Nuclear power

NPCIL supplied 35 TWh of India's electricity in 2013-14 from 5.3 GWe nuclear capacity, with overall
capacity factor of 83% and availability of 88%. Some 410 reactor-years of operation had been achieved to
December 2014. India's fuel situation, with shortage of fossil fuels, is driving the nuclear investment for
electricity, and 25% nuclear contribution is the ambition for 2050, when 1094 GWe of base-load capacity is
expected to be required. Almost as much investment in the grid system as in power plants is necessary.
The target since about 2004 has been for nuclear power to provide 20 GWe by 2020, but in 2007 the Prime
Minister referred to this as "modest" and capable of being "doubled with the opening up of international
cooperation." However, it is evident that even the 20 GWe target would require substantial uranium imports.
In June 2009 NPCIL said it aimed for 60 GWe nuclear by 2032, including 40 GWe of PWR capacity and 7
GWe of new PHWR capacity, all fuelled by imported uranium. This 2032 target was reiterated late in 2010
and increased to 63 GWe in 2011. But in December 2011 parliament was told that more realistic targets
were 14,600 MWe by 2020-21 and 27,500 MWe by 2032, relative to present 4780 MWe and 10,080 MWe
when reactors under construction were on line in 2017.*
* the XII Plan [2012-17] proposals are being finalized which envisage start of work on eight indigenous 700
MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs), two 500 MW Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs), one 300
MW Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) and eight Light Water Reactors of 1000 MW or higher
capacity with foreign technical cooperation. These nuclear power reactors are expected to be completed
progressively in the XIII and XIV Plans.
The 16 PHWRS and LWRs are expected to cost $40 billion. The eight 700 MWe PHWRs would be built at
Kaiga in Karnataka, Gorakhpur in Haryanas Fatehabad District, Banswada in Rajasthan, and Chutka in
Madhya Pradesh.
In July 2014 the new Prime Minister urged DAE to triple the nuclear capacity to 17 GWe by 2024. He
praised India's self-reliance in the nuclear fuel cycle and the commercial success of the indigenous
reactors. He also emphasized the importance of maintaining the commercial viability and competitiveness
of nuclear energy compared with other clean energy sources.
After liability legislation started to deter foreign reactor vendors, early in 2102 the government said it
wanted to see coal production increase by 150 Mt/yr (from 440 Mt/yr) to support 60 GWe new coal-fired
capacity to be built by 2015. This would involve Rs 56 billion new investment in rail infrastructure.
Longer term, the Atomic Energy Commission however envisages some 500 GWe nuclear on line by 2060,
and has since speculated that the amount might be higher still: 600-700 GWe by 2050, providing half of all
electricity. Another projection is for nuclear share to rise to 9% by 2037.
Other energy information for India: US Energy Information Administration Analysis Brief on India
Indian nuclear power industry development
Nuclear power for civil use is well established in India. Since building the two small boiling water reactors at
Tarapur in the 1960s, its civil nuclear strategy has been directed towards complete independence in the
nuclear fuel cycle, necessary because it is excluded from the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
due to it acquiring nuclear weapons capability after 1970. (Those five countries doing so before 1970 were
accorded the status of Nuclear Weapons States under the NPT.)
As a result, India's nuclear power program has proceeded largely without fuel or technological assistance
from other countries (but see later section). The pressurised heavy-water reactor (PHWR) design was
adopted in 1964, since it required less natural uranium than the BWRs, needed no enrichment, and could
be built with the countrys engineering capacity at that time pressure tubes rather than a heavy pressure
vessel being involved. Its power reactors to the mid-1990s had some of the world's lowest capacity factors,
reflecting the technical difficulties of the country's isolation, but rose impressively from 60% in 1995 to 85%
in 2001-02. Then in 2008-10 the load factors dropped due to shortage of uranium fuel.

India's nuclear energy self-sufficiency extended from uranium exploration and mining through fuel
fabrication, heavy water production, reactor design and construction, to reprocessing and waste
management. It has a small fast breeder reactor and is building a much larger one. It is also developing
technology to utilise its abundant resources of thorium as a nuclear fuel.
The Atomic Energy Establishment was set up at Trombay, near Mumbai, in 1957 and renamed as Bhabha
Atomic Research Centre (BARC) ten years later. Plans for building the first Pressurised Heavy Water
Reactor (PHWR) were finalised in 1964, and this prototype Rajasthan 1, which had Canada's Douglas
Point reactor as a reference unit, was built as a collaborative venture between Atomic Energy of Canada
Ltd (AECL) and NPCIL. It started up in 1972 and was duplicated Subsequent indigenous PHWR
development has been based on these units, though several stages of evolution can be identified: PHWRs
with dousing and single containment at Rajasthan 1-2, PHWRs with suppression pool and partial double
containment at Madras, and later standardized PHWRs from Narora onwards having double containment,
suppression pool, and calandria filled with heavy water, housed in a water-filled calandria vault.
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is responsible for design, construction, commissioning
and operation of thermal nuclear power plants. At the start of 2010 it said it had enough cash on hand for
10,000 MWe of new plant. Its funding model is 70% equity and 30% debt financing. However, it is aiming to
involve other public sector and private corporations in future nuclear power expansion, notably National
Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) see subsection below. NTPC is very much larger than NPCIL and
sees itself as the main power producer. NTPC is largely government-owned. The 1962 Atomic Energy Act
prohibits private control of nuclear power generation, though it allows minority investment. As of late 2010
the government had no intention of changing this to allow greater private equity in nuclear plants.
Nuclear reactors deployed in India
In December 2014 the 40% of nuclear capacity under safeguards was operating on imported uranium at
rated capacity. The remainder, which relies on indigenous uranium, was operating below capacity, though
the supply situation was said to be improving.
The two Tarapur150 MWe Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) built by GE on a turnkey contract before the
advent of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty were originally 200 MWe. They were down-rated due to
recurrent problems but have run well since. They have been using imported enriched uranium (from France
and China in 1980-90s and Russia since 2001) and are under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
safeguards. However, late in 2004 Russia deferred to the Nuclear Suppliers' Group and declined to supply
further uranium for them. They underwent six months refurbishment over 2005-06, and in March 2006
Russia agreed to resume fuel supply. In December 2008 a $700 million contract with Rosatom was
announced for continued uranium supply to them. In 2015 a further contract was signed with TVEL for
pellets which will be incorporated into fuel assemblies at the Nuclear Fuel Complex in Hyderabad.
The two small Canadian (Candu) PHWRs at Rajasthan nuclear power plant started up in 1972 & 1980,
and are also under safeguards. Rajasthan 1 was down-rated early in its life and has operated very little
since 2002 due to ongoing problems and has been shut down since 2004 as the government considers its
future. Rajasthan 2 was downrated in 1990. It had major refurbishment 2007-09 and has been running on
imported uranium at full capacity.
The 220 MWe PHWRs (202 MWe net) were indigenously designed and constructed by NPCIL, based on a
Canadian design. The only accident to an Indian nuclear plant was due to a turbine hall fire in 1993 at
Narora, which resulted in a 17-hour total station blackout. There was no core damage or radiological impact
and it was rated 3 on the INES scale a 'serious incident'.
The Madras (MAPS) reactors were refurbished in 2002-03 and 2004-05 and their capacity restored to 220
MWe gross (from 170). Much of the core of each reactor was replaced, and the lifespans extended to
2033/36.

Kakrapar unit 1 was fully refurbished and upgraded in 2009-10, after 16 years operation, as was Narora 2,
with cooling channel (calandria tube) replacement.
Following the Fukushima accident in March 2011, four NPCIL taskforces evaluated the situation in India
and in an interim report in July made recommendations for safety improvements of the Tarapur BWRs and
each PHWR type. The report of a high-level committee appointed by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board
(AERB) was submitted at the end of August 2011, saying that the Tarapur and Madras plants needed some
supplementary provisions to cope with major disasters. The two Tarapur BWRs have already been
upgraded to recurrent problems but have run well since. They have been using imported enriched uranium
(from France and China in 1980-90s and Russia since 2001) and are under International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) safeguards. However, late in 2004 Russia deferred to the Nuclear Suppliers' Group and
declined to supply further uranium for them. They underwent six months refurbishment over 2005-06, and
in March 2006 Russia agreed to resume fuel supply. In December 2008 a $700 million contract with
Rosatom was announced for continued uranium supply to them. In 2015 a further contract was signed with
TVEL for pellets which will be incorporated into fuel assemblies at the Nuclear Fuel Complex in Hyderabad.
The two small Canadian (Candu) PHWRs at Rajasthan nuclear power plant started up in 1972 & 1980,
and are also under safeguards. Rajasthan 1 was down-rated early in its life and has operated very little
since 2002 due to ongoing problems and has been shut down since 2004 as the government considers its
future. Rajasthan 2 was downrated in 1990. It had major refurbishment 2007-09 and has been running on
imported uranium at full capacity.
The 220 MWe PHWRs (202 MWe net) were indigenously designed and constructed by NPCIL, based on a
Canadian design. The only accident to an Indian nuclear plant was due to a turbine hall fire in 1993 at
Narora, which resulted in a 17-hour total station blackout. There was no core damage or radiological impact
and it was rated 3 on the INES scale a 'serious incident'.
The Madras (MAPS) reactors were refurbished in 2002-03 and 2004-05 and their capacity restored to 220
MWe gross (from 170). Much of the core of each reactor was replaced, and the lifespans extended to
2033/36.
Kakrapar unit 1 was fully refurbished and upgraded in 2009-10, after 16 years operation, as was Narora 2,
with cooling channel (calandria tube) replacement.
Following the Fukushima accident in March 2011, four NPCIL taskforces evaluated the situation in India
and in an interim report in July made recommendations for safety improvements of the Tarapur BWRs and
each PHWR type. The report of a high-level committee appointed by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board
(AERB) was submitted at the end of August 2011, saying that the Tarapur and Madras plants needed some
supplementary provisions to cope with major disasters. The two Tarapur BWRs have already been
upgraded to ensure continuous cooling of the reactor during prolonged station blackouts and to provide
nitrogeninjection to containment structures, but further work is recommended. Madras needs enhanced
flood defences in case of tsunamis higher than that in 2004. The prototype fast breeder reactor (PFR)
under construction next door at Kalpakkam has defences which are already sufficiently high, following
some flooding of the site in 2004.
The Tarapur 3&4 reactors of 540 MWe gross (490 MWe net) were developed indigenously from the 220
MWe (gross) model PHWR and were built by NPCIL. The first Tarapur 4 was connected to the grid in
June 2005 and started commercial operation in September. Tarapur 4's criticality came five years after
pouring first concrete and seven months ahead of schedule. Its twin unit 3 was about a year behind it
and was connected to the grid in June 2006 with commercial operation in August, five months ahead of
schedule. Tarapur 3 & 4 cost about $1200/kW, and are competitive with imported coal.

Future indigenous PHWR reactors will be 700 MWe gross (640 MWe net). The first four are being built
at Kakrapar and Rajasthan. They are due on line by 2017 after 60 months construction from first concrete
to criticality. Cost is quoted at about Rs 12,000 crore (120 billion rupees) each, or $1700/kW. Up to 40% of
the fuel they use will be slightly enriched uranium (SEU) about 1.1% U-235, to achieve higher fuel burnup about 21,000 MWd/t instead of one third of this. Initially this fuel will be imported as SEU.
Kudankulam 1&2: Russia's Atomstroyexport is supplying the country's first large nuclear power plant,
comprising two VVER-1000 (V-412) reactors, under a Russian-financed US$ 3 billion contract (reported as
Rs 17,270 crore - $2.71 billion - cost in mid 2015). A long-term credit facility covers about half the cost of
the plant. The AES-92 units at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu state have been built by NPCIL and also
commissioned and operated by NPCIL under IAEA safeguards. The turbines were made by Silmash in St
Petersburg and have evidently given some trouble during commissioning. Unlike other Atomstroyexport
projects such as in Iran, there have been only about 80 Russian supervisory staff on the job. Construction
started in March 2002.
Russia is supplying all the enriched fuel through the life of the plant, though India will reprocess it and keep
the plutonium*. The first unit was due to start supplying power in March 2008 and go into commercial
operation late in 2008, but this schedule slipped by six years. In the latter part of 2011 and into 2012
completion and fuel loading was delayed by public protests, but in March 2012 the state government
approved the plant's commissioning and said it would deal with any obstruction. Unit 1 started up in midJuly 2013, was connected to the grid in October 2013 and entered commercial operation at the end of
December 2014. It had reached full power in mid-year but then required turbine repairs, though it generated
2.8 TWh in its first year. Unit 2 construction was declared complete in July 2015 and it is expected to start
up in late 2015. Each is 917 MWe net.
* The original agreement in 1988 specified return of used fuel to Russia, but a 1998 supplemental
agreement allowed India to retain and reprocess it.
While the first core load of fuel was delivered early in 2008 there have been delays in supply of some
equipment and documentation. Control system documentation was delivered late, and when reviewed by
NPCIL it showed up the need for significant refining and even reworking some aspects. The design basis
flood level is 5.44m, and the turbine hall floor is 8.1m above mean sea level. The 2004 tsunami was under
3m.
A small desalination plant is associated with the Kudankulam plant to produce 426 m 3/hr for it using fourstage multi-vacuum compression (MVC) technology. Another reverse osmosis (RO) plant is in operation to
supply local township needs.
Kaiga 3 started up in February, was connected to the grid in April and went into commercial operation in
May 2007. Unit 4 started up in November 2010 and was grid-connected in January 2011, but is about 30
months behind original schedule due to shortage of uranium. The Kaiga units are not under UN safeguards,
so cannot use imported uranium.
Rajasthan 5 started up in November 2009, using imported Russian fuel, and in December it was
connected to the northern grid. RAPP 6 started up in January 2010 and was grid connected at the end of
March. Both are now in commercial operation.
POWERPLANT INSTRUMENTATION
Instrumentation and control is an integral part of a coalfired power station. A modern, advanced I&C system
plays a major role in the profitable operation of a plant by achieving maximum availability, reliability,
flexibility, maintainability and efficiency. These systems can also assist in maintaining emissions

compliance. The I&C chain begins with sensors that detect measured values. Controllers receive these
values, upon which a control strategy is activated.
The response, where and when required, moves in final actuating control elements to modify the affect
process. This loop repeats over and over during plant operation through a complex and multilevel
communications schemes."Smart" field devices, including sensors and actuators, continued to be
developed in order to simplify and improve the control system process. The two main control platforms that
are used in coalfired power stations are the distributed control system (DCS) and the programmable logic
control (PLC). Personal computer (PC) based hardware and software has only recently been
introduced in power plant control. With the fast development, increasing power and reduced cost of
personal computers, PCbased control is expected to become a further platform for future development and
growth. Today new coalfired power plants are, in general, built with modern, advanced DCS/PLC and a
large number of existing coalfired power stations have been retrofitted with advanced digital systems in
many countries, throughout the world. New coalfired power plants are built with modern, advanced
systems. A modern, advanced I&C system plays a major role in the profitable and safe operation of a plant
by achieving maximum availability, reliability, flexibility, maintainability and efficiency.Recent advances in
control technology, online
testing, and performance monitoring can help a power plant improve efficiency, maintain a high availability
factor, and generally improve plant operations. A large number of existing facilities have also been
retrofitted with advanced digital systems in many countries, throughout the world. Upgraded
instrumentation and control systems, used in conjunction with new sophisticated software programs, allow
plant operators to identify factors affecting equipment performance more quickly and accurately. Upgrading
the instrumentation and control systems of an older power plant can have the following benefits:
Improved operating flexibility, i.e., the ability to meet a wider range of operating conditions more
effectively
Reduced maintenance costs through better monitoring of plant equipment condition and an
enhanced ability to detect equipment malfunctions
Reduced emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants through better control of the combustion
process and of environmental
control equipment
Extended equipment life through the reduction of excessive equipment operating stress
THERMOCOUPLE
A thermocouple is a device used extensively for measuring temperature. Learn how the device works here.

A thermocouple is comprised of at least two metals joined together to form two junctions. One is connected
to the body whose temperature is to be measured; this is the hot or measuring junction. The other junction
is connected to a body of known temperature; this is the cold or reference junction. Therefore the
thermocouple measures unknown temperature of the body with reference to the known temperature of the
other body.

Working Principle
The working principle of thermocouple is based on three effects, discovered by Seebeck, Peltier and
Thomson. They are as follows:
1) Seebeck effect: The Seebeck effect states that when two different or unlike metals are joined together
at two junctions, an electromotive force (emf) is generated at the two junctions. The amount of emf
generated is different for different combinations of the metals.
2) Peltier effect: As per the Peltier effect, when two dissimilar metals are joined together to form two
junctions, emf is generated within the circuit due to the different temperatures of the two junctions of the
circuit.
3) Thomson effect: As per the Thomson effect, when two unlike metals are joined together forming two
junctions, the potential exists within the circuit due to temperature gradient along the entire length of the
conductors within the circuit.
In most of the cases the emf suggested by the Thomson effect is very small and it can be neglected by
making proper selection of the metals. The Peltier effect plays a prominent role in the working principle of
the thermocouple.

Diagrams

How it Works
The general circuit for the working of thermocouple is shown in the figure 1 above. It comprises of two
dissimilar metals, A and B. These are joined together to form two junctions, p and q, which are maintained
at the temperatures T1 and T2 respectively. Remember that the thermocouple cannot be formed if there are
not two junctions. Since the two junctions are maintained at different temperatures the Peltier emf is
generated within the circuit and it is the function of the temperatures of two junctions.
If the temperature of both the junctions is same, equal and opposite emf will be generated at both junctions
and the net current flowing through the junction is zero. If the junctions are maintained at different
temperatures, the emfs will not become zero and there will be a net current flowing through the circuit. The
total emf flowing through this circuit depends on the metals used within the circuit as well as the
temperature of the two junctions. The total emf or the current flowing through the circuit can be measured
easily by the suitable device.
The device for measuring the current or emf is connected within the circuit of the thermocouple. It
measures the amount of emf flowing through the circuit due to the two junctions of the two dissimilar metals
maintained at different temperatures. In figure 2 the two junctions of the thermocouple and the device used
for measurement of emf (potentiometer) are shown.
Now, the temperature of the reference junctions is already known, while the temperature of measuring
junction is unknown. The output obtained from the thermocouple circuit is calibrated directly against the
unknown temperature. Thus the voltage or current output obtained from thermocouple circuit gives the
value of unknown temperature directly.

Devices Used for Measuring EMF

The amount of emf developed within the thermocouple circuit is very small, usually in millivolts, therefore
highly sensitive instruments should be used for measuring the emf generated in the thermocouple circuit.
Two devices used commonly are the ordinary galvanometer and voltage balancing potentiometer. Of those
two, a manually or automatically balancing potentiometer is used most often.
Figure 2 shows the potentiometer connected in the thermocouple circuit. The junction p is connected to the
body whose temperature is to be measured. The junction q is the reference junction, whose temperature
can be measured by the thermometer. In some cases the reference junctions can also be maintained at the
ice temperature by connecting it to the ice bath (see figure 3). This device can be calibrated in terms of the
input temperature so that its scale can give the value directly in terms of temperature.

4B)
Load factor (electrical) is the average power divided by the peak power over a period of time.n the
electricity industry, load factor is a measure of the output of a power plant compared to the maximum output
it
could
produce.
The two commonest definitions are:
. the ratio of average load to capacity
* the ratio of average load to peak load in a period.
Assuming the first definition, a higher load factor is better:
* A power plant may be less efficient at low load factors.
* A high load factor means fixed costs are spread over more kWh of output.
* A high load factor means greater total output.
Therefore a higher load factor usually means more output and a lower cost per unit, which means an
electricity
generator
can
sell
more
electricity
at
a
higher
spark
spread.
Diversity factor: The ratio of sum of the individual non-coincident maximum demands of various
subdivisions of the system to the maximum demand of the complete system. The diversity factor is always
less than or equal to 1. The (unofficial) term diversity, as distinguished from diversity factor refers to the
percent of time available that a machine, piece of equipment, or facility has its maximum or nominal load or
demand (i.e., a 70% diversity means that the device in question operates at its nominal or maximum load
level 70% of the time that it is connected and turned on).
Maximum Demand:is the power consumed over a predetermined period of time, which is usually between 8
30 minutes. The most common period of time, in the majority of countries, is 15 minutes. This power is
calculated and billed by a kW demand meter, which records the highest kW value in one 15 minute period,
over a months time.
4B)
Power plants and heat rate, thermal efficiency, capacity factor, load factor, economic efficiency,
operational efficiency, energy efficiency
The performance of a power plant can be expressed through some common performance factors as

heat rate (energy efficiency)

thermal efficiency

capacity factor

load factor

economic efficiency

operational efficiency

Heat Rate (Energy Efficiency)

Overall thermal performance or energy efficiency for a power plant for a period can be defined as
hr = H / E

(1)

where
hr = heat rate (Btu/kWh, kJ/kWh)
H = heat supplied to the power plant for a period (Btu, kJ)
E = energy output from the power plant in the period (kWh)
Thermal Efficiency
Thermal efficiency of a power plant can be expressed as
te = (100) (3412.75 Btu/kWh) /

(2)

where
te = thermal efficiency (%)

1 kWh = 3412.75 Btu

Capacity Factor
The capacity factor for a power plant is the ratio between average load and rated load for a period of time
and can be expressed as
cf = (100) Pal / Prl

(3)

where
cf = capacity factor (%)
Pal = average load for the power plant for a period (kW)
Prl = rated capacity for the power plant (kW)
Load Factor
Load factor for a power plant is the ratio between average load and peak load and can be expressed as
lf = (100) Pal / Ppl

(4)

where
lf = load factor (%)
Ppl = peak load for the power plant in the period (kW)
Economic Efficiency
Economic efficiency is the ratio between production costs, including fuel, labor, materials and services, and
energy output from the power plant for a period of time. Economic efficiency can be expressed as
ee = C / E

(5)

where
ee = economic efficiency (cents/kW, euro/kW, ...)
C = production costs for a period (cents, euro, ..)
E = energy output from the power plant in the period (kWh)
Operational Efficiency
Operational efficiency is the ratio of the total electricity produced by the plant during a period of time
compared to the total potential electricity that could have been produced if the plant operated at 100
percent in the period.
Operational efficiency can be expressed as
oe = (100) E / E100%

(6)

where
eo = operational efficiency (%)
E = energy output from the power plant in the period (kWh)
E100% = potential energy output from the power plant operated at 100% in the period (kWh)