Delta Force

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I found some interesting articles on small nuclear reactors and maritime reactors from the 1960s. The business case they make for the small reactors as well as how to construct and run them economically are quite similar to those made for small modular reactors today.

New Scientist No. 288 (24 May 1962) mentions British and Belgian maritime/naval nuclear reactors on page 388. Interestingly, the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Agency submitted as gas cooled reactor design.

New Scientist No. 327 (21 February 1963) has information on the Vulcain Reactor on pages 393 to 395. Vulcain was an Anglo-Belgian maritime boiling water reactor concept. Interestingly, it was planned for series production in factories, much like modern small modular reactor concepts, and it was planned to sell each 20,000 horsepower unit for £500,000 to £750,000.

New Scientist No. 330 (14 March 1963) includes an article about the UK AEA's selection and design choices for maritime nuclear reactors on pages 565 and 566.

New Scientist No. 331 (21 March 1963) includes a letter to the editor on page 652 criticizing the use of maritime nuclear reactors given the challenges of conventional boilers, as well as criticizing some of the design choices and other decisions of the UK AEA.

New Scientist No. 380 (27 February 1964) includes a mention of spectral shift technology on page 524. The concept calls for varying the ratio of heavy water and light water in a design. I'm not sure what advantage that would have over just using heavy water to begin with.

New Scientist No. 393 (28 May 1964) discusses plans for a prototype 30 MW electrical (100 MW thermal) Vulcain reactor unit planned for construction at the University of Liege. Article on pages 536 to 537.
 

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