Advanced boiling water reactor

Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) is a type of nuclear reactor that is a third-generation, advanced design of the original Boiling Water Reactor (BWR). The ABWR was developed by a consortium of several companies, including General Electric, Hitachi, and Toshiba, and was first implemented in Japan in the 1990s.

Design and Operation

The ABWR design incorporates several significant advancements over the original BWR design. These include a simplified reactor design, increased thermal efficiency, and enhanced safety features. The reactor operates by boiling water in the reactor core to produce steam, which is then used to drive a turbine and generate electricity.

The ABWR design also includes a number of safety features, such as passive safety systems that can operate without the need for active mechanical or electrical systems. These include a passive containment cooling system and a gravity-driven cooling system.

Implementation

The first ABWRs were built in Japan, with the first unit, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, coming online in 1996. Since then, several other ABWRs have been built in Japan, and the design has also been adopted in other countries, including Taiwan and the United States.

Future Developments

The ABWR design is considered a stepping stone to the next generation of nuclear reactors, known as Generation IV reactors. These reactors aim to further improve upon the safety and efficiency of the ABWR design, and include designs such as the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR).

See Also

• Nuclear power
• Nuclear reactor technology
• Generation IV reactor