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Of the six units at Fukushima Daiichi, three were operating at the time of the incident of March 11, 2011. When the earthquake occurred, the three operating units automatically shutdown, as they were designed to. The emergency diesel generators also started, as they were designed to.
Unfortunately, when the tsunami occurred about 41 minutes later, it was higher than the seawall was designed for, and it flooded low lying areas of the facility, taking out the diesels and parts of the switchgear, depriving the facility of power to run the emergency cooling system.
The facility still had its batteries, and its steam run coolant injection system was operational with those batteries, but it had no way to keep those batteries charged. Eventually, the batteries were depleted, and the fuel in the reactors was uncovered and allowed to overheat, damaging the fuel. The spent fuel pools, a water filled storage area for new and used fuel was also affected, and fuel there was damaged as well.
The reason this occurred is that the fuel, even though no longer involved in a nuclear chain reaction, still had decay heat from mixed fission byproducts; decay heat that requires cooling for a substantial length of time, even when it is out of the reactor.
Complicating everything was the issue of the multiple hydrogen explosions. The zircalloy clad fuel pins, when overheated and in contact with water, produces hydrogen gas. That gas collects. Normally, there are hydrogen recombiners in the steam cycle, but they were not available. When you add water to a hot system that contains hydrogen gas, there is the risk of explosion, and that did occur several times, damaging various components.
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How did the Fukushima nuclear power plant work?
like any power plant
How many people work in the nuclear reactors?
No one work inside a nuclear reactor, it is operated from outside.
How do you work out binding energy?
The binding energy is used in nuclear reactors.
How does a nuclear reactor work?
In brief, a nuclear reactor (as we know them), is a device which uses nuclear fission to generate energy that we can tap to do work. With the nuclear reactor, we use nuclear fuel (usually uranium or plutonium), and we arrange for a nuclear chain reaction to occur within the reactor. That reaction creates a lot of thermal energy (heat) through nuclear fission, and that thermal energy can be transferred into water to create steam. With a lot of steam, we can spin large steam turbines to turn generators to create electricity.There are other questions (with answers) here on WikiAnswers that explain in detail the ins and outs of nuclear reactors and nuclear fusion. Check the Related questions and use those links to investigate further.In an atomic energized power plant much like a fossil-filled force plant water is transformed into steam, which thusly drives turbine generators to create power. The distinction is the wellspring of warmth. At atomic force plants, the warmth to make the steam is made when uranium iotas split called splitting.
Where does nuclear energy come from to make renewable energy work?
Nuclear energy and renewable energy are not related. Renewable energy does not use nuclear energy.
Explain the working principle of a nuclear reactor?
Nuclear fission is the working principle under which the nuclear reactors operate.
How did the Fukushima nuclear power plant work?
like any power plant
How many people work in the nuclear reactors?
No one work inside a nuclear reactor, it is operated from outside.
Does uranium need to be enriched in order to be used in a nuclear reactor?
Some nuclear power reactors work with low enriched uranium; CANDU reactors work with natural uranium.
How many reactors usually work in nuclear power plants?
Most plants have two reactors but some have more
How do you work out binding energy?
The binding energy is used in nuclear reactors.
How do coolant systems work in nuclear reactors?
Coolant Systems on a Nuclear Reactor works by pumping large amounts of Sea Water into the reactors to cool it down and produce steam.
Does nuclear reactors contain uranium-235?
It really depends on the nuclear reactor, but many are built to work specifically with that isotope.
What caused the nuclear power plant in japan to explode?
The pumps that were supposed to keep the nuclear reactors cool failed to work because the earthquake broke them
How did japan recover from the earthquake?
Members of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force get ready to search for the victims of the March 11 tsunami.Fire crews, rescue teams, and volunteers are now digging through the wreckage left by the tsunami, as evacuation efforts continue around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and engineers work to regain control of the failing reactor.
What year was nuclear power invented?
1933, but it was not until after WW2 ended that work was begun on designing usable power reactors.
How do nuclear fusion reactors work?
I found the website K1 Project very helpful. They had several articles underneath their Learn/Energy tab which should answer any questions about nuclear fusion.
