THE NEAR BOILING REACTOR:DESIGN OF A SMALL NUCLEAR REACTOR FOR EXTENDING THE OPERATIONALENVELOPE OF THE VICTORIA CLASS SUBMARINE

摘要

A small, inherently safe nuclear reactor that will provide enough power to maintain the hotel loadrnof the Victoria Class Submarine and extend her operational envelope, has been conceptuallyrndesigned. The final reactor concept, named the Near Boiling (NB) Reactor, employs TRISO fuelrnparticles in Zirconium cladded fuel rods. The reactor is light water moderated and cooled. The corernlife is specifically designed to coincide with the refit cycle of the Victoria Class Submarine. Thernreactor employs a simple and reliable control and shut down system that requires little intervention onrnthe part of the submarine’s crew. Also, a kinetic model is developed that demonstrates the inherentrnsafety features of the reactor during several accident scenarios.