Current status and challenges of supercritical fluid thermal hydraulics

Abstract Due to its potential for high thermal efficiencies and considerable plant simplifications, supercritical pressure water cooled reactors (SCWR) have attracted strong interests of the international nuclear community and are recommended as the only water-cooled reactor among the six GEN-IV concepts. Since more than ten years, extensive research activities on SCWR have been ongoing in the nuclear community in China. In the present paper, some R&D activities such as experimental studies, analytical methods and numerical simulations related to SCWR development in China are summarized and reviewed. Future challenges of R&D are also identified. All of these can contribute to understand the basic thermal-hydraulic phenomenon and to improve their prediction methods.