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Decay heat is the heat released as a result of radioactive decay. This heat is produced as an effect of radiation on materials: the energy of the alpha, beta or gamma radiation is converted into the thermal movement of atoms. Decay heat occurs naturally from decay of long-lived radioisotopes that are primordially present from the Earth's formation.
The flow of heat from Earth's interior to the surface is estimated at 47±2 terawatts (TW) [1] and comes from two main sources in roughly equal amounts: the radiogenic heat produced by the radioactive decay of isotopes in the mantle and crust, and the primordial heat left over from the formation of Earth. [2]
The residual decay heat causes rapid increase in temperature and internal pressure of the fuel cladding which leads to plastic deformation and subsequent bursting. During a loss-of-coolant accident, zirconium-based fuel claddings undergo high temperature oxidation, phase transformation, and creep deformation simultaneously. [3]
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is considered radioactive. Three of the most common types of decay are alpha, beta, and gamma decay.
Internal heat is the heat source from the interior of celestial objects, such as stars, brown dwarfs, planets, moons, dwarf planets, and (in the early history of the Solar System) even asteroids such as Vesta, resulting from contraction caused by gravity (the Kelvin–Helmholtz mechanism), nuclear fusion, tidal heating, core solidification (heat of fusion released as molten core material ...
If the heat from that reaction is not removed adequately, the fuel assemblies in a reactor core can melt. A core damage incident can occur even after a reactor is shut down because the fuel continues to produce decay heat. A core damage accident is caused by the loss of sufficient cooling for the nuclear fuel within the reactor core.
Can we imagine ourselves back on that awful day in the summer of 2010, in the hot firefight that went on for nine hours? Men frenzied with exhaustion and reckless exuberance, eyes and throats burning from dust and smoke, in a battle that erupted after Taliban insurgents castrated a young boy in the village, knowing his family would summon nearby Marines for help and the Marines would come ...
Fission product decay also generates heat that continues even after the reactor has been shut down and fission stopped. This decay heat requires removal after shutdown; loss of this cooling damaged the reactors at Three Mile Island and Fukushima. If the fuel cladding around the fuel develops holes, fission products can leak into the primary ...