PRESSURE VESSEL

Reactor:
The reactor is used to convert nuclear (also known as
'atomic') energy into heat. While a reactor could be
one in which heat is produced by fusion or
radioactive decay.

Introduction.
In a nuclear power plant, the reactor
vessel is a pressure vessel containing the
coolant and reactor core.
It is a device for containing and
controlling a chemical reaction. The
chemical process enables to convert raw
material into final product under given
pressure and temperature.

DESCRIPTION
The fuel assemblies which form the reactor core, are
loaded into a specially fabricated cylindrical steel
pressure vessel (the reactor pressure vessel).
The reactor pressure vessel is about 12 metres high and
has a 20 cm thick steel wall with an inner diameter of
about 5 metres.
The overall weight amounts to approx. 530 t without
internals.
The vessel is designed for a pressure of 17.5 MPa (175
bar) and a temperature of 350 C.

Mechanism of Reactor Pressure vessel

The feedwater enters into the downcomer region and

combines with water exiting the water separators.

The feedwater subcools the saturated water from the
steam separators. This water now flows down the
downcomer region, which is separated from the core.
The water then goes through either jet pumps or
internal recirculation pumps that provide additional
pumping power.
The water now makes a 180 degree turn and moves up
through the lower core plate into the nuclear core where
the fuel elements heat the water

The saturated steam that rises above the separator is dried by

a chevron dryer structure. The steam then exits the RPV
through four main steam lines and goes to the turbine.
The heat will convert the feed water in the secondary circuit
to steam for driving the turbine-generator

Heavy water reactor

Heavy water reactor - Utilize heavy water, or water with a
higher than normal proportion of the hydrogen isotope
deuterium in some manner, however D2O (heavy water) is
more expensive and may be used as a main component, but
not necessarily as a coolant in this case. An example of a
heavy water reactor is Canada's CANDU reactor.

ISOTOPE SEPARATION
Isotope separation is the process of concentrating specific
isotopes of a chemical element removing other isotopes,
for example separating natural uranium into enriched
uranium and depleted uranium. This is a crucial process in
the manufacture of uranium fuel for nuclear power
stations, and is also required for the creation of a uranium
based nuclear weapons. Plutonium based weapons use
plutonium produced in a nuclear reactor, which must be
operated in such a way as to produce plutonium already
of suitable isotopic mix or grade.

Enriched Uranium: To increase

concentration of a particular isotopes.

the

Depleted Uranium:When U-235 has been

extracted from natural uranium, the
remaining uranium is called "depleted
uranium" because it has been depleted of
U-235. Typically it still contains 0.25-0.4%
U-235 since it is not economical to strip U235 in concentrations this low (it is
cheaper just to buy more natural uranium
with higher concentrations).

Separation techniques
Those based directly on the atomic
weight of the isotope.
Those based on the small differences in
chemical reaction rates produced by
different atomic weights.
Those based on properties not directly
connected to atomic weight, such as
nuclear.

U-235 Isotope Enrichment

Electromagnetic separation
Gaseous diffusion
Thermal liquid diffusion
Gas Centrifuge Separation
Aerodynamic Separation

The fast breeder reactor (FBR) uses a plutonium fuel

rather than uranium. The Pu is surrounded rods of U-238
which absorb neutrons and are transmutated into Pu-239.
As the plutonium in the core becomes depleted it creates
or breeds more plutonium from the uranium around it.
Because of the extreme temperatures surrounding the
reactor a special coolant of liquid sodium (Na) is used to
transfer heat to the steam generator. The role of the
steam generator is as usual. The lack of a moderator to
slow neutrons gives the word fast to the name.

The sodium is relatively easy to obtain and work with,

and it also manages to actually prevent corrosion on
the various reactor parts immersed in it. However,
sodium explodes violently when exposed to water, so
care must be taken, but such explosions wouldn't be
vastly more violent than (for example) a leak of
superheated fluid from a PWR.