One problem for civilian nuclear energy is the creation of long-lived radioactive wastes. Explain why they are created and why they are a problem
What will be an ideal response?
The fuel of the reactor is uranium-235, which fissions. Because high-Z nuclei
have more neutrons per proton than low-Z nuclei, the fission products are normally neutron
rich compared to "normal" versions of the atom. Because of this, they are generally more
unstable, and radioactive decay is a process that leads to increased stability. Many will be
radioactive.
They are a problem because they can be dangerous from their thermal output as well as
from their radioactivity. They can be reprocessed to obtain useful isotopes, or the wastes can
be sequestered (the usual choice). The Yucca Mountain facility is to be the official
repository for civilian nuclear wastes (such as those from power plants).
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A horizontal shell-and-tube heat exchanger is used to condense organic vapors. The organic vapors condense on the outside of the tubes, while water is used as the cooling medium on the inside of the tubes. The condenser tubes are 1.9-cm-O.D., 1.6-cm-ID copper tubes, 2.4 m in length. There are a total of 768 tubes. The water makes four passes through the exchanger. Test data obtained when the unit was first placed into service are as follows
Water rate = 3700 l/min
Inlet water temperature = 29°C
Outlet water temperature = 49°C
Organic-vapor condensation temperature = 118°C
After 3 months of operation, another test, made under the same conditions as the first (i.e., same water rate and inlet temperature and same condensation temperature) showed that the exit water temperature was 46°C.
(a) What is the tube-side-fluid (water) velocity?
(b) What is the effectiveness, e-NTU, of the exchanger at the time of the first and second test.
(c) Assuming no changes in either the inside transfer coefficient on the condensing
coefficient, negligible shell-side fouling, and no fouling at the time of the first test,
estimate the tube-side fouling coefficient at the time of the second test.
GIVEN
• A shell-and-tube exchanger, organic vapors condensing in shell, water in copper tubes
• Tube diameters
? Do = 1.9 cm = 0.019 m
? Di = 1.6 cm = 0.016 m
• Tube length (L) = 2.4 m
• Number of tubes (N) = 768
• Number of tube passes (Np) =4
• Water flow rate v w= 3700 1/min = 3.7 m3/min
• Water temperatures
? Tw,in = 29°C
? Tw,out = 49°C
• Organic vapor condensation temperature (Tc) = 118°C
• After 3 months: Tw,out = 46°C
FIND
(a) Water velocity (Vw)
(b) The effectiveness (e) at the time of both tests
(c) Fouling coefficient (1/Ri) at the time of the second test
ASSUMPTIONS
• No fouling at the time of the first test
• No change in the inside and outside heat transfer coefficients
• Negligible shell-side fouling
• Length given is the length of one tube - all four passes
SKETCH
PROPERTIES AND CONSTANTS
for water at 40°C
Density (?) = 992 kg/m3 Specific heat (cpw) = 4175 J/(kg K)
Thermal conductivity (k) = 0.633 W/(m K)
Kinematic viscosity (?) = 0.658 × 10–6 m2/s
Prandtl number (Pr) = 4.3
the thermal conductivity of copper (kc) = 392 W/(m K) at 127°C.
The reason that small planets tend to lose interior heat faster than larger planets is essentially the same as the reason that
A) a large baked potato takes longer to cool than a small baked potato. B) gas bubbles form and rise upward in boiling water. C) Earth contains more metal than the Moon. D) thunderstorms tend to form on hot summer days.
A fermion has integral spin
a. True b. False Indicate whether the statement is true or false
A space station in the form of a large wheel, 120 m in diameter, rotates to provide an "artificial gravity" of 3.00 m/s2 for persons located at the outer rim. Find the rotational frequency of the wheel (in revolutions per minute) that will produce this effect