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Introduction to CANDU

Nuclear Engineering Concepts

(by W.Garland)

In the following, we look at CANDU from the top down, i.e. starting with the big picture and work our way into the systems and subsystems of CANDU to gain an understanding of how they are designed and why they are designed that way. This is obviously a work in progress that will evolve from a working outline.

General

Overview

  • Introduction (pdf 62kb, 8 pages)- covering the following topics:
    • The social context - Why we need nuclear power.
    • A look at the Nuclear Reactor in a Nutshell - a quick overview to provide some context for the details.
    • The engineering approach - CANDUs are engineered systems, typified by functional decomposition and piecewise refinement, which leads to functional requirements.
    • The various types of reactors - a quick overview of CANDU vs PWR vs BWR vs ...
  • Reactor Type Selection - (pdf 27kb, 5 pages) - The fundamental decision to use natural uranium and heavy water set the CANDU reactor on quite a separate course compared to the PWR design. Some of the key characteristics, such as diffusion length and neutron lifetime, determine key design features such as core size, the use of pressure tube vs pressure vessel, refuelling method, rod worth, possible reactivity insertions under accident conditions, reactivity coefficients of temp and void, and transient response.
  • "CANDU origins and Evolution", paper in 5 parts, by Gordon L.Brooks and John S. Foster, CTTD-0003;
    • Part 1 of 5 - "An Overview of the Early CANDU Program, Prepared from information provided by John S. Foster", by John S. Foster and Gordon L. Brooks, 2001 February, Doc# 20010301 (pdf 136Kb). Summary: While the name 'CANDU' was not adopted until the 1960's, the CANDU program can be considered to have started in early 1954. At that time, a team, called the Nuclear Power Group, was established to undertake studies intended to identify a potential Canadian nuclear power system. While the team operated under the auspices of AECL and was located in Building 456 at AECL's Chalk River Laboratory, its membership was drawn from a cross-section of Canadian utility and industrial organizations supported, as required, with "nuclear" expertise provided by AECL staff.
    • Part 2 of 5 - "Why CANDU", prepared by Gordon L. Brooks, 2001 February, Doc#20010302 (pdf 99Kb). Summary: This monograph is intended to answer, in simple terms, the question of "Why CANDU"; that is, why the CANDU nuclear power reactor is the way it is and why it differs from other commercially developed nuclear power reactors, particularly the light water type of reactors originally developed in the United States and now used in many countries.
    • Part 3 of 5 - "Figure of 8", prepared by Gordon L. Brooks, 2001 February, with note added by Daniel Meneley discussing the Darlington and CANDU 9 heat transport system, Doc#20010303 (pdf 115Kb). Summary: This monograph discusses the origins and early evolution of the basic "figure of 8" heat transport system arrangement that has been employed in most CANDU reactors to date.
    • Part 4 of 5 - "Emergency Core Cooling System", prepared by Gordon L. Brooks, 2001 February, Doc#20010304, (pdf 40Kb). Summary: This monograph discusses the origins and evolution of the emergency core cooling systems provided for CANDU reactors.
    • Part 5 of 5 - "The Origin and Evolution of the Second Shutdown System ", prepared by Gordon L. Brooks, 2001 February, Doc#20010305, (pdf 45Kb). Summary: The historical origins of the second shutdown system, as applied to Bruce-A and all subsequent CANDU reactors, are discussed in two parts. The first deals with the evolution of licensing requirements for a second shutdown system and the second deals with the origins of the fast liquid poison injection system chosen for the second shutdown system.

Mathematics

Reactor Physics

Thermalhydraulics

Heat and Thermodynamics

Chemistry and Corrosion

Materials

Mechanical

Safety

 

Electrical, Instrumentation & Control

Generic Design Issues - to come

  • Mechanical
  • Chemistry and Corrosion
  • Metallurgy
  • ...

Component Design Details - to come...

  • Pumps
  • Valves
  • ...

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