SSC General Science & Technology Science and Technology Notes - Nuclear Technology

 

Nuclear Technology

 

·                     India?s journey to atomic energy research started with the establishment of the Atomic Energy Commission on 10 August 1948, under the chairmanship of Dr. Homi J. Bhabha. Subsequently, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was established in 1954 for implementation of atomic energy programmes.

·                     Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) was established in 1957 at Trombay (Maharashtra). It is India's largest atomic research Centre. Apsara (India's first atomic nuclear reactor include) is located here.

·                     BARC's research centres: Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (Kolkata), High Altitude Research Lab (Gulmarg), Nuclear Research Lab (Kashmir) and Seismic Station (Gauribidanur, Karnataka).

·                     Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research was established in 1971 and is located at Kalpakkam (Chennai). The centre carries out research and development of indigenous technology of sodium cooled fast breeder reactors.

·                     Centre for Advanced Technology (CAT) was established in 1984 and is located at Indore. The centre carries out research and development of high technology in fields like lasers, fusion and acceleration.

·                     Pokhran Tests: India has so far conducted 6 nuclear test explosions. The first nuclear explosion was conducted on 18 May 1974 at Pokhran in Rajasthan. The others were conducted on 11 and 13 May 1998 at Pokhran range only.

 

Nuclear Power Stations
Nuclear Power Stations	Location	Units	Capacity
Tarapur	Maharashtra	4	1400 Mwe
Kalpakkam	Tamil Nadu	2	440 Mwe
Rawatbhata	Rajasthan	6	1180 Mwe
Narota	Uttar Pradesh	2	440 Mwe
Kaiga	Karnataka	4	880 Mwe
Kakrapur	Gujarat	2	440 Mwe
Kundankulam	Tamil Nadu	2*	2000 Mwe
* Of the seven atomic power stations, Tarapur is the oldest and the biggest. Tarapur alone has two boiling water reactors whereas all others have pressurised heavy water reactors.
* One out of two reactors has reached its milestone of 1000 MWe power generation in June, 2014.
* A new proposed 9900 MW nuclear power project is coming up at Jaitapur at Madban village of Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra. The power project will be the largest in the world in terms of net electrical power. For details, see Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project in GK's topic, environment section.

 

List of Nuclear Research Centers in India
Research Center	Place
Atomic Energy Commission	Mumbai
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre	Trombay (Mumbai)
Electronics Corporation of India	Hyderabad
High Altitude Research Laboratory	Gulmarg (Kashmir)
Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute	Durgapur (West Bengal)
Central Institute of Mining And Fuel Research	Dhanbad (Bihar)
Indian Rare Earths, Ltd	Mumbai
Radio Astronomy Centre	Ooty
Saha Institute of nuclear Physics	Kolkata
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research	Mumbai
Tata Memorial Centre	Mumbai
Uranium Corporation of India	Jaduguda (Jharkhand)

 

Institution under the Department of Atomic Energy
S. No.	Institution	Location
1	Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR)	Mumbai
2	Tata memorial Centre (TMC)	Mumbai
3	Saha institute of nuclear Physics (SINP)	Kolkata
4	Institute of Physics (LOP)	Bhubaneswar
5	Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc)	Chennai
6	Harish Chandra Research Institute (HRI)	Allahabad
7	Institute for Plasma Research (IPR)	Gandhinagar
8	National Institute of science, Education and Research (NSER)	Bhubaneswar
9	Atomic Energy Education Society (AEES)	Mumbai
10	Homi Bhabha National Institute	Mumbai
11	Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences	Mumbai
12	National Board for Higher Mathematics	Chennai

 

Milestones in Indian Atomic Energy Programme

The major events of Indian nuclear programmes are as follows:

·         1948: Establishment of Atomic Energy Commission

·         1954: Department of Atomic Energy created

·         1956: Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)

·         1957: APSARA was commissioned

·         1960: CIRUS was commissioned

·         1961: ZERLINA was commissioned

·         1968: Nuclear Fuel Complex

·         1969: Tarapur Power Station

·         1971: The Reactor Research Centre, Kalpakkam

·         1973: Rajasthan Atomic Power Station

·         18 May 1974: Pokhran I

·         1982: Reprocessing Plant at Tarapur

·         1984: Mixed fuel for FBTR

·         1984: Atomic Energy Regulatory Board

·         1985: Waste Immobilisation Plant at Tarapur

·         1985: DHRUVA Reactor

·         1987: Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL)

·         1996: Reprocessing Plant at Kalpakkam

·         1996: KAMINI Reactor

·         11 and 13 May 1998: Pokhran II

·         2003: 500 MWe prototype fast breeder reactor's site excavation work commenced at Kalpakkam.

·         6 March 2005: India's first 540 MWe Nuclear Power Plant achieved "criticality" at Tarapur.

·         2005: India is admitted to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) venture. Other parties in this venture were China, European Union, Japan, South Korea and United States.

·         2005: Centre for Advanced Technology (CAT) Indore, dedicated in the memory of Dr. Raja Ramanna, was renamed as Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT).

·         2006: The 540 MWe, Unit 3 of Tarapur Atomic Power Project (TAPP - 3) attained criticality.

·         2006: APSARA, the first nuclear research reactor in the entire Asia completed fifty years.

·         2007: Unit 3 of the 220 MWe Kaiga Atomic Power Project in North Karnataka attained criticality. This was achieved in less than five years of the first pour of concrete been done in March 2002.

·         2008: Low power critical facility at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) attained first criticality.

·         30 September 2008: India and France signed agreement on cooperation for peaceful use of nuclear energy.

·         11 November 2009: Unit 5 of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) achieved first criticality.

·         22 December 2009: Unit 5 of RAPS synchronised to grid.

·         23 January 2010: Unit 6 of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station achieved first criticality.

·         11 February 2010: India and United Kingdom signed joint declaration on nuclear cooperation.

·         12 March 2010: India and Russia agreed on a roadmap for construction of reactors of Russian design in India.

·         28 March 2010: Unit 6 of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station synchronised to grid.

·         29 March 2010: India and USA completed negotiations on "arrangements and procedures" for reprocessing U.S. obligated spent nuclear fuel.

·         31 March 2010: Unit 6 of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station commenced commercial operations.

·         27 November 2010: Unit 4 of Kaiga achieved first criticality.

·         7 December 2010: India and France signed agreement for fuel supply.

·         9 January 2011: Unit 4 of Kaiga synchronised to grid.