0
Use of the word "special" puzzles me, the fuel tubes are actually tubes of zircaloy filled with uranium cylinders, each of these is called a fuel rod, and they are made up into fuel assemblies with zircaloy fittings. Each assembly will contain perhaps 200 fuel rods, and is handled as a single complete assembly.
What else can I help you with?
In what part of a nuclear reactor is the fuel is located?
The fuel in a nuclear reactor is located in the fuel rods, which are typically made of materials such as enriched uranium or plutonium. These fuel rods are where the nuclear fission reaction takes place, producing heat that is used to generate electricity.
What is the physical shape of nuclear fuel?
Nuclear fuel typically comes in the form of small cylindrical pellets, usually made of uranium dioxide. These pellets are stacked together inside long metal tubes called fuel rods, which are then assembled into a fuel assembly to be used in a nuclear reactor.
What type of nuclear reactor does Canada sell to other countries?
The Candu reactor, which is a heavy water moderated reactor with horizontal pressure tubes enclosing the fuel rods. Something unique to the Canadians, but which has been successful and is installed also in several power stations in Canada, mostly in Ontario.
How do you change uranium into fuel for nuclear energy?
Uranium is the fuel for nuclear energy. In most reactors it is used in the form of uranium dioxide, UO2, which is made into small cylinders 10mm diameter, and loaded into tubes made of zircaloy which are then sealed. A number of these tubes are then made up into a fuel assembly which is loaded and unloaded as a unit in and out of the reactor.
What are nuclear reactors built from?
The nuclear reactor is built from a variety of materials, almost all of which are metals. In a pressurized water reactor, for example, a special steel alloy is used to build the reactor vessel, which is like a gigantic pressure cooker. It comes in two pieces, too, with both the vessel and the lid. The core goes inside the pressure vessel. It is the core that contains the fuel, which is enriched uranium in most cases. The fuel is welded shut inside tubes or plates. The outer material containing the fuel, the so-called cladding, is often zircaloy, an alloy with a high percentage of zirconium in it. The control rods are in there, too, and they are often made of boron. That's a brief rundown. Use links below to related questions and related posts.
What are fuel rods in nuclear plants made of?
Fuel rods in nuclear plants are typically made of zirconium alloy tubes filled with uranium dioxide pellets. The zirconium alloy provides structural support and heat transfer capabilities, while the uranium dioxide serves as the fuel source for the nuclear reaction.
What are some common objects that contain or use zirconium?
Zirconium is used for: * nuclear reactor components - zircaloy 2 (alloy with some Sn, Cr, Fe, O): nuclear fuel rods - zircaloy 4: calandria - Zr-Nb: pressure tubes - U-Zr-Er-H: nuclear fuel * alloys for space aircraft and aviation (Zr-Al) * to made pumps, pipes and valves for special processes in chemical industry * getter, its values are flash bulbs * component of incendiary bombs * crucibles, etc. (cheaper than platinum crucibles)
How are fuel leaks prevented in the nuclear reactor core?
There is often small leakage from the fuel in reactor cores. A fuel bundle is made of 64 stainless steel tubes filled with fuel pellets, each tube about 12 feet long. The tubes are held together with steel straps and forgings to make the bundle. A typical reactor has 160 to 225 of these bundles. About one third of the fuel is replaced each refueling outage and the remaining fuel is moved to a new position in the core to get an even "burn" of the fissionable material in the fuel rod. This means that most fuel rods are in the core for three cycles. Some develop pinhole leaks which are detectable via radiochemical analysis of the reactor coolant. There is no nuclear or personnel danger from this but plants usually will reduce power in the area of identified leakers to minimize the leakage. Fuel manufacturers continue to work to find designs which will not leak.
Neutron activation is done most easily at a nuclear reactor facility. Why can't a lamp or an X-ray tube be used to add neutrons to an object's nuclei?
A lamp or an X-ray tube cannot be used to "add neutrons" to other nuclei because lamps and X-ray tubes are not neutron sources. Neutron activation is generally something we do in an operating nuclear reactor. In the core of the reactor, there is a high neutron flux. Many, many neutrons are being released in the fissions that are going on in the nuclear core. Materials that are to be activated are lowered through ports and brought down into the neutron flux. Activation occurs. Lamps or X-rays do not produce neutrons, and cannot be used in neutron activation activities. No neutrons means no neutron activation.
What is the element in nuclear reactor fuel rods?
There are several, each serving a specific function.In a typical pressurized water moderated reactor the rods contain the following elements:Uranium and Oxygen; in the form of yellowcake is the fuel.Zirconium, Tin, Niobium, Iron, Chromium, Nickel, etc.; in the form of zircalloy canisters to protect the fuel and keep it in the rods.Iron, Carbon, Nickel, Silicon, Chromium, Molybdenum, etc.; in the form of steel tubes to hold the zircalloy clad fuel pellets and steel structural elements of the rods.
In what other ways can zirconium be used?
Zirconium is used for: * nuclear reactor components - zircaloy 2 (alloy with some Sn, Cr, Fe, O): nuclear fuel rods - zircaloy 4: calandria - Zr-Nb: pressure tubes - U-Zr-Er-H: nuclear fuel * alloys for space aircraft and aviation (Zr-Al) * to made pumps, pipes and valves for special processes in chemical industry * getter, its values are flash bulbs * component of incendiary bombs * crucibles, etc. (cheaper than platinum crucibles)
What are some uses made from zirconium?
Zirconium is used for: * nuclear reactor components - zircaloy 2 (alloy with some Sn, Cr, Fe, O): nuclear fuel rods - zircaloy 4: calandria - Zr-Nb: pressure tubes - U-Zr-Er-H: nuclear fuel * alloys for space aircraft and aviation (Zr-Al) * to made pumps, pipes and valves for special processes in chemical industry * getter, its values are flash bulbs * component of incendiary bombs * crucibles, etc. (cheaper than platinum crucibles)
