Reconstructing What the Documents Describe: Spatial Reasoning in a Safety-Critical Nuclear System

Le résumé fourni par la source

Technical documentation can describe a complex machine accurately without presenting it as a continuous spatial whole. This paper records observations from a long-term, study-level three-dimensional reconstruction of the NuScale small modular reactor using public licensing documentation. It does not propose a universal method. Instead, it examines what became visible when descriptions, diagrams, tables, elevations, azimuths and sectional drawings were treated as forms of spatial evidence. Three examples are discussed: relationships among the reactor core, control rod assemblies and in-core instrumentation; the feedwater transition across the reactor pressure boundary; and the containment vessel as pressure boundary, support structure and access system. The reconstruction showed that a credible technical image depends on traceability, restraint and explicit preservation of uncertainty. Some relationships became clearer only after assembly in space; other details remained unresolved because the evidence did not support a unique geometry. The central observation is that omission can be a positive technical result. A visualization becomes more trustworthy when its limits remain visible and unsupported detail is not allowed to acquire the appearance of fact. This record contains the final PDF of MSA2026-9-14, published in Annals of Mirce Science on 14 September 2026 and deposited by the author with the publisher's permission. The paper is scheduled for inclusion in the journal's 2026 annual volume.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.