Integral Reactor Design
Integral reactor design houses primary coolant pump, heat exchangers, and core in single pressure vessel to minimize piping and leaks.
Eliminates large-break LOCA; natural circulation dominant. Examples: CAREM (25 MWe, Argentina), NuScale VOYGR (77 MWe, 12 pumps integral). Enhances safety, factory fabrication. Common in SMR/micro designs.
Why it matters now
Integral designs speed 2025 SMR licensing via passive safety. Adopted in VOYGR, BWRX-300 for data center modularity.