Nuclear Engineering Commons^™

The Challenges And Implications For Energy Education, Patrick A. Tebbe

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Department Publications

In March 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan was hit by twin natural disasters of a 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami more than 10 meters high. The combination forced a shut down of the reactor and severed externally provided power. Backup generators and batteries, which at first functioned normally, were swamped and disabled by the tsunami waters. The subsequent loss of reactor core cooling led to rising temperatures that ultimately resulted in a partial melting of the fuel rods and several hydrogen explosions (produced by a steam-zirconium reaction). Eventually, the situation was brought under control, but not …