203 articles
Uranium dioxide
Uranium dioxide (UO₂) is a black ceramic oxide of uranium, found naturally in the mineral uraninite, that serves as the standard fuel for most commercial nuclear power reactors.
Uranium enrichment
Uranium enrichment is the physical process of increasing the proportion of the fissile isotope uranium-235 in uranium, most often to make fuel for nuclear reactors and weapons.
Uranium extraction from seawater
Uranium extraction from seawater (UES) recovers dissolved uranium from ocean water, which holds about 4.5 billion tons, mostly by adsorption onto amidoxime adsorbents, though costs still exceed terrestrial mining.
Uranium molybdenum alloy
Uranium molybdenum alloy (U-Mo) is a metallic nuclear fuel, about 7 to 10 percent molybdenum, developed for converting research and test reactors to low-enriched uranium.
Uranium silicide
Uranium silicide, mainly the compound U3Si2, is a high-density nuclear fuel used in aluminum-matrix research reactor plates and tested as an accident tolerant light water reactor fuel.
Uranium-233
Uranium-233 is a fissile artificial isotope of uranium with a half-life of about 160,000 years, bred from natural thorium-232 by neutron capture and used as a nuclear reactor fuel.
Uranium-plutonium-zirconium metal fuel
Uranium-plutonium-zirconium metal fuel (U-Pu-Zr) is a ternary metallic alloy nuclear fuel, developed at Argonne National Laboratory as the driver fuel for the Integral Fast Reactor.
Uranium-zirconium alloy
Uranium-zirconium alloy, or U-Zr, is a metallic nuclear fuel, usually uranium with 10 weight percent zirconium, valued for high thermal conductivity and use in sodium-cooled fast reactors like EBR-II.
Uranium-zirconium hydride
Uranium-zirconium hydride (UZrH) is a nuclear fuel combining uranium metal and a zirconium hydride moderator, developed by General Atomics in 1957 for the TRIGA research reactors.
Very-high-temperature reactor
The very-high-temperature reactor (VHTR) is a Generation IV nuclear reactor design that is graphite-moderated and helium-cooled, delivering outlet temperatures of 700 to 950 °C for electricity and industrial heat.
VIPAC fuel
VIPAC fuel, also called vibrocompacted or Vibropack fuel, is nuclear reactor fuel in which irregular ceramic particles are vibration-packed into cladding, developed most extensively in Russia.
Void coefficient
The void coefficient of reactivity is the rate at which steam bubbles forming in a reactor's coolant change its reactivity, a key factor in reactor safety.
VVER (водо-водяной энергетический реактор)
VVER, also written WWER, is the Soviet and Russian family of pressurized water reactors in which light water serves as both coolant and moderator, first commissioned in 1964.
VVER-1000
VVER-1000 (ВВЭР-1000) is a Soviet and Russian pressurized water reactor rated at about 1000 MW electric, developed by OKB Gidropress and first operated at Novovoronezh Unit 5 in 1980.
VVER-1200
The VVER-1200 is a Generation III+ pressurized water reactor developed by Rosatom in Russia, producing about 1,200 MWe and serving as the basis of most of Rosatom's export program.
VVER-TOI (V-510)
VVER-TOI (ВВЭР-ТОИ; designation V-510) is a Russian Generation III+ pressurized water reactor plant design rated at 1,300 MWe, first built at the Kursk II plant.
Westinghouse 2-loop PWR
The Westinghouse 2-loop PWR is the smallest of Westinghouse's commercial pressurized water reactors, rated near 500 MWe, with US plants including Ginna, Point Beach, and Prairie Island.
Westinghouse 3-loop PWR
The Westinghouse 3-loop PWR is a pressurized water reactor design from Westinghouse rated around 900 to 1,000 MWe, with three coolant loops, each with a steam generator and pump.
Westinghouse 4-loop PWR
The Westinghouse 4-loop PWR is a pressurized water reactor design with four identical coolant loops sharing one pressurizer, generating about 1,100 to 1,300 MWe per unit.
Xe-100
The Xe-100 is a small modular pebble-bed high-temperature gas-cooled reactor developed by X-energy, designed to deliver 80 MWe or 200 MWt per module, with four-reactor plants delivering 320 MWe.
Xenon-135
Xenon-135 is a radioactive xenon isotope produced in nuclear fission whose enormous neutron absorption cross section makes it the most consequential neutron poison in reactor operation.
Zirconium-niobium alloy
A zirconium-niobium alloy is a zirconium alloy used in nuclear reactors, where niobium improves corrosion resistance and strength; main grades include E110, E125, M5, and ZIRLO.
ZIRLO
ZIRLO is a zirconium alloy developed by Westinghouse for nuclear fuel rod cladding in light water reactors, combining low neutron absorption with better corrosion resistance and creep behavior than earlier Zircaloy alloys.