Ordinary pressurized water reactors

Today, 214 of the world's 440 pressurized water reactors (PWRs) deliver 56% of the world's nuclear-generated electricity. These reactors, built from the mid-1960s onwards, are referred to as "second-generation" reactors, as opposed to the earlier "first-generation" reactors, almost all of which have been shut down.

Since the mid-1990s, safety authorities in various countries, nuclear operators and nuclear power plant manufacturers have been preparing the "third generation" of reactors, most of which are still water-cooled (PWR or BWR).

In the first part, which supplements a previous article (see [B 3 100] des Techniques de l'Ingénieur) with an overview of the design of pressurized water reactors (from 600 to 1,500 MWe) equipping the French nuclear power fleet, it is shown that, far from being a simple copy of the original models, built under American license, the PWR has become a French technology reactor. Thanks to close cooperation between all the players involved, an unprecedented R&D effort, and the early organization of feedback, it has benefited from major, perfectly controlled developments.

In the second part, the evolution of these reactors is highlighted by a panorama of the key aspects of the new models currently under development, or recently launched on the market. Examples are taken from abroad. A separate article is devoted to the EPR (see [BN 3 102] ). Finally, an update is given on small- and medium-power PWRs.