NPP: the principle of operation and the device. History of the NPP

In the middle of the twentieth century, the best minds of mankind worked hard at once on two tasks: on the creation of an atomic bomb, and also on how one can use the energy of an atom for peaceful purposes. So there were the first nuclear power plants in the world. What is the principle of operation of nuclear power plants? And where in the world are the largest of these power plants located?

History and features of nuclear power engineering

"Energy is everything to the head" - that's how you can paraphrase a well-known proverb, given the objective realities of the 21st century. With each new round of technological progress, mankind needs more and more of it. Today, the energy of "peaceful atom" is actively used in economy and production, and not only in energy.

Electricity produced at so-called nuclear power plants (the principle of operation of which is very simple in nature) is widely used in industry, space exploration, medicine and agriculture.

Nuclear energy is the heavy industry industry that extracts heat and electricity from the kinetic energy of an atom.

When did the first nuclear power plants appear? The principle of operation of such power plants Soviet scientists studied in the 40's. By the way, in parallel they also invented the first atomic bomb. Thus, the atom was both "peaceful" and deadly.

In 1948, IV Kurchatov suggested that the Soviet government begin to conduct direct work on the extraction of atomic energy. Two years later in the Soviet Union (in the city of Obninsk, Kaluga region) begins the construction of the very first nuclear power plant on the planet.

The principle of operation of all nuclear power plants is similar, but it is not difficult to understand it. This will be discussed later.

NPP: principle of operation (photo and description)

The work of any nuclear power plant is based on a powerful reaction that occurs when the atomic nucleus is divided . In this process, the most commonly involved are uranium-235 or plutonium. The nucleus of atoms divides the neutron that enters them from the outside. In this case, new neutrons arise, as well as fission fragments, which have enormous kinetic energy. This energy is the main and key product of any nuclear power plant

So it is possible to describe the operating principle of a nuclear power plant reactor. In the next photo you can see how it looks from the inside.

There are three main types of nuclear reactors:

• Channel reactor of high power (abbreviated - RBMK);
• Water-water reactor (VVER);
• Fast neutron reactor (BN).

It is worthwhile to describe the operating principle of the NPP as a whole. About how it works, it will be discussed in the next article.

Principle of operation of the nuclear power plant (scheme)

The nuclear power plant operates under certain conditions and in strictly prescribed modes. In addition to the nuclear reactor (one or several), the structure of the NPP includes other systems, special facilities and highly qualified personnel. What is the principle of operation of nuclear power plants? Briefly it can be described as follows.

The main element of any nuclear power plant is a nuclear reactor, in which all the main processes take place. About what is happening in the reactor, we wrote in the previous section. Nuclear fuel (as a rule, most often it is uranium) in the form of small black tablets is fed into this huge cauldron.

The energy released during reactions occurring in an atomic reactor is converted into heat and transferred to the heat carrier (usually water). It is worth noting that the coolant receives a certain dose of radiation in this process.

Further heat from the coolant is transferred to ordinary water (through special devices - heat exchangers), which as a result of this boils. The water vapor, which forms in this case, rotates the turbine. The generator is connected to the latter, which generates electrical energy.

Thus, according to the principle of the NPP operation, it is the same thermal power station. The only difference is how the steam is formed.

Geography of nuclear power engineering

The top five countries in the production of nuclear energy are as follows:

1. USA.
2. France.
3. Japan.
4. Russia.
5. South Korea.

At the same time, the United States of America, producing about 864 billion kWh per year, produces up to 20% of the world's electricity.

In total, 31 states operate nuclear power plants in the world. Of all the continents of the planet, only two (Antarctica and Australia) are completely free of nuclear energy.

To date, there are 388 nuclear reactors in the world. True, 45 of them have not produced electricity for a year and a half already. Most of the nuclear reactors are located in Japan and the United States. Their complete geography is represented on the following map. Green countries are designated countries with operating nuclear reactors, their total number in a particular state is also indicated.

Development of nuclear power in different countries

In general, as of 2014, there has been a general decline in the development of nuclear power. The leaders in the construction of new nuclear reactors are the three countries: Russia, India and China. In addition, a number of states that do not have nuclear power plants are planning to build them in the near future. These include Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and a number of countries in North Africa.

On the other hand, a number of states have set a course for a gradual reduction in the number of nuclear power plants. These include Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. And in some countries (Italy, Austria, Denmark, Uruguay) nuclear power is banned at the legislative level.

The main problems of nuclear power engineering

With the development of nuclear power, there is one significant environmental problem. This is the so-called thermal pollution of the environment. Thus, according to many experts, nuclear power plants produce more heat than thermal power plants of the same type. Especially dangerous is the thermal pollution of water, which violates the natural conditions of life of biological organisms and leads to the death of many species of fish.

Another acute problem related to nuclear energy concerns nuclear safety in general. For the first time, humanity has seriously considered this problem after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. The principle of operation of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was not much different from that of other nuclear power plants. However, this did not save her from a major and serious accident, which had very serious consequences for the whole of Eastern Europe.

And the danger of nuclear power is not limited only to possible technogenic accidents. So, big problems arise with the utilization of nuclear waste.

Advantages of nuclear energy

Nevertheless, proponents of the development of nuclear power also call the obvious advantages of nuclear power plants. Thus, in particular, the World Nuclear Association recently published its report with very interesting data. According to him, the number of human victims accompanying the production of one gigawatt of electricity at nuclear power plants is 43 times less than in traditional thermal power plants.

There are other, not less important, advantages. Namely:

• Cheapness of electricity production;
• Ecological cleanliness of nuclear energy (except for only thermal water pollution);
• The absence of strict geo-referencing of nuclear power plants to large sources of fuel.

Instead of concluding

In 1950, the world's first nuclear power plant was built. The principle of operation of nuclear power plants is to divide the atom with a neutron. As a result of this process, a huge amount of energy is released.

It would seem that nuclear power is an exceptional benefit for humanity. However, history has proven otherwise. In particular, two major tragedies - the accident at the Soviet Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 and the accident at the Japanese power plant Fukushima-1 in 2011 - demonstrated the danger that a "peaceful" atom carries in itself. And many countries of the world today began to think about partial or even complete abandonment of nuclear power.