Recent Results of Research on Supercritical Water-Cooled Reactors in Europe

Abstract

In Europe, the research on Supercritical Water-Cooled Reactors is integrated in a project called “High Performance Light Water Reactor Phase 2” (HPLWR Phase 2), co-funded by the European Commission. Ten partners and three active supporters are working on critical scientific issues to determine the potential of this reactor concept in the electricity market. The recent design of the HPLWR including flow paths is described in this paper. Exemplarily, design analyses are presented addressing neutronics, thermal-hydraulics, thermo-mechanics, materials investigations and heat transfer.