The A1W reactor is a prototype nuclear reactor used by the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion on warships . The A1W designation stands for:
5-607: The reactor was a Westinghouse Electric Corporation-built naval reactor power plant, installed in the Naval Reactors Facility in the desert at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory near Arco, Idaho . It first operated in October 1958. This reactor plant consisted of two reactors, A1W-A and A1W-B, operated in tandem so that the steam produced by both reactors was used to power one turbine connected to
10-565: A drive shaft. Since the purpose of A1W prototype was to simulate the USS Enterprise at sea it was also possible to divert the steam to two 'dump condensers' that simulated launching aircraft. Also, the electricity generated by the Main Engine was dissipated by immersing three electrodes in a pool of water. This was done to simulate load. In the early 1970s the A1W-B core was replaced with 1/4 of
15-444: Is located 52 miles (84 km) northwest of Idaho Falls, Idaho . The NRF is a United States Department of Energy - Naval Reactors facility where three nuclear propulsion prototypes A1W , S1W and S5G were located. It is contractor-operated for the government by Fluor Corporation through their subsidiary, Fluor Marine Propulsion, LLC, which also operates Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory and Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory . From
20-565: The USS Nimitz core for testing. This nuclear reactor was the prototype for the A2W reactor used in the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) . The A1W prototype was used to train nuclear-qualified sailors for almost 34 years until its reactor plants were shut down on January 26, 1994. Naval Reactors Facility The Naval Reactors Facility ( NRF )
25-506: The early 1950s to the mid-1990s, NRF supported the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered fleet by testing reactor designs, receiving spent nuclear fuel for processing and storage, and training nearly 40,000 Navy personnel to operate surface and submarine nuclear power plants. The only remaining active facility at NRF is the Expended Core Facility / Dry Storage Facility, which provides for storage of spent fuel from U.S. Naval reactors. NRF
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