Multiphysics Simulation and Verification of Molten Salt Reactors using GeN-Foam
In light of the growing need for detailed analysis of up-and-coming reactor technologies, several codes are under development with the aim of simulating multiphysics phenomena. These codes are largely unproven and unqualified, and as such they must be tested prior to being used for this purpose. Thi...
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| Tipo de recurso: | tesis de maestría |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2021 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositorio: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/362411 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/362411 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Molten salt reactors Nuclear reactors--Safety measures Nuclear reactors -- Risk assessment -- Design and construction Molten salt reactor Multiphysics Verification GeN-Foam CFD Reactors de sal fosa Reactors nuclears--Mesures de seguretat Reactors nuclears --Avaluació del risc -- Disseny i construcció Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Energies |
| Sumario: | In light of the growing need for detailed analysis of up-and-coming reactor technologies, several codes are under development with the aim of simulating multiphysics phenomena. These codes are largely unproven and unqualified, and as such they must be tested prior to being used for this purpose. This work takes on the task of assessing a particular OpenFOAM-based multiphysics code (GeN-Foam) for potential use in deterministic safety analysis of the Compact Molten Salt Reactor (CMSR) developed by Seaborg Technologies. It begins with an evaluation of the code against the MSFR benchmark developed at CNRS. The code is found to pass the benchmark without issue; thereby its fidelity with respect to several MSR-specific phenomena is established insofar as the benchmark results can be considered accurate. Next, a quite recent neutronic verification scheme is applied to the code, based on the extraction of the point-kinetic component of a transient solution. The code is found to be partially verified in this respect, with one issue encountered in the amplitude of the transient response to a sinusoidal reactivity perturbation. On the other hand, the phase response can be considered verified. Finally, the code is applied to the CMSR. A set of multiphysics simulations are performed of this full-core 3-D porous media model. A mesh independence study is performed on the fully-coupled steady-state solution and a sensitivity study is also performed with regard to the calculation of βeff with DNP transport. Transient simulations are performed of bulk reactivity insertion, loss of moderator cooling, and unprotected loss of flow. Results fall well within reasonable expectations and the general safety benefits of molten salt reactors are exhibited. With this, GeN-Foam is positively assessed for continued use in the design and licensing campaign of the CMSR. |
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