Design of first merchant ship nuclear propulsion plant

Atomic Energy is a new source of heat which requires reactors, heat exchangers and other heavy primary loop equipment together with turbines and allied equipment for conversion of this energy to useful work. The design of the nuclear power plant, which we are about to describe represents the combined engineering skill of a team of two firms; The Babcock & Wilcox Company and the De Laval Steam Turbine Company, each a recognized leader in its field. The Babcock & Wilcox Company has participated actively in the design and development of fuel elements, reactors, heat exchangers and related equipment for over ten years. This knowledge plus its years of experience in the stationery and Marine power business has been applied to the design of the steam generation equipment. The De Laval Steam Turbine Company’s known experience in marine propulsion equipment has likewise been applied in the design of the propulsion system.

The safety philosophy, which has been used as a basis for this design, is somewhat different from the safety principles that have been applied to date. The main departures being: first, that operation of the plant, even at full power, shall not be impaired by failure of any fuel elements; second, that if the reactor is shut down for any reason at least two sources of power shall be available to remove its decay heat; and third, that no operation or failure of the reactor plant at sea shall require any of the crew to enter the reactor compartment, or to be exposed to harmful radiation, in order to bring the ship home.