Maharashtra, December 26, 2010:

The global nuclear power industry is at a decisive turning point. Nuclear power’s competitiveness is under increased pressure from the international trend towards power market liberalization, and its expansion of the market is facing more obstacles than anticipated – seen in Asia, where the growth has been expected – because of the difficulty in attaining social consensus. Under these circumstances, new initiatives in nuclear technology – in particular, the development of innovative technologies – are beginning to attract wider attention. Of these new technologies, small innovative reactor (SIR) designs are proving to be the most intriguing, especially when considering environmental conservation and long-term security.

The most common types of nuclear power plants use water for cooling in two ways: to convey heat from the reactor core to the steam turbines, and to remove and dump surplus heat from this steam circuit. (In any steam cycle plant there is a loss of about two thirds of the energy due to the intrinsic limitations of turning heat into mechanical energy.) Combined cycle gas turbine plants need only about one third as much engineered cooling as normal thermal plants, since much heat is discharged in the turbine exhaust.

Cooling is needed to condense the after-turbine steam in the internal circuit and recycle it. As the steam condenses back to water, the surplus heat must be discharged to the air or a body of water. Any steam-cycle system must discharge about two-thirds of the energy produced by the heat source due to the physics of turning heat into mechanical energy – in this case the turning of a turbine generator.

This white paper takes a look at the different types of cooling processes that are available for power plants and also how cooling is essential to nuclear power.

Table of Contents:

Executive Summary 3

Introduction to Nuclear Power 4

History 4
Fission Reactor 6
Developing Technologies 28
Parts of a Nuclear Power Plant 43
Dealing with Radioactive Waste 56

Cooling Power Plants 59
Overview 59
Function of the Water 59
Looking at the Steam Cycle Heat Transfer 59
Condensing the Steam and Surplus Heat Discharge 60
Process of Direct or Once-Through Wet Cooling 61
Process of Recirculating or Indirect Wet Cooling 62
Wet Cooling: Once Through 64
Wet Cooling: Recirculating 65
Process of Dry Cooling 66
Role of Cooling in Fossil & Nuclear Plants 67
Role of Cooling Power Plants in Nuclear Power 69
Cooling Needs and the Future of Nuclear Power 70

Appendix 72
Nuclear Trade and Industry Organizations 72
Regulators and Regulations for the Nuclear Industry 76

Glossary 80

About the Publisher 90

List of Figures

Figure 1: Pressurized Water Reactor 7
Figure 2: Pressurized Water Reactor Vessel 10
Figure 3: Boiling Water Reactor 14
Figure 4: Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor 18
Figure 5: Process depicting Nuclear Fuel Cycle 43
Figure 6: A Control Rod Assembly 48
Figure 7: A Steel Pressure Vessel 50
Figure 8: Sources of Nuclear Waste 57

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