SMART： The First Licensed Advanced Integral Reactor.pdf

Journal ofEnergy and Power Engineering 8(2014)94·102 SMART：The First Licensed Advanced I nteg ral Reactor Keung Koo Kim，Wonj ae Lee，Shun Choi，Hark Rho Kim and Jaej oo Ha Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute，Daeduckdaero 989-，1 1，Yuseongku，Daejeon 305—353，Korea Received：April 23，2013／Accepted：August 12，2013／Published：January 3 1，2014 Abstract：SMART fsystem．integrated modular advanced reactor)is a smal1．sized advanced integral reactor with a rated thermal power of 330 MW．It can produce l 00 MW of electricity or 90 MW of electricity and 40，000 t of desalinated water concurrently，which is sufficient for l 00．000 residents．SMART technology is a sensible mixture of new innovative design features and proven technologies through a PWR．The enhancement of safety and reliability is realized by incorporating inherent safety features and reliable passive safety systems．The improvement in the economics is achieved through system simplification．component modularization，construction time reduction．and increased plant availability．AI1 technologies and design features implemented into SMART have been proven in industries and／or qualified through the SMART design verification program including comprehensive test and experiments．The full scope of the safety analyses carried out to confirm that the inherent safety—improvement design characteristics and safety systems of SMART ensure reactor safety．After a thorough licensing review，SDA(standard design approva1)for SMART was granted on July 4th， 20 l 2 bv the Korea NSSC(Nuclear Safety and Security Commission)．This marks the first license for an integral-type reactor in the world．This paper presents the SMART characteristics safety features and technology validation．The licensing process of SMART is also described． Key words：SMR，advanced technology，passive safety system，technology validation，standard design，SMART 1．Intr0ductiOn After nuclear power generation became established in the 1 950s，the size of reactor units has grown from 60 MWe to more than 1，600 MWe，with corresponding economies of scale during operation．Most nuclear power plants currently available on the market are large-sized plants requiring a large initial investment and a long construction period．Therefore，only a select number of countries can afford to utilize nuclear energy． However，most countries operate small—sized power plants for their electricity supply．and 96．5％of the 1 27，000 power plants currently operating in the world are under 300 MWe[1]．These countries can not deploy large-sized nuclear power plants partly owing to the high capital cost and small electricity grids[2】． Therefore，several countries including Korea have Corresp0nding author：Keung Koo Kim，SMART Project Manager，research fields：SMR design and reactor dynamic analysis．E—mail：kkkim@kaeri．re．kr． entered into a race to develop small-sized reactors that can be built independently or as modules within a larger complex，with capacity added incrementally as required．The economies of scale are provided by the numbers produced．Small units are seen as a much more manageable investment than large ones．The KAERI(Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) started developing SMART in 1 997，aiming to export it to countries with small electric grids and water supply issues[3，4】． SMART is a small—sized integral type PWR with a rated thermal power of 330 MWt，which adopts a sensible mixture of new innovative design features and proven technologies aimed at achieving highly enhanced safety and improved economics．The design features contributing to safety enhancement are basically inherent safety improvement and passive safety features．Economic improvement features include system simplification， component modularization， on．shop fabrication and site SMART：The First Licensed Advanced Integral Reactor installation and other features reducing the construction time． Advanced design features implemented into SMART should be proven or qualified through experience，testing，or analysis，and if possible，the equipment should be designed according to the applicable approved standards．For the last 1 5 years．SMART—specific design methodologies and a computer code system have been built together through a series of validation experiments and equipment verifications．From 2009 to 20 1 2，the SMART Technology Validation and the Standard Design Approval Project were carried out．After one and half years of intensive licensing review．the SDA f0r SMART was officially issued on July 4th．20 1 2 bv the NSSC．in compliance with Article l 2 ofthe Nuclear Safety Act．This is the first license for an integral reactor in the world． 2．SMART Design Goal From the beginning stage of the SMART development，top—level requirements for safety and economics were imposed for the SMART design features as shown in Table 1．Salty enhancement and economic improvement are the most important considerations．The safety requirements of SMART were top-tiered based on the core damage frequency per reactor year，which。