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A reactor using graphite as the moderator. This has the advantage that natural non enriched uranium can be used. The first reactors built in the WW2 project to produce plutonium were graphite, these were at Hanford. The idea was taken up in the UK and in France and pressurized reactors using CO2 coolant were developed, though these are now all obsolete. The trouble with graphite is it has a limited lifespan in the reactor, gradually eroding and so losing mechanical integrity. It also is a possible fire hazard, as graphite is flammable at temperatures reachable during a nuclear accident (as evidenced by the Chernobyl accident), particularly in oxygen and hydrogen-rich environments found inside such sealed reactors. Nevertheless in the UK the advanced gas cooled reactor was developed which used enriched fuel and higher gas temperature. These were eventually made to work quite well, but turned out too expensive to build compared with the simpler PWR and BWR types which now predominate.
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What is the function of graphite in a nuclear reactor?
It's purpose is to slow down fast neutrons that maybe present in the reactor.
How was the explosion of Chernobyl caused?
It was caused during an experiment on the plant, when the reactor became unstable and this caused a surge in steam pressure which blew off the top of the reactor and ejected active material like fuel and graphite. There followed a reactor fire as the graphite moderator was exposed to the atmosphere.
Which is used as moderator in nuclear reactor?
Most often, light water (H2O) is used as a moderator in a nuclear reactor. Sometimes, heavy water (D2O), or graphite is used.
Why is graphite used in nuclear reactors?
Graphite can be used as a moderator, that is to slow down the fast neutrons produced in fission. Early reactors including Hanford and Windscale used graphite, and in the UK this type of reactor was built extensively for power production. However water reactors such as PWR and BWR have proved cheaper to build and have a longer life, so graphite is now little used, there are a few still running but none being planned or built as far as I know.
What was the difference about chernobyl and the integral fast reactor when they both lost coolant?
At Chernobyl there was a steam explosion which blew off the top of the reactor followed by a fire due to the graphite moderator burning in air, and a huge amount of radioactive material was discharged, including fission products from the fuel. I'm not sure which fast reactor you are referring to, but certainly the incident did not involve massive catastrophic failure of the reactor vessel, or it would have become a world incident as Chernobyl did.
Does a graphite moderator cool a reactor?
The primary role of graphite moderator is to moderate the neutron energies however it may also capture some heat during reactor operation.
What is the function of graphite in a nuclear reactor?
It's purpose is to slow down fast neutrons that maybe present in the reactor.
Where in Ukraine was there a nuclear explosion?
Chernobyl, however it was not a nuclear explosion. It was a steam explosion that blew the roof off the reactor building and ejected roughly a third of the reactor contents, followed by a graphite fire ignited when air hit the hot graphite moderator of the damaged reactor.
How was the explosion of Chernobyl caused?
It was caused during an experiment on the plant, when the reactor became unstable and this caused a surge in steam pressure which blew off the top of the reactor and ejected active material like fuel and graphite. There followed a reactor fire as the graphite moderator was exposed to the atmosphere.
How did the chernobyl disaster harm the environment?
fallout from burning graphite mixed with molten reactor fuel.
Which is used as moderator in nuclear reactor?
Most often, light water (H2O) is used as a moderator in a nuclear reactor. Sometimes, heavy water (D2O), or graphite is used.
What is an atomic pile?
An atomic pile is an early form of nuclear reactor fuelled by uranium and moderated with graphite.
How can neutrons be slowed in the reactor core?
This is the function of the moderator, which may be heavy water, light water, or graphite
State different names of thermal power plant?
Different types of nuclear plants: Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR); Boiling Water Reactor (BWR); Heavy Water Moderated Reactor (CANDU); Advanced Gascooled Reactor (AGR); Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR); Pebble Bed Gascooled Reactor; Water Cooled Graphite Reactor (RBMK). There are other ideas that only exist on paper.
What is carbon black reactor?
I have not heard the term "carbon black", but gascooled reactors such as magnox and AGR have carbon (graphite) as moderator.
Why is Chernobyl so famous?
Because the world's worst nuclear reactor accident happened there. The reactor involved (a Soviet designed RBMK graphite moderated reactor) had many serious safety related design flaws, had been built in a rush to meet schedule deadlines without first having completed all safety related testing, and was undergoing a poorly planned and not properly reviewed test under the control of people with no knowledge of nuclear reactor principles (the man in charge of the test was only trained in hydroelectric dam principles). This was a setting for disaster and disaster was what they got. Skipping over the details: the reactor became unstable and impossible to control during the test, it experienced a sudden power surge, a steam explosion resulted which blasted the roof off the reactor building (no containment building existed in RBMKs), with hot graphite exposed to air the graphite ignited, the smoke from the graphite fire carried radioactive debris from the damaged core across Europe and eventually around the world. Hundreds of firefighters died of radiation poisoning from the exposure they got in trying to extinguish the burning graphite and other fires nearby that had been started by chunks of burning graphite thrown from the reactor in the blast. The surrounding land is slowly reverting to nature and has become a wildlife preserve, protected from human intrusion by the radioactivity.
Another name for nuclear reactor?
In the early days they were called piles, because they were piles of graphite bricks, as at Hanford in the US or Windscale in the UK
