View source for A4W reactor

{{short description|U.S. Navy nuclear reactor}}
[[File:US_Navy_010730-N-6234S-004_USS_Carl_Vinson_(CVN_70)_underway.jpg | thumb | right | The USS Carl Vinson]]
The '''A4W reactor''' is a [[United States Naval reactor|naval reactor]] used by the [[United States Navy]] to [[Nuclear marine propulsion|propel]] [[warship]]s and [[electricity generation|generate onboard electricity]].
The A4W designation stands for:
* A = [[Aircraft carrier]] platform
* 4 = Contractor's fourth [[Nuclear reactor core|core]] design generation
* W = Westinghouse, the contracted designer
== History ==
These [[nuclear fission]] [[pressurized water reactor]]s (PWRs) were jointly designed by [[Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory]] and [[Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory]]<ref name="UNPS">{{cite web
| url = http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/eng/a4w.htm
| title = A4W
| accessdate = 2006-10-16
| date = 1999-02-27
| work = US Navy Propulsion Systems
| publisher = [[Federation of American Scientists]]
| quote = current cores for the NIMITZ Class aircraft carrier ... last on average about 20 years
| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20060925053842/http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/eng/a4w.htm| archivedate= 25 September 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=June 2022}} and built by [[Westinghouse Electric Company]]. Their [[Nuclear reactor core|reactor cores]] are expected to operate for about 25 years before refueling is required.<ref name="UNPS"/> The only ships to use these [[nuclear reactor]]s are the [[Nimitz class aircraft carrier|''Nimitz'']]-class [[supercarrier]]s, which have two reactors rated at 550 MW<sub>th</sub> each. These [[Steam generator (nuclear power)|generate enough steam]] to produce 140,000 [[Horsepower#Shaft horsepower|shaft horsepower]] (104 MW) for each pair of the ship's four shafts<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/eng/index.html
| title = US Navy Propulsion Systems
| accessdate = 2006-10-16
| publisher = [[Federation of American Scientists]]
| quote = power per reactor ... 140,000 shp
| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061009044152/http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/eng/index.html| archivedate= 9 October 2006 | url-status= live}}</ref> – two per propulsion plant – plus approximately 100 MW of electricity.{{Citation needed|reason=These statements are not supported by the existing references|date=June 2022}}
==See also==
* [[A1B reactor]]
* [[Nimitz-class aircraft carrier|''Nimitz''-class aircraft carrier]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [http://mragheb.com/NPRE%20402%20ME%20405%20Nuclear%20Power%20Engineering/Nuclear%20Marine%20Propulsion.pdf ] (correcting for the power output from 500 megawatts to 105.)
{{United States Naval reactor}}
[[Category:United States naval reactors]]
[[Category:Pressurized water reactors]]