Proceedings of the symposium on current trends in water chemistry of nuclear and thermal power plants and other related units

Majority of the operating nuclear power plants in the world are water cooled; here, apart from the above function, light or heavy water also serves as a moderator and primary heat transport medium to slow down the fission neutrons as well as to transport the nuclear heat to the steam generator. Understanding of its chemical interactions with the constructional materials of the system - mainly metal alloys, coming in contact with the water, is of great importance. Such interactions, generally referred to as corrosion, affect the integrity as well as the heat transfer characteristics of the metal alloy pipe carrying the water. In the case of the water cooled nuclear power reactors, they are also responsible for transport of radioactivity and its deposition on out-of-core surfaces causing man-rem problems. Such interactions are a complex function of several parameters, such as the pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen and other constituents in the water -collectively referred to as water chemistry. Hence trouble free operation of all plants, and more particularly nuclear power reactors, requires great attention towards water chemistry control. The Proceedings of the Symposium on Current Trends in Water Chemistry of Nuclear and Thermal Power Plants and Other Related Units contains the text of the papers presented during the symposium held at Bombay during February 13-16, 1995. Papers relevant to INIS are indexed separately for inclusion in the database. (author)