Ph.D. projects
Extension of nodal code DYN3D for SFR applications
Ph.D. student:
Evgeny NikitinSupervisor:
Dr. Emil Fridman (HZDR), Prof. Andreas Pautz (EPFL, PSI)Division:
Reactor SafetyPeriod:
10/2013–09/2017Motivation
This doctoral research focuses on using an existing nodal diffusion code for analyses of Sodium cooled Fast Reactors (SFRs). The primary goal of this doctoral research is to extend the reactor dynamics code DYN3D for SFR applications. The extension includes the development of thermo-mechanical models, that to account for the thermal expansion feedbacks inside the reactor core. These models are missing in DYN3D, since the code was originally developed for Light Water Reactor (LWR) analyses. The thermal expansion effects, while negligible in LWRs, constitute an important reactivity feedback in SFR systems.
Objectives
- Extension and verification of a few-group homogenized cross section generation methodology that is applicable for nodal diffusion calculation of realistic SFR cores.
- Development of nodal code specific thermal expansion models, which can account for the reactivity effects of the axial and radial core expansions.
- Implementation of the new models into the DYN3D code and assessment of the code for SFR analyses by verification and validation.