An industrial visit to Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS), located in Tarapur, Maharashtra.
An Industrial Visit
On March 3, 2020, I visited the Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS), located in Tarapur, Maharashtra, on behalf of my college. The visit started with a 2 hours 30 minutes presentation on Nuclear Technology & TAPS at the Nuclear Training Centre (NTC). The presentation covered various safety aspects of the nuclear power plants (NPPs), keeping in mind the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) guidelines, their emergency preparedness and the benefits of nuclear power. It was also highlighted in the presentation that radiation received from NPPs, by the people residing in the vicinity, is insignificant in comparison to the natural background radiation. On this occasion, a film on Tarapur, telecast by National Geographic Channel was also screened to us.
A nuclear reactor is a source of heat, which is a produced by a self sustained and controlled chain reaction within the reactor core. The geometrical boundaries within which the nuclear fuel, the moderator, the coolant and the control rods are arranged to facilitate production and control of nuclear reaction to provide heat at desired level is called the reactor core.
The chain reaction taking place inside a nuclear reactor is as follows :
U235 + n ==> Ba144 + Kr90 + 2n + 215 MeV
U235 + n ==> Ba141 + Kr92 + 3n + 177 MeV
We first visited the Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS), the unique features of this plant were a 220 KV and a 400 KV gas-insulated indoor switchyard (GIS), of which the 400 KV one is used for the power evacuation system. Also, the introduction of a generator circuit breaker between the generator and the GT system divides the system into two independent EMTRs for both divisions.
We next visited the Control Room. In the control room, we were explained the functionality of a control room as well as its importance. We were briefed about the entire process of electricity generation, controlling parameter and high level security. We learned about all the parameters i.e. the reactor core temperature, fuel filling mechanism, pressure, power generation etc. on different panels.
Lastly, we visited the Turbine Room, on the seventh floor. Since the turbines were extremely noisy, we were given helmets attached with earmuffs for our own safety. The turbine room consisted of 2 LP and 1 HP turbine along with one generator and one exciter. The awesomeness of this room is evident in the pictures below.
