• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.1340-1346
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• 2020

The aim of this paper is to explore the 8th-order Adams-Bashforth-Moulton (ABM8) method in the solution of the point reactor kinetics equations. The numerical experiment considers feedback reactivity by Doppler effects, and insertions of reactivity. The Doppler effects is approximated with an adiabatic nuclear reactor that is a typical approximation. The numerical results were compared and discussed with several solution methods. The CATS method was used as a benchmark method. According with the numerical experiments results, the ABM8 method can be considered as one of the main solution method for changes reactivity relatively large.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.700-709
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• 2017

This work looks at the effect of changes in kinetic parameters on simultaneous reactivity insertions and beam tube flooding in a typical material testing reactor-type research reactor with low enriched high density ($U_3Si_2-Al$) fuel. Using a modified PARET code, various ramp reactivity insertions (from $0.1/0.5 s to $1.3/0.5 s) plus beam tube flooding ($0.5/0.25 s) accidents under uncontrolled conditions were analyzed to find their effects on peak power, net reactivity, and temperature. Then, the effects of changes in kinetic parameters including the Doppler coefficient, prompt neutron lifetime, and delayed neutron fractions on simultaneous reactivity insertion and beam tube flooding accidents were analyzed. Results show that the power peak values are significantly sensitive to the Doppler coefficient of the system in coupled accidents. The material testing reactor-type system under such a coupled accident is not very sensitive to changes in the prompt neutron life time; the core under such a coupled transient is not very sensitive to changes in the effective delayed neutron fraction.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.307-318
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• 2009

KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) has developed the GAMMA+ code for a thermo-fluid and safety analysis of a VHTR (Very High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor). A key safety issue of the VHTR design is to demonstrate its inherent safety features for an automatic reactor power trip and power stabilization during an anticipated transient without scram (ATWS) accident such as a loss of forced cooling by a trip of the helium circulator (LOFC) or a reactivity insertion by a control rod withdrawal (CRW). This paper intends to show the ATWS assessment capability of the GAMMA+ code which can simulate the reactor power response by solving the point-kinetic equations with six-group delayed neutrons, by considering the reactivity changes due to the effects of a core temperature variation, xenon transients, and reactivity insertions. The present benchmark calculations are performed by using the safety demonstration experiments of the 10 MW high temperature gas cooled-test module (HTR-10) in China. The calculation results of the power response transients and the solid core temperature behavior are compared with the experimental data of a LOFC ATWS test and two CRW ATWS tests by using a 1mk-control rod and a 5mk-control rod, respectively. The GAMMA+ code predicts the power response transients very well for the LOFC and CRW ATWS tests in HTR-10.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society for Energy Engineering kosee Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.115-120
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• 2000

The analysis of flux distribution under stead-state in large power reactors with assymetry reactivity insertions requires the use of three-dimensional diffusion calculations. For the purpose, consistently formulated modern nodal methods based on higher order interface techniques have become popular tools for flux distributions in large commercial nuclear reactors. Among the earlier developments, the nodal Green's function method obtains its nodal interface equation from the transverse-integrated integral diffusion equation using a finite-medium Green's function. In this method, the outgoing current from a node surface is formulated as a response of the incoming currents and the spatially integrated neutron source within the same node. The well-known nodal expansion method is also based on an interface partial current formulation. Nodal methods high-level interface variables, i.e., interface net current and flux, may be more computationally efficient than the nodal Green's function method because they have one fewer unknown per interface. The Analytic Nodal Method(ANM), which can be classified as an interface net current technique and, was faster in solving some standard benchmark problems than the other two methods.(omitted)

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.23-30
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• 2008

The neutron kinetic analysis methods for the molten-salt reactors are quite different from those for conventional solid-fuel reactors, which do not take into account the flowing-fuel-induced neutronics effects. Therefore, for dynamics and safety analyses of the molten-salt reactor systems, the conventional kinetics codes would not be appropriate to accurately predict its transient behaviors. A point-kinetics with flowing- fuel model has been used to assess the fluid-fuel reactor system safety, but recognized as not to be sufficient to simulate spatial distributions of delayed-neutron precursors and neutron populations during transients for given detail reactor models. In order to meet this requirement, AMBIKIND, a 2-group, 2-dimensional neutron kinetics code suitable for the molten-salt reactor systems was developed. This paper explains the code's theoretical and numerical descriptions and, as a part of its verification, includes some simulation results of MSRE stability experiments. Even though the present reactor model does not include the recirculation effect of the fuel-salt through the reactor system, the AMBIKIN2D code should be able to predict the power and phase shift at various power levels and reactivity insertions with better accuracy.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.192-197
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• 1987

Two-point kinetic equations for a compact-core-with-bulky-D$_2$O-reflector system were developed. A unique feature of the system is that certain fission gammas create retarded photoneutrons in the D$_2$O reflector by (ｒ, n) reaction. Coupling effect between the core and the reflector was investigated by simulating power transients with various ramp reactivity insertions. Special attention was paid to the phenomenon associated with spatial separation of photoneutrons and their precursors. Simulations show that accuracy of the two-point model is comparable with that of space-dependent approach. Also it is found that the explicily expressed photoneutron terms in the reflector equation slow down the power transient compared to non-photoneutron expressions. Detectors for reactor power control purpose prefer to be deployed in the core zone to be able to accurately perdict transient power.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.973-979
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• 2024

In the framework of the Generation IV research and development project, in which the French Commission of Alternative and Atomic Energies (CEA) is involved, a main objective for the design of Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) is to meet the safety goals for severe accidents. Among the severe ones, the Unprotected Transient OverPower (UTOP) accidents can lead very quickly to a global melting of the core. UTOP accidents can be considered either as slow during a Control Rod Withdrawal (CRW) or as fast. The paper focuses on fast UTOP accidents, which occur in a few milliseconds, and three different scenarios are considered: rupture of the core support plate, uncontrolled passage of a gas bubble inside the core and core mechanical distortion such as a core flowering/compaction during an earthquake. Several levels and rates of reactivity insertions are also considered and the thermal-mechanical behavior of an ASTRID fuel pin from the ASTRID CFV core is simulated with the GERMINAL code. Two types of fuel pins are simulated, inner and outer core pins, and three different burn-up are considered. Moreover, the feedback from the CABRI programs on these type of transients is used in order to evaluate the failure mechanism in terms of kinetics of energy injection and fuel melting. The CABRI experiments complete the analysis made with GERMINAL calculations and have shown that three dominant mechanisms can be considered as responsible for pin failure or onset of pin degradation during ULOF/UTOP accident: molten cavity pressure loading, fuel-cladding mechanical interaction (FCMI) and fuel break-up. The study is one of the first step in fast UTOP accidents modelling with GERMINAL and it has shown that the code can already succeed in modelling these type of scenarios up to the sodium boiling point. The modeling of the radial propagation of the melting front, validated by comparison with CABRI tests, is already very efficient.