Mcmaster Nuclear Reactor
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SplittingSplitting Atoms, Canadian Style Dr. Jeremy Whitlock Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. Canadian Nuclear Society 11th Canadian Neutron Scattering Summer School Deep River, May 11ththth, 2011, 2011 IROAOTN IROAOTN HERE BE DRAGONS KLAHC KLAHC RIVER LABS Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) Chalk River Laboratories CCCCAAAANNNNDDDDUUUU The Canadian Reactor oCuldthat oCuldthat and still Can “One of Canada’s top ten engineering achievements of the past century” Canadian engineering centennial, 1987 (Other nine: CPR railway, St. Lawrence seaway, Polymer Corp. synthetic rubber, oil sands, Hydro Quebec etteuolAVHeera emarriob vB trra,saicnmsnrosi e d,lwBtrios tessambn,ianoltel aift, VH satellite, etteuoleeraABombardier snowmobile,vB trra,saicnmsnrosi trans--CanadaCanada aift, telephone network) In the beginning … 14 billion years ago … … the Big Bang fills the universe with hydrogen 0.5 billion years later … … stars and galaxies start to form, creating heavier eelementslements up to iron and nickel – a process called FUSION. Wy?hHH Wy?h Wy?h Wy?h SSEL SSEL ELBAST ELBAST He He Li Li BB eH4 4 eH CC Hg HgRa Ra Lu Lu gM gM Sm Sm OO Ca Ca oM oMeT eT ERMO ERMO FenZ Fe Kr nZ Kr ELBAST ELBASTGRYE”GRYE” NLEO“PTTANEINLEO“PTTANEI 0 0 05 05 1 00100 051 051002 002 GTHIWTE OCMIA Nuclear energy: creator of all elements (Tarantula Nebula) Supernova SN 1987a 4.5 billion years ago … … home.… home. Jumping ahead a few billion years… Nuclear energy still powers our planet 18961896--1898 …1898 … Discovery of radioactivity Nobel Prize in Physics, 1903 (Curies + Becquerel) HHenrienri Becquerel (1852 - 1908) Marie and Pierre Curie (1867 - 1934) (1859 - 1906) 18981898--1907 907 ……1 McGill University Describes radioactivity, half-life Coins “alpha”, “beta”, “gamma” Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1908 1910 …1910 … Nuclear structure of atoms 1919 …1919 … First artificial transmutation: 1144N + 4He 17O + p Ernest Rutherford ((18711871 - 1937) Otto Hahn, 26 yrs. old (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1944) Ernest Rutherford McGill University, 1905 “If it were ever possible to control at will the rate of disintegration of the radio-elements, an enormous amount of energy could be obtained from a small amount of matter” Ernest Rutherford, 1904 1930 …1930 … Gilbert Labine ((18901890 - 1977) Discovery of uranium at Great Bear Lake Port Hope refinery, 1933 1932 …1932 … John Cockroft (1897 - 1967) Ernest Walton (1903 - 1995) Cockroft and Walton’s 1932 accelerator FirstFirst to “split the atom”: 7Li + p 4He + 4He Nobel Prize in Physics: 1951 John Cockroft, Ernest Rutherford, Ernest Walton 1932 …1932 … James Chadwick (1891 - 1974) Discovers the neutron, 1932 Nobel Prize in Physics, 1935 Start of the Neutron Transmutation Bandwagon… England (Rutherford) France (Joliot-Curie) Italy (Fermi) Germany (Meitner, Hahn) UraniumUranium ? 1934: the new frontier ? (Fermi) # protons # HydrogenHydrogen # neutrons “The energy produced by the breaking down of the atom is a very poor kind of thing. Anyone who expects a source of power from the transformation of these atoms is talking moonshine” Sir Ernest Rutherford, 1933 (1871 -1937) 1939 …1939 … January: FISSION! (Hahn, Strassmann, Meitner, Frisch) Berlin, Germany Lise Meitner Otto Hahn Wy?hHH Wy?h Wy?h Wy?h SSEL SSEL ELBAST ELBAST He He 235 235-Uu-anmri Uuanmri Li Li 143 143-Cu-mesi Cumesi BB90 90-u-moirnStt umoirnStt eH4 4 eH CC Hg HgRa Ra Lu Lu gM gM Sm Sm OO Ca Ca oM oMeT eT ERMO ERMO FenZ Fe Kr nZ Kr ELBAST ELBASTGRYE”GRYE” NLEO“PTTANEINLEO“PTTANEI 0 0 05 05 1 00100 051 051002 002 GTHIWTE OCMIA 1939 …1939 … January: FISSION! (Hahn, Strassmann, Meitner, Frisch) September: WAR! (Hitler, Mussolini, Tojo) Berlin, Germany Lise Meitner Otto Hahn 1940 …1940 … Have heavy water, will travel Lew Kowarski Hans von Halban Frédéric Joliot-Curie Paris, France 19411941--42 2 ……4 George Laurence (1905 - 1987) World’s first large-scale fission experiments in graphite (National Research Council) 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa Aug. 17, 1942 … “Okay, let’s go!” C.D. Howe CCdn.dn. Wartime Minister of Munitions & Supply G.C. Laurence, C.D. Howe, C.D. Howe C.J. Mackenzie, J.D. Cockroft (1886 – 1960) Aug., 1945 Dec. 2, 1942 … Enrico Fermi (1901 - 1954) First self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction Nobel Prize in Physics: 1938 Chicago: December 2, 1942 1943 …1943 … “Montreal Group” (NRC, at U. of Montreal) John Cockroft George Laurence 1944 …1944 … Chalk River Laboratories John Cockroft 1945 …1945 … ZEEP: first self-sustaining ffissionission reactor outside the U.S.A. Lew Kowarski Chalk River: September 5, 1945 Canada in 1945: • Second largest nuclear infrastructure on the planet • Atomic bomb knowledge • World experts on heavy-water reactor • Uranium supplies • World’s most powerful research reactor (NRX) under construction … WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE…? Canada’s Choice: Peaceful Applications of Nuclear Energy NRX (1947) NRU (1957) A Mecca for nuclear research 1951 …1951 … COBALT CANCER THERAPY “The Atom Bomb That Saves Lives” Maclean’s Magazine, 1952 UUniversityniversity of Western Ontario University of Saskatchewan FIRST PATIENT: 27 Oct, 1951 FFIRSTIRST PATIENT: 8 Nov, 1951 …1952 …1952 Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. …s1950’ …s1950’ Triple Axis Spectrometer, 1958 Bertram Brockhouse NNobelobel Prize in Physics, 1994 Tandem Accelerator, 1959 eovG Harry ,BrolmlLaihnAet lrleayn, Allan Bromley, d, Harry Liheterlda Gove ndT ed T Dec. 12, 1952 … NRX Accident Partial meltdown of core Demonstrated that a major reactor accident need not be a disaster Taught many lessons about reactor safety, and made Canada world leader in this area George Laurence: 1956: Chair of Reactor Safety Advisory Committee 1961-1970: 2nd President of Atomic Energy Control Board 1957 …1957 … International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Canada instrumental in establishing IAEA Follows Eisenhower’s 1953 “Atoms for Peace” speech 1957 …1957 … National Research UUniversalniversal (NRU) • Neutron beams • Fuel development • Materials irradiation • Isotope production 1959 …1959 … McMaster Nuclear Reactor • Neutron beams • Isotope production • Education 1962 …1962 … Nuclear Power Demonstration RRolphton,olphton, Ontario: June 4, 1962 Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. Ontario Hydro-Electric Power Commission Canadian General Electric Wilfrid Bennett (W.B.) Lewis (1908(1908 - 1987) • ChalkChalk River’s scientific leader, 1946-1973 • The driving force behind the application of nuclear science to electricity production. • Canada decides to build its program on its attained expertise: :Lews:i B..WLewsi B..W u ruai-nmurauantl- ranium fuel rauantl-ehya-v and ehyav““FatherFather of CANDUCANDU”” waetrw moderator. aetr AECL and Power Plant Design •1958:1958:11958: 958:1958: AECL creates Nuclear Power Plant Division in Toronto, later moves to Mississauga (Later renamed Power Projects, then Engineering Company, then AECL CANDU, then AECL Sheridan Park), then … •11966: 966:1966: First plant project of Power Division starts up (“first critical”): Douglas Point Douglas Point Pickering, Ontario (1971-73, 1983-86) Darlington, Ontario (1990-93) Nuclear Power Demonstration (NPD), Ontario (1962) Bruce, Ontario (1977-79, 1985-87) CANDU in Douglas Point, Canada Ontario (1966) Gentilly 1 and 2, Quebec (1971, 1983) Pt. Lepreau, New Brunswick (1983) Wolsong, South Korea (1982, 1997-99) Embalse, Argentina (1984) Qinshan, China (2002-03) Cernavoda, Romania CANDU (1996, 2007, …?) around the world Kanupp, Pakistan (1972) Rajasthan, India (1973, 1982) CANDU:CANDU: “CANada Deuterium Uranium” Nuclear fission “Fast” amuUrin amuUrin Neutrons “Slow” 235 235 Neutron <1 eV ~~10103 m/s >1 MeV taHe taHe Fission ~107 m/s Products What does heavy water do?do? Heavy WaterHeavy Water Fast Slow Neutrons Neutrons Uranium 235 Fission Products CONTROL RODS URANIUM HEAVY WATER (coolant) FUEL HEAVY WATER (moderator) aClrdiana” a“Clrdiana ellPetsOU22 OU eFluellPets eFlu Fuel Pellet: 10 of these provide one home’s electricity for a year Nuclear Fossil -iStrtee: SaogCANDU -nOeFlu Spent nO-eFluSite Storage: tUeD-npSNAC ) s rtyda(reebhmsfilled baysl-lfi tare-w (short term) tarew -iStrtee: SaogCANDU -nOeFlu Spent nO-eFluSite Storage: tUeD-npSNAC der erstkcleModular nn-oe uoo)ccgbntore(ml above dnrurgo-iacooled concrete bunkers dn-rurgoia (long term) -evobara luMdo eFlu One -eFluProposal saloUDrpt for CANDU oe-NnACep Spent rPfSno O te:nemMaganerTerm m-T Management: -gnLo gnLo tne melcaaclipgomle-oeggeological emplacement -peed peed CANDU Safety 1.1. BuildBuild a robust system (tolerant of mechanical failure or human error), and operate with highlyhighly--trainedtrained personnel, butbut:: 2.2. Assume that accidents will happen; 3.3. Build systems to prevent and control them, with multiple backups; 4.4. Test these systems frequently; 5.5. Improve these systems based on operational experience. CANDU Safety t”pehD t”peh-D-ni n-i-efsene“D esfene“D 1.1. RobustRobust fuel coepanum-troitefdwnlcesuesatemperature, ceramic rapct fuel containsstmec ura waste reti,high- products high 2.2. 2 independent reactor control systems 3.3. 3 independent ways to shut down reactor es)facontrol e-s)fasss2co system + 2 shutdowne+ronmlytth systems ssduaot (fail ie(fwmlytn- s 4.4. Many independent ways to cool reactor main cooling, auxiliary cooling, shutdown cooling, emergency water system, emergency core cooling system, plus 2 large sources of water around core (prevents core melt) 5.5. Containment mhitck5presneere 1 . gcoiwsianoniatv –mhitck5 ecrercef-tgl,td 1 . presneere h7l0u gcoi–wsianoniatv t . sre, leak- ecrerceftgl,td leak h7l0u t . sre, 6.6. Exclusion zone + environmental monitoring CANDU