Which reactor type is graphite moderated and features a channel-type core with pipes called channels?

Which reactor type is graphite moderated and features a channel-type core with pipes called channels?

• A. RBMK Reactor
• B. Pressurized Water Reactor
• C. Boiling Water Reactor
• D. CANDU Reactor

Answer: (A)

Graphite is a neutron moderator that slows neutrons effectively, helping sustain fission with the fuel in the reactor. A channel-type core means the fuel resides in individual channels or tubes through the moderator, rather than in a fixed lattice of solid fuel assemblies. The RBMK design combines these ideas: a core built from graphite blocks with many vertical channels that hold the fuel and allow the coolant to flow through the same channels. This channel arrangement is a distinctive feature of RBMK reactors, and their moderation being graphite sets them apart from the other options. PWR and BWR rely on light water as a moderator and use solid fuel assemblies arranged in lattices inside a pressure vessel. CANDU also uses a channel-type core, but it is moderated with heavy water, not graphite.

Graphite is a neutron moderator that slows neutrons effectively, helping sustain fission with the fuel in the reactor. A channel-type core means the fuel resides in individual channels or tubes through the moderator, rather than in a fixed lattice of solid fuel assemblies. The RBMK design combines these ideas: a core built from graphite blocks with many vertical channels that hold the fuel and allow the coolant to flow through the same channels. This channel arrangement is a distinctive feature of RBMK reactors, and their moderation being graphite sets them apart from the other options.

PWR and BWR rely on light water as a moderator and use solid fuel assemblies arranged in lattices inside a pressure vessel. CANDU also uses a channel-type core, but it is moderated with heavy water, not graphite.