Nuclear Power: Control, Reliability & Human Factors

Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions that release nuclear energy to generate heat, which most frequently is then used in steam turbines to produce electricity in a nuclear power plant. The term includes nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion. Presently, the nuclear fission of elements in the actinide series of the periodic table produce the vast majority of nuclear energy in the direct service of humankind, with nuclear decay processes, primarily in the form of geothermal energy, and radioisotope thermoelectric generators, in niche uses making up the rest. A nuclear reactor produces and controls the release of energy from splitting the atoms of certain elements. In a nuclear power reactor, the energy released is used as heat to make steam to generate electricity. The principles for using nuclear power to produce electricity are the same for most types of reactor. The energy released from continuous fission of the atoms of the fuel is harnessed as heat in either a gas or water, and is used to produce steam. The steam is used to drive the turbines which produce electricity. Today, reactors derived from designs originally developed for propelling submarines and large naval ships generate about 85% of the worlds nuclear electricity. Nuclear Power - Deployment, Operation and Sustainability emphasizes on successful development, deployment and operation of nuclear power systems worldwide. We are fortunate to live in incredibly exciting and incredibly challenging time. Energy demands due to economic growth and increasing population must be satisfied in a sustainable manner assuring inherent safety, efficiency and no or minimized environmental impact. These considerations are among the reasons that lead to serious interest in deploying nuclear power as a sustainable energy source. Together, catastrophic earthquake and tsunami events in Japan resulted in the nuclear accident that forced us to rethink our methodology to nuclear safety, design requirements and enabled growing interests in advanced nuclear energy systems. The book is intended for students, researchers and practitioners - who are interested to learn about nuclear power.