Calculating the Net Force of Bruce Nuclear Development

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on calculating the net force acting on the vacuum building of the Bruce Nuclear Development, a CANDU reactor. The building dimensions are 51 m tall, 0.914 m thick, and 52.1 m in diameter, with external pressure at 90 kPa and internal pressure at 10.3 kPa. The correct approach involves calculating the surface areas of both the inside and outside of the cylindrical structure and applying the formula F = P x A to find the forces, followed by subtracting the internal force from the external force to determine the net force.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of pressure calculations in physics
  • Familiarity with the formula F = P x A
  • Knowledge of cylindrical geometry for surface area calculations
  • Basic principles of fluid dynamics related to pressure differentials
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  • Study the principles of pressure differentials in fluid mechanics
  • Explore the implications of vacuum systems in nuclear reactor safety
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Engineering students, nuclear safety analysts, and professionals involved in reactor design and safety assessments will benefit from this discussion.

mr.toronto
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Homework Statement


The Bruce Nuclear Development is a CANDU style reactor. This means that it has a "vaccum building" to "suck" (the contents of a malfunction reactor to a safer place. Refer to the engineering "specs" for the needed information to calculate the net force of the atmposhere acting on the building.

Dimensions of building- 51.m tall .914m thick and 52.1m diameter
Pressure- 90kpa outside of building and 10.3 kpa inside of the build

Homework Equations


mother formula-P= F/A
F= PxA


The Attempt at a Solution


so I'm guessing you add the to pressures you have so it would be 100.3 kpa

surface are of building-51mx52.1mx.914m=2 428.5 m squared

2428.5m x 100.3kpa=
2428.5 x 100 000=242 858 94 0N
 
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Well, if you were finding the pressure difference, you'd need to subtract, not add. However it's not as simple as that since the internal area and external area of the building are not the same due to the thickness of the walls.

It sounds like this building is a cylinder, but you've taken the measurements to be the length/width/depth and calculated what the volume would be in this case.

Have a think about how to calculate the area of the inside and outside of the building. Then use the respective pressures to calculate the forces on the inside and outside. After that, it's just a subraction.
 

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