Abwr vs Ap-1000 Reactor Design Comparison

NUC 330 Reactor Core Fundamentals

ABWR vs AP-1000 Reactor Design Comparison

Brian Trethaway

The purpose of this paper is to compare the ABWR reactor design to the AP-1000 reactor design. The ABWR and AP-1000 are both generation III reactor types designed to replace the current generation II reactors. Both designs have many safety design improvements that set them apart from the older reactors they are designed to replace. Compared to generation II designs the generation III reactors have longer operational life, lower maintenance costs, and greater power generation efficiency. The ABWR and AP-1000 however differ in design, fuel management, reactor control, maintenance and costs. We will start by talking about the Westinghouse AP-1000 reactor design.

The AP-1000 reactor is two loop pressurized water reactor with many of the same components as a generation II PWR. In a pressurized water reactor the nuclear fuel heats the primary coolant by the fission process in the fuel matrix. This primary coolant is then circulated in a closed loop system through a steam generator where it flows through tubes. The heat is transferred through the tubes to water on the secondary side of the exchanger. This ensures that the primary and secondary systems do not mix. The water in the steam generator boils off and creates high pressure steam. The high pressure steam is then sent to a turbine that uses the steam to produce electricity. The reactor has a pressurizer that maintains the pressure in the reactor by heating and cooling liquid in the pressurizer vessel. In the AP-1000 the pressurizer is designed without a power-operated relief valve due to the design spray flow rates. Now lets talk about the AP-1000 reactor design and auxiliary components.

The AP-1000 reactor is designed for a fuel change out every 18 months and the design of the core is maintained over all projected fuel cycles. All of the internal components are located low in...