Current and anticipated uses of the thermal hydraulics codes at the NRC
The focus of Thermal-Hydraulic computer code usage in nuclear regulatory organizations has undergone a considerable shift since the codes were originally conceived. Less work is being done in the area of {open_quotes}Design Basis Accidents,{close_quotes}, and much more emphasis is being placed on analysis of operational events, probabalistic risk/safety assessment, and maintenance practices. All of these areas need support from Thermal-Hydraulic computer codes to model the behavior of plant fluid systems, and they all need the ability to perform large numbers of analyses quickly. It is therefore important for the T/H codes of the future to be able to support these needs, by providing robust, easy-to-use, tools that produce easy-to understand results for a wider community of nuclear professionals. These tools need to take advantage of the great advances that have occurred recently in computer software, by providing users with graphical user interfaces for both input and output. In addition, reduced costs of computer memory and other hardware have removed the need for excessively complex data structures and numerical schemes, which make the codes more difficult and expensive to modify, maintain, and debug, and which increase problem run-times. Future versions of the T/H codes should also be structured in a modular fashion, to allow for the easy incorporation of new correlations, models, or features, and to simplify maintenance and testing. Finally, it is important that future T/H code developers work closely with the code user community, to ensure that the code meet the needs of those users.
- Research Organization:
- US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Washington, DC (United States). Div. of Systems Technology; Nuclear Energy Agency, 75 - Paris (France); SCIENTECH, Inc., Boise, ID (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 544383
- Report Number(s):
- NUREG/CP-0159; NEA/CSNI/R-(97)4; CONF-961192-; ON: TI97008508; TRN: 98:000221
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)/Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI) workshop on transient thermal-hydraulic codes requirements, Annapolis, MD (United States), 5-8 Nov 1996; Other Information: PBD: Jul 1997; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of the OECD/CSNI workshop on transient thermal-hydraulic and neutronic codes requirements; Ebert, D.; PB: 824 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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