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The S3W reactor is a naval reactor used by the
The S3W reactor is a naval reactor used by the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
to provide electricity generation
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery ( transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its stor ...
and propulsion
Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived from ...
on warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...
s. The S3W designation stands for:
* S = Submarine platform
* 3 = Third generation core
Core or cores may refer to:
Science and technology
* Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages
* Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding
* Core (optical fiber), the signal-carrying portion of an optical fiber
* Core, the centra ...
designed by the contractor
* W = Westinghouse was the contracted designer
Design
Thisnuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nu ...
was a variant of the Submarine Fleet Reactor
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely ...
(SFR), an advance on the pressurized water reactor
A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan and Canada). In a PWR, the primary coolant (water) is ...
(PWR) plant design employed on . The S3W plant utilized horizontal U-tube steam generators. This concept developed into vertical U-tube steam generators in the S5W reactor
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:
* S = Submarine platform
* 5 = Fifth generation core designed by the contractor
* ...
plant, and is in common use today on commercial PWR power plants.
History
and the four boats were built with S3W reactors: , , , and . USS ''Swordfish'' and USS ''Seadragon'' had the S3W reactor installed in theS4W reactor
The S4W reactor was a naval reactor plant used by the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion on warships. The S4W designation stands for:
* S = Submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of ind ...
plant, which was an alternate arrangement of the same components.
References
{{United States Naval reactor United States naval reactors Pressurized water reactors