A local software simulation services provider has helped a nuclear technology developer to produce a design for the first small modular reactor (SMR) that's been approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
Ansys Inc., based in Canonsburg, announced that its multiphysics simulation solutions focused on thermal and structural analyses allowed NuScale Power Corp. to make a device that could someday be used for electrical generation, district heating, water desalinization, commercial-scale hydrogen production as well as other applications involving the processing of heat energy.
"This is a milestone achievement for NuScale, the nuclear energy sector, and global energy market as a whole," Walt Hearn, senior vice president of worldwide sales and customer excellence at Ansys said in a statement. "By implementing Ansys' extensive multiphysics simulation and virtual prototyping, NuScale has made history in developing the first-ever, NRC-approved SMR."
NuScale said its SMR operates with a fully passive safety system that can shut down reactors and self-cool without operator or computer input, AC or DC power, or with the use of water, which the company said is a "groundbreaking development" for nuclear power solutions. Ansys played a pivotal role in helping to achieve that, NuScale said.
"The nuclear industry recognizes Ansys as the gold standard for performing simulations, analyses, and component qualifications, which supports a more efficient review of our design by the regulator," Carl Fisher, chief operating officer at NuScale, said in a statement.
With approval already obtained by the NRC, NuScale said it could see these reactors deployed throughout the country and in Europe before the end of the decade.
