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A4W reactor

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S1W reactor, Naval Station Norfolk, USS Nautilus (SSN‑571), USS Midway, Puget Sound Naval Shi

The A4W reactor is a naval reactor used by the United States Navy to propel warships and generate onboard electricity.

An illustration that shows how a nuclear reactor works on an aircraft carrier

The A4W designation stands for:

  • A = Aircraft carrier platform
  • 4 = Contractor's fourth core design generation
  • W = Westinghouse, the contracted designer
  • History

    An illustration showing what is inside the Nimitz-class vessel and where the A4W reactor could be found

    These nuclear fission pressurized water reactors (PWRs) were jointly designed by Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory and Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory and built by Westinghouse Electric Company. Their reactor cores are expected to operate for about 20 years. The Nimitz class supercarriers are the sole vessels equipped with these nuclear reactors, each carrier having two reactors with a thermal output of 550 MWt. These reactors collectively generate sufficient steam to produce an electrical output of 100 MW and provide 140,000 shaft horsepower per shaft, equivalent to 104 MW.

    The Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor (SMR)

    Cross-section of the SMART nuclear power plant,the first Licensed Advanced Integral Reactor

    The S5G reactor plant floats in a tank of water to simulate the engine room of a submarine

    The battleship USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) firing a full broadside to starboard during a main battery firing exercise in 1986

    A4W reactor NationStates The New World Order of Naval Monte Factbook

    References

    A4W reactor Wikipedia