The A4W reactor is a naval reactor used by the United States Navy to propel warships and generate onboard electricity.
The A4W designation stands for:
These nuclear fission pressurized water reactors (PWRs) were jointly designed by Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory and Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory [1] [ failed verification ] and built by Westinghouse Electric Company. Their reactor cores are expected to operate for about 25 years before refueling is required. [1] The only ships to use these nuclear reactors are the Nimitz-class supercarriers, which have two reactors rated at 550 MWth each. These generate enough steam to produce 140,000 shaft horsepower (104 MW) for each pair of the ship's four shafts [2] – two per propulsion plant – plus approximately 100 MW of electricity.[ citation needed ]
United States naval reactors are nuclear reactors used by the United States Navy aboard certain ships to generate the steam used to produce power for propulsion, electric power, catapulting airplanes in aircraft carriers, and a few more minor uses. Such naval nuclear reactors have a complete power plant associated with them. All commissioned U.S. Navy submarines and supercarriers built since 1975 are nuclear powered, with the last conventional carrier, USS Kitty Hawk, being decommissioned in May 2009. The U.S. Navy also had nine nuclear-powered cruisers with such reactors, but they have since been decommissioned as well.
The Nimitz class is a class of ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the United States Navy. The lead ship of the class is named after World War II United States Pacific Fleet commander Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who was the last living U.S. Navy officer to hold the rank. With an overall length of 1,092 ft (333 m) and a full-load displacement of over 100,000 long tons (100,000 t), the Nimitz-class ships were the largest warships built and in service until USS Gerald R. Ford entered the fleet in 2017.
The A2W reactor is a naval nuclear reactor used by the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion on warships. The A2W designation stands for:
The S3G reactor is a naval reactor used by the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion on warships. The S3G designation stands for:
The A3W reactor was a naval reactor used by the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion on warships. Like all operational U.S. naval reactors it was a pressurized water reactor (PWR) design. The A3W designation stands for:
The S6G reactor is a naval reactor used by the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion on Los Angeles-class attack submarines. The S6G designation stands for:
The Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are currently being constructed for the United States Navy, which intends to eventually acquire ten of these ships in order to replace current carriers on a one-for-one basis, starting with the lead ship of her class, Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), replacing Enterprise (CVN-65), and later the Nimitz-class carriers. The new vessels have a hull similar to the Nimitz class, but they carry technologies since developed with the CVN(X)/CVN-21 program, such as the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), as well as other design features intended to improve efficiency and reduce operating costs, including sailing with smaller crews. This class of aircraft carriers is named after former U.S. President Gerald R. Ford. CVN-78 was procured in 2008 and commissioned into service on 22 July 2017. The second ship of the class, John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), is scheduled to enter service in 2025.
The A1W reactor is a prototype nuclear reactor used by the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion on warships. The A1W designation stands for:
The S1W reactor was the first prototype naval reactor used by the United States Navy to prove that the technology could be used for electricity generation and propulsion on submarines.
Nuclear marine propulsion is propulsion of a ship or submarine with heat provided by a nuclear reactor. The power plant heats water to produce steam for a turbine used to turn the ship's propeller through a gearbox or through an electric generator and motor. Nuclear propulsion is used primarily within naval warships such as nuclear submarines and supercarriers. A small number of experimental civil nuclear ships have been built.
A nuclear navy, or nuclear-powered navy, refers to the portion of a navy consisting of naval ships powered by nuclear marine propulsion. The concept was revolutionary for naval warfare when first proposed. Prior to nuclear power, submarines were powered by diesel engines and could only submerge through the use of batteries. In order for these submarines to run their diesel engines and charge their batteries they would have to surface or snorkel. The use of nuclear power allowed these submarines to become true submersibles and unlike their conventional counterparts, they became limited only by crew endurance and supplies.
The A1B reactor is developed by the United States Navy for the Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Each ship will be powered by two A1B reactors. The new reactor was named A1B, following the Navy's reactor-designation scheme of type, generation, and manufacturer: A for aircraft carrier, 1 for the maker's first reactor plant design, and B for Bechtel, the company making the reactor.
The Shippingport Atomic Power Station was the world's first full-scale atomic electric power plant devoted exclusively to peacetime uses. It was located near the present-day Beaver Valley Nuclear Generating Station on the Ohio River in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, about 25 miles (40 km) from Pittsburgh.
The S9G reactor of the United States Navy is designed to generate electricity and propulsion for the Virginia-class attack submarines. The name S9G follows the designation scheme of platform type (submarines), generation, and the contractor.
SM-1 was a 2-megawatt nuclear reactor developed by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) as part of the US Army Nuclear Power Program (ANPP) in the mid-1950s. The compact "package" reactor was designed to produce electricity and generate heat for remote military facilities. The first, the SM-1, served as the Army's primary training facility to train reactor operations personnel from all three services. In 1954, the Department of Defense placed the US Army in charge of all military nuclear power plants except those used for propulsion by the US Navy. The Army's Chief of Engineers established the US Army Engineer Reactors Group in April 1954, and decided to construct the SM-1 facility at the Corps of Engineers headquarters at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, about 18 miles (29 km) south of Washington, D.C. About 800 personnel were trained on the SM-1 during its operational life, from 1957 to 1973. The power plant was shut down in March 1973, and is monitored within a "restricted access" section of the post. Inspectors enter the shut-down operations control room every decade or so. USACE has started dismantling the SM-1 facility, and estimate completion by 2026.
The S5W reactor is a nuclear reactor used by the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion on warships. The S5W designation stands for:
The S2W reactor was a naval reactor built by Westinghouse used by the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion on warships.
The S6W reactor is a naval reactor used by the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion on warships. The S6W designation stands for:
The United States Navy Nuclear Propulsion community consists of Naval Officers and Enlisted members who are specially trained to run and maintain the nuclear reactors that power the submarines and aircraft carriers of the United States Navy. Operating more than 80 nuclear-powered ships, the United States Navy is currently the largest naval force in the world.
current cores for the NIMITZ Class aircraft carrier ... last on average about 20 years
power per reactor ... 140,000 shp