Abstract
This work summarizes the validation analyses for the HELIOS code to support core de- sign and safety assurance calculations of the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). Past and current core safety assurance is performed by the PDQ-7 diffusion code; a state of the art reactor physics simulation tool from the nuclear industry's earlier days. Over the past twenty years, improvements in computational speed have enabled the use of modern neu- tron transport methodologies to replace the role of diffusion theory for simulation of complex systems, such as the ATR. More exact methodologies have enabled a para- digm-shift away from highly tuned codes that force compliance with a bounding safety envelope, and towards codes regularly validated against routine measurements. To val- idate HELIOS, the 16 ATR operational cycles from late-2009 to present were modeled. The computed power distribution was compared against data collected by the ATR's on-line power surveillance system. It was found that the ATR's lobe-powers could be determined with ±10% accuracy. Also, the ATR's cold startup shim configuration for each of these 16 cycles was estimated and compared against the reported critical position from the reactor log-book. HELIOS successfully predicted criticality within the toler- ance set by the ATR startup procedure for 13 out of the 16 cycles. This is compared to 12 times for PDQ (without empirical adjustment). These findings, as well as other in- sights discussed in this report, suggest that HELIOS is highly suited for replacing PDQ for core safety assurance of the ATR. Furthermore, a modern verification and validation framework has been established that allows reactor and fuel performance data to be computed with a known degree of accuracy and stated uncertainty.
Original language | English |
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State | Published - 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
Event | 2014 International Conference on Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2014 - Kyoto, Japan Duration: Sep 28 2014 → Oct 3 2014 |
Conference
Conference | 2014 International Conference on Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2014 |
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Country/Territory | Japan |
City | Kyoto |
Period | 09/28/14 → 10/3/14 |
Funding
The authors would like to thank Bryon Curnutt, Jane Poling, Rose Holtz, Zachary Miller and Anthony LaPorta of the ATR Engineering group for their sharing of data, knowledge, and insight for developing this core follow validation protocol. This work has been sponsored by the United States Department of Energy through the Idaho National Laboratory Advanced Test Reactor Life Extension Program under DOE Idaho Operations Office Contract DE-AC07-05ID14517.
Funders | Funder number |
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Idaho National Laboratory Advanced Test Reactor Life Extension Program | |
U.S. Department of Energy | DE-AC07-05ID14517 |
Keywords
- Advanced Test Reactor
- As-Run
- Core Follow
- Criti- cal Eigenvalue
- Fuel Inventory
- HELIOS
- Startup Prediction