Abstract
The ESBWR is a natural circulation Boiling Water Reactor (BWR). Natural circulation provides major simplification by removal of the recirculation pumps and associated equipment. It is also synergistic with the passive safety systems. ESBWR is designed for natural circulation with enhanced natural circulation flow rate and greatly improved stability performance relative to operating BWRs at natural circulation conditions. The performance of the ESBWR has been established using the state-of-the-art TRACG computer code, which has been validated against a wide range of test data. Conservative design criteria for stability are easily satisfied. Natural circulation in the ESBWR provides numerous benefits with large margins to thermal design limits.
