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A side effect of using a moderator in a nuclear explosive is that as the chain reaction progresses, the moderator will be heated, thus losing its ability to cool the neutrons. Another effect of moderation is that the time between subsequent neutron generations is increased, slowing down the reaction.
"Graphite reactor" directs here. For the graphite reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, see X-10 Graphite Reactor. A graphite-moderated reactor is a nuclear reactor that uses carbon as a neutron moderator, which allows natural uranium to be used as nuclear fuel. The first artificial nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1, used nuclear graphite ...
Thus, this reactor design is self-regulating, meltdown is impossible, and the design is inherently safe. From a safety point of view, the design leverages the technology used in the TRIGA reactor, which uses uranium zirconium hydride (UZrH) fuel and is the only reactor licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for unattended operation.
In a nuclear reactor, the neutron population at any instant is a function of the rate of neutron production (due to fission processes) and the rate of neutron losses (due to non-fission absorption mechanisms and leakage from the system). When a reactor's neutron population remains steady from one generation to the next (creating as many new ...
A pressurized heavy-water reactor (PHWR) is a nuclear reactor that uses heavy water (deuterium oxide D 2 O) as its coolant and neutron moderator. [1] PHWRs frequently use natural uranium as fuel, but sometimes also use very low enriched uranium .
One type uses solid nuclear graphite for the neutron moderator and ordinary water for the coolant. See the Soviet-made RBMK nuclear-power reactor. This was the type of reactor involved in the Chernobyl disaster. In the Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor, a British design, the core is made of a graphite neutron moderator where the fuel assemblies are ...
Nuclear graphite is any grade of graphite, usually synthetic graphite, manufactured for use as a moderator or reflector within a nuclear reactor.Graphite is an important material for the construction of both historical and modern nuclear reactors because of its extreme purity and ability to withstand extremely high temperatures.
The reactor buildings of Bradwell magnox nuclear power station. The magnox reactors were considered at the time to have a considerable degree of inherent safety because of their simple design, low power density, and gas coolant. Because of this they were not provided with secondary containment features. A safety design principle at the time was ...