An example of a shell reactor is VVER-1000 .
A corps nuclear reactor is a nuclear reactor whose core is located inside a thick cylindrical casing. Shell reactors are carried out with water under pressure and boiling .
Channel reactors are an alternative to tank reactors .
Unlike channel reactors, in hull reactors a special sealed housing is used. Since the pressure in the primary circuit can reach 160 atm ( VVER-1000 ), it is very laborious to manufacture. The process of replacing nuclear fuel in such a reactor is difficult; it requires a complete shutdown and partial disassembly of the reactor. Despite the shortcomings, tank reactors are currently used most widely. In Russia it is VVER , in other countries - PWR and BWR .
Benefits
- pressurized water reactors have fundamentally no positive reactivity effects ;
- a small number of additional structural materials present in the core and absorbing neutrons ;
- case reactors have a protective shell , which is not possible for channel reactors because of the large branching of the reactor compartment pipes.
Weaknesses
- the presence of complex in manufacture and overall tight housing
- restriction on the size of the active zone by reaching the ultimate state of strength, and, as a consequence, the limitation of maximum power; also the dimensions of the hull are limited by the requirements of railway transportation ;
- the impossibility of a partial overload of the fuel assemblies , that is, to replace the fuel, a complete shutdown of the reactor, drainage of the coolant, dismantling of the rod drive system, removal of the reactor cover, etc. are required.
See also
- Channel reactor
- Water-water reactor
- Boiling reactor
- VVER