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ABSTRACT
Nuclear marine propulsion is propulsion of a ship powered by a nuclear reactor. A nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear chain reactions are initiated, controlled, and sustained at a steady rate. In a nuclear power reactor, the energy released is used as heat to produced steam. In most naval reactors, steam drives a turbine directly for propulsion.
Keywords: nuclear marine propulsion 1, nuclear reactor 2, naval reactor 3, pressurized water reactor 4
1. NAVAL NUCLEAR PROPULSION PLANT
A nuclear-powered ship is constructed with the nuclear power plant inside a section of the ship called the reactor compartment.
Apart from power generation, nuclear energy is now being used in many ways, propulsion being one of them. For ship propulsion, the primary useful product of nuclear fuel is heat . This heat is obtained from nuclear fuel by fission. The nuclear fission reaction which takes place in the reactor produces heat to convert water into steam, which is used to rum turbines that power the onboard systems and drive the propeller. The reactor used in this process is a pressurized water reactor (PWR). The reactor is surrounded by multiple layers of shielding materials to protect the crew members from the radiation. There are 2 systems present within the reactor unit fig. 1.2:
* The primary system circulates water at high pressure between the reactor and the heat exchanger. The primary system circulates ordinary water and consists of the reactor, piping loops, pumps and steam generators. The heat produced in the reactor is transferred to the water under high pressure so it does not boil. This water is pumped through the steam generators and back into the reactor for re-heating. In the steam generators, the heat from the water in the primary system is transfened to the secondary system to create steam.
* The secondary system circulates steam which is used to turn the turbines and produce energy. The steam flows from the steam generators to drive the turbine generators, which supply the ship with electricity, and to the main propulsion turbines, which drive the propeller. After passing through the turbines, the steam is condensed into water which is fed back to the steam generators by the feed pumps. The fluids flowing through these...