The effect of spatial discretization in LWR cell calculations with HELIOS 1.9

Cell and lattice calculations are the basis for all deterministic static and transient 3D full core calculations. The spatial discretization used for the cell and lattice calculations influences the results for these transport solutions significantly. The arising differences in the neutron flux distribution due to different spatial discretization are demonstrated. These differences in the flux distribution cause significant changes in the kinf value. An evaluation of the kinf value for the case of infinitely fine discretization is made. The influence of the discretization on the calculation of homogenized few group cross sections which are forwarded to the 3D full core calculations is investigated. Strategies for improving the discretization are developed and their influence on the calculation time is evaluated.