Why did they want the fuel rods to be covered in water?

The water is needed to cool the spent fuel rods, which continue to generate significant heat for years after being removed from the reactor core due to their radioactivity. As long as the water, even though boiling, continues to cover the fuel rods it protects them from damage.

Why are spent fuel rods kept in large pools?

Spent fuel pools lined with stainless steel are designed to protect against a substantial loss of the water that cools the fuel. Pipes typically enter the pool above the level of the stored fuel, so that the fuel would stay covered even if there were a problem with one of the pipes.

Is water used to cool nuclear rods radioactive?

Water is a vital tool for all nuclear power stations: it’s used to cool their heat-generating radioactive cores. During the cooling process, the water becomes contaminated with radionuclides – unstable atoms with excess energy – and must be filtered to remove as many radionuclides as possible.

What happens nuclear fuel rods?

When fuel rods in a nuclear reactor are “spent,” or no longer usable, they are removed from the reactor core and replaced with fresh fuel rods. The fuel assemblies, which consist of dozens to hundreds of fuel rods each, are moved to pools of water to cool.

What do fuel rods do in a nuclear reactor?

The purpose of the fuel rod is to keep the fuel in a well-defined geometry and to provide the first barrier separating the fission products from the environment. Preserving its integrity is therefore the primary goal of fuel design and rules for reactor operation.

How are nuclear fuel rods cooled?

The fuel assemblies, which consist of dozens to hundreds of fuel rods each, are moved to pools of water to cool. They are kept on racks in the pool, submerged in more than twenty feet of water, and water is continuously circulated to draw heat away from the rods and keep them at a safe temperature.

How are nuclear power plants cooled?

Most nuclear power (and other thermal) plants with recirculating cooling are cooled by water in a condenser circuit with the hot water then going to a cooling tower. This may employ either natural draft (chimney effect) or mechanical draft using large fans (enabling a much lower profile but using power*).

What is used as a fuel in nuclear power plants?

Uranium is the most widely used fuel by nuclear power plants for nuclear fission. Nuclear power plants use a certain type of uranium—U-235—as fuel because its atoms are easily split apart.

What do nuclear power plants use as a fuel source where is this fuel source obtained Site 1?

The fuel source that nuclear power plants use is called uranium. They obtain this fuel source is mined from the western United States. How is the heat given off during nuclear fission used? The heat produced during nuclear fission in the reactor core is used to boil water into steam, which turns the turbine blades.