| Issue |
EPJ Web Conf.
Volume 247, 2021
PHYSOR2020 – International Conference on Physics of Reactors: Transition to a Scalable Nuclear Future
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | 06019 | |
| Number of page(s) | 11 | |
| Section | Advanced Modelling and Simulation | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202124706019 | |
| Published online | 22 February 2021 | |
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202124706019
A MULTIPHYSICS SIMULATION SUITE FOR SODIUM COOLED FAST REACTORS
Department of Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC, USA 27695-7909
wcdawn@ncsu.edu
sppalmta@ncsu.edu
Published online: 22 February 2021
A simulation suite has been developed to model reactor power distribution and multiphysics feedback effects in Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors (SFRs). This suite is based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) and employs a general, unstructured mesh to solve the Simplified P3 (SP3) neutron transport equations. In the FEM implementation, two-dimensional triangular elements and three-dimensional wedge elements are selected. Wedge elements are selected for their natural description of hexagonal geometry common to fast reactors.
Thermal feedback effects within fast reactors are modeled within the simulation suite. A thermal hydraulic model is developed, modeling both axial heat convection and radial heat conduction within fuel assemblies. A thermal expansion model is included and is demonstrated to significantly affect reactivity.
This simulation suite has been employed to model the Advanced Burner Reactor (ABR) benchmark, specifically the MET-1000. It has been demonstrated that these models sufficiently describe the multiphysics feedback phenomena and can be used to estimate multiphysics reactivity feedback coefficients.
Key words: Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) / Simplified PN (SPN) / Finite Element Method (FEM) / Thermal Hydraulics / Thermal Expansion / Multiphysics
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2021
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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