PREDICTOR-CORRECTOR QUASI-STATIC METHOD FOR TIGHTLY-COUPLED REACTOR MULTIPHYSICS TRANSIENT CALCULATIONS

Naval Nuclear Laboratory 814 Pittsburgh McKeesport Blvd, West Mifflin, PA 15122

gabriel.kooreman@unnpp.gov
david.griesheimer@unnpp.gov

Published online: 22 February 2021

Abstract

Several methods have recently been developed to solve multiphysics transients using the Improved Quasi-Static method and its derivatives. In order to address some perceived drawbacks of these methods, we have developed a new method for solving multiphysics transient calculations using the Predictor-Corrector Quasi-Static method. Our method involves computing reactivity feedback parameters during each transport timestep in order to enable reactivity feedback on the small timescale used by the point kinetics phase of the calculation. The advantage of this approach is that the transport solver does not need to store local flux information between time steps, potentially making it more appropriate for use with a Monte Carlo solver. We have demonstrated the accuracy of our method by solving a simple model problem that exhibits difficult multiphysics behavior. Additionally, we have compared our results against another recently published multiphysics coupling scheme, confirming that our approach does not negatively affect the accuracy of the transient solution.