Reactortypes

Reactortypes is a taxonomy used in nuclear engineering to categorize nuclear reactor designs by core configuration, coolant and moderator choices, neutron spectrum, and fuel form. It is not a single technology but a framework that helps compare performance, safety features, and applications across different reactor concepts.

Common axes of classification include neutron spectrum (thermal vs fast), coolant and moderator (light water, heavy water, gas, liquid metal, molten salt), fuel form (solid-fuel, molten-salt fuel, or pebble-bed arrangements), and core type (pressure vessel vs pressure tube, graphite moderated vs light-water moderated). This structure allows analysts to discuss trade-offs in efficiency, safety, refueling requirements, waste production, and proliferation risk.

Examples of reactor types commonly discussed within reactortypes include light-water reactors such as pressurized water reactors and boiling-water reactors; heavy-water reactors such as CANDU; gas-cooled systems such as Magnox, advanced gas-cooled reactors, and high-temperature gas reactors; sodium-cooled fast reactors and other fast-neutron concepts; lead-bismuth or lead-cooled fast reactors; and molten-salt reactors, which can operate with different coolant and fuel configurations.

Usage and limitations: The term varies by country and organization and is used more as a planning and safety analysis tool than as a rigid classification. It supports comparisons of capital and operating costs, fuel cycles, waste streams, safety characteristics, and nonproliferation considerations.

See also: nuclear reactor, reactor safety, nuclear fuel cycle.