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Superphénix Benchmark Part II: Transient Results

Ponomarev, A.; Mikityuk, K.; Fridman, E.; Di Nora, V. A.; Bubelis, E.; Schikorr, M.

The paper presents a transient simulation phase of the new benchmark on a large sodium fast reactor core. This phase of the benchmark was devoted to the modelling of selected operational transients performed during start-up tests of French SFR Superphénix in order to evaluate its reactivity characteristics and core response to certain perturbations. Six operational transients were selected for the analysis. The specification of a simplified thermal hydraulic model equipped with point kinetics reactivity data and boundary conditions for the selected transients are given in the paper and the results of simulations with several system codes are reported. The study uses the results of the reference Serpent 2 Monte Carlo solution obtained during the first phase of the benchmark related to static neutronic characterization of the core. The developed model contains necessary thermal hydraulic description of primary system components and assumptions to account for thermal expansion reactivity feedbacks from in-reactor structures, neutron kinetics parameters, power distribution and reactivity coefficients. Thus the transient benchmark appears as an effective tool for validation and cross comparisons of system codes including approbation and comparison of different modelling features for thermal expansion of the in-reactor structures, giving a reference core behaviour with use of relatively simple models. The results of the modelling demonstrate a reasonable agreement between all solutions and with the experimentally measured evolution of the core parameters. Particular discrepancies with experimental data could not be resolved using the simplified benchmark model and available experimental data reconstructed from the published analysis of start-up tests. Because of that, the future steps for achieving the improved agreement between the simulated results and the experimental data were proposed.

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Permalink: https://www.hzdr.de/publications/Publ-32428
Publ.-Id: 32428