Areva announced Wednesday that regulators have approved the use of its Arcadia core simulator system in the U.S.
The code system helps designers and researchers evaluate core designs and conduct safety analyses. According to an Areva release, the system has access to a worldwide validation database and can be applied to all pressurized water reactor cores and standard fuel assemblies.
“In the U.S., this is a significant milestone that enables Areva to offer an advanced set of codes and methods giving our engineers the ability to perform advanced analyses compared to our competitors,” Ron Land, an Areva senior vice president, said in the release.
The technology has already enabled internal safety studies of Areva's EPR nuclear plant, which is under construction in Europe and China.