Nuclear Power Technology

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Nuclear Power Technology

• Steven Biegalski, Ph.D., P.E.
• Director, Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory
• Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
• The University of Texas at Austin

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Outline

• Economics of Nuclear Energy
• Basics of a Power Plant
• Heat From Fission
• History of Nuclear Power
• Current Commercial Nuclear Reactor Designs
• Nuclear Fuel Cycle
• Future Reactor Designs
• Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident
• Conclusions

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Current World Demand for Electricity
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World Energy Demand Forecast
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(No Transcript)
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U.S. Nuclear Industry Capacity Factors1971
2011, Percent
Source Energy Information Administration Updated
3/12
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U.S. Nuclear Refueling Outage Days
Average (Days)
Source 1990-98 EUCG, 1999-2011 Ventyx Velocity
Suite / Nuclear Regulatory Commission Updated
3/12
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U.S. Nuclear Production Costs
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U.S. Electricity Production Costs 1995-2011, In
2011 cents per kilowatt-hour
Production Costs Operations and Maintenance
Costs Fuel Costs. Production costs do not
include indirect costs and are based on FERC Form
1 filings submitted by regulated utilities.
Production costs are modeled for utilities that
are not regulated. Source Ventyx Velocity
Suite Updated 5/12
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Emission-Free Sources of Electricity
Source Global Energy Decisions Energy
Information Administration, U.S. Department of
Energy
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Comparison of Life-Cycle Emissions
Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent per
Gigawatt-Hour
Source "Life-Cycle Assessment of Electricity
Generation Systems and Applications for Climate
Change Policy Analysis," Paul J. Meier,
University of Wisconsin-Madison, August 2002.
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Renewable
Renewable Energy Sources
Relative Costs of Electricity Generation
Technologies Canadian Energy Research Institute
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Basics of a Power Plant

• The basic premises for the majority of power
  plants is to
• 1) Create heat
• 2) Boil Water
• 3) Use steam to turn a turbine
• 4) Use turbine to turn generator
• 5) Produce Electricity
• Some other power producing technologies work
  differently (e.g., solar, wind, hydroelectric, )

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Nuclear Power Plants use the Rankine Cycle
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Heat From Fission
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Fission Chain Reaction
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Nuclear History

• 1939. Nuclear fission discovered.
• 1942. The worlds first nuclear chain reaction
  takes place in Chicago as part of the wartime
  Manhattan Project.
• 1945. The first nuclear weapons test at
  Alamagordo, New Mexico.
• 1951. Electricity was first generated from a
  nuclear reactor, from EBR-I (Experimental Breeder
  Reactor-I) at the National Reactor Testing
  Station in Idaho, USA. EBR-I produced about 100
  kilowatts of electricity (kW(e)), enough to power
  the equipment in the small reactor building.
• 1970s. Nuclear power grows rapidly. From 1970 to
  1975 growth averaged 30 per year, the same as
  wind power recently (1998-2001).
• 1987. Nuclear power now generates slightly more
  than 16 of all electricity in the world.
• 1980s. Nuclear expansion slows because of
  environmentalist opposition, high interest rates,
  energy conservation prompted by the 1973 and 1979
  oil shocks, and the accidents at Three Mile
  Island (1979, USA) and Chernobyl (1986, Ukraine,
  USSR).
• 2004. Nuclear powers share of global electricity
  generation holds steady around 16 in the 17
  years since 1987.

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Current Commercial Nuclear Reactor Designs

• Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)
• Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
• Gas Cooled Fast Reactor
• Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (CANDU)
• Light Water Graphite Reactor (RBMK)
• Fast Neutron Reactor (FBR)

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The Current Nuclear Industry
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Nuclear Reactors Around the World
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Top 10 Nuclear Generating Countries 2009,
Terawatt hours
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Power Plants in United States
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Nuclear Generation and Capacity

• Amount of electricity generated by a 1,000-MWe
  reactor at 90 capacity factor in one year 7.9
  billion KWhenough to supply electricity for
  740,000 households.
• Equivalent to
• Oil 13.7 million barrels
• Coal 3.4 million short tons
• Natural Gas 65.8 billion cubic

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PWR
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BWR
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Future Reactor Designs

• Research is currently being conducted for design
  of the next generation of nuclear reactor
  designs.
• The next generation designs focus on
• Proliferation resistance of fuel
• Passive safety systems
• Improved fuel efficiency (includes breeding)
• Minimizing nuclear waste
• Improved plant efficiency (e.g., Brayton cycle)
• Hydrogen production
• Economics

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Location of Projected New Nuclear Power Reactors
http//www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors/col/new-r
eactor-map.html
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Vogtle 34 Construction Started
The expansion at Plant Vogtle, adding Units 34,
is a 95-month undertaking with the units'
completions expected in 2016 and 2017,
respectively. 
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Gen IV Reactors

• Themes in Gen IV Reactors
• Gas Cooled Fast Reactor (GFR)
• Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR)
• Supercritical Water Cooled Reactor (SCWR)
• Sodium Cooled Fast Reactor (SFR)
• Lead Cooled Fast Reactor (LFR)
• Molten Salt Reactor (MSR)

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Themes in Gen IV Reactors

• Hydrogen Production
• Proliferation Resistance
• Closed Fuel Cycle
• Simplification
• Increased safety

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Hydrogen Production

• Hydrogen is ready to play the lead in the next
  generation of energy production methods.
• Nuclear heat sources (i.e., a nuclear reactor)
  have been proposed to aid in the separation of H
  from H20.
• Hydrogen is thermochemically generated from water
  decomposed by nuclear heat at high temperature.
• The IS process is named after the initials of
  each element used (iodine and sulfur).

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Hydrogen Production (cont.)
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What is nuclear proliferation?

• Misuse of nuclear facilities
• Diversion of nuclear materials

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Specific Generation IV Design Advantages

• Long fuel cycle - refueling 15-20 years
• Relative small capacity
• Thorough fuel burnup
• Fuel cycle variability
• Actinide burning
• Ability to burn weapons grade fuel

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Closed Fuel Cycle

• A closed fuel cycle is one that allows for
  reprocessing.
• Benefits include
• Reduction of waste stream
• More efficient use of fuel.
• Negative attributes include
• Increased potential for proliferation
• Additional infrastructure

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Simplification

• Efforts are made to simplify the design of Gen IV
  reactors. This leads to
• Reduced capitol costs
• Reduced construction times
• Increased safety (less things can fail)

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Increased Safety

• Increased safety is always a priority.
• Some examples of increased safety
• Natural circulation in systems
• Reduction of piping
• Incorporation of pumps within reactor vessel
• Lower pressures in reactor vessel (liquid metal
  cooled reactors)

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Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident

• The March 11, 2011 9.0 magnitude undersea
  megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan and
  subsequent tsunami waves triggered a major
  nuclear event at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
  power station.
• At the time of the event, units 1, 2, and 3 were
  operating and units 4, 5, and 6 were in a
  shutdown condition for maintenance.

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Operating Reactor Designs
Unit Design Containment Electric Power Thermal Power
Fukushima Daiichi 1 BWR-3 Mark I 460 MW 1,380 MW
Fukushima Daiichi 2 BWR-4 Mark I 784 MW 2,352 MW
Fukushima Daiichi 3 BWR-4 Mark I 784 MW 2,352 MW
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BWR Reactor
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Reactor Containments - Before
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Reactor Containments - After
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http//www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1368624/Ja
pan-earthquake-tsunami-Fukushima-power-plants-poor
-safety-record.html
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Fukushima Daiichi Accident Conclusions

• The radionuclides released from the Fukushima
  Daiichi nuclear incident were measured around the
  world.
• Measurements were significantly above the
  detection limits for many systems.
• Combination of atmospheric transport, radiation
  detection, and reactor modeling were fused to
  provide a picture of the event.
• Radiation levels not predicted to be of concern
  in the U.S..

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Conclusions

• So, what does the future hold?
• The demand for electrical power will continue to
  increase.
• The world reserves of fossil fuels are limited.
• Modern nuclear power plant designs are more
  inherently safe and may be constructed with less
  capital cost.
• Fossil fuel-based electricity is projected to
  account for more than 40 of global greenhouse
  gas emissions by 2020.
• A 2003 study by MIT predicted that nuclear power
  growth of three fold will be necessary by 2050.
• U.S. Government has voiced strong support for
  nuclear power production.