Scope of conceptual development of Resilient supercritical Light water-cooled reactor (SCWR-R)

The research and development (R&D) of Supercritical Light Water-cooled Reactor (SCWR) has been based on the matured Generation III light water-cooled reactor (LWR) technology and the supercritical fossil fuel-fired power plant (SC-FPP) technology. The plant concept has unique features such as the simple and compact plant system and the high thermal efficiency. Currently, the Japanese concepts are being further developed at Waseda University with focuses on improving resilience of SCWR. This study proposes and presents the overall scope of the new Resilient SCWR (SCWR-R) concept with focuses on two viewpoints: (1) SCWR can utilize variety of different core designs ranging from thermal to fast spectrum for multi purposes (e.g., Pu breeding, Minor Actinide burning) with the same plant system to respond to different fuel cycle needs; (2) severe accident management of SCWR-R can be developed with the combination of IVR and PCV with S/C to minimize the PCV internal contamination by radioactive materials, which should greatly reduce post-severe accident management. To establish the SCWR-R concept, the multi-level physics simulation methodology is currently being developed to evaluate the debris criticality, cooling and radioactive aerosol management during the severe accident.

Automated summary

The Supercritical Light Water-cooled Reactor (SCWR) is being developed based on matured Generation III light water-cooled reactor (LWR) technology and supercritical fossil fuel-fired power plant (SC-FPP) technology. The concept of SCWR has unique features such as a simple and compact plant system and high thermal efficiency. The research in Japan is focused on improving the resilience of SCWR. This study proposes the Resilient SCWR (SCWR-R) concept and presents its overall scope with two key viewpoints.