The S5W reactor is a

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat fr ...

used by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

to provide

electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery ( transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its s ...

and

propulsion Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived f ...

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...

s. The S5W designation stands for: * S = Submarine platform * 5 = Fifth generation

core Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber), the signal-carrying portion of an optical fiber * Core, the centra ...

History

The S5W was the standard reactor for submarines of the United States Navy from its first use in 1959 on until the introduction of the s with

S6G reactor The S6G reactor is a naval reactor used by the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion on attack submarines. The S6G designation stands for: * S = Submarine platform * 6 = Sixth generation core designed by the cont ...

in the mid-1970s. One S5W plant was also used in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

's first nuclear-powered submarine . Some time before 1971, the S5W vessel and core replaced the

S1W reactor The S1W reactor was the first prototype naval reactor used by the United States Navy to prove that the technology could be used for electricity generation and propulsion on submarines. The designation of "S1W" stands for * S = Submarine platfor ...

vessel and core at the S1W prototype facility. Even though operating an S5W reactor core, the facility continued to be called S1W. To use the additional power generated by the S5W reactor at higher power levels, steam dumps were constructed in the same S1W building but outside the original submarine style hull. , one S5W reactor plant remains in service: the ex-USS ''Daniel Webster'' (MTS-626). This "moored training ship" is used to train U.S. naval nuclear operators at the former

Naval Weapons Station Charleston Naval Support Activity Charleston, originally designated Naval Weapons Station Charleston, is a base of the United States Navy located on the west bank of the Cooper River, in the cities of Goose Creek and Hanahan South Carolina.17,000 acres ...

. This training ship is equipped with a diesel-powered Supplemental Water Injection System (SWIS) to provide emergency cooling water in the event of an accident.

Design

This

pressurized water reactor A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan and Canada). In a PWR, the primary coolant (water) i ...

's simplicity, overdesign, and redundancy was intended for ease of operation and tolerance of battle damage. These characteristics contributed greatly to the type's reliability, longevity, and excellent safety record. Later-model S5W reactor plants were often refueled with a S3G core-3, the third version of the S3G core. Although the US Navy classifies its nuclear technology, there are periodic reports and disclosures which explain the subject in layman's terms. In the 2007 book "Scorpion Down" (pages 143 to 152), author Ed Offley narrates the startup commands and general functions of the S5W reactor on USS Scorpion. This and other passages illustrate the complexity of the propulsion system and the risks of nuclear submarines.

References

External links

S5W
at the Federation of American Scientists {{United States Naval reactor United States naval reactors