Subject : Power Plant Engineering

Topic: Chap 5- Nuclear Power Plants

Difficulty: Medium

1. The cost of heavy water is extremely high (Rs. 300/kg).
2. The leakage is a major problem as there are two mechanically sealed closures per fuel channel. Canadian designs generally are based or recovering high proportion of heavy water leakages as absolute leak-tightness cannot be assured.
3. Very high standard of design, manufacture inspection and maintenance are required
4. The power density is considerably low (9.7 kW/litre) compared with PWR and BWR, therefore, the reactor size is extremely large