Core Heat Removal

Abstract

The main purpose of a nuclear power plant is the conversion of a very inaccessible form of energy (the binding energy of the nucleus), into an energy form that is accessible and useful (preferably electrical energy). The ideal conversion process would be a direct one, and maybe in the future power plants will be developed which can achieve this. Presently this is not the case. In the nuclear power plants of today the binding energy of the fissioning nucleus is first changed into the kinetic energy of fission fragments, then into the average kinetic energy of the surrounding fuel molecules (that is, thermal energy). From that point on the details of the transformation steps depend somewhat on the type of the plant in which the fission has occurred, but in all cases the energy is transported by conduction to some fluid (usually water) and from the fluid (maybe after another step) to the rotational kinetic energy of a turbine shaft. Then finally about 30 to 33% of the original thermal energy is converted into electrical energy in the generator.