Greetings Authority,
I post this answer on the assumption that you mean nuclear reactors. I
think these are the three basic types:
Boiling Water reactor (light water)
Pressurized Water Reactor (light water)
Heavy Water Reactor (CANDU)
These types are identified I think by the cooling technology or
variations in design:
Gas-cooled graphite moderated reactor
Water-cooled graphite moderated reactor
Fast breeder reactor
I will list websites where you can find the answers to your question.
The third website listed below will give the advantages/disadvantages.
Sources:
Types of Nuclear Reactors
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/nucene/reactor.html
- Contains structural drawings of three types of reactors
IEER Reports: NPD: Types of Nuclear Reactors
http://www.ieer.org/reports/npd-tbl.html
- Good basic explanation on the types of reactors in table form. Also
gives the purposes of each.
Coolants for Nuclear Reactors
http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/thyd/ne161/rahmed/coolants.html
- This actually also gives the advantages and disadvantages of the
types of reactors in a comprehensive form.
I will quote a good part of the page here:
ADVANTAGES OF PRESSURIZED WATER REACTOR:
* Water technology well known.
* Water is cheap.
* Water is very effective moderator of neutron energy
* core is compact.
* Water has high heat capacity.
* Negative temperature coefficient.
* Ordinary leakage can be tolerated.
* Fission products are contained, not circulated.
* Radioactivity of coolant is short-lived if kept pure.
* Conversion ratio may be high.
* Superheating steam in separately fired superheater is possible.
* Appreciable fast fission effect attainable.
DISADVANTAGES OF PRESSURIZED WATER REACTOR:
* Water must be highly pressurized to achieve even reasonably high
temperature without boiling.
* Fuel element fabrication expensive.
* The temperature is limited in metallic fuel elements.
* Fission product activity in the core builds up to high a level.
* Pure hot water is highly corrosive, requires special materials
for the primary loop.
* Fuel must be at least slightly enriched.
* Heat exchanger and control rods required.
* Large excess reactivity at operating temperature.
* Heat transfer only moderately efficient.
* Fuel reprocessing a difficult task.
* Rector must be shut down to unload and reload core.
* Water would flash to steam in case of rupture of primary loop.
* Water reacts with uranium, thorium, and structural metals under
certain conditions.
* Low thermal heads make heat exchanger, pumps and pipins large.
* Hot-channel factors are significant.
ADVANTAGES OF BOILING WATER REACTOR:
* Some intermediate heat exchange equipment eliminated.
* Pressure is lower for given steam output conditions than in
pressurized water reactor.
* Metal surface temperatures are lower for given steam output
conditions than in pressurized water reactor.
* Power excursion quickly damped by formation of steam.
* Overall thermal efficiency quite high.
* Water is cheap.
* Core is compact if void coefficient is low.
* Negative temperature coefficient.
* Ordinary leakage can be tolerated.
* Fission products are contained, not circulated.
* Radioactivity of coolant is short-lived if kept pure.
* Conversion ratio may be high.
* Heat may be taken from circulating water increasing power
output.
DISADVANTAGES OF BOILING WATER REACTOR:
* Boiling limits power density.
* Radioactivity builds up in turbine.
* Changes in load on turbine reflected back to reactor as pressure
changes.
* Separately fired superheater cannot conveniently be employed.
* System must be designed to overcome tendency to react negatively
to load increases.
* Fuel must be at least slightly enriched.
* Fuel handling necessitates complex equipments.
* Reactor must be shut down to unload and reload core.
* Water flashes to steam in case of rupture of primary system.
* Condenser leak may cause serious trouble.
ADVANTAGES OF HEAVY WATER REACTOR:
* Any fuel including natural uranium can be used.
* Heavy water is excellent moderator.
* Heavy water has high heat capacity.
* Specific power high.
* Negative temperature coefficients.
* Fission product are contained, not circulated.
* Radioactivity of coolant is short lived if kept pure.
DISADVANTAGES OF HEAVY WATER REACTOR:
* Heavy water expensive.
* Special precautions must be taken to make primary loop leak
proof and to prevent loss of heavy water during refueling operations.
* Primary loop must be highly pressurized to achieve even high
temperatures without boiling.
* Pure hot heavy water is highly corrosive.
* Fuel suffers radiation damage.
* Heat exchanges and control rod required.
* Heat transfer only moderately efficient.
* Fuel reprocessing a difficult task.
* Reactors must be shut down to unload and reload core.
* Heavy water would flush to steam in case of rupture of primary
loop.
* Heavy water reacts with uranium, thorium and structural metals.
* Low thermal heads make heat exchangers, pumps, and piping large.
* Hot channel factors are significant.
Table of Advantages of Various Reactor types
http://www.nucleartourist.com/type/benefits.htm
- Also leads to the previously mentioned website.
Types of Nuclear Reactors -VRM(Virtual Radiation Museum)
http://www.medphysics.wisc.edu/~vrm/nuclearenergy/reactors.htm
- Just a list.
NRC: Unit 3: Nuclear Reactors/Energy Generation
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/teachers/unit3.html
- Article that explains some types of nuclear reactors for a student.
Chemcases.com - Nuclear Reactors by Dr. Frank Settle
http://chemcases.com/2003version/nuclear/nc-10.htm
- Explains some problems and mechanics of reactors. Also contains an
illustration.
Nuclear Reactor Types
http://www.nuce.boun.edu.tr/links/nucreac.html
- A list of all the knows types of reactors, with variations because
of new technologies mentioned, but the links to each type are dead.
Nuclear Energy File
http://www.energy.org.uk/EFNuclr.htm
- Another detailed article about nuclear power generation.
About.com page about the Types of Nuclear Reactors
http://power.about.com/cs/reactordesign/
- Leads you to various sites about nuclear reactors. I good place to
start fishing for more detailed information.
Nuclear - Advancing? or Destructive?
http://www.alumni.ca/~chiuw3w/tech.html
- Good explanation on the types of reactors based on Generation 1, 2,
etc..
Google search terms used:
types nuclear reactors
types nuclear reactors advantages
kinds nuclear reactors
I hope this has been a most helpful answer. If you need anything else,
or have a problem with the answer, do please post a Request for
Clarification and I shall respond as soon as I can. Thank you. |
