Sandia’s multi‑physics code MELCOR has been the NRC’s core accident‑modeling tool for decades and is now being extended to simulate advanced reactors and fuel‑cycle facilities. Those capability upgrades are a precondition for the NRC to evaluate, regulate, and therefore permit deployment of next‑generation nuclear technologies.
— If regulator-grade safety modeling lags, advanced reactors cannot be credibly licensed — so technical toolchains like MELCOR are a linchpin of nuclear industrial policy and public trust.
2026.04.04
100% relevant
Sandia’s MELCOR code, described on the Sandia Energy page, and explicit mention that NRC investments extended MELCOR beyond light‑water reactors to advanced reactors and fuel‑cycle facilities.
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