High-Temperature Reactor

high-temperature reactor

[′hī ‚tem·prə·chər rē′ak·tər] (nucleonics) A nuclear power reactor in which the temperature is high enough for efficient generation of mechanical power.

High-Temperature Reactor

 

a power nuclear reactor whose temperatures in the active region reach as high as 700° C. The term is somewhat arbitrary because any modern power reactor is essentially a high-temperature one. Usually it is called a graphite-modulated gas-cooled reactor. The development of high-temperature reactors is a promising trend in power reactor design which makes it possible, in principle, to create a reactor with a direct cycle—that is, one that operates directly with a gas turbine.