S6W reactor

The S6W reactor is a naval reactor used by the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion on warships. The S6W designation stands for:


 * S, Submarine platform
 * 6, Sixth generation core designed by the contractor
 * W, Westinghouse was the contracted designer

History
This pressurized water reactor was prototyped in the land-based S8G plant at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory's Kesselring Site in West Milton, NY starting in March 1994.

The three ships of the Seawolf-class submarine USS Seawolf (SSN-21), USS Connecticut (SSN-22), and USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23) submarines were built with S6W reactors.

Design
The S6W has a thermal power output of 220 MW and a shaft power output of 57000 shp through 2 steam turbines. It is believed to be able to utilize natural circulation at a large fraction of its full power without coolant pumps, which greatly reduces noise.