Experimental validation of 3D reconstructed pin-power distributions in full-scale BWR fuel assemblies with partial length rods
- Axpo Kernenergie, Parkstrasse 23, CH-5401 Baden (Switzerland)
- Paul Scherrer Inst., CH-5232 Villigen (Switzerland)
Total fission rate measurements have been performed on full-size BWR fuel assemblies of type SVEA-96 Optima2 in the framework of Phase III of the LWR-PROTEUS experimental program at the Paul Scherrer Inst.. This paper presents comparisons of calculated, nodal reconstructed, pin-wise total-fission rate distributions with experimental results. Radial comparisons have been performed for the three sections of the assembly (96, 92 and 84 fuel pins), while three-dimensional effects have been investigated at pellet-level for the two transition regions, i.e. the tips of the short (1/3) and long (2/3) partial length rods. The test zone has been modeled using two different code systems: HELIOS/PRESTO-2 and CASMO-5/SIMULATE-5. The first is presently used for core monitoring and design at the Leibstadt Nuclear Power Plant (KKL). The second represents the most recent generation of the widely applied CASMO/SIMULATE system. For representing the PROTEUS test-zone boundaries, Partial Current Ratios (PCRs) - derived from a 3D MCNPX model of the entire reactor - have been applied to the PRESTO-2 and SIMULATE-5 models in the form of 2- and 5-group diagonal albedo matrices, respectively. The MCNPX results have also served as a reference, high-order transport solution in the calculation/experiment comparisons. It is shown that the performance of the nodal methodologies in predicting the global distribution of the total-fission rate is very satisfactory. Considering the various radial comparisons, the standard deviations of the calculated/experimental (C/E) distributions do not exceed 1.9% for any of the three methodologies - PRESTO-2, SIMULATE-5 and MCNPX. For the three-dimensional comparisons at pellet-level, the corresponding standard deviations are 2.7%, 2.0% and 2.1%, respectively. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- American Nuclear Society, Inc., 555 N. Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, Illinois 60526 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 22105577
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: PHYSOR 2012: Conference on Advances in Reactor Physics - Linking Research, Industry, and Education, Knoxville, TN (United States), 15-20 Apr 2012; Other Information: Country of input: France; 6 refs.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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