Page 14 - Dynamics and Control of Nuclear Reactors

CHAPTER

2
Nuclear reactor designs

2.1 Introduction
Familiarity with the features of reactors that affect dynamic characteristics and con-
trol strategies is necessary for the purpose of this book. It is assumed that the reader
knows about general reactor characteristics, but this chapter reviews reactor features
that are pertinent for the study of reactor dynamics and control.
The evolution of commercial nuclear power is often described in terms of differ-
ent generations characterized by the dominant reactor designs for each generation.
Designs being built in some parts of the world in the early twenty-first century
are Generation III designs. Later improved designs constitute Generation III+ and
Generation IV. Generation V systems are radically new, highly speculative designs
that are being investigated for possible later use.
Goldberg and Rosner [1] identify six major factors that influence the develop-
ment and deployment of nuclear power reactors. These are: cost effectiveness, safety,
security and non-proliferation, grid appropriateness, commercialization roadmap,
and the fuel cycle.

2.2 Generation I reactors

The first nuclear reactor, designed by Enrico Fermi and built at The University of
Chicago in 1942, served to demonstrate the feasibility of operating a system based
on Uranium fission. The success of the “Chicago Pile” led to construction of reactors
in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Hanford, Washington whose purpose was to produce
Pu-239 for nuclear weapons by transforming U-238 into Pu-239 by neutron capture.
Additional reactors for Plutonium and Tritium production were subsequently built at
the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
Following the initial focus on producing a nuclear bomb, interest developed in
using nuclear fission reactors to produce useful energy. The U.S. government,
through the Atomic Energy Commission, embarked on a reactor development pro-
gram. The first nuclear electricity was produced with a small generator and used to
power a light bulb at the Experimental Breeder Reactor, EBR-1, in Arco, Idaho in
1951. In 1954, the U.S. Congress removed the ban on nuclear activities by non-
government organizations.
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