The first gas-cooled reactors with carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) gas as coolant at a pressure of 16 bar and graphite as moderator were developed in Britain. The fuel used is natural uranium, clad with an alloy of magnesium called Magnox. Schematic diagram of a Gas-cooled re…

The excellent properties of water as a moderator and coolant make the P ressurized Water Reactor (PWR) a natural choice for power reactors. The most important limitation of a pressurized water reactor (PWR) is the critical temperature of the water, which is 374°C. Thi…

Power reactors can be heterogeneous or homogeneous. A heterogeneous power reactor has a large number of fuel rods with the coolant circulating around them and carrying away the heat released by nuclear fission. In a homogeneous reactor, the fuel and moderator are mixed…