Pressurized Water Reactor

From Citizendium
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.
This article is a stub and thus not approved.
Main Article
Discussion
Related Articles  [?]
Bibliography  [?]
External Links  [?]
Citable Version  [?]
 
This editable Main Article is under development and subject to a disclaimer.

A Pressurized Water Reactor is a type nuclear power reactor in which the heat of fission affects water in a primary loop, which is piped to a heat exchanger that generates steam in a secondary loop that drives the turbine; water in the primary but not the secondary loop is radioactive. While it is larger and more mechanically complex than a Boiling Water Reactor, it is easier to maintain because the turbines and associated equipment do not become radioactive.