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A boiling water reactor uses demineralized water as a coolant and neutron moderator. Heat is produced by nuclear fission in the reactor core, and this causes the cooling water to boil, producing steam. The steam is directly used to drive a turbine, after which it is cooled in a condenser and converted back to liquid water. This water is then ...
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 pool is vented to the atmosphere and is located outside of the containment. The combination of these features allows the pool to be refilled easily with low pressure water sources and installed piping. The reactor core is shorter than in conventional BWR plants to reduce the pressure drop over the fuel, thereby enabling natural circulation.
Boron, often in the form of boric acid or sodium borate, is combined with water — a cheap and plentiful resource — where it acts as a coolant to remove heat from the reactor core and transfers the heat to a secondary circuit. [6] Part of the secondary circuit is the steam generator that is used to turn turbines and generate electricity.
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 may boil, bursting out of its pipes. For this reason, nuclear power plants are equipped with pressure-operated relief valves and backup supplies of cooling water.
"During this time, the heat and sun cause water to evaporate quickly, reducing the amount that reaches the plant’s roots," says Andrew Porwol, the founder of Sapcote Garden Centre.
The essential service water system (ESWS) circulates the water that cools the plant's heat exchangers and other components before dissipating the heat into the environment. Because this includes cooling the systems that remove decay heat from both the primary system and the spent fuel rod cooling ponds, the ESWS is a safety-critical system. [7]
The most critical element of reboiler design is the selection of the proper type of reboiler for a specific service. Most reboilers are of the shell and tube heat exchanger type and normally steam is used as the heat source in such reboilers. However, other heat transfer fluids like hot oil or Dowtherm (TM) may