Light water-cooled reactor (LWR) systems have benefitted from billions of dollars
of research and development and millions of hours of operating experience of Light
Water Reactors over the past 50 years. While this R&D provides a strong foundation
for NuScale technology, what enables NuScale to truly stand out is its current access
to state-of-the-art test facilities. These facilities include:
- Stern Laboratories in Hamilton, Ontario Canada
- SIET SpA, Piacenza Italy
-
NuScale’s Integral System Test facility at OSU in Corvallis, Oregon
- NuScale's
Control Room Simulator in Corvallis, Oregon
Working prototype at NIST
NuScale co-founder Dr. Jose Reyes developed the Dynamic System Scaling Methodology,
an advanced concept to scaling test plants in order to replicate a nuclear power
plant’s thermal-hydraulic and other systems’ performance under normal operating
and all accident conditions, without requiring construction of a full-scale prototype.
NuScale’s exclusive access, one-third scale state-of-the-art, electrically-heated
prototype test facility at NIST provides NuScale tremendous advantage for modular
prototype testing. The facility has already demonstrated the viability of our new
design.
The NIST facility was engineered by the same team that designed and operated the
test facility used to certify the Westinghouse
® AP600
TM and
AP1000
TM designs.
The one-third scale prototype replicates the entire NuScale Power Module and reactor
building pool. Electrically heated, it lets NuScale designers bring the system up
to operating temperature and pressure. Stability testing ensures that throughout
the expected operating conditions, natural circulation is stable.
Furthermore, tests validate computer models including thermal efficiency, performance,
and safety calculations.