Page 150 - How It Works - Book of Amazing Answers To Curious Questions, 12

tiudget for aes1gnmg a prototype m tlie
usual manner, this system of'virtual'
Activator
Control rods
with contmuous design and careful
Core support Containment lid

Core support
ring
manufactured m modules, assembled

Plutonium Heat transfer fins
core
Containment
vessel
Shield
How does a reactorpower
a subme?

between the end domes each stute's Rolls Royce PWR2 (Pressurised Water Reactor) contains enough
containing aifferent packages of A nuclear fuel to power the submarine for its entire 25-year service. This
energy is generated by nuclear fission that takes place inside a heavy shielded
e�UiRment, and the hull sections are
reactor compartment that protects the crew and environment from radiation.
meticulously welded together in a Water is pumped around a circuit where it is heated by the fission process,
process involving more than two maintaining enough pressure to prevent the water from boiling. This heat is
then used to generate steam, via steam generators, to drive the main turbine
Astute was the first nuclear kilometres of welding, all completed engines. A system of clutches and gearing drive a propulsor that transmits the
without a single defect an ' power to propel the submarine. Steam is also used to drive the turbo­
PYh�IIC:tiuPl\/ PY::lminP generators that supply the submarine with electricity .
. . . . . :

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