NuScale Power, LLC announced today that it recently successfully
completed its helical coil steam generator (HCSG) testing activities at
the SIET S.p.A. (SIET) facilities in Piacenza, Italy, and that during
that same time period, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
conducted a successful quality assurance (QA) inspection of the testing
activities. The result of the inspection was a rare outcome in that the
NRC concluded with no findings, observations, violations,
recommendations or non-conformances identified.
The NRC inspection team concluded that NuScale’s and SIET’s QA policies
and procedures complied with the applicable requirements, and that
SIET’s personnel were implementing these policies and procedures
effectively in support of NuScale’s HCSG testing activities.
NuScale is currently developing and testing computer code design
analysis software to support the NRC design certification of their
advanced light water reactor design. The NuScale design includes a
first-of-a-kind HCSG for conversion of nuclear heat into process steam.
NuScale contracted the services of SIET for the full-scale testing of
the HCSG performance over the expected range of reactor operating
conditions. SIET has extensive experience with similar heat exchanger
test bundle fabrication and testing for other reactor vendors.
NuScale’s test aimed to:
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Design and test a steam generator stabilization system so that stable
steam generator operation is assured
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Provide ample data covering the full range of operation to benchmark
NuScale HCSG computer codes and models
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Measure steam generator outlet conditions as a function of primary and
secondary system conditions and tube geometry
In December 2013, NuScale Power was selected as the sole winner of the
second round of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) competitively-bid,
cost-sharing program to develop nuclear Small Modular Reactor (SMR)
technology. As part of the award, NuScale will receive funding that will
support the accelerated development of its NuScale Power Module™
SMR technology. NuScale and DOE are currently negotiating a cooperative
agreement that formalizes the public-private relationship and
establishes milestones for the five-year funding program.
As the only U.S.-based company established solely for the
commercialization of its SMR, NuScale Power has developed a unique and
proprietary break-through technology for an innovative, simple, safe,
economic and scalable small modular reactor. Natural forces of
physics—gravity, convection, and conduction—are used for normal
operations and safe shutdown. This eliminates many of the large and
complex systems (e.g., reactor coolant pumps, motors, valves,
large-diameter reactor coolant system piping) found in today’s nuclear
power plants and other SMR designs. As a result, the NuScale plant is
safe, simpler, and less expensive to build and operate. At 45 megawatts
per module, a NuScale power plant can include as many as 12 NuScale
Power Modules™ to produce as much as 540 MW.
The NuScale design was initially developed in 2000 and has been
demonstrated and in testing programs since 2003 in a fully-instrumented
one-third scale electrically-heated test facility in Corvallis, OR. In
addition, NuScale commissioned a full-scale multi-module control-room
simulator in May of 2012. Both facilities were U.S. SMR industry firsts.
About NuScale Power, LLC
NuScale Power, LLC is developing a new kind of nuclear plant; a safer,
smaller, scalable version of pressurized water reactor technology,
designed with natural safety features. Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR), a
global engineering, procurement and construction company with a 60-year
history in commercial nuclear power, is the majority investor in
NuScale. As the sole winner of the second round of the U.S. Department
of Energy's (DOE) competitively-bid, cost-sharing program to develop
nuclear small modular reactor (SMR) technology, NuScale's design offers
the benefits of carbon-free nuclear power but takes away the issues
presented by the cost of installing large capacity. A nuclear power
plant using NuScale's technology is comprised of individual nuclear
power modules; each produces 45 megawatts of electricity with its own
combined containment vessel and reactor system, and its own packaged
turbine-generator set. A power plant can include as many as 12 NuScale
integral PWR modules to produce as much as 540 megawatts. The reactors
are cooled by the natural circulation of water and can be shut down
safely with no operator action, no AC or DC power, and no external
water. NuScale power plants are scalable - additional modules are added
as customer demand for electricity increases. NuScale's technology also
is ideally suited to supply energy for district heating, desalination
and other applications. For more information visit: www.nuscalepower.com.
Copyright Business Wire 2014