EEE 487 Nuclear Power Engineering

(Basics)

Lectures prepared
by
Prof. S. Shahnawaz Ahmed
 REFERENCES
For subsequent materials assistance mainly taken from the following references.
1.Raymond L. Murray and Keith E. Holbert, Nuclear Energy : An Introduction to the
Concepts, Systems, and Applications of Nuclear Processes; Elsevier, NY, 2020 (Eighth
Edition).

2. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-chemistry/chapter/nuclear-fission/

3. Various URLs from internet

 Brief mention of some of the uses:
Major uses of Nuclear Energy:
•3. Examples of diseases treated with nuclear medicine procedures are
hyperthyroidism, thyroid cancer, lymphomas, and bone pain from
1. Electricity generation some types of cancer.
2. Naval propulsion •4.Nuclear applications in agriculture rely on the use of isotopes and
3. Medical applications: radiation techniques to combat pests and diseases, increase crop
production, protect land and water resources, ensure food safety and
4. Food preservation authenticity, and increase livestock production.
5. Genetic engineering (crop mutations)
•5.Application of nuclear radiation for mutation breeding is aimed to
6. Desalination produce traits in crops such as larger seeds, new colors, or sweeter
7. Hydrogen generation fruits, that either cannot be found in nature or have been lost during
evolution.
8. Weapons
9. Space crafts/space missions •6.Electrical energy is used for membrane-based systems (e.g. -
reverse osmosis (RO) which uses a membrane barrier and pumping
energy to separate salts from the water) and thermal energy is used
for distillation systems. Some hybrid plants combine both membrane
•Energy is fundamental to all human and distillation. Most desalination plants in the world use fossil fuels
endeavors and, indeed, survival. to power them, but it is even better to power them with nuclear
energy. The new fleet of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) type nuclear
power plants are ideal and economic as they produce both thermal
energy and electrical energy without producing greenhouse gases.
•Electrical energy is the most
finished and convenient form for •7.The process, termed electrolysis, is more efficient and less
expensive if water is first heated to form steam, with the electric
end use among all types of energies current passed through the steam. Nuclear power plants are ideal for
hydrogen production because they already produce the heat for
derived by conventional or nuclear changing water into steam and the electricity for breaking the steam
methods of transforming matters down into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is then used in fuel cell
for electricity generation in motor vehicles and it has a beneficial
into energy. impact on global warming, since burning hydrogen releases only water
vapor and no carbon dioxide (i.e. the main greenhouse gas). Thus
there is a dramatic reduction in pollution.
Total : around 7000 GW : Fossil: 4213 GW+ Nuc: 369 GW +Hydro and non-hydro renewable: 2497 GW

https://www.statista.com/statistics/267358/world-installed-power-capacity/
Total : around 7800 GW : Fossil: 4436 GW+ Nuc: 375 GW +Hydro and non-hydro
renewable: 3026 GW
 Distribution of electricity generation worldwide in 2022, by energy source
[in % of total TWh energy generated;
•Though hydro and non-hydro 2022 World electricity generation (28,520 TWh)
renewables have a share of
respectively about 15% and 23%
of the total installed capacity their
contribution to the annual energy
production is respectively about
15% and 18% while
approximately 67 % is
contributed by fossil fuel and
nuclear power plants. This is
because of the intermittency of
renewable sources.

•Nuclear energy is emission less

and hence getting renewed
interest as was evidenced in COP-
26 held in November 2021 in
Glasgow. Furthermore, present
Russia-Ukraine war causing oil
and gas crisis across the world
has triggered a revival or boost
up of the NPP activities in UK,
France, Japan, Germany and
many other countries. https://www.statista.com/statistics/269811/world-
electricity-production-by-energy-source/
Source: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY , VIENNA, 2018, REFERENCE DATA SERIES No. 2 : NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS IN THE WORLD
PWR (Pressurized Water
cooled and Moderated 292
Reactor) [Russian: VVER]
BWR (Boiling Light-Water
Cooled and Moderated 75
Reactor)
PHWR (Pressurized Heavy-
Water Moderated and Cooled
49
Reactor) [CANDU reactor of
Canada]
LWGR (Light-Water Cooled,
15
Graphite Moderated Reactor)
GCR (Gas Cooled, Graphite
14
Moderated Reactor)
FBR (Fast Breeder Reactor) 3
•The very-high-temperature reactor
(VHTR), or high-temperature gas-
cooled reactor (HTGR), is a
Generation IV reactor concept that
uses a graphite-moderated nuclear
reactor.
 Basic concepts:
nuclear energy, atoms and nuclei, radioactivity, nuclear processes, fission, fusion

Nuclear energy: energy released from “burning” (reactions) of nuclear fuels.

THE EQUIVALENCE OF MATTER AND ENERGY

The connection between energy and matter is provided by Einstein’s theory of
special relativity. It predicts that the mass of any object increases with its speed.

Letting the mass when the object is stationary be m0, the rest mass;
letting m be the mass when it is at speed v; and noting that the speed of light in a
vacuum is c, then the relativistic mass is

For motion at low speed (e.g., 500 m/s), the relativistic mass is almost identical
to the rest mass, because v/c and its square are very small.

The relation shows that a material object can have a speed not higher than c.
The implication of Einstein’s formula
is that any object has a rest mass energy

when motionless,

and a total energy

The difference being EK the kinetic energy, that is

The kinetic energy imparted to a particle by the application of force according

to Einstein is

•Thus we see that matter and energy are equivalent, with the factor c2 relating the
amounts of each.

•This suggests that matter can be converted into energy and that energy can be
converted into matter.
Although Einstein’s relationship is completely general, it is especially important in
calculating the energy released by nuclear means where particle (at atomic/nucleus level)
motion at high speed ( in the order of several percent of light speed) is involved.

•We find that the energy yield from a kilogram of nuclear fuel is more than a million
times that from chemical fuel.

•To prove this startling statement, we first find the result of the complete transformation
of 1 kilogram of matter into energy, namely,

•However, the nuclear fission process, as a method of converting mass into energy, yields
approximately 7.8x1013 J/kg of the uranium consumed which means only 0.87 g of matter
is converted into energy compared with 9x1016 J/kg of uranium i.e. theoretical complete
transformation. [In fact, typical fission of 3.9 kg U235 per day yields 3000 MWt i.e. 4.51
x10-5 kg U 235 provides in 1 second 3x109 J so that fission of 1 kg of U 235 provides in 1
second (3x109/4.51x10-5 ) ≈ 6.65 x 1013 J/kg.]

•Still, the enormous magnitude of this energy release (7.8x1013 J/kg by fission process)
can be appreciated only by comparison with the energy of combustion of a familiar fuel
such as gasoline (i.e. octane), 5x107 J/kg.

•The ratio of these numbers (7.8x1013 J/kg uranium and 5x107 J/kg gasoline), 1.5x106,
reveals the tremendous difference between nuclear and chemical energies.
 Atoms and nuclei:

There are more than 100 known elements. Most are found in nature; some are artificially
produced.
Each is given a specific number in the periodic table of the elements; examples are
hydrogen (H) 1, helium (He) 2, oxygen (O) 8, and uranium (U) 92.

•The symbol Z is assigned to the atomic number, which is the number of negatively
charged electrons in the atom and determines its chemical properties. Z is also equal to
the number of positively charged protons in the nucleus so that an atom is charge
neutral. Protons are heavier than electrons but carry same amount of positive charge.

Generally, the farther an element is in the periodic table, the heavier are its atoms.

•The atomic weight M is the weight in grams of a definite number of atoms, 6.02x1023,
which is Avogadro’s number, NA i.e. M is expressed in grams/mole when one mole
contains NA number of atoms.

•Besides gm/mole atomic weight may also be expressed using ‘atomic mass units ‘ (amu
denoted by u), while atomic mass is always quantified using atomic mass units (u).
 •Although we often use the terms atomic weight and atomic mass interchangeably,
atomic mass describes the mass of a single atom of a particular isotope, whereas
atomic weight provides a weighted average mass for an element based on the
abundance of its constituent isotopes.

For the elements hydrogen (H) 1, helium (He) 2, oxygen (O) 8, and uranium (U) 92, the
values of M in atomic mass unit are approximately H, 1.008; He, 4.003; O, 16.00; and U,
238.0.

•Isotopes of an element have same chemical properties but they differ in number of neutrons.

•A neutron is charge neutral having a mass close to that of a proton. Protons and neutrons are together
named as nucleons because both reside in the nucleus.

•Atomic mass number A is used to denote the total number of nucleons. The atomic weight, a real
number, is approximated by the atomic mass number, which is an integer, i.e. M≈ A. Then the mass of 1
mole of an element in grams is equal to its atomic mass number. e.g. 1 mole of U-235 weighs 235
grams.
 •The complete shorthand notation for an isotope is given by the
chemical symbol X with leading superscript A and subscript Z values,
that is, ZAX. e.g.

•In addition to the atomic number Z and the atomic mass number A, we often
need to write the neutron number N, which is, of course, N=A – Z. For the set of
hydrogen isotopes listed, N is 0, 1, 2 respectively.

•An identification of isotopes frequently used in qualitative discussion consists

of the element name and its A value, thus sodium-23 and uranium-235, or even
more simply Na-23 or 23Na and U-235 or 235U.

•Naturally occurring uranium is composed of three major isotopes, uranium-238

(99.2739–99.2752% natural abundance), uranium-235 (0.7198–0.7202%), and
uranium-234 (0.0050–0.0059%). All three isotopes are radioactive, creating
radioisotopes, with the most abundant and stable being uranium-238 with a half-
life of 4.4683×109 years i.e. 4.5 billion years.

•The vast majority of all nuclear power reactors require 'enriched' uranium fuel in
which the proportion of the uranium-235 isotope is raised from the natural level of
0.7% to about 3.5% to 5%.
 The atomic mass of the proton is 1.007276, of the neutron 1.008665, the difference being
only about 0.1%. The mass of the electron on this scale is 0.000549.
*

#1 amu is approximately mass of a

hydrogen atom and mass of 1 mole
hydrogen atoms is 1 g

[1 amu mass in kg i.e. 1.660539x10-21 x( 3x108)2/1.602x10-19≈ 931.5 MeV]

[*Note: 1 mole of pure C weighs 12 grams. So 12 gm carbon contain Avogadro’s number of atoms.
• Then in terms of C, 1 amu=1/12 th of the mass of a carbon atom =1/12x(12/6.022x1023 ) gm.
• In terms of H, 1 amu = mass of 1 H atom =1/6.022x1023 gm.
Both definition will give 1 amu=1.660539x10-24 gm.]
 BINDING ENERGY
To disrupt a nucleus and separate it into its component nucleons, energy must be
supplied from the outside. Recalling Einstein’s relation between mass and energy, this is
the same as saying that a given nucleus is lighter than the sum of its separate nucleons,
the difference being the mass defect.

Let the mass of an atom including nucleus and external electrons be M, and let mn and
MH be the respective masses of the neutron and the proton plus matching electron.
Then the mass defect is

The corresponding nuclear binding energy is simply

So the energy associated with mass defect is called binding energy.

Example:
 Fig. 2.9
BE is a direct measure of nuclear stability.

Fission is most widely used in NPP. The materials fissionable by thermal or slow neutrons
are U-235, Pu-239.
•The three most relevant
fissile isotopes are
Uranium-233, Uranium-
235 and Plutonium-239.
When the unstable
nuclei of these atoms
are hit by a slow-moving
neutron, they split,
creating two daughter
nuclei plus two or three
more neutrons. These
neutrons then go on to
split more nuclei of the
fissile atoms. This
creates a self-sustaining
chain reaction that is
controlled in a nuclear
reactor, or uncontrolled
in a nuclear weapon.

[More illustration in slide No. 36]

 Radioactivity

•Many naturally occurring and man-made isotopes with small binding energy per
nucleon and Z>81, have the property of radioactivity, which is the spontaneous
transformation (decay) of the nucleus into another nucleus plus the emission of a
particle.

The process takes place in minerals of the ground, in fibers of plants, in tissues of
animals, and in the air and water, all of which contain traces of radioactive elements.

•Generally, nuclei with an even number of protons and/or neutrons tend to have a
higher degree of stability.

•Radioactive decay gives rise to emanations termed radiations or emissions such as

α,β, γ rays, neutron emission, positron or β+ emission and electron capture (EC).
 RADIOACTIVE DECAY

Many heavy elements and a few light elements (e.g. K-40, C-14, H-3) are radioactive.
An example is the decay of the most abundant isotope of uranium, in the reaction
(uranium-238 has a half-life of 4.4683×109 years)
The particle released is the α (alpha) particle, which is merely the helium-4 nucleus. The
new isotope of thorium is also radioactive, as shown in following reaction.
antineutrino and electron released

•The first product is the element protactinium (Pa).

•The second is an electron, which is called the β (beta) particle when it arises in a
nuclear process.
•The third is the antineutrino, symbolized by v (nu bar). It is a neutral particle that
shares with the beta particle the reaction’s energy release.
On average, the (anti)neutrino carries two-thirds of the energy, the electron, one-
third.
The neutrino has zero or possibly a very small mass and readily penetrates enormous
thicknesses of matter. An antineutrino is simply an “opposite version” of a neutrino.
•We note that the A value decreases by 4 and the Z value by 2 on emission of an α particle,
whereas the A remains unchanged but Z increases by 1 on emission of a β particle. These
two events are the start of a long sequence or chain of disintegrations that produce isotopes
of the elements radium, polonium, and bismuth, eventually yielding the stable
lead isotope (lead 206 has absolute stability meaning it will not further decay)
Other chains found in nature start with

Hundreds of artificial radioisotopes have been produced by bombardment of nuclei by

charged particles or neutrons and by separation of the products of the fission process.
β particle
•We note the special case of neutron decay according to

A free neutron has a half-life of 10.3 min. The conversion of a neutron into a proton can be
regarded as the origin of beta emission in radioactive nuclei.

•In addition to the radioisotopes that decay with beta or alpha emission, there is a
large group of artificial isotopes that decay with the emission of a positron β+, which
has the same mass as the electron and an equal but positive charge.

An example is sodium-22, which decays with 2.6 y half-life into a neon isotope as
Neutrino (v) is a subatomic particle having no electrical
charge (but other properties are similar to an electron), very
neutrino and positron released little mass and it is very abundant in universe.
It should be noted that electrons are normal particles that form matters while positrons
only occur due to nuclear process and are termed antiparticle forming antimatter
•The preceding Na-22 reaction can be regarded as involving the conversion of a proton
into a neutron with the release of a positron and a neutrino by use of excess energy in
the parent nucleus.
This is an example of the conversion of energy into mass. Usually, the mass appears in
the form of pairs of particles of opposite charge. The positron–electron pair is one
example. An electron and a positron will combine, and both will be annihilated to form
two γ (gamma) rays.

•A nucleus can get rid of excess internal energy by the emission of a gamma ray, but in
an alternate process, called internal conversion (IC), the energy is imparted directly to
one of the atomic electrons, thereby ejecting it from the atom.

•In an inverse process, called electron capture, the nucleus spontaneously absorbs one
of its own orbital electrons.

•Each of these two processes (IC and EC) is followed by the production of X-rays as the
inner shell vacancy is filled.
Decay constant, half life, activity, units

The decay constant, λ (lambda), is

the “probability” that a particular
nucleus will decay per unit time.
 1 Ci= 3x107 Bq or dpi

S.N. SINGH: Elect Power GTD

 Nuclear Processes
•Nuclear reactions—those in which atomic nuclei participate—may take place
spontaneously, as in radioactivity, or may be induced by bombardment with a
particle or ray.

•Nuclear reactions are much more energetic than chemical reactions, but they
obey the same physical laws: conservation of momentum, energy, number of
particles, and charge.

•The number of possible nuclear reactions is extremely large, because there are
approximately 2000 known isotopes and many particles that can either be
projectiles or products: photons, electrons, protons, neutrons, alpha particles,
deuterons (nucleus of deuterium), and heavy charged particles.

•Projectiles are used to produce nuclear reactions after accumulating high

energies in particle accelerators.

•The nuclear reactions that are induced by projectiles and that involve neutrons
are important for NP generation.
 TRANSMUTATION OF ELEMENTS

Nuclear reactions may be written using a general equation form

A shorthand notation is used to represent nuclear reactions. Let an incoming particle a

strikes a target nucleus X to produce a residual nucleus Y and an outgoing particle b, with
equation
a + X→ Y + b

The reaction may be abbreviated X(a, b)Y

where a and b stand for the neutron (n), alpha particle (a), gamma ray (γ), proton (p),
deuteron (d), and so on.
•The conversion of one element into another, a process called transmutation, was first
achieved in 1919 by Rutherford in England. He bombarded nitrogen atoms with α
particles (Helium -4 nucleus) from a radioactive source to produce an oxygen isotope
and a proton, according to the equation

We note that on both sides of the equation the A values sum to 18 and the Z values
total 9. It is difficult for the positively charged α particle to enter the nitrogen nucleus
because of the force of electrical repulsion between charged particles. The α particle
thus must have several MeV of energy.

•Using reaction shorthand X(a, b)Y, Rutherford’s experiment can be written as

The Z value can be omitted, because it is unique to the chemical element

 •Nuclear transmutations can also be achieved by charged particles that are
electrically accelerated to high speeds. The first such example discovered was
the reaction

yields a gamma ray and an isotope of nitrogen. The latter decays with a half-life of
10 min, releasing a positron, the positive counterpart of the electron.
•Because the neutron is a neutral particle, it does not experience electrostatic
repulsion and can readily penetrate a target nucleus. Neutrons are thus especially
useful as projectiles to induce reactions.
 Several examples are chosen on the basis of interest or usefulness. The conversion
of mercury into gold, the alchemist’s dream, is described by

Neutron capture in cadmium, sometimes used in nuclear reactor control rods, is

given by

A reaction that produces tritium, which may be a fuel for controlled fusion reactors of the
future, is
 Fission
•Out of the many nuclear reactions known, the reaction that results in fission has, at
present, the greatest practical significance. (fission involves production of daughter nuclei)

•The absorption of a neutron by most isotopes involves radiative capture, with the
excitation energy appearing as a gamma ray. (non-fission or rdaiative capture produces
gamma emission)

In certain heavy elements, notably uranium and plutonium, an alternate consequence is

observed: the splitting of the nucleus into two massive fragments, a process called fission.

In order to initiate most fission reactions, an atom (specially those with higher atomic masses) is
bombarded by a neutron to produce an unstable isotope, which undergoes fission. When neutrons
are released during the fission process, they can initiate a chain reaction of continuous fission which
sustains itself.

The first neutron can come from a primary neutron source (e.g. Californium, Cf-252)
(spontaneous fission) or from Plutonium-238 and beryllium (α,n) reaction*. The startup sources are
typically inserted in regularly spaced positions inside the reactor core, in place of some of the fuel
rods. The primary sources are removed from the reactor after the first fuel campaign, usually after
few months.
*The requisite alpha (α) particles for the (α, n) reaction are generated from the radioactive decay of Pu isotopes. The
interaction of these alpha particles with proximate light atomic number beryllium (Be) atoms produces the regular
flux of (α, n) neutrons.
 •The fission of one atom of uranium-235 releases 202.5 MeV
(3.24×10−11 J) inside the reactor. That corresponds to 19.54 TJ/mol, or
83.14 TJ/kg. Another 8.8 MeV escapes the reactor as anti-neutrinos.
When 23592U nuclides are bombarded with neutrons, one of the many
fission reactions that it can undergo is as follows (shown in the
adjacent image):

•Fission of U-235 nuclei typically releases 2 or 3 neutrons, with an

average of almost 2.5. One of these neutrons is needed to sustain the
chain reaction at a steady level of controlled criticality; on average, the
others leak from the core region or are absorbed in non-fission
reactions.
•Another possible fissile reaction releases two neutrons shown in Fig.
6.1 in next slide. The explanation of energy release per fission is also
somewhat different but gives almost same result.

•Heavy water reactors, and some graphite moderated reactors, can use
natural uranium, but light water reactors must use at least low
enriched uranium because of the higher neutron absorption of light Nuclear fission of U-235: If U-235 is
water. Heavy water's extra neutron decreases its ability to absorb bombarded with a neutron (light blue small
excess neutrons, resulting in a better neutron economy. In other words circle in diagram above), the resulting U-236
the heavy water moderator does not absorb as many neutrons as the produced is unstable and undergoes fission.
commonly used light water does. The resulting elements (shown here as Kr-92
and Ba-141) do not contain as many
•Uranium enrichment removes some of the uranium-238 and increases nucleons as U-236, with the remaining three
the proportion of uranium-235. Highly enriched uranium (HEU), which neutrons being released as high-energy
contains an even greater proportion of uranium-235, is sometimes particles, able to bombard another U-235
used in the reactors of nuclear submarines, research reactors and atom and maintain a chain reaction.
nuclear weapons.
•In Stage A, the neutron hits the U-235 nucleus.
Variation of U-235 fission
•In Stage B, the U-236 compound nucleus has been formed in
an excited state. The excess energy in some cases may be
released as a gamma ray, but more frequently the energy
causes distortions of the nucleus into a dumbbell shape, as in
Stage C.

•The parts of the nucleus oscillate in a manner analogous to

the motion of a drop of liquid. Because of the dominance of
electrostatic repulsion over nuclear attraction, the two parts
can separate, as in Stage D. They are then called fission
fragments, bearing most of the energy released. They fly
apart at high speeds ( which fly apart at about 3% of the
speed of light ), carrying some 166 MeV of kinetic energy out
of the total of approximately 200 MeV fission energy
released in the whole process.
Most of the kinetic energy released in the fission process is
converted to thermal energy .

•As the fragments separate, they lose atomic electrons, and

the resulting high speed ions lose energy by interaction with
the atoms and molecules of the surrounding medium. The
resultant thermal energy (around 166 MeV) is recoverable if
the fission takes place in a nuclear reactor.

•Also shown in the Stage D diagram are the prompt gamma

rays and fast neutrons that are released at the time of
splitting. This entire fission process occurs over a period of
about 10–15 s.
 ENERGY CONSIDERATIONS
The absorption of a neutron by a nucleus such as U-235 gives rise to extra
internal energy of the product, because the sum of the masses of the two
interacting particles is greater than that of a normal U-236 nucleus. We write the
first step in the reaction

where the asterisk (*) signifies the excited state. The mass of (U-236)* in atomic
mass units is

However, U-236 in its ground state has a mass

of 236.045568, lower by 0.007027 amu or
6.55 MeV. This amount of excess energy is
sufficient to cause fission.
•It may be surprising that the introduction of only 6.5 MeV
of excitation energy can produce a reaction yielding as much
as 200 MeV. The explanation is that the excitation triggers
the separation of the two fragments and the powerful
electrostatic force or Coulomb force of repulsion provides
them a large amount of kinetic energy. By conservation of
mass–energy, the difference between the mass of the
nuclear products and the mass of the compound nucleus
(from which they emerge) appear as the fission energy of
which 166 MeV is kinetic energy.
 Chain reaction
If a neutron is absorbed by the nucleus of one atom of uranium and one neutron is
produced, the latter can be absorbed in a second uranium atom, and so on.

ENERGY FROM NUCLEAR FUELS

The practical significance of the fission process is revealed by calculating the amount of
uranium that is consumed to obtain a given amount of energy.

Each fission yields about w =190 MeV (not exactly 200 MeV) of useful energy, that is,
recoverable energy.
Thus the number of fissions required to obtain 1 W-sec i.e. 1 Joule of energy is

Each fission requires one fuel atom to be ‘burned’. In one day’s operation of a reactor
per megawatt of thermal power (MWt), the number of U-235 nuclei burned by fission is

1 day = 86400 s

However, the number of atoms consumed in a reactor is larger by the factor

because of the radiative capture i.e. non-fission capture. For U-235 about 15% (inverse of
the factor) atoms are not burnt i.e. not fissioned.
Note: absorption cross section, σa= σ ϒ + σ f =capture + fission cross sections
 This ratio is about 1.15 implying
15% atoms not fissioned

1.3 g vs. 1.11 g/MWt-d corresponds to

15% un-burnt or non –fissioned atoms

3.9 kg/day U-235 corresponds to about 1423

kg U-235 per year. With 5% enrichment this
much U-235 will be contained in around 25
tons natural enriched uranium.

the average number of neutrons (n) emitted in fission is termed v ( which is between 2 and 3)
 (thermal)

(Division by 0.8 is needed to count the total number of nuclei (atoms)

including those which were not fissioned though absorbed neutron)
 Notes:

•In fact due to poor fuel efficiency of reactors, reproduction factor (much depends upon
radiative capture of neutrons i.e. non-fission) and due to requirement of enriching natural
uranium, a typical thermal reactor (3000 MWt) contains about 100 tons of natural
uranium (U-238) with an average enrichment of 2%. Only about 0.01% of the potential of
natural uranium is extracted i.e. converted into heat through enrichment and chain
reaction. Due to 2% enrichment this 100 MTU (metric tons of uranium) usually lasts for
about 2 years.

•The higher the enrichment less mass of uranium will be required to be loaded into the
reactor but more mass of natural uranium will be required to be processed to achieve
that enrichment.

•Typically, to produce 1 kg of uranium enriched with 5% of 235U, about 11 kg of natural

uranium is required with a byproduct of about 10 kg of depleted uranium. Therefore to
produce about 25 tons of uranium with 5% U-235 enrichment as needed for a 3000
MWt reactor per year, about 250 tons natural uranium will have to be fed in the
enrichment process.
•Nuclear fuel rods contain tiny pellets of uranium, somewhere between the size of Tootsie
Roll and Cadbury eggs. Those uranium pellets are stacked inside thin, 12-feet-long metal
tubes, which we call fuel rods and these rods last about six years in a reactor, until the
fission process uses that uranium fuel up. It then becomes something they call “spent
fuel.”

•Spent fuel is degraded enough that even though it is still wicked radioactive, it is no
longer efficient for doing what nuclear power plants are supposed to do i.e. generating a
lot of heat, boiling water, making steam that spins turbine and generator set to produce
electricity. The spent fuel is still incredibly hot, like touching the stove hot. These hot and
radioactive fuel rods are put under water in pools. The size of the pools, in the case of the
Japanese reactors , is about 40 feet by 45 feet.

•Why is the fuel made up of rods rather than being a solid single piece of fuel?
To maximize efficiency, the moderator needs to be interspersed between the fuel which is
possible if the fuel is in the form of a large number of rods. Neutrons need to pass through
a moderator to slow them in order to cause further fissions or prevent U-238 absorbing
them. If a neutron passes out of a fuel rod it is unlikely to re-enter it, but there is a
possibility that it may enter another one. Fuel in rod form also makes it easier to replace
the fuel in stages.

•Typically, reactor operators change about one-third of the fuel rods in reactor core (i.e.
40 to 90 fuel assemblies) every 12 to 24 months.
 Fusion

•When two light nuclear particles combine or fuse together, energy is

released because the product nuclei have less mass than the original
particles.

• Such fusion reactions can be caused by bombarding targets with

charged particles, by use of an accelerator, or by raising the
temperature of a gas to a high enough level for nuclear reactions to
take place.
The fusion of a deuterium and a
tritium nucleus creates an alpha
particle, a neutron and 17.59 MeV
energy. The latter should sustain
the plasma to reaction
temperature, so that escaping
neutrons, which absorb 80% of
the fusion energy, heat the water
which drives the steam turbines.
The figure on the left shows the
fusion reaction
 ELECTROSTATIC vs. NUCLEAR FORCES
•The reactions previously described do not take place merely by mixing the
ingredients because of the very strong force of electrostatic repulsion between
the charged nuclei.

•Only by giving one or both of the particles a high speed can they be brought close
enough to each other for the strong nuclear force to dominate the electrical
force. This behavior is in sharp contrast to the ease with which neutrons interact
with nuclei.

•There are two consequences of the fact that the Coulomb force between two
charges of atomic numbers Z1 and Z2 varies with separation R according to

where e is the elementary charge (1.602x10–19 C).

•First, we see that fusion is unlikely in elements other than those low in the
periodic table (small Z).
• Second, the force and corresponding potential energy of repulsion is very large
at the 10–15 m range of nuclear forces, and thus the chance of reaction is
negligible unless particle energies are of the order of keV.
•Energies in the kilo-electronvolt and million-electronvolt range can be achieved by
a variety of charged particle accelerators.

•Bombardment of a solid or gaseous deuterium target by high-speed deuterons (i.e.

nucleus of deuterium or ionized deuterium) produces fusion reactions, but most of
the particle energy goes into electrostatic interactions that merely heat up the bulk of
the target.
 THERMONUCLEAR REACTIONS IN A PLASMA

•A medium in which high particle energies are obtained is the plasma. It consists
of a highly ionized gas as in an electrical discharge created by the acceleration of
electrons. Equal numbers of electrons and positively charged ions are present,
making the medium electrically neutral.

•The plasma is often called the fourth state of matter. Through the injection of
enough energy into the plasma, its temperature can be increased, and particles
such as deuterons reach the speed for fusion to be favorable.

•The term thermonuclear is applied to reactions induced by high thermal energy,

and the particles obey a speed distribution similar to that of a gas.
 Nuclear Fission versus Nuclear Fusion comparison chart
Nuclear Fission Nuclear Fusion
Fission is the splitting of a heavy atom into Fusion is uniting two or more lighter atoms
Definition
two or more smaller ones. into a larger one.
Fission reaction does not normally occur in
Natural occurrence of the process Fusion occurs in stars, such as the sun.
nature.
Few radioactive particles are produced by
Fission produces many highly radioactive fusion reaction, but if a fission "trigger" is
Byproducts of the reaction
particles. used, radioactive particles will result from
that.
Critical mass of the substance and high- High density, high temperature
Conditions
speed neutrons are required. environment is required.
Extremely high energy is required to bring
Takes little energy to split two atoms in a two or more protons close enough that
Energy Requirement
fission reaction. nuclear forces overcome their electrostatic
repulsion.
The energy released by fission is a million
The energy released by fusion is three to
times greater than that released in
Energy Released four times greater than the energy released
chemical reactions, but lower than the
by fission.
energy released by nuclear fusion.
One class of nuclear weapon is a fission One class of nuclear weapon is the
Nuclear weapon bomb, also known as an atomic bomb or hydrogen bomb, which uses a fission
atom bomb. reaction to "trigger" a fusion reaction.
Fusion is an experimental technology for
Energy production Fission is used in nuclear power plants.
producing power.
Hydrogen isotopes (Deuterium and Tritium)
Uranium is the primary fuel used in power
Fuel are the primary fuel used in experimental
plants.
fusion power plants.
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