AMST 201 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Pressurized Water Reactor, Boiling Water Reactor, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
21 Aug 2015
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Document Summary
The purpose of a nuclear power plant is not to produce or release nuclear power. the purpose of a nuclear power plant is to produce electricity. It should not be surprising, then, that a nuclear power plant has many similarities to other electrical generating facilities. It should also be obvious that nuclear power plants have some significant differences from other plants. Some mechanical device (wind turbine, water turbine, steam turbine, diesel engine, etc. ) must be available to provide the motive force for the rotor. In a hydroelectric power plant, water, flowing from a higher level to a lower level, travels through the metal blades of a water turbine, causing the rotor of the electrical generator to spin and produce electricity. In a fossil-fueled power plant, heat, from the burning of coal, oil, or natural gas, converts (boils) water into steam (a), which is piped to the turbine (b).
