Comparisons of Nodal Diffusion and Whole-Core Transport Methods for Multiple Cycles of a Small Light Water Reactor

Jordan D. Rader; Andrew T. Godfrey; Aaron M. Graham; Clayton D. Lietwiler; Hunter Smith; Malinda Saia

doi:10.13182/PHYSOR22-37825

Comparisons of Nodal Diffusion and Whole-Core Transport Methods for Multiple Cycles of a Small Light Water Reactor

Jordan D. Rader, Andrew T. Godfrey, Aaron M. Graham, Clayton D. Lietwiler, Hunter Smith, Malinda Saia

Power Reactor Modeling

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

As part of a cooperative research and development agreement between the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Holtec International subsidiary SMR LLC, core simulator models of the SMR-160, a light water-cooled and -moderated, natural circulation, small modular reactor, were developed and compared. The model results include pin-by-pin power histories, critical boron concentration, and other key performance indicators useful for developing multi-cycle core loading patterns. One model uses industry standard nodal methods with a simple thermal-hydraulics solution, and the other uses an advanced deterministic neutronics solver with a coupled subchannel calculation. The goals of the comparison are to provide the reactor designer with a detailed and coupled core physics reference solution, inform the reactor designer of nodal model best practices based on the code-to-code comparison, and set up a workflow for performing subsequent detailed core simulator calculations. The results of this work will be used in the development of coupled neutronic, thermal hydraulic, and fuel performance models for advanced analysis of the SMR-160.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the International Conference on Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2022
Publisher	American Nuclear Society
Pages	156-165
Number of pages	10
ISBN (Electronic)	9780894487873
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.13182/PHYSOR22-37825
State	Published - 2022
Event	2022 International Conference on Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2022 - Pittsburgh, United States Duration: May 15 2022 → May 20 2022

Publication series

Name	Proceedings of the International Conference on Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2022

Conference

Conference	2022 International Conference on Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2022
Country/Territory	United States
City	Pittsburgh
Period	05/15/22 → 05/20/22

Funding

This research made use of the resources of the High Performance Computing Center at Idaho National Laboratory, which is supported by the Office of Nuclear Energy of the US Department of Energy and the Nuclear Science User Facilities under Contract No. DE-AC07-05ID14517. ∗This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan).

Keywords

VERA
reactor physics
small modular reactor

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.13182/PHYSOR22-37825

Cite this

Rader, J. D., Godfrey, A. T., Graham, A. M., Lietwiler, C. D., Smith, H., & Saia, M. (2022). Comparisons of Nodal Diffusion and Whole-Core Transport Methods for Multiple Cycles of a Small Light Water Reactor. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2022 (pp. 156-165). (Proceedings of the International Conference on Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2022). American Nuclear Society. https://doi.org/10.13182/PHYSOR22-37825

Rader, Jordan D. ; Godfrey, Andrew T. ; Graham, Aaron M. et al. / Comparisons of Nodal Diffusion and Whole-Core Transport Methods for Multiple Cycles of a Small Light Water Reactor. Proceedings of the International Conference on Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2022. American Nuclear Society, 2022. pp. 156-165 (Proceedings of the International Conference on Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2022).

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title = "Comparisons of Nodal Diffusion and Whole-Core Transport Methods for Multiple Cycles of a Small Light Water Reactor",

abstract = "As part of a cooperative research and development agreement between the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Holtec International subsidiary SMR LLC, core simulator models of the SMR-160, a light water-cooled and -moderated, natural circulation, small modular reactor, were developed and compared. The model results include pin-by-pin power histories, critical boron concentration, and other key performance indicators useful for developing multi-cycle core loading patterns. One model uses industry standard nodal methods with a simple thermal-hydraulics solution, and the other uses an advanced deterministic neutronics solver with a coupled subchannel calculation. The goals of the comparison are to provide the reactor designer with a detailed and coupled core physics reference solution, inform the reactor designer of nodal model best practices based on the code-to-code comparison, and set up a workflow for performing subsequent detailed core simulator calculations. The results of this work will be used in the development of coupled neutronic, thermal hydraulic, and fuel performance models for advanced analysis of the SMR-160.",

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author = "Rader, {Jordan D.} and Godfrey, {Andrew T.} and Graham, {Aaron M.} and Lietwiler, {Clayton D.} and Hunter Smith and Malinda Saia",

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Rader, JD, Godfrey, AT , Graham, AM, Lietwiler, CD, Smith, H & Saia, M 2022, Comparisons of Nodal Diffusion and Whole-Core Transport Methods for Multiple Cycles of a Small Light Water Reactor. in Proceedings of the International Conference on Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2022. Proceedings of the International Conference on Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2022, American Nuclear Society, pp. 156-165, 2022 International Conference on Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2022, Pittsburgh, United States, 05/15/22. https://doi.org/10.13182/PHYSOR22-37825

Comparisons of Nodal Diffusion and Whole-Core Transport Methods for Multiple Cycles of a Small Light Water Reactor. / Rader, Jordan D.; Godfrey, Andrew T.; Graham, Aaron M. et al.
Proceedings of the International Conference on Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2022. American Nuclear Society, 2022. p. 156-165 (Proceedings of the International Conference on Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2022).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

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AU - Smith, Hunter

AU - Saia, Malinda

PY - 2022

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N2 - As part of a cooperative research and development agreement between the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Holtec International subsidiary SMR LLC, core simulator models of the SMR-160, a light water-cooled and -moderated, natural circulation, small modular reactor, were developed and compared. The model results include pin-by-pin power histories, critical boron concentration, and other key performance indicators useful for developing multi-cycle core loading patterns. One model uses industry standard nodal methods with a simple thermal-hydraulics solution, and the other uses an advanced deterministic neutronics solver with a coupled subchannel calculation. The goals of the comparison are to provide the reactor designer with a detailed and coupled core physics reference solution, inform the reactor designer of nodal model best practices based on the code-to-code comparison, and set up a workflow for performing subsequent detailed core simulator calculations. The results of this work will be used in the development of coupled neutronic, thermal hydraulic, and fuel performance models for advanced analysis of the SMR-160.

AB - As part of a cooperative research and development agreement between the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Holtec International subsidiary SMR LLC, core simulator models of the SMR-160, a light water-cooled and -moderated, natural circulation, small modular reactor, were developed and compared. The model results include pin-by-pin power histories, critical boron concentration, and other key performance indicators useful for developing multi-cycle core loading patterns. One model uses industry standard nodal methods with a simple thermal-hydraulics solution, and the other uses an advanced deterministic neutronics solver with a coupled subchannel calculation. The goals of the comparison are to provide the reactor designer with a detailed and coupled core physics reference solution, inform the reactor designer of nodal model best practices based on the code-to-code comparison, and set up a workflow for performing subsequent detailed core simulator calculations. The results of this work will be used in the development of coupled neutronic, thermal hydraulic, and fuel performance models for advanced analysis of the SMR-160.

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Y2 - 15 May 2022 through 20 May 2022

ER -

Rader JD, Godfrey AT , Graham AM, Lietwiler CD, Smith H, Saia M. Comparisons of Nodal Diffusion and Whole-Core Transport Methods for Multiple Cycles of a Small Light Water Reactor. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2022. American Nuclear Society. 2022. p. 156-165. (Proceedings of the International Conference on Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2022). doi: 10.13182/PHYSOR22-37825

Comparisons of Nodal Diffusion and Whole-Core Transport Methods for Multiple Cycles of a Small Light Water Reactor

Abstract

Publication series

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Funding

Keywords

UN SDGs

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