nuclear power thermodynamics

(notes from thermodynamics in nuclear power plant systems book)

-introduce theromodynamics as the energy conversion science that it is and apply it to nuclear systems

  • the most widely built nuclear system is the pressurized water reactor (PWR). steam turbines have for many decades been the domaniant means of generating mechanical energy to turn electrical generators

  • the basic pwr consists of 5 major components; the reactor core; steam generator; steam turbine; condenser; and electrical generator and 3 water steam loops.

  • the nuclear energy is converted to thermal energy in the reactor core

  • this thermal energy is then transported via the first loop to the steam generator where it is passed to the water in the 2nd loop

  • the water in the 2nd loop enters as a liquid and is turned to steam

  • the steam then passes to the turbine where the thermal energy is concerted to mechanical energy to rotate the electrical generator

  • after the thermal energy has been converted to mechanical energy in the steam turbine the low pressure steam passes to the condenser to be cooled by the water in the 3rd loop

  • the 2nd law of thermodynaics tells us that we cannot simply expand the steam to a low enough energy state that it can return to the steam generator in its original liquid state

  • the 3rd loop is called the circulating water system and it is open to the environment

  • there are multiple ways of providing this cooling water including intake and return to a river or the ocean intake and return to a cooling pond or intake from a river and exhaust through a cooling tower.

  • why is nuclear energy so useful- a great deal of energy is produced by very little mass.

http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2017/ph241/kim-d2/

location-Building a nuclear plant requires a large area, especially the one near a natural water body. This is because nuclear power plants need water in order to expel heat which is part of their condenser system. This is usually achieved with clearing of forests which can disturb the natural habitat of myriad of creatures that live nearby. Moreover, this can also disrupt the ecological balance of the region.

  • the nuclear energy is converted to thermal energy in the reactor core

In our town in Atlanta, the forest nearby had just been removed entirely. The forest that used to live there now sat naked beside a body of still water. Kyeve lived here all her life and played in this forest as a kid. She swam in the water naked and kissed the sky with her naked face.

When she heard about the forest being removed, or when she saw it rather she wanted to know more about why it was happening. She began walking by the place every day to see if she could catch people working at the site and ask about what was happening.

Several days later she saw men in work vests and felt a surge of energy in her body as she approached them.

*

Kyeve lived with her parents on a quiet block and her family was as quiet as the house. She guess they hadn’t noticed the removal of the forest and if they had she guessed they didnt care. She didnt have time to investigate these guesses, but she was certain about the truth of them.

She would push the butter across the table angryily hoping the energy inside her would transfer over to her direct environment and cause a stir. That’s all she was seeking really was a stir; a mix up in the environment, a change.

Kyeve was a child but she was also an adult, and she knew what she wanted. She wanted to go far, to go farther than she had been before, to leave this place, and make a new one.

What happened with the forest? her parents asked her

“I heard they are trying to build something but I don’t know what yet”, Kyeve said her mouth full of something yellow.

“Maybe a power plant” her dad said

“why is it called a power plant” elan said, angrily

“well i would assume the plant part references the making of something and the power part.. well..

“is what their making yes” cut in Kyeve

“how’d you guess that” Kyeve said, still annoyed

“by the location, and the removal of the forest” dad said

“to make a power plant you need a power source and the water is right there and you need empty land, which they now have” he said

“I want to make something powerful” elan replied, to no one really.

“Do it” said mom.

*

Kyeve started drafting models of the spaceships and aircrafts she would fly in our life- sized boat machine out in the real world one day. She saw the real world as the place that was distinctly not the place where her forest had just been cut down. The real world had her childhood forest still, and not only that, it had very clear and sparkling waters that always ran over her face when she was hot.