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In nuclear reactor: PWRs and BWRs
…are two basic types: the pressurized-water reactor (PWR) and the boiling-water reactor (BWR). In the PWR, water at high pressure and temperature removes heat from the core and is transported to a steam generator. There the heat from the primary loop is transferred to a lower-pressure secondary loop also containing…
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In nuclear engineering: Navy nuclear propulsion
…ships are similar to commercial pressurized-water reactors, except they are smaller and more rugged in order to withstand battle conditions such as torpedoes or depth charges or extreme loads such as the catapulting of jets off a carrier deck. Many of the functions carried out by nuclear engineers in working…
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In nuclear power: World nuclear power
…types of power reactors are pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and boiling water reactors (BWRs), both of which are categorized as light water reactors (LWRs) because they use ordinary (light) water as a moderator and coolant. LWRs make up more than 80 percent of the world’s nuclear reactors, and more than…
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In nuclear reactor: Ship-propulsion reactors
…powered by reactors of the pressurized-water type.
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In nuclear reactor: History of reactor development
…Westinghouse Advanced Plant 1000 (AP1000) pressurized water reactor. In the AP1000 design, in the event of a complete loss of electrical power (including emergency backup generators), control rods would drop into the reactor core, immediately stopping the nuclear chain reaction, and continuing decay heat would be transferred out of the…
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In nuclear reactor: From production reactors to commercial power reactors
…liquid-metal reactor, or LMR), the pressurized-water reactor (PWR), and the boiling-water reactor (BWR).
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In nuclear reactor: Growth of nuclear programs
The PWR fleet developed by the French nuclear industry eventually succeeded in producing more than three-quarters of the country’s electric power. Toward the end of the century, several European reactor vendors, including France’s Areva and Germany’s Siemens, produced an advanced Generation III PWR design known as…
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In submarine: Reactors
…types of marine nuclear reactor: pressurized-water, natural-circulation, and liquid-metal.
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