A4W reactor

The USS Carl Vinson

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

The A4W designation stands for:

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

History

These nuclear fission pressurized water reactors (PWRs) were jointly designed by Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory and Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory<ref name="UNPS">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Failed verification and built by Westinghouse Electric Company. Their reactor cores are expected to operate for about 25 years before refueling is required.<ref name="UNPS"/> The only ships to use these nuclear reactors are the Nimitz-class supercarriers, which have two reactors rated at 550 MW_th each. These generate enough steam to produce 140,000 shaft horsepower (104 MW) for each pair of the ship's four shafts<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> – two per propulsion plant – plus approximately 100 MW of electricity.Template:Citation needed

See also

• A1B reactor
• Nimitz-class aircraft carrier

External links

• [1] (correcting for the power output from 500 megawatts to 105.)