The study effectively uses SimDec for sensitivity analysis, revealing the most influential parameters for the reactor’s levelized cost of heat (LCOH). However, the analysis appears to focus primarily on economic factors such as reactor pressure vessel (RPV) and containment vessel (CV) costs. Thermohydraulic uncertainties, while identified as low-impact overall, are not examined in detail beyond their immediate effects on RPV height and core pressure drops. This lack of focus could overlook secondary thermohydraulic interactions that might affect long-term operational efficiency, maintenance requirements, or safety margins.
Could the authors clarify whether more granular thermohydraulic parameters, such as transient flow dynamics or temperature distribution effects, were considered but excluded due to computational constraints? If so, what strategies might future studies adopt to integrate such parameters into sensitivity analyses without significantly increasing computational costs?