Types of Nuclear Reactors
Source: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Public Domain)
Source: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Public Domain)
Nuclear reactors are large machines that contain and control nuclear chain reactions, while releasing heat at a controlled rate.
A nuclear power plant uses the heat supplied by the nuclear reactor to turn water into steam, which drives turbine-generators that generate electricity.
There Are Two Types of U.S. Reactors
Just as there are different approaches to designing and building airplanes and automobiles, engineers have developed different types of nuclear power plants. Two types are used in the United States: boiling-water reactors and pressurized-water reactors.
Boiling-Water Reactors
In a boiling-water reactor, the water heated by the reactor core turns directly into steam in the reactor vessel and is then used to power the turbine-generator.
Pressurized-Water Reactors
In a pressurized-water reactor, the water heated by the reactor core is kept under pressure so that it does not turn to steam at all — it remains liquid. This hot radioactive water flows through a piece of equipment called a steam generator.
A steam generator is a giant cylinder with thousands of tubes in it that the hot radioactive water can flow through and heat up. Outside these hot tubes in the steam generator is nonradioactive water (or clean water), which eventually boils and turns to steam .
The radioactive water flows back to the reactor core, where it is reheated and then sent back to the steam generator. The clean water may come from one of several sources including oceans, lakes, or rivers.
http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm
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