PWR2
PWR2 is the latest nuclear reactor designed to power the Royal Navy's submarines. The PWR2 was developed for the Vanguard-class Trident missile submarines and is a development of the PWR1. The first PWR2 reactor was completed in 1985 with testing beginning in August 1987 at the Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment.
The latest design of the PWR2 is the "Core H", which removes the need for refuelling, allowing a submarine to avoid two reactor refits in its service life. HMS Vanguard will be fitted with the new core during its refit, followed by its three sister ships. The Astute-class submarines will have this full-life core installed. As they were developed for SSBNs, the reactors are considerably larger than those of current British Fleet Submarines. The diameter of Astute class hulls have therefore been increased to accommodate the PWR2.
Rolls-Royce Marine Power Operations Ltd claim that the Core H PWR2 can deliver six times the power of the original PWR1 and last four times as long.
Read more about this topic: Rolls-Royce PWR