Application of NEAMS Multiphysics Framework for Species Tracking in Molten Salt Reactors

Technical Report · Thu Aug 31 04:00:00 EDT 2023

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/2201960· OSTI ID:2201960

Walker, Samuel Austin ^[1]; Tano Retamales, Mauricio Eduardo ^[1]; Abou Jaoude, Abdalla ^[1]

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1. Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

This report from Idaho National Laboratory (INL) summarizes the key modeling and simulation activities conducted under the Department of Energy (DOE) Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) Campaign during the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23). The focus of the work was to leverage state-of-the-art modeling capabilities from the DOE Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) codes to enable novel multiphysics and multiscale modeling and simulation of MSRs. Through collaboration with NEAMS code developers, advanced multiphysics analysis capabilities for MSR systems were demonstrated by coupling depletion, thermal-hydraulics, and thermochemistry into an innovative framework for chemical species transport in MSRs. As a result, the framework can track nuclides throughout their lifetimes in the core, from production (depletion) to advection throughout the salt volume (thermal-hydraulics) and off-gassing or precipitation outside of the salt (thermochemistry). This work supports the near-term deployment of MSRs by integrating the synergistic efforts between the DOE’s MSR Campaign and NEAMS program. The resulting framework will help better connect system design modelers with experimentalists to better understand and predict complex physical behaviors in MSRs. Researchers and MSR developers alike can now leverage these new modeling and simulation capabilities to perform novel analyses with applications including: • MSR dynamics during normal operational transients and accident scenarios • Off-gas system design and performance for fuel cycle and depletion analysis • Corrosion and active chemistry control for reactor component health and lifetime determination • Source term, decay heat and activity determination in accident scenarios • Special nuclear material accountancy and chemical forensic analysis for safeguards • Digital twin development of experiments and experimental reactor demonstrations • Measurement requirements for instrumentation and control design • Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of missing data to inform future experimental data collection.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-05ID14517
• OSTI ID: 2201960
• Report Number(s): INL/RPT--23-74376-Rev000
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
Chemical Species Tracking
Depletion Driven Spatially Resolved Thermochemistry
Depletion Driven Thermochemistry
MSR
Molten Salt Reactor
Multiphysics and Multiscale Modeling and Simulation
NEAMS
Spatially Resolved Thermochemistry