AP1000^® PWR reactor physics analysis with VERA-CS and KENO-VI - PART I: Zero power physics tests

Westinghouse has applied the Core Simulator of the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications, VERA-CS, under development by the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of LWRs (CASL) to the core physics analysis of the AP1000^® PWR. The AP1000 PWR features an advanced first core with radial and axial heterogeneities, including enrichment zoning, multiple burnable absorbers, and a combination of light and heavy control banks to enable the MSHIM™ advanced operational strategy. These advanced features make application of VERA-CS to the AP1000 PWR first core especially relevant to qualify VERA performance. A companion paper at this conference describes the power distribution analysis of the AP1000 PWR with VERA-CS and the KENO Monte-Carlo code. This paper describes the results obtained for the startup physics tests simulations of the AP1000 PWR first core (critical boron, rod worth and reactivity coefficients), supporting the excellent numerical agreement reported in the companion paper for the power distribution.