discovered_01_2013

PORTRAIT// The HZDR Research Magazine WWW.Hzdr.DE 44 45 for the light water reactors’ analyses is well-known but not directly applicable to Generation-IV reactors. Therefore, new procedures have to be developed. Typically, nuclear data are prepared using deterministic computer codes. However, the group decided on a different course and to use the Monte-Carlo based code “Serpent,” which is currently being developed at VTT, Technical Research Center of Finland. In contrast to the deterministic codes, Monte-Carlo-based simulators are able to handle the complex geometries of advanced reactors without any major approximations. Moreover, the capacity of computer workstations and clusters has increased to a level that allows computationally expensive Monte-Carlo methods to be used for production calculations. The young researchers help the Finnish developers to make “Serpent” a versatile and reliable nuclear data generator. As a result of the close collaboration, the first Serpent International Users Group Meeting was held at the HZDR in 2011 attracting 35 participants from 16 organizations from all around the World. Fukushima as a turning point "In the aftermath of the Fukushima accident, the future of nuclear safety research in Germany was unclear. After all, the German government quickly made the decision to phase out nuclear power entirely," Emil Fridman recalls. Today, nuclear safety research in Germany considers the evaluation of reactor prototypes that are built and operated outside German borders as one of its main tasks. For this to work, active nuclear technology research has to go on and German researchers must be represented in all relevant international bodies like the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and in the major European research frameworks that are currently working on Generation-IV reactors. The Dresden research group owes its existence to this very background as the HZDR Board of Directors agreed on its founding in the aftermath of the reactor accident in Japan. In Europe, several innovative reactors are already in the planning stages. One of them, a fast spectrum lead-bismuth cooled reactor called MYRRHA, is currently being developed in Mol, Belgium. In contrast to other nuclear reactors, MYRRHA will be driven by an accelerator. The role of the FOCUSSING ON GAS-, SODIUM-, AND LEAD-COOLED REACTORS: The figure shows the results of the neutronic simulation of a high-temperature gas cooled reactor core using the SERPENT Monte-Carlo code. The upper figure presents the top view of the reactor core | green – fuel blocks | red – control rods | grey - graphite reflector |; the middle figure shows the thermal neutron flux distribution; the lower figure the total neutron collision rates distribution.

discovered_01_2013

Pages