Power Plant Operation

Front 1

What is an advantage of using a high-pressure boiler in a contemporary thermal power plant?

Back 1

High pressure boilers allow superheated steam to be used, which increases power output and prevents liquid (non-steam) water from eroding the end stages of the turbine blades that power the alternator/generator(s)

Front 2

What does the term "bleeding" mean in regards to a steam-based power plant?

Back 2

T

Front 3

What is an alternator, and how do you use it effectively within a power plant?

Back 3

T

Front 4

In a steam power plant, what comprises the cooling water circuit and the coal and ash circuit?

Back 4

T

Front 5

In a diesel engine power plant, what is the primary use for superchargers and air filters?

Back 5

R

Front 6

Tell me about four different methods you can use to extract steam for feed water heating.

Back 6

T

Front 7

What are overfeed stockers and underfeed stockers, and how do they differ from one another?

Back 7

T

Front 8

What are the primary differences between pulverized fuel firing and stocker firing?

Back 8

T

Front 9

What is a pulverizer, how do you use it and what are the various types of pulverizing mills?

Back 9

T

Front 10

Tell me about different types of waste materials and which ones you might use as fuel for generating power.

Back 10

There are four types of waste materials you can use to generate power: rubber, municipal, paper and industrial waste.

Front 11

What is the difference between out-plant handling and in-plant handling?

Back 11

Out-plant handling refers to the management of resources outside of the plant, such as the transportation of coal by pipeline, rail, sea, river or road. In-plant handling has to do with how you manage large quantities of coal within a power plant, such as coal preparation, unloading, storage and transfer

Front 12

What is a high-pressure boiler and what are some of the most important types?

Back 12

A high-pressure boiler is an equipment system that improves plant efficiency and reduces electricity production costs. Some of the most important types of high-pressure boilers include the La Mont, Velox, Loeffler and Benson.

Front 13

Tell me about various types of power plants and what their primary differences are.

Back 13

There are many types of power plants, such as hydroelectric and nuclear power plants. The former is eco-friendly and uses water to generate electricity. The latter converts potentially dangerous nuclear energy into electricity. Solar, wind and geothermal power plants are other eco-friendly power plants to generate electricity. Coal power plants are common, but cause environmental harm.

Front 14

In the power plant industry, what is regeneration and what are some of the advantages of the regeneration cycle?

Back 14

In the context of a power plant, regeneration is the process of taking steam from turbines to heat feed water. You then exhaust the steam and supply it to the regenerator to enact the heating process. Some benefits may include reducing boiler heat, increasing thermal efficiency and reducing turbine erosion.

Front 15

What is a BWR?

Back 15

Boiling water reactor

Fuel: uranium dioxide (2.6% U-235)

Mod: ordinary water

Coolant: pressurized ordinary water (70 bar)

Steam gen: same circuit

Front 16

What is a PWR?

Back 16

Pressurized water reactor

Fuel: uranium dioxide (approx. 3.2% U-235)Mod: ordinary (soft) waterCoolant: ordinarywater (160 bars)Steam gen: separatecircuit

Front 17

What is CANDU?

Back 17

Canada Deuterium Uranium

Fuel: unenriched uraniumdioxide (0.7% U-235)

Mod: heavy water (Deuterium)

Coolant: pressurized heavy water (90 bars)

Steam gen: separate circuit

Front 18

What is Magnox?

Back 18

Magnesium non-oxidizing; dual purpose of producing electrical power and plutonium-239

Fuel: natural uranium (0.7% U-235)

Mod: graphite

Coolant: carbon dioxide (20bar)

Steam gen: separate circuit

Front 19

What is AGR?

Back 19

Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor

Fuel: uranium dioxide (2.3% U-235)

Mod: graphite

Coolant: carbon dioxide (40 bars)

Steam gen: separate circuit

Front 20

What is RBMK?

Back 20

reaktor bolshoy moshchnosti kanalnyy, "high-power channel-type reactor"

Fuel: uranium dioxide (2.0% U-235; 2.4% 1988 onward)

Mod: graphite

Coolant: pressurized ordinary water (70 bars)

Steam: same circuit

Front 21

What is the primary pressure boundary of a PWR?

Back 21

reactor pressure vessel, the steam generators, the main coolant pumps, the pressurizer, and the connecting piping

Front 22

What is the primary pressure boundary of a BWR and most gas-cooled reactors?

Back 22

reactor pressure vessel

Front 23

Explain how nuclear fuel works in a reactor.

Back 23

Chain reactionof fissions of the nuclei of atoms produce energy withinthe reactor fuel. Each fission splits an atom into new,fission- product atoms, generates a packet of heat, andalso expels from its nucleus neutrons which cause further fissions of other atoms. The immense heat from this is used to boil water and make steam for a turbine.

Front 24

Purpose of moderators in a nuclear reactor

Back 24

Slow the fast neutrons produced by fissionso that they can be captured by the fissile uranium-235atoms more easily

Front 25

Give examples of moderators.

Back 25

Ordinary water, graphite and deuterium.

Front 26

What are control rods?

Back 26

steel rods containing neutron absorbing materials (such as boron or cadmium) that can be moved in and out of the holes in the core of the reactor in order to control the reaction rate

Front 27

What prevents a reactor from becoming an atomic bomb?

Back 27

Control rods, closely controlled fission reactions, and using less-enriched fuel sources

Front 28

Explain the role of a reactor operator

Back 28

1) safe and efficient operation of a nuclear reactor

2) thorough understanding of the reactor's systems

3) respond quickly and effectively to any changes or problems

Front 29

What is a high pressure boiler?

Back 29

Boiler pressurized above 15psig, heating to above 220-250⁰F

Front 30

What is a low pressure boiler?

Back 30

Boiler pressurized at 15psig and below, heating to below 220-250⁰F

Front 31

Define super critical boiler

Back 31

Steam generator, allowing water to instantly become steam; operates above 3900 psi and 1075-1110°F

Front 32

Define boiler draught

Back 32

small pressure difference between the fuel bed (furnace) and outside air required to maintain a constant flow of air and discharge gases to the atmosphere through the chimney

Front 33

RHR

Back 33

Residual heat removal - multiple mode safety system that uses pumps and heat exchangers to cool the reactor, containment, and spent fuel pool during emergencies.

Front 34

RCIC

Back 34

Reactor Core Injection (Isolation) Cooling - small steam driven auxiliary feed pump that runs around 600 gpm. They will start up (level 2) and inject cold water (40-80 degF) into the reactor, until water level hits the high level shutoff (level 8) automatically

Front 35

HPCI

Back 35

High Pressure Coolant Injection - ECCS (emergency core cooling system) pump that uses steam to operate, and pumps over 5000 gpm to the reactor, automatically starting @ low water lvl 2 and stopping at hi water lvl 8

Front 36

EHC

Back 36

Electro-Hydraulic Control - controls steam pressure in the reactor. It automatically opens and closes the turbine valves to control pressure when the turbine is online, and when the turbine is off it will open and close condenser steam dump valves. It does not automatically depressurize the core. EHC does automatically maintain pressure at the setpoint

Front 37

LOOP

Back 37

Loss of Off-site Power - electrical transmission to and from the external power grid is lost, often resulting in a reactor trip and shutdown of the plant.

Front 38

ESBWR

Back 38

Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor - 3rd gen reactor using 3 non-mechanical systems for transfer of reactor decay heat from to pools of water outside containment – the Isolation Condenser System (ICS), the Gravity Driven Cooling System (GDCS), and the Passive Containment Cooling System (PCCS)