Nuclear Reactors - How Do They Work?

Almost 80% of today's nuclear power plants were designed and developed... back in the 1950's. Fortunately, new designs are being introduced as the older ones fail. Even with all our advancements in this field, nuclear energy is still generated from primarily two types of nuclear reactors.

So how does a nuclear reactor work???

A nuclear reactor works by creating energy from splitting the atoms of certain elements and controlling the release of this energy. It's kinda like this... produce energy...then harness this energy... The energy gets harnessed as heat... and either gas or water and is used to make steam. The steam is then used to move a turbine, like in a fossil fuel power station. In a research reactor, the neutrons are used.




You can find many different reactors such as a Pressurised Water Reactor, Gas Cooled Reactor and Fast Neutron Reactor, Boiling Water Reactor etc... BUT there are some components that you will find in almost EVERY reactor...

Fuel - The fuel used to power a reactor is Uranium Oxide (U02) which is arranged in tubes to form fuel rods which are then placed into fuel assemblies in the reactor core.

Moderator - A moderator is used to slow down the neutrons released from fission, so that they cause more fission. The moderator is usually water, but can also be heavy water or even graphite.

Control Rods - These are made from neutron-absorbing material such as cadmium, hafnium or boron. They are inserted or withdrawn from the core of the reactor and are used to control the rate at which the reaction occurs.

Coolant - A liquid or gas coolant is used to transfer heat away from the core.

Pressure Vessels or pressure tubes - These are usually steel vessels that contain the reactor core and the moderator and coolant. But, the pressure vessels can also be a series of tubes that hold the fuel and transport the coolant through the moderator.

Steam Generator - The steam generator is part of the cooling system, and is where the heat from the reactor is used to make steam to drive the turbine.

Containment - This is the structure designed to protect the reactor core, and also to protect those in the outside world from the effects of radiation should there be a incident or an accident. The containment is usually a metre thick concrete and steel structure.

Nuclear waste can be treated so that it can be recycled, and disused nuclear plants can be decommissioned and decontaminated so that they are safe.

Nuclear power looks set to become a viable alternative to fossil fuels, and there are plans to create several new nuclear power stations in the UK. Whilst nuclear energy may not be everyone's idea of the fuel of the future, it is already popular in France and the USA. If you're interested in nuclear power, why not find out what else nuclear reactors are and nuclear technology are used for?