20 May (NucNet): Holtec International’s SMR-160 small modular reactor design incorporates technology that allows it to shut down and remain safely shut down for an unlimited period without the need for power, make-up water or operator actions, the company said in a statement.
US-based Holtec said its engineers have made the reactor a “walk-away” safe nuclear unit, which means that if a calamity were to strike – similar to the tsunami and earthquake at Fukushima-Daiichi in Japan – the plant will switch to and remain in a safe shutdown and cooled configuration for an unlimited period without any human intervention.
The company said the 160-megawatt reactor’s core and spent fuel pool would remain safely cooled under a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), a break in a main steam line, or prolonged loss of power.
Designers have eliminated all piping of more than eight inches (20 cms) in diameter from the SMR-160, increasing its ability to withstand a LOCA, Holtec said. Large piping would have been the single largest plant vulnerability, the statement said.
Aspects of the design that contribute to the ability to cool indefinitely have been submitted for patent protection to the US government, Holtec said.
The company said other SMRs under development all have “limited duration coping periods”.
In December 2013, Holtec said it remained confident that it would bring the SMR-160 to market, despite a decision by the US Department of Energy to award funding for developing an SMR design to Oregon-based start-up NuScale.
