2, Narora PHWR 220
15. KAPS-1, Kakrapar PHWR 220
16. KAPS-2, Kakrapar PHWR 220
17. KAIGA-1 PHWR 220
18. KAIGA-2 PHWR 220
19. KAIGA-3 PHWR 220
20. KAIGA-4 PHWR 220
21. KKNPS-1,Kudankulam VVER (PWR) 1000
22. KKNPS-2, Kudankulam VVER (PWR) 1000

Total 6780

 RAPS-7 & 8 and KAPS-3 & 4 – Under construction. All these units are of 700 MWe capacity –
indigenously developed & getting installed for the first time. Up to 40% of the fuel they use will be
slightly enriched uranium (SEU) – about 1.1% U-235, to achieve higher fuel burn-up – about 21,000
MWd/t instead of one-third of this. Initially this fuel will be imported as SEU.
 The fuel used in TAPS-3 & 4, KAPS-1,2,3 & 4 and MAPS-1 & 2 ---- all use indigenously-sourced uranium.
Hence, they will not come under IAEA safeguards.
 India expects to have 14.6 GWe nuclear capacity on line by 2024 and 63 GWe by 2032. It aims to supply
25% of electricity from nuclear power by 2050.
 The only accident to an Indian nuclear plant was due to a turbine hall fire in 1993 at Narora, which
resulted in a 17-hour total station blackout. There was no core damage or radiological impact and it was
rated 3 on the INES scale – a 'serious incident'.
 INES (International Nuclear & Radiological Event
Scale) - The primary purpose of INES is to facilitate
communication and understanding between the
technical community, the media and the public on
the safety significance of events.
 Russia is supplying all the enriched fuel through the
life VVER, though India will reprocess it and keep
the plutonium for civil use.
 Upcoming projects : -Chutka(MP), Kovvada(AP),
Jaitapur(Maharashtra), Mithi Virdi(Gujrat), Mahi
Banswara(Rajasthan), Gorakhpur(Haryana)
 India 3-stage Nuclear Power Program:

Features of 3-Stage Power Program:

Stage-1: PHWR using Natural Uranium (0.7% U235 & 99.3% U238)

 Fuel - Natural Uranium

 Coolant & Moderator – Heavy Water

Stage-2: Fast Breeder Reactor

 Fuel: Reactor core - Pu239 Blankets – U238 along with Th232

 U238 undergoes 2 beta-decay to give Pu239 while Th232 undergoes 2 beta-decay to give U233, having good
fission cross-sections for both fast & thermal neutrons.
 FBTR (Fast Breeder Test Reactor) at Kalpakkam was installed to test fast reactor fuels and structural
materials & to gain operating experience of FBR.
 PFBR (Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor) getting commissioned at Kalpakkam – 500 MWe

Stage-3: U233 fueled reactors - AHWR (Advanced Heavy Water Reactors)

 AHWR300-LEU is a 300 MWe, vertical, pressure tube type, boiling light water cooled, and heavy water
moderated reactor.
 MOX Fuel – Th232 & LEU (Lowly Enriched Uranium-19.75%) with different % of LEU in the fuel at
different locations
 Negative void coefficient of reactivity

Research reactors in India:

 APSARA:
 1 MWth pool type thermal reactor, enriched U-Al alloy plate type fuel, H2O moderated & cooled
with Cd control rods
 Production of isotopes; basic research; shielding experiments; neutron activation analysis; neutron
radiography; testing of neutron detectors
 Shut down in 2010
  CIRUS:
 40 MW tank type thermal reactor, Nat. U with Al cladding, D2O moderated & H2O cooled with B-Cd
control rods
 Production of isotopes ; R & D in reactor technology; manpower training; neutron beam research;
neutron activation analysis; development and testing of fuel assemblies; testing of neutron
detectors
 Permanently shutdown in 2010
 DHRUVA:
 100 MW tank type thermal reactor, Nat. U with Al cladding, D2O moderated & cooled with Cd
control rods
 Basic research; isotope production; manpower training; neutron activation analysis; testing of
neutron detectors
 KAMINI:
 30 KW tank type thermal reactor, U233-Al alloy plate type fuel with Al cladding, H2O cooled with
natural circulation & Cd rod controlled
 Neutron radiography; calibration of detectors; material characterization; shielding experiments;
irradiation studies on samples
 PURNIMA I:
 1 W Fast reactor, PuO2 pellets with SS cladding, air cooled with Molybednum control rods
 Used for fast reactor studies & decommissioned in 1973
 PURNIMA II:
 100 mW tank type thermal reactor, U233 (Uranyl Nitrate Solution) fuel no cladding, H2O moderated
& cooled with B4C control rods
 U-233 fuel studies; futuristic reactor evaluation & decommissioned in 1986
 PURNIMA III:
 1 W tank type thermal reactor, U233-Al alloy plate type fuel with Al cladding, H2O moderated &
cooled with Cd control rods & BeO2 reflector material
 Purpose - mockup studies for Kamini reactor & decommissioned in 1991
 ZERLINA:
 100 W tank type thermal reactor, Nat. U metallic fuel with Al cladding, D2O moderated & cooled
with Cd control rods
 Used for Reactor Lattice studies & decommissioned in 1983

Other DAE Projects:

 Indian Initiative in Gravitational Wave Observations (IndIGO) – DAE, DST & Inter-University Centre for
Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA)
 India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) Project - jointly supported by Department of Atomic Energy
(DAE) and Department of Science & Technology (DST). It will be an underground laboratory to conduct
basic research on the elementary particle called neutrino. The observatory will be located underground
so as to provide adequate shielding to the neutrino detector from cosmic background radiation.
It is planned in Theni and Madurai districts of Tamil Nadu.
 Reactors planned – In-Principle approval in April,2015

MWe gross Project Start Start

Reactor State Type
(each) control construction operation
Kudankulam 3 Tamil Nadu AES-92 1050 NPCIL March 2017 2022
Kudankulam 4 AES-92 1050 NPCIL 2017? 2023
Haryana
Gorakhpur 1 PHWR 700 NPCIL 2017? 2022
(Fatehabad district)
Gorakhpur 2 PHWR 700 NPCIL 2017? 2023
Madhya Pradesh
Chutka 1 PHWR 700 NPCIL 2017? 2024
(Mandla)
Chutka 2 PHWR 700 NPCIL 2017? 2025
PHWR x
Bhimpur 1&2 Madhya Pradesh 700 NPCIL 2017?
2
Mahi Banswara PHWR x
Rajasthan 700 NPCIL 2017?
1&2 2
PHWR x
Kaiga 5&6 Karnataka 700 NPCIL 2017?
2
Kudankulam AES-92 x
Tamil Nadu 1050 NPCIL ?
5&6 2
Kalpakkam 2&3 Tamil Nadu FBR x 2 600 Bhavini 2017?
Ratnagiri, delayed due to
Jaitapur 1&2 EPR x 2 1700 NPCIL 2018?
Maharashtra liability
2025, 2026
Srikakulam, Andhra AP1000
Kovvada 1&2 1250 NPCIL 2018? delayed due to
Pradesh x2
liability
Subtotal 18,300
20 units
planned MWe

Recent facts about DAE:

 RAPS-5 – continuous operation for 765 days

 The reports on water contamination due to the activities of Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration
and Research (AMD) in Jahaz-Maota area, Jhunjhunu district, Rajasthan – untrue & irrational
 Suspected radioactivity leakage at the Indira Gandhi International Airport Cargo Terminal, New Delhi -
investigation revealed that there was no radioactivity leakage from the consignment. An organic liquid
leaking from the nearby container have caused wetting of the consignment of Nuclear Medicines – I131
(Liquid Sodium Iodide) and Mo99 – Tc99m generators. Mo99 – Tc99m generators are widely used in
diagnostic Nuclear Medicine practices. I131 is a short-lived beta-gamma emitter in liquid form is used for
treating thyroid cancer patients and also for diagnostic Nuclear Medicine practices.
 India becomes Associate Member of CERN, Geneva. CERN is the world’s largest nuclear and particle
physics laboratory probing the fundamental structure of the Universe. India has made contributions to
the construction of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) – accelerator systems, both hardware & software.
India partners in the ALICE experiment - a quest to unearth the physics of quark-gluon plasma (QGP)
and to get a glimpse of how matter behaved within a few microseconds after the birth of our Universe.
 Kakrapar PHC leakage Incident: Leakage of Heavy Water and a consequent rise in pressure in the
containment building were detected. Hazard related to Tritium activity – beta emitter. The leak is
from primary coolant system and the leak rate corresponds to ‘Small Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA)’
category. The coolant tubes of KAPS 1 were replaced with improved Zircalloy tubes as part of AERB’s
 periodic pressure tube ageing management programme and were supposed to be operational for 25
years of reactor operation. Kakrapar incident classified as an INES Level 1 incident by the AERB.
Further investigation is going on.

Power Reactors proposed:

MWe
Start Start
Reactor State Type gross Project control
construction operation
(each)
? AHWR 300 NPCIL 2017? 2022
West Bengal (but likely
"Haripur 1&2" relocated, maybe to
AES-2006 1200 NPCIL
another site Kavali in Andhra
Pradesh)
Kudankulam
Tamil Nadu AES 2006 1200 NPCIL
7&8
"Kudankulam
Andhra Pradesh AES-2006 1200 NPCIL
9-12"
Haryana (Fatehabad
Gorakhpur 3&4 PHWR 700 NPCIL 2019
district)
BHEL-NPCIL-
Chutka 3&4 Madhya Pradesh PHWR 700
GE?
Rajouli,
Bihar PHWR 700 NPCIL
Nawada 1-2
? PWR x 2 1000 NPCIL/NTPC
PWR –
Jaitapur 3&4 Ratnagiri, Maharashtra 1700 NPCIL
EPR
? ? FBR x 4 500 Bhavini
PWR –
Jaitapur 5&6 Ratnagiri, Maharashtra 1700 NPCIL
EPR
Markandi (Pati PWR 6000
Orissa NPCIL
Sonapur) MWe
Srikakulam, Andhra
Kovvada 3&4 AP1000 1250 NPCIL 2020?
Pradesh
Earlier: Originally Srikakulam, Originally
1600 NPCIL 2018?
"Kovvada 1-6" Andhra Pradesh ESBWR
Nizampatnam Guntur, Andhra
6x? 1200 NPCIL
1-6 Pradesh
West Bengal,
"Haripur 3&4" AES-
Orissa or Kavali in 1200 NPCIL
another site 2006?
Andhra Pradesh
Kadapa, Andhra PWR? 1000? NPCIL 51%, AP
Pulivendula
Pradesh PHWR? 700? Genco 49%
Srikakulam, Andhra
Kovvada 5&6 AP1000 1250 NPCIL 2022?
Pradesh
Chhaya-Mithi
Bhavnagar, Gujarat AP1000 1250 NPCIL
Virdi 1-6
64,000 MWe approx
Subtotal
approx 55 (discounted 44 units, 51
proposed
GWe)
Some commonly used terms:

 Nuclear Fission: A nuclear reaction or a radioactive

decay process in which the nucleus of an atom splits
into smaller parts (lighter nuclei). As the mass number
increases, the binding energy per nucleon also
increases which make the nucleus of heavy elements
(beyond atomic number 60) unstable. This induces
radioactive decay of the elements. Also, whenever
fission occurs its products are decided by the ‘double hump curve’ i.e; the lighter daughter nuclei will be
between At. No. 80-90 & the heavier daughter nuclei will be between At. No. 130-140.
 Nuclear Fusion It is a reaction in which two or
more atomic nuclei come close enough to form
one or more different atomic nuclei and
subatomic particles (neutrons or protons).
 Nuclear Cross Section: It is used to characterize the probability that a nuclear reaction will occur. The
standard unit for measuring a nuclear cross section (denoted as σ) is the barn, which is equal to
10−28 m² or 10−24 cm².
 Void Co-efficient of reactivity: The void coefficient is a number that can be used to estimate how much
the reactivity of a nuclear reactor changes as voids (steam bubbles) form in the reactor moderator or
coolant. Reactivity measures the degree of change in neutron multiplication in a reactor core. Reactivity
is directly related to the tendency of the reactor core to change power level: if reactivity is positive, the
core power tends to increase; if it is negative, the core power tends to decrease; if it is zero, the core
power tends to remain stable. Gas cooled reactors have no importance regarding it.
-ve Void Co-eff – BWR, PWR, PHWR
+ve Void Co-eff – CANDU, RBMK, FBR
 Xenon Poisoning: Iodine-135 is a rather common fission product, reportedly amounting to up to 6% of
the fission products. It has a rather small probability for absorbing a neutron, so it is not in itself a
significant factor in the reaction rate control. But it has a half-life of about 6.7 hours and decays into
xenon-135 (half-life 9.2 hours). The xenon-135 has a very large cross-section for neutron absorption,
about 3 million barns under reactor conditions. This compares to 400-600 barns for the uranium fission
event.
In the normal operation of a nuclear reactor,
the presence of the xenon-135 is dealt with
in the balancing of the reaction rate. Iodine-
135 is produced, decays into xenon-135
which absorbs neutrons and is thereby
"burned away" in the established balance of
the operating conditions. The poisoning of
Xe-135 arises when the reactor is shut down.
The neutron flux (reactivity) decreases
drastically while Xe-135 production increases
due to the continuous decay of I-135. The
poisoning increases, therefore, and reaches a
peak value few hours after shutting down the
reactor, see point 1. Once the reactor enters
what is known as the xenon dead time it
 would be impossible to restart it. The poison must be allowed to decay, and such a process may take
few days before the restart becomes possible. As a result, a shortage in power supply can suddenly
occur to major electrical grids leading to blackout.
 Moderating Slowing Down Power: The macroscopic slowing down power (MSDP) is the product of
the logarithmic energy decrement and the macroscopic cross section for scattering in the material.
 Moderating Ratio: Macroscopic slowing down power indicates how rapidly a neutron will slow down in
the material in question, but it still does not fully explain the effectiveness of the material as a
moderator. An element such as boron has a high logarithmic energy decrement and a good slowing
down power, but it is a poor moderator because of its high probability of absorbing neutrons. The
moderating ratio is the ratio of the macroscopic slowing down power to the macroscopic cross-
section for absorption. The higher the moderating ratio, the more effectively the material performs as a
moderator.
MR : (ξ x ∑S )/ ∑A where ξ = Logarithmic Energy Decrement
∑S = Macroscopic scattering cross-section
∑A = Macroscopic absorption cross-section
Moderating properties of different materials are compared in Table
Material Logarithmic Energy Number of collisions Macroscopic slowing Moderating
Decrement (ξ) to thermalize down Power Ratio
H2O 0.927 19 1.425 62
D2O 0.510 35 0.177 4830
-6
He 0.427 42 9 x 10 51
Be 0.207 86 0.154 126
B 0.171 105 0.092 0.00086
C 0.158 114 0.083 216

 Double Hump curve: The adjoining curve is for Uranium-

235 fission reactions. The lighter & the heavier daughter
nuclei will be most of the time between mass number 80-
100 & 130-140 respectively.