Nuclear Energy Basics

Chapters 5 and 6

1
 Learning Objectives
Fission processes in the isotopes of uranium.
Critical reactions and thermal reactor control.
The types of thermal fission reactors and their properties.
The world use of fission energy.
The availability and production of uranium worldwide.
Methods for nuclear waste disposal.
New designs of thermal reactors with improved safety features.
The principles of operation and advantages of a fast breeder
reactor
Nuclear reactor safety and the reasons and consequences of
nuclear accidents.

2
North Carolina

3
 South Carolina

Proposed:
William States Lee III
Virgil C. Summer

http://thinkenergysc.com/nuclear/
4
 Jeff Dagle

Nuclear Power Generation

United States
About 20% electricity from nuclear source.
61 operating nuclear power plants with 99 nuclear reactors.
35 of the 61 plants have 2 or more reactors.
30 of the 50 states have nuclear plants
46 of the 61 plants are located east of the Mississippi River
19 Utilities are proposing to license 34 new units
17 applications for 24 units already before the NRC
IL - by far largest producer followed by PA and SC
Worldwide
433 operating reactors
Some (e.g., France) heavily dependent on nuclear power
 Pros & Cons of Nuclear Energy
Pros
No carbon emissions
If breeder reactor or fusion can be developed,
(almost) unlimited fuel supply
Better balance of capital to fuel cost than wind, solar
Dispatchable (unlike most forms of renewable)

Cons
High capital cost compared to fossil
Waste disposal
Decommissioning
Proliferation
 Mike Corradini

Evolution of Nuclear Power Systems

Generation I
Early Prototype Generation II
Reactors
Commercial Power Generation III
Reactors
Advanced
Generation IV
LWRs
Highly
economical
Enhanced
safety
Minimized
Shippingport wastes
Dresden,Fermi-I LWR: PWR/BWR
System 80+ AP600 Proliferation
Magnox CANDU
EPR ABWR resistance
VVER/RBMK
Gen I Gen II Gen III Gen IV

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030

U.S. Nuclear Power Plants
NPPs Around the World
 Current Status in the US
99 nuclear reactors (61 power plants)
Currently produces 20% of U.S. electricity
Four reactors were permanently shut down in
2013.
Crystal River Unit 3, in Florida
Kewaunee Power Station, in Wisconsin
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Units 2 and
3, in California
One reactor was removed from service in 2014.
Vermont Yankee, in Vermont

10
 The Future of Nuclear Power in the
U.S.
51 NPPs have obtained extensions of their 40-year license to
enable operation to 60 years - 41 more are pending
Many plants have increased their power: 5900 MW of new
nuclear electricity has been added (equivalent to adding 6 new
units)
17 applications for 24 units already before the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission
Five new nuclear reactors are actively under
construction:
Watts Bar Unit 2, in Tennessee
Vogtle Units 3 and 4, in Georgia
Virgil C. Summer Units 2 and 3, in South Carolina
 Intl Status of Nuclear Power
Mostly available in OECD countries
Countries with high percentage of electricity from
Nuclear:
France 78%
Belgium 54%
Switzerland 37%
Countries with stated goal of phasing out nuclear:
Sweden (but, currently 48% of total electricity)
Belgium
Examples of Non-OECD countries with nuclear:
Argentina, India, Pakistan, South Africa

OECD = Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

 Nuclear Fuel

Uranium and Thorium are the only two

naturally occurring elements that are suitable
for nuclear fission.
All current reactors use uranium as a fuel.
Isotopes of uranium
235U 0.72% naturally abundant
238U 99.28% naturally abundant

2015 Cengage Learning Engineering. All Right Reserved.

13
 Source of Uranium
Uranium is found in nature, but it must be processed
into fuel
Uranium is a non-renewable energy source, but it is a
common metal found in rocks all over the world.
Nuclear power plants use a certain type of uranium
(235U) as fuel because its atoms are easily split apart.
Although uranium is about 100 times more common
than silver, 235U is relatively rare.
Economically recoverable deposits primarily in the
western US, Australia, Canada, Central Asia, Africa,
and South America.
Mined uranium ore typically yields one to four pounds
of uranium concentrate (U3O8 or yellowcake) per ton, or
0.05% to 0.20% U3O8.
 Source of 235U
Comes from 238U >> typically 0.7% 235U in
nature
For light water reaction, we need 2-3% 235U
concentration
Must be separated (from other isotopes) and
enriched
Supply of 235U: known reserves 35-40 year
supply at current rates
Can be extended by extracting more expensive
resources, increased exploration
Proved Resources (tonnes) of Uranium
Recoverable at Less than US$260/kg
Production Cost (2009)
3 3
Country Resources (10 t) Country Resources (10 t)

Australia 1677 Niger 277

Ukraine 221
Kazakhstan 832 China 170
Russia 568 Uzbekistan 115
Canada 542 Jordan 114
United States 473 India 82
South Africa 296 Mongolia 50
Namibia 284 other 328
Brazil 277 World total 6306

About two-thirds of the world resources exist in the top five countries.
Canada leads in uranium production, producing about 1/3 of all the
uranium mined and processed.
Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Source: EIA
17
 Means of Enriching Uranium
Older generation: gaseous diffusion
UF6 (Uranium Hexafluoride) >> porous barriers
At each barrier, (235U)F6 enriched by factor (352/349)0.5 =
1.004 (i.e. square root of mass ratio between 238U and
235U)

After n rounds, 1.004n times diffused, i.e. 263 stages to

get to 3x
Requires large plants, lots of energy
New generation: gas centrifuge
Enrichment factor proportional to M = 352/349 (not
square root of M)
Uses less energy, has mostly replaced gaseous diffusion
 Uranium Pellet and Reactor Core
One enriched
uranium pellet:
Fuel Assembly
Size of the tip of your
little finger 8.5 x 8.5 x 12 Feet
Equivalent to 17,000
cubic feet of natural Approx. 1100 Pounds
gas
264 Fuel Rods
1,780 pounds of coal
150 gallons of oil 380 Fuel Pellets/Rod

100,300 Pellets/Assembly

193 Fuel Assemblies in core

Callaway Nuclear Plant Cooling Tower
Cooling Tower
553 Tall
77 shorter than the St. Louis Arch
~15,000 gallons per minute evaporate
from top
~5,000 gpm sent to Missouri River as
blowdown
Basin holds 11 million gallons
Cools ~585,000 gpm of water
Constructed of more than 40,000 cubic
yards of reinforced concrete
Control Room
 Top 10 Nuclear
Generating Countries

Billion kWh, 2008 Billion kWh, 2012

806.5

418.6

266.4

147.8 136.6 133.2

Total: 1,977 Billion kWh
96.5 87.2
64.4 62.6

U.S. France Japan Russia Korea Germany Canada Ukraine Sweden China
Rep.

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency Source: EIA

 Waste Disposal
A concern to many people

Used (spent) nuclear fuel consists of ceramic

pellets encased in metal tubes

Current solution: On-site storage at NPPs

Dry Storage In Casks On Site
 Waste Storage
Long term solution financed by nuclear utilities in
cooperation with U.S. government
Yucca Mountain: one site for high-level radioactive
waste makes it easy to monitor, regulate, and
secure
Intended to be first permanent underground storage site in USA
Tunneled into very stable igneous rock
Current goal: accept waste starting in 2017
Unpopular in state of Nevada
Deployment may ultimately be blocked
DOE: Required to design, construct, operate
EPA: Required to set standards to protect public
and environment
NRC: Required to approve/license DOE proposal
Yucca Mountain Site
 Transportation
Over the last 40 years, 3,000 shipments of
spent nuclear fuel on 1.7 million miles of U.S.
roads

Each shipment carefully packaged and

monitored
Casks are ~15 times thicker than a gasoline tank
truck shell and include 3 inches of stainless steel with
thick lead radiation shields
Typically for every ton of spent fuel there are 3 tons of
protective packaging
Nuclear Physics

30
 Definitions
A
Nuclide Z EN
A nucleus of an element E with a specific number of neutrons (N -
# of neutrons) and protons (Z - # of protons or electrons)
Atomic number
The number of protons in a nucleus = Z
Mass number
A=N+Z
Nucleons
The collective name for neutrons and protons = A
Isotope (different forms of an atom)
An element can have several isotopes all of which have the same
value of Z but different values of N.
235
U143
92
Uranium with atomic mass 235, and 92 protons and 143 neutrons
31
 Definitions, contd
Coulombic Barrier
The negatively charged electrons are bonded to the positively
charged nucleus by the Coulombic interaction force
Binding Energy
The total force holding the nucleus together.
Net result of the large, attractive strong component acting
between all the nucleons and a much smaller repulsive
Coulombic interaction acting between the charged protons.

32
 Atomic mass unit

Masses are given as masses of neutral atoms in atomic

mass units (u) where

1 u = 1.660540210-27 kg

or

931.494 MeV/c2

See Appendix II

33
Examples of the Eight Known Isotopes
of Carbon (all with Z = 6)

34
 Isotopes
All carbon atoms have nuclei that contain 6 protons.
However, not all carbon atoms have nuclei containing 7 neutrons.
Some carbon nuclei may have more or fewer neutrons.
Some of these isotopes are stable (i.e., they last indefinitely).
Nearly all carbon atoms occurring in nature have nuclei with 6
neutrons.
The remaining have 7 neutrons.
Other isotopes are unstable and spontaneously decay to another
nuclide
The half-life is the time required for half of a collection of a
specific type of nuclei to decay to something else.
The shorter the half-life, the more unstable the nucleus is.
Having too many or too few neutrons produces an unstable nucleus

35
 Background Information about
Nuclear Reaction
Compare to Fossil fuels electrons ~ 1 eV
nuclear: gain of 106 in power per atom
small use of fuel, smaller waste
nuclear binding energy: ~ 1 MeV per nucleon
Fission reaction: U-235 to U-236, U-236 then breaks apart
Possible resulting isotopes: Krypton + Barium
Other isotopes are also possible
Number of neutrons released, on average: depends on
isotope
235U: 2.43
239Pu: 2.87
233U: 2.48
Example of energy output: 1 kg 235U
2.56 x 1024 atoms
8.2 x 1013 J = 82,000 GJ released if all atoms undergo fission
Compare to ~25 GJ/ton coal
Nuclear Reaction - Fission

Source: chemwiki.UCDavis.edu
37
 Nuclear Stability

Light nuclei (low atomic numbers) are stable

with NZ

Heavier nuclei require N>Z to be stable.

This is a crucial feature for the operation of a

nuclear reactor.

38
 Nuclear Decays

Unstable nuclei decay according to the nuclear decay law

N ( t ) = N 0 e t
where N(t) is the number of nuclei of a given species that
exist at time t and N0 is the number at time t=0.

and - (the decay constant), is a measure of the probability

that a given nucleus will decay during a certain time
interval.

The greater the value of , the more likely the nucleus is to

decay, and the faster the decay process will be.

39
 Nuclear Decays
N ( t ) = N 0 e t
The half-life, t1/2, is found by setting t = t1/2 in eq. above,
and setting N(t1/2) = N0/2.

This gives: t1/2 = ln ( 2 ) /

The rate at which the nuclei decay as a function of time can

be found by:
dN ( t )
= N 0 e t
dt
See Example 5.2

40
 Radioactive Decay Law

Measuring the
number of decays
per unit time allows
for a determination
of the half-life, the
decay constant,
and the number of
nuclei at t = 0.

Here t1/2 = 4.1

minutes.

41
 Exothermic and Endothermic
Reactions
Any isotope that can undergo a nuclear fission
reaction when bombarded with neutrons is called a
fissile isotope.
Nuclear reactions (like chemical reactions) can be:
Exothermic (if they give up energy) or
Endothermic (if they require energy to proceed)
Reactions in which the total mass increases are
endothermic and reactions where the total mass
decreases are exothermic.
Changes in the mass represent changes in the nuclear
binding energy.
Exothermic reactions (decrease in mass energy)
can be used to generate electricity
42
 Fission Reactions
A decrease in mass is associated with an increase in binding energy.
B (energy) = mC 2
The average binding energy per nucleon is a good measure of the kinetic
energy that can be liberated.
The larger the value of B, the more strongly the nucleus is bound together

Fission reactions
represent the
breaking up of nuclei
into lighter
components.

The B/A curve shows

that the fission of
heavy nuclei is
exothermic.

43
 Energy Per Fission
238Uis an example of a heavy nucleus that produces energy when
undergoing fission.
238Uhas binding energy of about 7.57 MeV per nucleon for a total
nuclear binding energy of

(238)(7.57 MeV) = 1800 MeV

If a 238U nucleus breaks into two nuclei with 119 nucleons then each
fission fragment will have about 8.50 MeV per nucleon for a total
binding energy of

(238)(8.50 MeV) = 2020 MeV

For an energy release of
(2020 MeV) - (1800 MeV) = 220 MeV per fission (KE)

1 MeV 1.6 10-13 J 44

 Energy Per Fission
The energy measured in MeV per uranium fission
(220 MeV per fission) can be converted to joules per
kg of uranium to obtain 8.9x107 MJ/kg.
Compare this to the burning of carbon, which
produces 32.8 MJ/kg.
Thus, this simple model shows that nuclear fission
produces about 2.7x106 times as much energy per kg
of fuel as combustion.
Putting this in different terms, a gram of uranium
produces as much energy as almost 3 tons of coal.

45
 Spontaneous Fission
Spontaneous fission is a very slow process because
the positively charged fission fragments must
overcome the Coulomb barrier. This requires about 6
MeV of energy.

The probability of fission can be greatly increased by

providing additional energy to the nucleus.

One convenient way of providing energy is by neutron

bombardment.

46
 Neutron Reactions With Uranium

Excess energy becomes available when a uranium

nucleus is bombarded with a low energy neutron

n+ 235
U 236
U + 6.54 MeV

n+ 238
U 239
U + 4.78 MeV

47
 Fissile and Non-fissile Nuclei

235U is fissile because the energy released in the

neutron reaction is greater than the Coulomb barrier
and this will cause fission to occur (referred to as
induced fission)

238U is non-fissile because the energy release in the

neutron reaction is less than the Coulomb barrier
and fission will not occur

48
 Typical Fission Reactions
Fissile 235U can be used as a fission reactor fuel.

A typical fission process might be

n+ 235
U 236
U 137
I+ 96
Y + 3n
236
The U nucleus exists only momentarily before breaking up
into the two fragments
Thus when a heavy nucleus breaks into two lighter
nuclei, neutrons will be left over.

These neutrons are what fuel further induced fission

processes and create a chain reaction.

49
 n+ 235
U 137
I+ 96
Y + 3n
Example 6.2
Calculate the actual fission energy release from the induced
fission process shown in last equation, using the following
atomic masses: m ( 235 U ) = 235.0439231 u
m ( 137 I ) = 136.91787084 u
m ( 96 Y ) = 95.91589779 u
The excess energy is given by the energy equivalence of the
difference between masses on the left-hand side of the
equation and those on the right-hand side:
E= { }
mn + m ( 235 U ) m ( 137 I ) + m ( 96 Y ) + 3mn c 2

(1.008664904 u + 235.0439231 u )

= 136.91787084 u + 95.91589779 u + 931.494 MeV/u = 179.6 MeV
3 1.008664904 u

50
 Fission Yield

The fission yield is the distribution of the sizes of

the fission fragments.

Typically one fragment has about 90 nucleons and

one fragment has about 140 nucleons.

These fragments almost always have more

neutrons than required for a stable nucleus and
they decay until they are stable.

51
Graph of Fission Yield

52
 Stable Chain Reaction in Uranium

If exactly one fission neutron goes on to induce

another fission then the chain reaction will be stable.

If, on the average, less than one fission neutron

induces further fissions, then the reaction will die out.

If, on the average, more than one fission neutron

induces further fissions, then the reaction will be
uncontrolled.

We need to insure that the chain reaction is stable.

53
 The Best Way to Induce Fission

The best way of inducing fission is to allow a neutron

to be incident on a 235U nucleus at very low energy.

Neutrons are emitted with energies around 2 MeV so

they need to be slowed down - this reactor design is a
thermal neutron reactor.

This situation is achieved by the design of the reactor

54
Typical Fission Reactor Design

55
 Important Components of the
Fission Reactor
1. Fuel assembly - mixture of 235U and 238U

2. Moderator - material that will slow down neutrons as

them travel from one fuel element to the next

3. Control rods - material that absorbs neutrons to prevent

them from reaching another fuel element

56
 Fission Reactor Control

We need to insure that exactly 1 neutron induces

another fission in order to create a controlled chain
reaction.

Fission reactions are much too fast to control by

moving control rods.

57
 Types of Fission Reactors

Different types of fission reactors differ in the material

used for the moderator and the way in which heat is
extracted from the reactor.

58
 Moderator Materials

An effective moderator material must

1. be fairly dense (to have a high density of nuclei for reactions)

2. be comprised of light nuclei (to maximize the energy transfer

during collisions with neutrons)

3. not absorb neutrons but merely slow them down

4. not produce hazardous materials during reactions with neutrons

5. be relatively nontoxic, inexpensive and chemically stable

59
 Acceptable Moderator Materials

Commercial power reactors use one of three

moderator materials

H2O

D2O

graphite

60
 Basic Fission Reactor Designs
Reactor components:
fuel
moderator & coolant
control rods
secondary water coolant >> steam >> conventional plant
Thermal reactor: slow neutrons (lower energy than neutrons
in fast breeder reactor) with control system
Fuel generally 235U (1-2 %)
Light Water Reactor (LWR) PWR and BWR - needs enriched
uranium, Heavy Water Reactor (HWR) does not
HWR does not absorb as many neutrons
HWR required increased concentration of D2O, where D2O are
composed of two deuterium atoms and one oxygen
Heavy water must be made through enrichment
Nuclear-fired Generation - BWR

62
Nuclear-fired Generation - PWR
70% of the reactors operating in the US are PWR

63
 Small Modular Reactor - SMR
SMRs are about one-third
the size (300 MW) of the
typical reactor.
Simple compact designs
that can be assembled in a
factory and transported by
train or truck.
Reduce the time to construct
a new nuclear power plant.
The U.S. DOE is
supporting the design,
certification, and
commercialization of
SMRs.
http://energy.gov/articles/advancing-small-modular-reactors-how-were-
supporting-next-gen-nuclear-energy-technology
64
 Small Modular Reactor - SMR

http://energy.gov/articles/advancing-small-modular-reactors-how-were-
supporting-next-gen-nuclear-energy-technology
65
 Commercializing SMR

NuScale B&W mPower

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/advan
ced/nuscale.html http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/advan
ced/mpower.html
66
 Westinghouse SMR

http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/advanced/smr.html
67
 Alternative Designs:
Gas Cooled Reactor Design
Design characteristics
Relatively poor heat transfer of gases
Also large power consumption for circulation of gas
Operate at high temperatures to realize high efficiency
Flow rate low, uses CO2 or He
Gas coolant >> high reactor temps without pressurization
Graphite moderator
Efficiency and cost-effectiveness:
Built in limited numbers in UK, no longer under construction
Very high efficiency (up to 43%), but not cost-effective as
currently built
New generation may become cost-competitive with LWR
Gas (He) Cooled Graphite Moderated
Reactor

69
 Other alternative designs
Soviet RBMK design
Graphite moderated
Of the type used at Chernobyl
Unstable at low power levels, currently being
phased out
Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR):
Uranium fuel in moderator-clad pebbles instead of
fuel rods
Currently under development, not yet in commercial
use
 Advanced Reactor Design

New reactor designs have attempted to deal with

safety issues.

A promising design is the pebble bed reactor.

71
 Pebble Bed Reactor
Variation on the gas cooled graphite moderated reactor

72
 Pebble Bed Reactor Fuel Pellet

Fuel is in the form of uranium

spheres imbedded in a larger
spherical fuel element made of
graphite.

The spherical fuel element also

acts as the moderator.

Highly temperature resistant

fuel pellets are designed to
avoid overheating even in the
event of total loss of coolant.

73
 Breeder Reactors
Fast breeders
Creates more fissionable material than it consumes
Neutrons travel faster than thermal
Need high velocity neutrons otherwise absorbed in structural
materials
Use liquid sodium or gaseous helium (does not slow neutrons)
Some Pu-239 from U-238 produced in thermal reaction
but to create Pu-239 in large quantities, need fast neutrons
replace water coolant with liquid sodium heavy fluid, slows
neutrons less
challenges: leaks, plumbing of sodium
Current designs under development:
Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR)
High-temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (HTGCR)
 Current Status of
Fast Breeder Reactors
Source: http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf08.htm

Economics not justified due to high capital cost

compared to thermal nuclear plants
Use of prototype plants is ongoing
Current plants in use in Russia and Japan, but on
a limited scale
Specific plants:
France: Superphenix reactor currently closed
India: Kalpakkam plant under development, to use
domestic Thorium resource
Khazakstan: 800 MW plant planned, will use warhead
plutonium
Japan: Monju prototype plant in operation
 Fast Breeder Reactors

Thermal neutron reactors only extract energy from 235U

and not 238U (which is more than 99% of all uranium).

238U can also be used to produce energy because it can

be converted in to a fissile material by the fast neutron
reaction
n+ 238
U 239
U+
This is followed by
239
U 239
Np + e + ve 239
Pu + e + ve
239Pu is fissile and can be used like 235U in a reactor.
239Np isotope of neptunium
76
Fast Breeder Reactor

77
 Thorium Reactors

232Th is a naturally occurring non-fissile nuclide.

It can be converted into fissile 233U by the neutron

reaction

232This much more abundant on the earth than uranium

and can greatly extend the longevity of nuclear power.

78
Distribution of Worldwide Plants by
Reactor Type
Reactor Type Main Countries* Number Share

United States, France,

PWR Japan, Russia 252 59%

United States, Japan,

BWR Sweden 93 22%

Gas-cooled United Kingdom 34 7.9%

Heavy water Canada 33 7.7%

RBMK Russia 14 3.3%

Breeder Japan, France, Russia 3 0.7%

TOTAL 429 100%

 Nuclear Safety

Three notable nuclear accidents have occurred at

commercial power reactors

Three Mile Island

Chernobyl

Fukushima

80
 Concerns
Concerns over security, safety, and waste disposal are
significant factors forming both public opinion and
government policy about nuclear energy.
Major nuclear reactor accidents - Three Mile Island,
then Chernobyl, and most recently Fukushima - have
demonstrated the validity of safety concerns.
Also, it became apparent that the simple and easy
approach to nuclear reactors would not provide a long-
term solution for our energy needs.

81
 Three Mile Island accident

March 28, 1979

Failure of a water pump caused the reactor to overheat.

A small amount of radioactive material released to the

atmosphere.

82
 Chernobyl

In Soviet Union (now part of the Ukraine)

Water-cooled graphite-moderated reactor
Typical Russian design (RBMK)
Began April 25, 1986
Reactor became unstable as a result of some operator
tests.
Overheating of reactor caused water to decompose,
releasing hydrogen which exploded.

83
Fukushima Dai-ichi
Facility consisting of six BWRs

84
 Fukushima accident

Accident on March 11, 2011

Electrical infrastructure damaged by tsunami caused

by off-shore earthquake

Loss of coolant caused reactors to overheat leading

to explosions

Estimated release of radioactive material about 10 -

20% that of Chernobyl

85
 Readings of Further Interest
H Feiveson (2003), Nuclear power, nuclear
proliferation, and global warming, Physics & Society
32:1
P Beck (1999), Nuclear energy in the twenty-first
century: examination of a contentious subject,
Annual Review of Energy & Environment v 24.
R Rhodes and D Beller (2000), The need for
nuclear power, Foreign Affairs Jan-Feb issue.
 Summary - 1
The nucleus consists of neutrons and protons held
together by the strong interaction
Light nuclei have approximately equal numbers of
neutrons and protons
Heavy nuclei have more neutrons than protons
Unstable nuclei can decay by beta decay, alpha decay
or gamma decay
Nuclear binding energy can be released during nuclear
decays and nuclear reactions

87
 Summary - 2
Thermal reactors use a moderator to reduce neutron
energy and control rods to maintain the reaction
Suitable moderators are H2O, D2O and graphite
Australia has the greatest known uranium resources
Canada, Kazakhstan and Australia are the leading
uranium producers
Nuclear safety and waste disposal are major concerns
for the future of nuclear power
New reactor designs utilize methods that can provide
improved safety and greatly increase the lifetime of
nuclear power

88