Extremely accurate sequential verification of RELAP5-3D
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Bettis Atomic Power Lab., West Mifflin, PA (United States)
Large computer programs like RELAP5-3D solve complex systems of governing, closure and special process equations to model the underlying physics of nuclear power plants. Further, these programs incorporate many other features for physics, input, output, data management, user-interaction, and post-processing. For software quality assurance, the code must be verified and validated before being released to users. For RELAP5-3D, verification and validation are restricted to nuclear power plant applications. Verification means ensuring that the program is built right by checking that it meets its design specifications, comparing coding to algorithms and equations and comparing calculations against analytical solutions and method of manufactured solutions. Sequential verification performs these comparisons initially, but thereafter only compares code calculations between consecutive code versions to demonstrate that no unintended changes have been introduced. Recently, an automated, highly accurate sequential verification method has been developed for RELAP5-3D. The method also provides to test that no unintended consequences result from code development in the following code capabilities: repeating a timestep advancement, continuing a run from a restart file, multiple cases in a single code execution, and modes of coupled/uncoupled operation. In conclusion, mathematical analyses of the adequacy of the checks used in the comparisons are provided.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC07-05ID14517
- OSTI ID:
- 1255242
- Report Number(s):
- INL/JOU-14-33443
- Journal Information:
- Nuclear Science and Engineering, Vol. 182, Issue 1; ISSN 0029-5639
- Publisher:
- American Nuclear SocietyCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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