The Virtual Test Bed (VTB) Repository: A Library of Reference Reactor Models Using NEAMS Tools

Giudicelli, Guillaume; Abou-Jaoude, Abdalla; Novak, April; Abdelhameed, Ahmed; Balestra, Paolo; Charlot, Lise M.; Fang, Jun; Feng, Bo; Folk, Thomas H.; Freile, Ramiro; Freyman, Thomas; Gaston, Derek; Harbour, Logan; Hua, T.Q.; Jiang, Wen; Martin, Nicolas; Miao, Yinbin; Miller, Jason; Naupa, Isaac; O’Grady, Daniel; Reger, David; Shemon, Emily; Stauff, Nicolas; Tano, Mauricio; Terlizzi, Stefano; Walker, Samuel A.; Permann, Cody

doi:10.1080/00295639.2022.2142440

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…An illustrative instance of Griffin managing displaced geometry can be found in the NRIC Virtual Test Bed (VTB) [16]. A sodium cooled fast reactor assembly demonstration [17] showcases a 3D SFR assembly Griffin model combined with a 2D BISON model of the fuel rod, tensor mechanics input for modeling the core support plate thermal expansion, and a 1D SAM TH computation.…”

Section: Neutronics Considerations and Griffin Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

FY23 Status Report on MOOSE-Based Approaches to Modeling Core Bowing in Fast Reactors

Wozniak,

Yang,

Shemon

et al. 2023

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Under the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy's Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) Program, an integrated multiphysics approach is being developed to model the core bowing phenomena important to liquid metal-cooled fast reactors. Core bowing is an important passive safety mechanism whereby increased power (which leads to temperature and flux gradients) influences the core to bow into less reactive configurations when the restraint system is properly designed. The phenomenon includes a complex interplay of radiation transport, duct temperature calculations involving fluid flow and heat transfer, and thermo-mechanical responses to the induced temperature and flux gradients. Structural material properties are also important to determining inelastic response to longer term flux gradients which cause irradiation creep and swelling. While core bowing provides a strong negative reactivity feedback when the restraint system is designed properly, it also results in additional forces between assemblies which increase the loads required to extricate them during refueling or control rod movement. Therefore, the restraint system must be designed with these tradeoffs in mind.The first stage of the work, which commenced in FY21 and continues through FY23, assesses thermo-mechanical modeling tools for producing core bowing predictions consistent with conventional tools. The Multiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) Tensor Mechanics and Contact Modules are employed. This status report describes work on additional thermo-mechanical benchmark verification problems with increased complexity from the examples demonstrated in FY21 and FY22.Several benchmark verification examples were selected from the IAEA verification and validation report with increased number of ducts and more complex contact interaction behavior. These examples involve a full symmetric sector with restraint rings at multiple load pad locations to simulate a limited free-bow restraint system concept, as well as irradiation induced swelling and creep effects in a sector. In addition, improvements to the contact module sideset assignment were assessed and compared with previous MOOSE results to verify the contact behavior. The MOOSEbased results were compared to IAEA benchmark participants' results. In every case, the MOOSE results agreed with other simulations results for estimating bowing behavior, providing additional verification basis of the tools for this particular physics application. Estimation of contact forces were mostly in agreement, with a few outlier results. A plan was suggested for dealing with the discrepancies with estimating contact force values.In addition, a 1-way coupling demonstration was performed using subchannel analysis code Pronghorn-SC and MOOSE on an ABR-1000-design sodium-cooled fast reactor assembly to evaluate coolant and duct wall temperatures.

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Section: Neutronics Considerations and Griffin Statusmentioning

confidence: 99%

FY23 Status Report on MOOSE-Based Approaches to Modeling Core Bowing in Fast Reactors

Wozniak,

Yang,

Shemon

et al. 2023

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“…For instance navier_stokes is coupled with the tensor_mechanics module in the fsi module to model transmission of stresses and material displacement across fluid-structure boundaries. Additionally, the Virtual Test Bed (VTB) [75,76] contains a litany of nuclear reactor models which couple neutronics and thermal hydraulics (powered by the navier_stokes module) through the MOOSE MultiApp system.…”

Section: Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moose Navier-Stokes Module

Lindsay

Giudicelli

German

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…The neutronics calculation will compute the power distribution (i.e., the heat source term for the thermal hydraulics simulation). We will briefly summarize the neutronics model and will refer the reader to [7,30] for additional details on the Mk1-FHR neutronics model.…”

Section: Neutronics Model In Griffinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deployment of the Finite Volume Method in Pronghorn for Gas and Salt cooled Pebble Bed Reactors

Schunert,

Giudicelli,

Lindsay

et al. 2021

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This report summarizes the activities related to "Complete FHR and HTGR pebble bed simulator, including initial validation" funded by Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) thermal-hydraulics focus area. The activity revolves around the coarse-mesh thermalhydraulics code Pronghorn and its application to gas-and salt-cooled pebble-bed reactor.The main difference between gas and salt cooled pebble-bed reactor from a thermal-hydraulics perspective is the fluid. To address the difference in fluid behavior, two separate approaches are implemented in the MOOSE Navier Stokes module: 1) a Boussinesq approximation and 2) a fully compressible formulation. The developed finite volume method capabilities are used for improving pre-existing gas-cooled and salt-cooled pebble-bed reactor models. A steady-state, multiphysics gas-cooled pebble-bed reactor model is created that couples the equilibrium core depletion capability developed in previous work, and the finite volume method capability developed for this report. The salt-cooled pebble-bed reactor model is upgraded to use the incompressible finite volume method capability and then extended to three spatial dimensions. Finally, several verification-and-validation exercises performed with Pronghorn are documented using the verification-and-validation report of the MooseDoc system. The goal of this effort to document the verification-and-validation level of Pronghorn and improve stakeholder confidence in the results obtained with Pronghorn.

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The Virtual Test Bed (VTB) Repository: A Library of Reference Reactor Models Using NEAMS Tools

Cited by 12 publications

References 27 publications

FY23 Status Report on MOOSE-Based Approaches to Modeling Core Bowing in Fast Reactors

FY23 Status Report on MOOSE-Based Approaches to Modeling Core Bowing in Fast Reactors

Moose Navier-Stokes Module

Deployment of the Finite Volume Method in Pronghorn for Gas and Salt cooled Pebble Bed Reactors

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