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What would happen if there were no control rods in a nuclear reactor?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Pulling the control rods from a nuclear reactor will start it up. Taking them out will cause the reactor to run far too hot and the coolant system will not be able to cool it sufficiently. This may easily result in a meltdown. There are a number of systems that would automatically shut the reactor down if the rods are pulled too far out, by the way.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoThe reactor would go supercritical. (keffective > 1) That would cause an overheat condition and probably damage to the core. Most commercial reactors have a negative reactivity (k) coefficient on heat, so that would reduce reactivity. They also depend on the moderator (water) to maintain criticality, so removing water due to overheat would decrease criticality. Unfortunately, removing water would also escalate overheat because, even if the core were then subcritical (keffective < 1), decay heat would persist and you would have core damage unless you restored cooling.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoYou would initially have a run-away criticality. However, after the water flashes to steam, you would lose the moderator and the reactor would shutdown. It depends on the reactor design.
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If you wanted to slow down the chain reaction in a nuclear reactor would you remove or insert the control rods?
In order to slow down the chain reaction in a nuclear reactor, i.e. to reduce KEff, you would insert the control rods.
Would the radiation from a nuclear reactor be fatal?
The radiation from a properly functioning nuclear power reactor is heavily shielded and cannot be approached close enough to be fatal. Radiation from damaged or malfunctioning nuclear power plants can be, and has been, fatal. The nuclear reactor incident at Chernobyl is one example. Nuclear reactor failures aboard ships and submarines also prove fatal but are often hidden behind national security; submarine K-19 'the widowmaker' was one such example. And of course, if one were to get into the reactor room past all of the shielding, any reactor would be fatal.
Importance of temperature control in nuclear reactor?
It is important to limit the fuel temperature so that the sheath (zircaloy) of the fuel rod is not damaged which would allow radioactivity to leak into the coolant.
Can you use tritium water as moderator in nuclear reactor?
Yes, but it would usually be too expensive as tritium must be made in a reactor from lithium.
Does an operating nuclear reactor make a lot of sound?
The reactor itself does not make a lot of sound when operating. Nuclear fission is silent, but moving water in the core (in a pressurized water reactor) might be heard as it circulates. But it would not be easy to put your ear to the reactor vessel as radiation levels would be very high and the vessel would be very hot. Certainly the pumps that are running to circulate coolant will be audible.
If the control rods in a nuclear reactor are removed would the condition be supercritical or subcritical?
If the control rods in a nuclear reactor were somehow to be instantly "jerked" out of the reactor, the reactor would go supercritical. If they were pulled at a normal rate and all of the control rods were pulled out, the reactor would start up and heat up and would end up running far too hot. Any one of several safety systems would shut the reactor down before this could happen. If the safety systems were disabled, the reactor would overheat and a meltdown may occur.
What would happen if the invention nuclear reactor didn't exist?
The world would be very different
If you wanted to slow down the chain reaction in a nuclear reactor would you remove or insert the control rods?
In order to slow down the chain reaction in a nuclear reactor, i.e. to reduce KEff, you would insert the control rods.
What will happen if the control rods in a nuclear reactor overheat?
Most likely they would warp and jam, however damage to fuel rods is likely from overheating long before any effect on control rods.
What would happen if the fuel rods became too hot inside a nuclear reactor and could not be controlled?
Catholicism
If a tow truck ran over a nuclear reactor what would happen to the reactor?
Luckily, nuclear rectors are too large to be ran over by a tow truck. However, if one did get ran over by a tow truck, nothing would happen. The containment vessel is enormously strong, and the outer structure is even stronger, so no meltdown would happen.
What part of a nuclear reactor would most likely contain plutonium?
This part is the core of the nuclear reactor containing the nuclear fuel.
How would you use nuclear in a sentence?
the nuclear reactor exploded
What would happen if the control rods were removed from the reactor core?
Typically the reaction rate increases.
What are nuclear leaks?
By "nuclear leaks" is meant the leakage of radioactive material from a nuclear facility such as a nuclear reactor or a store of spent fuel. This would only happen if the fuel had been damaged and the zircaloy sheathing was leaking, and also the contents of the reactor or store were leaking into the atmosphere. The leaked material could be gaseous like iodine, or could be particulate.
What happens if nuclear reactor leaks?
If a nuclear reactor leaked you would have to evacuate the area around the plant and you would attempt to stop the leak and probably depending on the severeity level of the situation you may need to 'SCRAM' the reactor.
Would a nuclear reactor explode if there were no people?
Never ever
