POWER PLANT
SUBMIT BY:
MOHAMMAD MUNEEB UR REHMAN
REG NO:
BSMT 01163001
SUBMIT TO:
SIR SAGHIR QURAISHI
TECHNOLOGY:
MECHANICAL TECHNOLOGY
SEMESTER:
8TH
DATE:
23-4-2021
THE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE

 Describe the various components (& their role) in "Nuclear Reactor",
deployed for electric power generation.
In most power plants, you need to spin a turbine to generate electricity. Coal, natural gas, oil
and nuclear energy use their fuel to turn water into steam and use that steam to turn the turbine.
 Nuclear plants are different because they do not burn anything to create steam. Instead,
they split uranium atoms in a process called fission. As a result, unlike other energy
sources, nuclear power plants do not release carbon or pollutants like nitrogen and
sulphur oxides into the air.
 Nuclear reactors are designed to sustain an ongoing chain reaction of fission; they are
filled with a specially designed, solid uranium fuel and surrounded by water, which
facilitates the process. When the reactor starts, uranium atoms will split, releasing
neutrons and heat. Those neutrons will hit other uranium atoms causing them to split
and continue the process, generating more neutrons and more heat.
 This heat is used to create the steam that will spin a turbine, which powers a generator
to make electricity.
 Step One: Split Atoms to Create Heat
Nuclear plants harness the incredible power of nuclear fission to generate heat and energy,
which ultimately becomes electricity. Fission occurs when a neutron hits a larger atom and
splits the atom into two smaller atoms. When a reactor starts, the uranium atoms in the reactor
core split, releasing neutrons and heat, and kick off an ongoing chain reaction that generates
more neutrons and heat.
While other power plants burn fuel to create steam and turn the turbine, nuclear power plants
are unique. There is no fuel being burned to generate electricity – which means they do not
emit carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases in the process.
The only by-products are energy and heat. There are no additional particles released. In
contrast, coal and gas plants release contaminants, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides
and carbon dioxide, during combustion, as they generate electricity.
 Step Two: Use the Heat to Make Steam
The reactor core (where uranium atoms are splitting) is immersed in water. As the chain
reaction happens, the heat generated is used to create steam. There are two types of nuclear
reactors in the United States both use steam to power a generator, but the difference is how
they create it.
Of the nation’s 96 reactors, 32 are boiling water reactors, while 64 are pressurized water
reactors. Boiling water reactors heat the water surrounding the nuclear fuel directly into steam
in the reactor vessel, while pressurized water reactors heat the water surrounding the nuclear
fuel but keep the water under pressure to prevent it from boiling. In a pressurized water reactor,
pumps move the hot water from the reactor vessel to a steam generator. There, the water
pumped from the reactor heats a second, separate supply of water, which boils to make steam.
 Step Three: Use the Steam to Turn a Turbine
In both types of reactors, the steam spins the turbine, which drives the generator that produces
electricity. This mechanism is the same as the turbine used to generate wind power; the only
difference is that steam causes the nuclear reactor’s turbine to spin, not wind.
After the steam is used, it gets condensed to water so it can be recycled and reused. Though it
may look like they are emitting smoke, it’s actually just water vapor. The cooling towers are
part of the cooling water system used to condense steam from the turbine back into water. Not
all nuclear plants use cooling towers, in some cases they use a large body of water or river to
condense the steam back to water. Cooling towers are not unique to nuclear power plants; other
generating facilities such as coal plants and other industrial facilities may also use cooling
towers.