Converter Reactors With a Thermal Neutron Spectrum

Abstract

Nuclear power generation is currently mainly based on light water reactors, designed as pressurized water reactors and boiling water reactors. These are built by a number of manufacturers in various countries of the world. In this chapter, the standard German PWR of 1,300 MW(e) and the European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR) will be described. In addition, the chapter deals with the German Standard BWR of 1,280 MW(e) and the newer design SWR-1,000 (KERENA). Gas cooled and graphite moderated commercial reactors with natural uranium were developed in the United Kingdom and in France and built in the 1950s and 1960s (MAGNOX reactors). Advanced gas cooled reactors (AGCRs) with graphite as moderator and carbon dioxide as coolant gas have been built in unit sizes up to 620 MW(e). High temperature gas cooled reactors with gas outlet temperature of 700-740°C use helium as a coolant gas. Their fuel elements have been developed as prismatic or spherical pebble fuel elements. High temperature gas cooled reactors with medium enriched uranium are now designed mainly as small modular reactors for safety reasons. Power reactors with heavy water as the moderator and heavy water or light water as coolant have been developed in Canada, Europe and Japan up to unit sizes of 630 MW(e). The advanced CANDU reactor (ACR) is developed currently to a unit size of up to 1,000 MW(e). Homogeneous core thermal breeders with molten salt and light water breeder reactors together with accelerator driven subcritical reactor cores are still in the design or development phase. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012.