Which of the following fluids can function effectively as a reactor coolant________________?
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Answer: A. light or heavy water
Explanation
Light water and heavy water both possess excellent neutron moderating and heat transfer properties. Water circulates effectively through reactor cores absorbing fission heat with high specific heat capacity. This makes aqueous fluids ideal choices for functioning as primary reactor coolants. Reactor coolants must possess high thermal conductivity and low parasitic neutron absorption cross-sections. Light water contains ordinary hydrogen while heavy water contains deuterium isotopes. Water coolant systems are well-established in commercial nuclear power generation infrastructure.
Pressurized and boiling water reactors rely entirely on light water as coolant and moderator. CANDU nuclear reactors utilize heavy water to enable natural uranium fuel operation. Coolant selection governs overall thermal hydraulic design parameters in nuclear power plants. Molten lead is used in specialized fast reactors rather than standard water-cooled systems. Carbon dioxide is a gas coolant rather than a liquid water reactor coolant fluid. Freon and carbon tetrachloride are unsuitable for high-temperature nuclear reactor coolant environments.
- Subject
- Engineering
- Category
- Mechanical Engineering
- Topic
- —
- Difficulty
- medium
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