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The coolant (treated water), which is maintained at high pressure to prevent boiling, is pumped through the nuclear reactor core. Heat transfer takes place between the reactor core and the circulating water and the coolant is then pumped through the primary tube side of the steam generator by coolant pumps before returning to the reactor core.
The Reactor Protection System (RPS) is a system, computerized in later BWR models, that is designed to automatically, rapidly, and completely shut down and make safe the Nuclear Steam Supply System (NSSS – the reactor pressure vessel, pumps, and water/steam piping within the containment) if some event occurs that could result in the reactor entering an unsafe operating condition.
The water remains liquid despite the high temperature due to the high pressure in the primary coolant loop, usually around 155 bar (15.5 MPa 153 atm, 2,250 psi). The water in a PWR cannot exceed a temperature of 647 K (374 °C; 705 °F) or a pressure of 22.064 MPa (3200 psi or 218 atm), because those are the critical point of water. [16]
A boiling water reactor (BWR) is a type of nuclear reactor used for the generation of electrical power. It is the second most common type of electricity-generating nuclear reactor after the pressurized water reactor (PWR). BWR are thermal neutron reactors, where water is thus used both as a coolant and as a moderator, slowing down
Water gauge on a steam locomotive. Here the water is at the “top nut”, the maximum working level. Note the patterned backplate to help reading and toughened glass shroud. A sight glass or water gauge is a type of level sensor, a transparent tube through which the operator of a tank or boiler can observe the level of liquid contained within.
A nuclear reactor coolant is a coolant in a nuclear reactor used to remove heat from the nuclear reactor core and transfer it to electrical generators and the environment. Frequently, a chain of two coolant loops are used because the primary coolant loop takes on short-term radioactivity from the reactor.
A pedestal sump pump with a float switch. A float switch is a type of level sensor, a device used to detect the level of liquid within a tank. The switch may be used to control a pump, as an indicator, an alarm, or to control other devices. One type of float switch uses a mercury switch inside a hinged float.
SCRAM button at the Experimental Breeder Reactor I in Idaho. Sometimes the switch will have a flip cover to prevent inadvertent operation. A scram or SCRAM is an emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor effected by immediately terminating the fission reaction.