Overview

In nuclear power plants, water cooling systems are typically used for removing heat (cooling) systems containing potentially radioactive fluids. These water cooling systems are, in turn, then cooled by the ultimate cooling system - river, lake, sea, or ocean water. In some water-cooling systems plant designs, as the Boiling Water Reactor, the system may be divided into subsystems for each building - Turbine Building Component Cooling Water, Reactor Building Component Cooling Water. In other plant designs of water cooling systems, as the Westinghouse Pressurized Water Reactor, the water cooling system may be considered as one regardless of where cooling occurs. 

Component Cooling and Reactor Building Closed Cooling Water Systems 

PWR Component Cooling Water Systems and the BWR Reactor Building Closed Cooling Water (RBCCW) Systems cool heat exchangers for:  

• High Pressure Emergency Makeup Pump Seal Water

• Low Pressure Emergency Makeup Pump Seal Water

• Residual Heat Removal System

• Containment Spray Pump Seal Water

• Letdown or Reactor Water Cleanup

• Reactor Coolant Pump or Recirculation Pump Seal Water

• Spent Fuel Pool

These cooling water systems have separate subsystems, each with:  

one or more pumps for circulating fluid through the watercooling systems

one heat exchanger to transfer heat to the Ultimate water Cooling System

an automatic valve to regulate the heat removed from the Component Cooling or RBCCW system to the Ultimate cooling system.

There is usually a shared tank, called a surge tank, for the redundant sub-systems is used as a makeup supply if there is not enough water in the system, or to handle the surge (increase in level) if there is too much water in the system. 

Turbine Building Closed Cooling Water Systems 

The BWR Turbine Building Closed Cooling Water (TBCCW) Systems cool heat exchangers for:  

1. Feedwater Pump Seal Water

2. Condensate Pump Seal Water

3. Heater Drain Pump Seal Water

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