Impact of modeling Choices on Inventory and In-Cask Criticality Calculations for Forsmark 3 BWR Spent Fuel

Conference · Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2015

OSTI ID:1223658

Martinez-Gonzalez, Jesus S. ^[1]; Ade, Brian J. ^[2]; Bowman, Stephen M. ^[2]; Gauld, Ian C. ^[2]; Ilas, Germina ^[2]; Marshall, William BJ J. ^[2]

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1. Univ. Politecnica de Madrid (Spain)
2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Simulation of boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel depletion poses a challenge for nuclide inventory validation and nuclear criticality safety analyses. This challenge is due to the complex operating conditions and assembly design heterogeneities that characterize these nuclear systems. Fuel depletion simulations and in-cask criticality calculations are affected by (1) completeness of design information, (2) variability of operating conditions needed for modeling purposes, and (3) possible modeling choices. These effects must be identified, quantified, and ranked according to their significance. This paper presents an investigation of BWR fuel depletion using a complete set of actual design specifications and detailed operational data available for five operating cycles of the Swedish BWR Forsmark 3 reactor. The data includes detailed axial profiles of power, burnup, and void fraction in a very fine temporal mesh for a GE14 (10×10) fuel assembly. The specifications of this case can be used to assess the impacts of different modeling choices on inventory prediction and in-cask criticality, specifically regarding the key parameters that drive inventory and reactivity throughout fuel burnup. This study focused on the effects of the fidelity with which power history and void fraction distributions are modeled. The corresponding sensitivity of the reactivity in storage configurations is assessed, and the impacts of modeling choices on decay heat and inventory are addressed.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: Work for Others (WFO)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1223658
• Resource Relation: Conference: ICNC 2015 International Cooperation in Nuclear Criticality Safety, Charlotte, NC (United States), 13-17 Sep 2015
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
SPENT FUELS
FORSMARK-3 REACTOR
CASKS
SIMULATION
RADIOISOTOPES
INVENTORIES
CRITICALITY
DESIGN
VOID FRACTION
BURNUP
REACTIVITY
SPECIFICATIONS
VALIDATION
FUEL ASSEMBLIES
SAFETY ANALYSIS
AFTER-HEAT
CONFIGURATION
FORECASTING
INFORMATION
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
SPENT FUEL STORAGE
POWER DENSITY