Advanced gas-cooled reactor
| Advanced gas-cooled reactor | |
|---|---|
 Structure of an AGR |
|
| Basic data | |
| Developing country: |
 United Kingdom
|
| Reactor data | |
| Moderator: | graphite |
| Cooling: | Carbon dioxide gas (CO 2 ) |
| Fuel: | Uranium dioxide (UO 2 ) |
| Degree of enrichment: | approx. 2.5% |
| Power classes in MW (gross): | 615 - 682 MW |
The Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor ( AGR ) is a type of nuclear reactor from the group of gas-cooled graphite - moderated reactors . It is a successor to the Magnox reactors developed and commercially used in Great Britain in the 1950s . In order to enable higher power densities and coolant outlet temperatures than with the Magnox reactors, the cladding tubes of the fuel assemblies are made of stainless steel instead of magnesium alloy ( Magnox ). In order to compensate for the larger capture cross-section of the shell material, the EGR requires slightly enriched uranium dioxide instead of uranium metal as fuel. The first British AGR (Sellafield) went into operation in 1963.
Often - especially in the English-language literature - the UNGG reactors in France , which have since been shut down, are also counted among the AGR, as the structure of these reactors is very similar to that of the British AGR. These reactor types are not covered in this article.
technical features
In addition to the features mentioned in the info box, an EGR has the following properties:
- Shell material of the fuel: stainless steel
- Specific uranium inventory : approx. 170 t uranium per GW of electrical output
- Pressure: approx. 40 bar
- Temperature: approx. 650 ° C
use
AGR has only locations in the UK: Dungeness B , Hartlepool , Heysham , Hinkley Point B , Hunterston B , Torness and Windscale .