Even when shut down after a period of normal use,a large commercial nuclear reactor transfers thermal energyat the rate of 150 MW by the radioactive decay of fissionproducts. This heat transfer causes a rapid increase intemperature if the cooling system fails 1 watt = 1 joule/second or 1 W = 1 J/s and 1MW = 1 megawatt . (a) Calculate the rate oftemperature increase in degrees Celsius per second (°C/s)if the mass of the reactor core is 1.60 × 105kg and ithas an average specific heat of 0.3349 kJ/kg · °C . (b) Howlong would it take to obtain a temperature increase of2000 °C , which could cause some metals holding theradioactive materials to melt? (The initial rate oftemperature increase would be greater than that calculatedhere because the heat transfer is concentrated in a smallermass. Later, however, the temperature increase would slowdown because the 500,000-kg steel containment vesselwould also begin to heat up.)
Even when shut down after a period of normal use,
a large commercial nuclear reactor transfers thermal energy
at the rate of 150 MW by the radioactive decay of fission
products. This
temperature if the cooling system fails 1 watt = 1 joule/second or 1 W = 1 J/s and 1MW = 1 megawatt . (a) Calculate the rate of
temperature increase in degrees Celsius per second (°C/s)
if the mass of the reactor core is 1.60 × 105
kg and it
has an average specific heat of 0.3349 kJ/kg · °C . (b) How
long would it take to obtain a temperature increase of
2000 °C , which could cause some metals holding the
radioactive materials to melt? (The initial rate of
temperature increase would be greater than that calculated
here because the heat transfer is concentrated in a smaller
mass. Later, however, the temperature increase would slow
down because the 500,000-kg steel containment vessel
would also begin to heat up.)
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