A1B reactor

Development

The A1B reactor plant was developed for the new USS Gerald R. Ford, class aircraft carriers to replace the ones used on its predecessor, the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. The A1B nuclear reactor plant provides modernized technology that is both more advanced and adaptable than previous reactor technology.

Naming

The naming of reactors is based on the type, generation, and manufacturer. The type of reactor is for use in an aircraft carrier. The Bechtel Corporation designed the new reactors. They have provided nuclear energy assistance to the United States government for land based nuclear plants, as they have "performed engineering and/or construction services on more than 80 percent of nuclear plants in the United States." This is the first reactor that they have produced for naval operations for the United States. These circumstances led to the naming of the reactor.

Replacement

The A4W reactors have been the main source of power for the predecessor to the USS Gerald R. Ford-class carriers, the Nimitz-class. These A4W reactors provide propulsion and electricity to the Nimitz carriers. The reactor plant has been criticized recently for the Nimitz class's biggest problem, electrical power generation capability. Those reactor plants are limited in electric power generation necessary to power modern electrical components. The A1B reactor plant will provide increased electrical generation capability, including large unused capacity for future needs.

Design

Aircraft carriers contain nuclear reactors that provide all the electrical and motor energy of the ship by splitting enriched uranium in order to produce heat and convert water to steam to power steam turbines. This process is largely the same as land based nuclear reactors, although smaller naval reactors have several design differences. The increased electrical generation capacity will allow for elimination of service steam on the ship, reducing staffing requirements for maintenance. Two A1B reactor plants will power the ship. Electrical aircraft catapult power will also free the ship's air wing from reactor plant constraints.

Efficiency

The A1B reactor plant total power is classified, but the electrical power generation is 3 times that of the current A4W plants on Nimitz class carriers. Improved efficiency in the total plant is expected to provide improved output to both propulsion and electrical systems.

Size and Interface

Besides improvements to power processes, the A1B reactor has other noticeable advantages. Compared to the Nimitz-class carriers' A4W, the A1B is smaller and weighs less. Operator interfaces are expected to be improved as well.

Safety

There is a split view on nuclear power in the United States. According to a Gallup poll in 2016, 44% of Americans favor nuclear energy, and 54% oppose nuclear power. This is the first time since the poll began that a majority of Americans are opposed to nuclear energy, a sharp turn from the previous year. However, overall there has been "6,200 reactor-years of accident-free experience" in the US Navy's nuclear powered ships. According to a statement of Admiral F. L. Bowman, the US Navy Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, made in 2003 before the House Committee on Science, nuclear powered vessels in the US Navy have sailed over "128 million miles since 1953". Since that time, as reported by the Department of Energy along with the Department of the Navy, those numbers have continued to improve. It has increased from 6,200 to 6,500 reactor-years and from 128 million to "over 151 million miles safely steamed on nuclear power." The A1B reactor contributes to this legacy of US Naval nuclear power.