Mass of the fuel consumed at the reactor each year?

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SUMMARY

The discussion revolves around calculating the annual mass of fuel consumed in a nuclear power plant generating 100 MWe using a Rankine cycle. The plant operates with a steam temperature of 350°C and a condenser outlet temperature of 20°C, achieving 90% of its maximum theoretical efficiency and a generator efficiency of 98%. Given that the reactor is enriched to 3% U-235 and considering that 15% of neutron collisions do not result in fission, precise calculations are required to determine the fuel mass consumed annually.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Rankine cycle thermodynamics
  • Knowledge of nuclear fission processes, specifically U-235
  • Familiarity with efficiency calculations in power generation
  • Basic principles of neutron interactions in nuclear reactions
NEXT STEPS
  • Calculate the maximum theoretical efficiency of the Rankine cycle
  • Learn about the energy released per fission of U-235
  • Research neutron collision probabilities and their impact on fission rates
  • Explore methods for calculating mass-energy equivalence in nuclear reactions
USEFUL FOR

Physicists, nuclear engineers, and energy analysts seeking to understand fuel consumption in nuclear reactors and improve efficiency calculations in power generation systems.

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Homework Statement
Mass of the fuel consumed at the reactor each year.
Relevant Equations
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Hi fellows. I am dealing with the following question and any help to solve it will be a huge favor.
Let us consider a nuclear power plant which delivers 100 MWe. The plant is based on a Rankine cycle, where the steam exiting the reactor is at 350 C and water exits the condenser at 20 C. The efficiency of the cycle is 90% of its maximum theoretical efficiency and the efficiency of the generator is 98%.
What is the mass of the fuel consumed at the reactor each year if the reactor is enriched to 3% U-235 (i.e. 3% of the fuel is U-235)? Assume the energy generation is due to solely U-235 fission. Take into account that 15% of collisions with neutrons do not yield fission.
 
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Actually, this is not a homework, this is a question asked to me. I am a physicist withouth enough experience in this topic. This is why I posted here. Since I never used the homework topic in here, please forgive me for any unconvinience. It is OK if the administratives would like to delete the post. Thanks for the reply and your time.

Best.
 

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