3-D TRANSIENT COUPLED SIMULATION OF SUPERPHENIX WITH PARCS/ATHLET

Abstract

Most safety criteria for Sodium cooled Fast Reactors (SFR) are local core parameters. Thus, application of 3-D neutron kinetic and thermal-hydraulic coupled codes including detailed modelling of core expansion effects is mandatory for best estimate evaluations of safety margins. A recently published benchmark based on measurements performed at the Superph´enix (SPX) reactor offers the opportunity to validate codes and methods for SFR safety assessment. In this paper, the SPX core is modelled in ATHLET and PARCS. Explicit models for axial and radial core expansion effects for 3-D coupled calculations were recently implemented in PARCS. In ATHLET, axial thermal expansion of structures (strongback, vessel, control rod drive line) influencing the relative position of the control rod in the active core is modelled. The newly implemented models are tested on a transient initiated by a reactivity insertion of -50 pcm. A point kinetic simulation is also performed to compare with the 3D solution. Both ATHLET-point kinetic model and ATHLET-PARCS simulations deliver similar power responses during the transient but with an offset. By analysing the different feedbacks in the point kinetic model, it can be concluded that models of expansion of the different structures are well implemented. In the future further analysis of different transients of the benchmark are planned.

Keywords

• sfr
• spx
• thermal expansion
• parcs
• athlet