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Gas-cooled Reactor
A gas-cooled reactor (GCR) is a nuclear reactor that uses graphite as a neutron moderator and a gas (carbon dioxide or helium in extant designs) as coolant. Although there are many other types of reactor cooled by gas, the terms ''GCR'' and to a lesser extent ''gas cooled reactor'' are particularly used to refer to this type of reactor. The GCR was able to use natural uranium as fuel, enabling the countries that developed them to fabricate their own fuel without relying on other countries for supplies of enriched uranium, which was at the time of their development in the 1950s only available from the United States or the Soviet Union. The Canadian CANDU reactor, using heavy water as a moderator, was designed with the same goal of using natural uranium fuel for similar reasons. Design considerations Historically thermal spectrum graphite-moderated gas-cooled reactors mostly competed with light water reactors, ultimately losing out to them after having seen some deployment in Brit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear Reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons production and Research reactor, research. Fissile material, Fissile nuclei (primarily uranium-235 or plutonium-239) absorb single neutron, neutrons and split, releasing energy and multiple neutrons, which can induce further fission. Reactors stabilize this, regulating Neutron absorber, neutron absorbers and neutron moderator, moderators in the core. Fuel efficiency is exceptionally high; Enriched uranium#Low-enriched uranium (LEU), low-enriched uranium is 120,000 times more energy dense than coal. Heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid Nuclear reactor#By coolant, coolant. In commercial reactors, this drives Turbine, turbines and electrical generator shafts. Some reactors are used for district heating, and isotopes, isoto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neutron Absorption
Neutron capture is a nuclear reaction in which an atomic nucleus and one or more neutrons collide and merge to form a heavier nucleus. Since neutrons have no electric charge, they can enter a nucleus more easily than positively charged protons, which are repelled electrostatically. Neutron capture plays a significant role in the cosmic nucleosynthesis of heavy elements. In stars it can proceed in two ways: as a rapid process (r-process) or a slow process (s-process). Nuclei of masses greater than 56 cannot be formed by exothermic thermonuclear reactions (i.e., by nuclear fusion) but can be formed by neutron capture. Neutron capture on protons yields a line at 2.223 MeV predicted and commonly observed in solar flares. Neutron capture at small neutron flux At small neutron flux, as in a nuclear reactor, a single neutron is captured by a nucleus. For example, when natural gold (197Au) is irradiated by neutrons (n), the isotope 198Au is formed in a highly excited state, and qu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loss Of Coolant Accident
A loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) is a mode of failure for a nuclear reactor; if not managed effectively, the results of a LOCA could result in reactor core damage. Each nuclear plant's emergency core cooling system (ECCS) exists specifically to deal with a LOCA. Nuclear reactors generate heat internally; to remove this heat and convert it into useful electrical power, a coolant system is used. If this coolant flow is reduced, or lost altogether, the nuclear reactor's emergency shutdown system is designed to stop the fission chain reaction. However, due to radioactive decay, the nuclear fuel will continue to generate a significant amount of heat. The decay heat produced by a reactor shutdown from full power is initially equivalent to about 5 to 6% of the thermal rating of the reactor. If all of the independent cooling trains of the ECCS fail to operate as designed, this heat can increase the fuel temperature to the point of damaging the reactor. *If water is present, it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simplest oxocarbon, carbon oxide. In coordination complexes, the carbon monoxide ligand is called ''metal carbonyl, carbonyl''. It is a key ingredient in many processes in industrial chemistry. The most common source of carbon monoxide is the partial combustion of carbon-containing compounds. Numerous environmental and biological sources generate carbon monoxide. In industry, carbon monoxide is important in the production of many compounds, including drugs, fragrances, and fuels. Indoors CO is one of the most acutely toxic contaminants affecting indoor air quality. CO may be emitted from tobacco smoke and generated from malfunctioning fuel-burning stoves (wood, kerosene, natural gas, propane) and fuel-burning heating systems (wood, oil, n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boudouard Reaction
The Boudouard reaction, named after Octave Leopold Boudouard, is the redox reaction of a chemical equilibrium mixture of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide at a given temperature. It is the disproportionation of carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide and graphite or its reverse: ::2CO + C The Boudouard reaction to form carbon dioxide and carbon is exothermic at all temperatures. However, the standard enthalpy of the Boudouard reaction becomes less negative with increasing temperature, as shown to the side. While the formation enthalpy of is higher than that of , the formation entropy is much lower. Consequently, the standard free energy of formation of from its component elements is almost constant and independent of the temperature, while the free energy of formation of decreases with temperature. At high temperatures, the forward reaction becomes endergonic, favoring the (exergonic) reverse reaction toward CO, even though the forward reaction is still exothermic. The ef ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nuclear Reprocessing
Nuclear reprocessing is the chemical separation of fission products and actinides from spent nuclear fuel. Originally, reprocessing was used solely to extract plutonium for producing nuclear weapons. With commercialization of nuclear power, the reprocessed plutonium was recycled back into MOX nuclear fuel for thermal reactors. The reprocessed uranium, also known as the spent fuel material, can in principle also be re-used as fuel, but that is only economical when uranium supply is low and prices are high. Nuclear reprocessing may extend beyond fuel and include the reprocessing of other nuclear reactor material, such as Zircaloy cladding. The high radioactivity of spent nuclear material means that reprocessing must be highly controlled and carefully executed in advanced facilities by specialized personnel. Numerous processes exist, with the chemical based PUREX process dominating. Alternatives include heating to drive off volatile elements, burning via oxidation, and fluoride vola ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spent Fuel Pool
Spent fuel pools (SFP) are storage pools (or "ponds" in the United Kingdom) for spent fuel from nuclear reactors. They are typically 40 or more feet (12 m) deep, with the bottom 14 feet (4.3 m) equipped with storage racks designed to hold fuel assemblies removed from reactors. A reactor's local pool is specially designed for the reactor in which the fuel was used and is situated at the reactor site. Such pools are used for short-term cooling of the fuel rods. This allows short-lived isotopes to decay and thus reduces the ionizing radiation and decay heat emanating from the rods. The water cools the fuel and provides radiological protection from its radiation. Pools also exist on sites remote from reactors, for longer-term storage such as the Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), located at the Morris Operation, or as a production buffer for 10 to 20 years before being sent for reprocessing or dry cask storage. While only about 20 feet (about 6 m) of w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Energy Density
In physics, energy density is the quotient between the amount of energy stored in a given system or contained in a given region of space and the volume of the system or region considered. Often only the ''useful'' or extractable energy is measured. It is sometimes confused with stored energy per unit mass, which is called ''specific energy'' or . There are different types of energy stored, corresponding to a particular type of reaction. In order of the typical magnitude of the energy stored, examples of reactions are: Nuclear power, nuclear, Chemical energy, chemical (including Electrochemistry, electrochemical), electrical, pressure, Deformation (engineering), material deformation or in Electromagnetic field, electromagnetic fields. Nuclear reactions take place in stars and nuclear power plants, both of which derive energy from the binding energy of nuclei. Chemical reactions are used by organisms to derive energy from food and by automobiles from the combustion of gasoline. Liqu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scram
A scram or SCRAM is an emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor effected by immediately terminating the fission reaction. It is also the name that is given to the manually operated kill switch that initiates the shutdown. In commercial reactor operations, this type of shutdown is often referred to as a "scram" at boiling water reactors, a "reactor ''trip''" at pressurized water reactors and "EPIS" at a CANDU reactor. In many cases, a scram is part of the routine shutdown procedure which serves to test the emergency shutdown system. Etymology There is no definitive origin for the term. United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission historian Tom Wellock notes that '' scram'' is English-language slang for leaving quickly and urgently (as in scrambling to get away), and he cites this as the original and most likely accurate basis for the use of ''scram'' in the technical context. Scram is sometimes cited as being an acronym for safety control rod axe man or safety cut rope axe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Process Heat
Process heat refers to the application of heat during industrial processes. Some form of process heat is used during the manufacture of many common products, from concrete to glass to steel to paper. Where byproducts or wastes of the overall industrial process are available, those are often used to provide process heat. Examples include black liquor in papermaking or bagasse in sugarcane processing. Requirements The required temperature of the process varies widely, with about half the industrial process heat having operating temperatures above . These higher-temperature processes can generally only be supplied by dedicated supplies like natural gas or coal, although pre-heating from other sources is also common in order to reduce fuel use. Those processes operating below the median can draw on a much wider variety of sources, including waste heat from other processes in the same industrial process. Resistive heating would in theory be a possible source of process heat but even a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hydrogen Explosion
Hydrogen safety covers the safe production, handling and use of hydrogen, particularly hydrogen gas fuel and liquid hydrogen. Hydrogen possesses the NFPA 704's highest rating of four on the flammability scale because it is flammable when mixed even in small amounts with ordinary air. Ignition can occur at a volumetric ratio of hydrogen to air as low as 4% due to the oxygen in the air and the simplicity and chemical properties of the reaction. However, hydrogen has no rating for innate hazard for reactivity or toxicity. The storage and use of hydrogen poses unique challenges due to its ease of leaking as a gaseous fuel, low-energy ignition, wide range of combustible fuel-air mixtures, buoyancy, and its ability to embrittle metals that must be accounted for to ensure safe operation. Liquid hydrogen poses additional challenges due to its increased density and the extremely low temperatures needed to keep it in liquid form. Moreover, its demand and use in industry—as rocket fuel, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weapons Grade Plutonium
Weapons-grade nuclear material is any fissionable nuclear material that is pure enough to make a nuclear weapon and has properties that make it particularly suitable for nuclear weapons use. Plutonium and uranium in grades normally used in nuclear weapons are the most common examples. (These nuclear materials have other categorizations based on their purity.) Only fissile isotopes of certain elements have the potential for use in nuclear weapons. For such use, the concentration of fissile isotopes uranium-235 and plutonium-239 in the element used must be sufficiently high. Uranium from natural sources is enriched by isotope separation, and plutonium is produced in a suitable nuclear reactor. Experiments have been conducted with uranium-233 (the fissile material at the heart of the thorium fuel cycle). Neptunium-237 and some isotopes of americium might be usable, but it is not clear that this has ever been implemented. The latter substances are part of the minor actinides in s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
