The Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) gGmbH as the main technical support organization for the German Federal Government in nuclear safety has been dealing with small modular reactors (SMRs) for about one decade since SMRs are one interesting option for new builds in most countries worldwide which continue to use nuclear energy for commercial electricity production. Currently four different SMR designs are in operation, four in construction, one is licensed, and further 12 are in a licensing process. In this paper, definitions, history, and current developments of SMRs are presented. Subsequently, selected trends of SMR development such as factory fabrication and transport, compactness and modularity, core design, improved core cooling, exclusion of accidents, features for preventing and limiting the impact of severe accidents, economic viability, competitiveness and licensing are discussed. Modeling gaps of the GRS simulation chain programs with a view to applications in nuclear licensing procedures are identified and a strategy for closing these gaps is presented. Finally, selected work on the extension and improvement of the simulation chain and first generic test analyses are presented.
. [J]. Frontiers in Energy, 2021, 15(4): 793-809.
Andreas SCHAFFRATH, Andreas WIELENBERG, Robert KILGER, Armin SEUBERT. SMRs – overview, international developments, safety features and the GRS simulation chain. Front. Energy, 2021, 15(4): 793-809.
Demonstration plant under construction since 2012 (2 modules)
Shidaowan (CN)
Tab.2
Name
Type
Manufacturer
Country
P/MWe
Status
Site (planned)
ACR-100
LSFR
ARC Nuclear
CA
100
Pre-licensing (phase 1 completed)
–
BWRX-300
BWR
GE-Hitachi
USA, J
280
Pre-licensing (phase 2* in progress)
(CA)
IMSR
MSR
Terrestial Energy
C
200
Pre-licensing (phase 2 in progress)
(CA)
MMR-5 MMR-10
HTG
Ultra Safe Nuc. Cor.
CA
5 10
Pre-licensing (phase 2 pending)
(CA)
MOLTEX
MSR
Moltex Energy
CA
300
Pre-licensing (phase 1 in progress)
(CA)
NuScale
PWR
NuScale Power and Flour
USA
60
Pre-licensing (phase 2* in progress)
(US)
NuScale 720
PWR
NuScale Power and Flour
USA
77
Ppplication of Standard Design Approval
(US)
SEALER
LMFR
LeadCold Nuclear
SWE
3
Pre-licensing (phase 1 pending)
–
SMART
PWR
KAERI
KR
100
Licensed
–
SMR-160
PWR
Holtec Int.
USA
160
Pre-licensing (phase 1)
(UA)
U-Battery HTG
HTG
U-Battery Canada Ltd.
CA
4
Pre-licensing (phase 1 pending)
–
VBER-300
PWR
OKBM
RU
300
Licensing stage
(KZ, RU)
XE-100
HTG
X Energy
CA
80
Pre-licensing (phase 2* in progress)
–
Tab.3
Fig.1
Fig.2
Fig.3
Fig.4
Fig.5
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