Reactivity Feedback Modeling in SAM

Abstract

System Analysis Module (SAM) is being developed at Argonne National Laboratory as a modern system-level modeling and simulation tool for advanced non-light water reactor safety analyses. It utilizes the object-oriented application framework MOOSE to leverage the modern software environment and advanced numerical methods. The capabilities of SAM are being extended to enable the transient modeling, analysis, and design of various advanced nuclear reactor systems. This report presents the development of Point-Kinetics modeling and reactivity feedback mechanisms in SAM. It also presents a new capability for predicting the thermal expansion in various structural components by coupling SAM with an external thermomechanics module (Tensor Mechanics) from the MOOSE framework. The analysis of the transient behavior of a nuclear reactor requires the coupled simulation of reactor kinetics and thermal-hydraulics of the reactor core, especially for those unprotected transients where the reactor scram system may not function properly. The point kinetics model has been widely used for reactor safety analysis due to its simplicity to capture the transient behavior of the reactor. Various reactivity feedback models have been developed and integrated with the Point-Kinetics module, including fuel axial expansion, core radial expansion, fuel Doppler, and coolant density reactivity. The reactivity feedback models in SAM are similar to the respective models used in SAS4A/SASSYS-1. This report first presents the brief theory of the Point-Kinetics module and reactivity feedback models. A number of verification tests have been performed where the code simulations are compared to the analytical model results. The reactivity feedback due to the thermal deformation, such as the fuel axial expansion and core radial expansion, is important for SFR transient analysis. Simplified thermal expansion models for the fuel pin and reactor constrain system (e.g. grid plate) are developed and verified in SAM. Additionally, a coupling interface is developed to couple SAM with external thermomechanical analysis modules for more accurate predictions of the thermal expansion of different components during the transients. The current coupling interface has been tested with the Tensor Mechanics module from MOOSE. These point kinetics and reactivity feedback modeling capabilities have also been demonstrated by simulating the early stage of the unprotected loss-of-flow (ULOF) accident in the Advanced Burner Test Reactor (ABTR). Both the stand-alone SAM and coupled SAM and Tensor Mechanics simulations are performed. It is confirmed that the major physics phenomena in the heat transport system of the ABTR reactor are captured by SAM, and the point kinetics model, reactivity feedback models, and the coupling schemes are working well as expected.