Development and validation of real-time modeling and simulation platform for molten salt reactor based on EPICS framework

Abstract

BackgroundNuclear power simulation technology has been widely applied in areas such as reactor design, safety analysis, independent safety evaluation, accident mitigation measures, design and optimization of control and protection system, verification of advanced main control room design, and operator training. This technology has effectively improved the safety and economy of nuclear power plants.PurposeThis study aims to develop a real-time modeling and simulation platform for a liquid-fueled molten salt reactor (LF-MSR) based on the open-source and open architecture of the experimental physics and industrial control system (EPICS).MethodsFirst, the real-time interaction function of the LF-MSR system code, RELAP5-TMSR, was improved, and the control and protection system and human-machine interaction interface were extended. Then, the ThorTypography simulation platform was preliminarily developed for LF-MSR by integrating the above three main functional modules. Finally, ThorTypography was validated using the pump start-up experiment, pump coast-down experiment, natural circulation experiment, and reactivity insertion experiment from the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) as the benchmark.ResultsThe test results of ThorTypography are consistent with the calculation results of RELAP5-TMSR and are in good agreement with the MSRE data. Moreover, the total simulation time is consistent with the total physical problem time.ConclusionsThorTypography is suitable for real-time modeling and simulation of LF-MSR systems and can provide effective support for LF-MSR design, operation, and safety analysis.

Keywords

• liquid-fueled molten salt reactor
• epics
• real-time simulation
• relap5
• control and protection