THERMAL-HYDRAULIC ASPECTS OF THE SBWR DESIGN

The Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (SBWR) is being developed by GE N uclear Energy in cooperation with a number of international associates . The design philosophy stresses simplification of the system by relyi ng to a large extent on passive features. The natural circulation driv en core flow eliminates the need for external recirculation pumps and loops. Emergency core cooling is accomplished by a Gravity Driven Cool ing System (GDCS). Passive energy removal from the containment is by c ondensers with natural circulation. The principles underlying these fe atures are not novel, and have been proof tested in previous designs. However, their application in the SBWR results in significant differen ces in operational characteristics from other plants. In this paper, t he phenomena that are important for the SBWR are identified, the quali fication plan is discussed and sample qualification results are shown for TRACG, the GE version of TRAC-BWR.