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At least 217 records · Page 12

Beam-dynamics codes used at DARHT

Several beam simulation codes are used to help gain a better understanding of beam dynamics in the DARHT LIAs. The most notable of these fall into the following categories: for beam production – Tricomp Trak orbit tracking code, LSP Particle in cell (PIC) code, for beam transport and acceleration – XTR static envelope and centroid code, LAMDA time-resolved envelope and centroid code, LSP-Slice PIC code, for coasting-beam transport to target – LAMDA time-resolved envelope code, LSP-Slice PIC code. These codes are also being used to inform the design of Scorpius.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Final Energy Savings Analysis of the Proposed NYStretch-Energy Code 2018

In 2017, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) developed its 2016 Stretch Code Supplement to the 2016 New York State Energy Conservation Construction Code. Since 2017, NYSERDA has continued to develop the 2018 edition, as part of the efforts to achieve a statewide Net Zero Energy Code by 2028. To support this effort, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) conducted energy simulation analysis to quantify the energy savings of proposed commercial provisions of the NYStretch-Energy Code 2018 compared to ANSI/ASHRAE/IES1 Standard 90.1-2013. Specifically, PNNL collaborated with New Buildings Institute (NBI), and developed energy-efficiency measures (EEMs) from national model codes and standards, high-performance building codes and standards, regional energy codes, and measures being proposed as part of the ongoing NYStretch-Energy code development process. PNNL analyzed these measures using whole building energy simulation for selected prototype commercial and multifamily buildings representing buildings in New York State. This report describes the analysis methodology, explains detailed specifications of the EEMs, and summarizes the results of individual EEMs and EEM bundles by building type and climate zone. As shown in Figure ES.1, significant energy saving could be achieved by adopting the NYStretch-Energy Code 2018.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Collaborative Research: Improved Efficiency and Coupling of the Radiation Code in the ACME Earth System Model (Final Report)

The complexity of radiative transfer, its importance to the exchange of energy in the climate system, and its high computational cost establishes importance of an accurate and efficient radiative transfer parameterization for climate simulation. Previous work by the proposing team at AER led to the development of the radiation code, RRTMG, which has been widely accepted by the global modeling community as a fast and accurate advancement over the previous generation of radiation codes. It has been in use in the NCAR CESM for many years, and it has been implemented in the initial version the DOE E3SM model. However, its computational cost remains high relative to other components in part due to its complexity and to its inefficient use of modern optimization strategies, and this project helped address this limitation for the code’s application in E3SM. Under other funding, the Investigators of this project led an effort to develop a high-performance broadband radiation code, called RTE+RRTMGP, which is a completely restructured code that will take advantage of modern computational capabilities to enhance its performance while retaining the strengths and accuracy of the original code. Designed to perform over a range of computer architectures, RTE+RRTMGP makes extensive use of Fortran 2003 features to improve both its efficiency and its use of memory. RTE+RRTMGP is expected to be adopted in the next generation of RTE+RRTMGP. This project allowed for advancements to the code’s computational capabilities and adding new and enhanced features. This included revising RTE+RRTMGP to run on GPU processors, analysis of and improvements to the code’s timing, modifying the gas optics in RRTMGP to increase the code’s accuracy, extensive validation of computed fluxes, heating rates and forcings, generating a cloud optical property and vertical sampling capabilities for RTE+RRTMGP, implementing a fast and accurate longwave scattering capability, and groundwork for the inclusion of a capability to specify solar variability. Many of the accomplishment in this project necessitated significant collaboration with the E3SM development team. The result of this project was optimization of a key physical component (radiative transfer calculations) of E3SM, directly supporting E3SM’s overarching global modeling objectives. More broadly, this project provided overall advancements in the use of radiative transfer calculations in atmospheric modeling and simulation, particularly for climate.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Draft ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Cases and Technical Bases for Use of Alloy 617 for Constructions of Nuclear Component Under Section III, Division 5

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code currently only allows five materials for use in construction of nuclear components for high temperature service. These are: 2.25Cr-1Mo and V-modified 9Cr-1Mo steels, Types 304 and 316 stainless steels and the high nickel Alloy 800H. Since 2005, the US high temperature gas-cooled reactor program has been characterizing elevated temperature mechanical properties of Alloy 617 as the leading candidate construction material for the intermediate heat exchanger. After analysis of these experimental results, along with historical data and additional results available through the Generation IV International Forum, Very High Temperature Reactor, Materials Program Management Board Materials Handbook, a draft ASME Code Case to allow nuclear construction with Alloy 617 for temperatures up to 1750°F (954°C) has been developed. This report contains the Code Case for Low Temperature Service Construction of Section III, Division 5, Subsection HB, Subpart A, Class A and Subsection HC, Subpart A, Class B components, which has been approved in Section II, Materials, and Section III, Rules for Construction of Nuclear Facility Components. Supporting technical justification for the low temperature Code Case is also included. This Code Case allows use of Alloy 617 up to 800°F (425°C). This report also contains an updated draft of a Section III, Division 5, Subsection HB, Subpart B, Class A Code Case for Alloy 617 to qualify it for use in construction of nuclear components up to 1750°F (954°C) for service life up to 100,000 hours. The draft contained in Appendix 4, subject to editorial revision and approval by the ASME Special Task Group on Alloy 617 Code Qualification, will be submitted for approval by letter ballot by the appropriate ASME Committees. The technical justification supporting the Code Case is presented in Appendix 5 of this report. This background document is part of the information package that will be submitted with the Code Case for ballot.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

MCNP ® Code V.6.3.0 Release Notes

The Monte Carlo N-Particle ® (MCNP ® ) code is a general-purpose, continuous-energy, generalized geometry, time-dependent, radiation transport code developed by the MCNP development team. The MCNP calculations provide predictive capabilities that can replace expensive or impossible-to perform experiments. Specific application problems include simulations of experimental diagnostics, intrinsic radiation, radiation detection and measurement, criticality safety, nuclear threat reduction and response, radiation health protection, nuclear weapons effects, and nuclear forensics. This MCNP code, version 6.3.0, follows the MCNP6.2.0 version. Since the release of MCNP6.2.0, many changes have been made to the MCNP code. These changes include new or improved features, a new build system, code enhancement and modernization, and bug fixes. The MCNP code, version 6.3.0, theory and user input information is documented in MCNP ® Code Version 6.3.0 Theory & User Manual, the build guidance for various platforms is documented in MCNP ® Code Version 6.3.0 Build Guide, and the verification and validation testing for various application benchmark test suites is documented in MCNP ® Code Version 6.3.0 Verification & Validation Testing.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Building Performance Standards and Energy Code Alignment - Technical Brief

Building energy codes focus on building design, construction and renovation and have significantly increased building efficiency since the first national energy code was published in 1975. Most jurisdictions have energy codes based on ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 (hereto referred to as Standard 90.1) and the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Compliance options available in these model energy codes include a prescriptive path, whole building performance paths – including IECC Total Building Performance (TBP), Standard 90.1 Energy Cost Budget (ECB) method and Performance Rating Method (PRM) – and system performance paths for envelope and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems. Building performance standard (BPS) policies are an emerging policy tool used by jurisdictions to reduce the operational energy use or greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the existing commercial building stock. BPS policies vary widely between jurisdictions and are tailored to each location’s climate and energy goals. Intuitively, projects that met a recent edition of the energy code should comply with the BPS targets. However, some new buildings may struggle with meeting the BPS for the following reasons: 1. Energy codes focus on the design of the building and its projected ability to perform efficiently, while BPS compliance is dependent on the actual ongoing performance of the building, considering variables like occupancy, operation, and maintenance. 2. There are significant differences in the methodologies used to determine BPS compliance versus code compliance, including how each handles compliance metrics, handling of building amenities, and renewable energy generation. 3. The prescriptive compliance path in the energy code is based on performance of individual building components, as opposed to the performance compliance path which accounts for holistic building design strategies and interdependent building systems. This can result in a significant variability in post-occupancy performance for buildings built using the prescriptive path. Designs on the lower end of the permitted efficiency range may struggle with meeting the BPS.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Hierarchical memories: Simulating quantum LDPC codes with local gates

Constant-rate low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes are promising candidates for constructing efficient fault-tolerant quantum memories. However, if physical gates are subject to geometric-locality constraints, it becomes challenging to realize these codes. In this paper, we construct a new family of [[N,K,D]] codes, referred to as hierarchical codes, that encode a number of logical qubits K=Ω(N/log(N) 2 ). The N th element of this code family is obtained by concatenating a constant-rate quantum LDPC code with a surface code; nearest-neighbor gates in two dimensions are sufficient to implement the corresponding syndrome-extraction circuit and achieve a threshold. Below threshold the logical failure rate vanishes superpolynomially as a function of the distance D(N). We present a bilayer architecture for implementing the syndrome-extraction circuit, and estimate the logical failure rate for this architecture. Under conservative assumptions, we find that the hierarchical code outperforms the basic encoding where all logical qubits are encoded in the surface code.

Pattison, Christopher A. [California Institute of ↗

Diffusion Codes: Self-Correction from Small(er)-Set Expansion with Tunable Non-locality

Optimal constructions of classical LDPC codes can be obtained by choosing the Tanner graph uniformly at random among biregular graphs. We introduce a class of codes that we call ``diffusion codes'', defined by placing each edge connecting bits and checks on some graph, and acting on that graph with a random SWAP network. By tuning the depth of the SWAP network, we can tune a tradeoff between the amount of randomness -- and hence the optimality of code parameters -- and locality with respect to the underlying graph. For diffusion codes defined on the cycle graph, if the SWAP network has depth $\sim Tn$ with $T> n^{2β}$ for arbitrary $β>0$, then we prove that almost surely the Tanner graph is a lossless ``smaller set'' vertex expander for small sets up size $δ\sim \sqrt T \sim n^β$, with bounded bit and check degree. At the same time, the geometric size of the largest stabilizer is bounded by $\sqrt T$ in graph distance. We argue, based on physical intuition, that this result should hold more generally on arbitrary graphs. By taking hypergraph products of these classical codes we obtain quantum LDPC codes defined on the torus with smaller-set boundary and co-boundary expansion and the same expansion/locality tradeoffs as for the classical codes. These codes are self-correcting and admit single-shot decoding, while having the geometric size of the stabilizer growing as an arbitrarily small power law. Our proof technique establishes mixing of a random SWAP network on small subsystems at times scaling with only the subsystem size, which may be of independent interest.

Combinatorics (math.CO)↗

The Marriage of Residential Energy Codes and Rating Systems: Conflict Resolution or Just Conflict?

After three decades of coexistence at a distance, model residential energy codes and residential energy rating systems have come together in the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code. At the October, 2013, International Code Council’s Public Comment Hearing, a new compliance path based on an Energy Rating Index was added to the IECC. Although not specifically named in the code, RESNET’s HERS rating system is the likely candidate Index for most jurisdictions. While HERS has been a mainstay in various beyond-code programs for many years, its direct incorporation into the most popular model energy code raises questions about the equivalence of a HERS-based compliance path and the traditional IECC performance compliance path, especially because the two approaches use different efficiency metrics, are governed by different simulation rules, and have different scopes with regard to energy impacting house features. A detailed simulation analysis of more than 15,000 house configurations reveals a very large range of HERS Index values that achieve equivalence with the IECC’s performance path. This paper summarizes the results of that analysis and evaluates those results against the specific Energy Rating Index values required by the 2015 IECC. Based on the home characteristics most likely to result in disparities between HERS-based compliance and performance path compliance, potential impacts on the compliance process, state and local adoption of the new code, energy efficiency in the next generation of homes subject to this new code, and future evolution of model code formats are discussed.

Residential, Energy, Rating systems, HERS, 2015 IE↗

Benchmark Study on Innovative Fuels for Fast Reactors with fuel performance codes

The Working Party on the Scientific Issues of the Fuel Cycle (WPFC) has been established under the auspices of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Nuclear Science Committee (NSC), to co-ordinate scientific activities regarding various existing and advanced nuclear fuel cycles, including advanced reactor systems, associated chemistry and flowsheets, development and performance of fuels and materials, accelerators and spallation targets. Various expert groups were established to cover the above-mentioned topics. Within the WPFC, the Expert Group on Innovative Fuels (EGIF) was created with the objective of conducting joint and comparative studies to support the development of innovative fuels such as homogeneous and heterogeneous fuels, ADS fuels, and oxide, metal, nitride and carbide fuels, all of which can be implemented in advanced nuclear fuel cycles with fast reactors. The scope of the expert group covers innovative fuel fabrication techniques, irradiation performance of innovative fuels, characterisation and post-irradiation examination methods and predictive codes for innovative fuel fabrication and performance. This report presents the results of a benchmark study on innovative fuels for fast reactors using fuel performance codes. Irradiation results were shared among participants, and code calculations were performed to gain further insights on the fuel behaviour. Each participating institution used its own fuel performance code. Code to code and code to experiment comparisons are expected to provide data and improve understanding on the effects of minor actinides on fuel behaviour. In conclusion, the need for improvement of codes will be evaluated and the needs for new experimental data will be identified in order to finalise the code validation.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Full Integration of the Fission Product Release Module STACY into the HTR Code Package (HCP) - 18661

The HTR Code Package is under development since 2010 at Forschungszentrum Juelich and at Aachen University. The HCP combines the capabilities of individual legacy codes developed during the German HTR program in a highly integrated manner and contains new features. Within the HCP, all aspects related to fission product release and the redistribution within the primary circuit are handled by the module STACY (Source Term Analysis Code system). STACY is the successor of the codes FRESCO-I/II (dealing with fission product release) and PANAMA (dealing with fuel performance issues). Compared to these predecessor codes, STACY can take amongst others a time-dependent nuclide inventory and a radial temperature profile within the fuel element into account. So far, this version of STACY performs an individual fission product release calculation for a representative number of tracer pebbles. While this version of STACY still relies on codes like VSOP and MGT-3D and contains features such as basic fuel management which are also contained in the before mentioned codes, STACY now will be coupled to forms an integral part of the HCP. Thus, fission product release calculations will be examined with one consistent reactor input model. This allows assessing the release of fission products already during the design phase, besides parameters like the maximum fuel temperature during a transient. Furthermore the total nuclide inventory of a fuel element is distributed among fuel kernels, coating layers, graphite grains and pores of the surrounding matrix graphite. Formerly, this total inventory calculated by the burnup code TNT was distributed according to the distribution of Uranium. As a new feature, STACY now keeps track of the distributions of nuclide inventories within the fuel element. Especially for nuclides mainly formed by activation and decay processes like Ag-110m, this approach is more accurate. Further, the knowledge about the actual nuclide inventories improves the accuracy of fuel performance calculations. In addition, the internal coupling allows a feedback from the fission product calculation to other code modules. Nuclides amounts being released can be considered in e.g. the burnup calculation while calculating the source term of for example tritium or within the calculation which takes care of the redistribution of species by the coolant. Within this paper, the application of the STACY to HTR cores with special emphasis on fission product release to reactor models such as the HTR-Modul and HTR-10 will be discussed. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

A Code of Radiation Damage by Gamma - Paper 62

In recent years, the study of radiation damage of materials has seen a thrust because of the expectation of the high rate of radiation damage in fusion reactors, accelerator driven sub critical systems and damage of a control system of space vehicles by the high energy neutrons and gamma showers. Embrittlement of reactor vessels, corrosion of steel and swelling of fuel rods are the well known empirical examples of severe radiation damage. It is also realized that damage by high energy gammas is in no way insignificant, and it is equivalent to the damage by the neutrons. Secondly, value addition of certain materials like enhancement of electrical resistance, mechanical strength, color enhancement of precious stones on irradiation by neutrons and gammas and polymerization in the presence of gamma radiation add to the necessity of a Monte Carlo (MC) code of radiation damage in a wide range of energy. The JAIPU code, for the study of radiation damage by neutrons up to 10 MeV energy, incorporates features like development of secondary atomic cascade and PKA energy corrected for the ionization lose and production of Frenkel pair. MC estimation of both the primary and secondary displacements has been compared with the Frenkel pairs calculated using the NRT model. In the present work, JAIPU code is extended for irradiation of materials by high energy gammas. Here cascade generated by the incident gamma produces electrons by way of photo-electric, Compton and pair production until it is absorbed. The recoiled Frenkel pairs produced in electron + atom collision have been considered for the purpose of atomic cascade. Standard cross section libraries for gamma and electron interaction are used while for atom + atom collision we have made use of the IOTA code. In addition, in the code, the lattice structure of the irradiated material is simulated to know the positions of the photon interactions with atoms and the energy of electron it adds an extra feature of the position and size of the voids and the clusters produced on irradiation. The code has the possibility of calculation of 'absorbed radiation dose' and 'KERMA' and the interatomic distances of the displaced atoms. It may be pointed out that the code uses only the MC simulation of the number of displacements unlike several other approaches where the NRT model with PKA energy is used for gross estimation of the number of the displaced atoms. Thus, the code keeps an account of the positions of displaced atoms for the in-depth modification of the irradiated material. 1 MeV gamma seems to damage Fe up to several millimeters of its depth and this is mostly by the recoiled Compton electrons than photo electrons. The code is in the developmental stage and it has the capability of applications in the developing field of Radiology besides the shielding and other studies of radiation damage. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Coupling TRACE with nodal neutronics code Ants using the Exterior Communications Interface and VTT's multi-physics driver Cerberus

In this paper a recently developed coupling between system code TRACE and nodal neutronics code Ants is presented. The TRAC/RELAP Advanced Computational Engine (TRACE) is a reactor system code developed by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The code has been designed to analyse loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs), operational transients and other accident scenarios in light water reactors. Ants is the reduced order nodal neutronics code of the Kraken framework. The diffusion solution method in Ants is based on the Analytic Function Expansion Nodal method (AFEN) and Flux Expansion Nodal Method (FENM). Rectangular, hexagonal and triangular geometries are supported. Both steady state and burnup problems including micro-depletion can be simulated. The coupling is implemented using VTT's multi-physics driver Cerberus and the Exterior Communications Interface (ECI) which is supplied with TRACE and enables the coupling of TRACE without source code modifications. The main focus in the paper is on describing the TRACE-Ants coupling in detail in order to share to other code developers what we have learned from the ECI based coupling process. The coupled code system is briefly tested by simulating a simple transient in a SMR core initiated by control rod movement. The results of the test calculation look reasonable and more complicated test cases will be modelled in the near future.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

TWANG-PIC, a novel gyro-averaged one-dimensional particle-in-cell code for interpretation of gyrotron experiments

A new gyrotron simulation code for simulating the beam-wave interaction using a monomode time-dependent self-consistent model is presented. The new code TWANG-PIC is derived from the trajectory-based code TWANG by describing the electron motion in a gyro-averaged one-dimensional Particle-In-Cell (PIC) approach. In comparison to common PIC-codes, it is distinguished by its computation speed, which makes its use in parameter scans and in experiment interpretation possible. A benchmark of the new code is presented as well as a comparative study between the two codes. This study shows that the inclusion of a time-dependence in the electron equations, as it is the case in the PIC-approach, is mandatory for simulating any kind of non-stationary oscillations in gyrotrons. Finally, the new code is compared with experimental results and some implications of the violated model assumptions in the TWANG code are disclosed for a gyrotron experiment in which non-stationary regimes have been observed and for a critical case that is of interest in high power gyrotron development.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Geometric Structure and Transversal Logic of Quantum Reed–Muller Codes

Designing efficient and noise-tolerant quantum computation protocols generally begins with an understanding of quantum error-correcting codes and their native logical operations. The simplest class of native operations are transversal gates, which are naturally fault-tolerant. Here, in this paper, we aim to characterize the transversal gates of quantum Reed–Muller (RM) codes by exploiting the well-studied properties of their classical counterparts. We start our work by establishing a new geometric characterization of quantum RM codes via the Boolean hypercube and its associated subcube complex. More specifically, a set of stabilizer generators for a quantum RM code can be described via transversal X and Z operators acting on subcubes of particular dimensions. This characterization leads us to define subcube operators composed of single-qubit π/2 k Z -rotations that act on subcubes of given dimensions. We first characterize the action of subcube operators on the code space: depending on the dimension of the subcube, these operators either (1) act as a logical identity on the code space, (2) implement non-trivial logic, or (3) rotate a state away from the code space. Second, and more remarkably, we uncover that the logic implemented by these operators corresponds to circuits of multi-controlled-Z gates that have an explicit and simple combinatorial description. Overall, this suite of results yields a comprehensive understanding of a class of natural transversal operators for quantum RM codes.

Reed–Muller (RM) codes↗

Performance-Aligned LLMs for Generating Fast HPC Code

Optimizing scientific software is a difficult task because codebases are often large and complex, and performance can depend upon several factors including the algorithm, its implementation, and hardware among others. Causes of poor performance can originate from disparate sources and be difficult to diagnose. Recent years have seen a multitude of work that use large language models (LLMs) to assist in software development tasks. However, these tools are trained to model the distribution of code as text, and are not specifically designed to understand performance aspects of code. In this work, we introduce a reinforcement learning based methodology to align the outputs of code LLMs with performance. This allows us to build upon the current code modeling capabilities of LLMs and extend them to generate better performing code. Here, we demonstrate that our fine-tuned model improves the expected speedup of generated code over base models for a set of benchmark tasks from 0.9 to 1.6 for serial code and 1.9 to 4.5 for OpenMP parallel code.

Computer science↗

Electric Vehicle Charging for Residential and Commercial Energy Codes: Technical Brief

Numerous studies show that sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have grown consistently over recent years in the U.S. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated 3 million EVs were on the road in 2022, and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) forecasts a total of 26.4 million EVs on the road by 2030. Based on this forecast, EEI projects the need for an additional 12.9 million EV charge ports by 2030. If EV charging infrastructure fails to keep pace with sales of EVs it could result in consumers stranded without options to power their vehicles. EVs are capable of providing substantial benefits to the consumers. EVs are less expensive to operate than conventional internal combustion engine vehicles, have lower maintenance costs, and have the convenience of fueling (charging) at home or work. Studies conducted in California show that costs associated with installing EV charging infrastructure can be substantially more expensive for retrofit scenarios compared to new construction, making inclusion of EV infrastructure in new construction codes a cost-effective policy option to increase infrastructure to meet growing demands. PNNL tracks adoption of mandatory EV provisions across the U.S. As of December 20, 2024, 12 states (California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, New Mexico, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Vermont) and 53 local governments have added EV provisions to their building codes, local ordinances and zoning requirements. Originally published in 2022, this tech brief has been revised to align with recent model energy code committee discussions and published EV infrastructure code language. This technical brief summarizes market trends, costs and benefits, and provides sample code language for EV charging infrastructure for consideration to be included in model codes, such as the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1, as well as directly by states and local governments in their building codes. The technical brief summarizes related efforts undertaken by states and local governments, and builds upon language considered during the 2021 and 2024 IECC development cycles.

2021 IECC↗

Modified versions of the fuel performance codes RTOP and RTOP-CA

RTOP code predicts thermal and mechanical behavior of LWR fuel rods and release of GFPs both in normal stationary and transient operation modes, and transient power ramps, specific to the reactivity-initiated accidents (RIA). Computational domains of the code include fuel column, zirconium cladding, gas under cladding, and fuel microstructure - UO{sub 2} grain and the development of gaseous porosity of different origin during irradiation. RTOP-CA code is based on the RTOP code. It simulates the behavior of a fuel rod with cladding rupture opening and RFPs release into the primary coolant circuit in normal operation modes. The paper presents the results of development and validation of engineering models, which take into account characteristics of the neutron spectrum during the fuel cycle and are integrated into modernized versions of the fuel performance codes RTOP and RTOP-CA. The paper focuses on the detailed description of two models. Four-group neutron-physical engineering model describes burn-out of gadolinium isotopes and calculates spatial power profile in a Gd-doped fuel rod pellet. The second engineering model presented is developed for fast estimation of fuel burnup in case of fuel rod cladding leakage accident. The comparison of the present calculations with the results of calculations by neutron codes shows that the model describes the heat rate distribution and the gadolinium burn-out with sufficient accuracy. The code also calculates the LHR of Gd-doped fuel rods given the heat rate of the adjacent UO{sub 2} fuel rods. This work allows determining the histories of LHR for the Gd-doped fuel rod from the average LHR of FA for various equilibrium WWER fuel cycles, power units and fuel enrichments. The presented model is implemented in the RTOP fuel performance code to calculate the thermomechanical behavior of the fuel rods. An engineering-physical model is developed for fast estimation of {sup 134}Cs/{sup 137}Cs activity ratio in fuel taking into account the parameters of the neutron spectrum during the fuel cycle. Implementation of the model enables to increase the reliability of correct fuel burnup determination in a failed fuel assembly (FA)based on the FERDS activity measurements during reactor operation. Results of the model calculations obtained for the FAs with a higher fuel enrichment and the NPP activity measurements have shown a higher {sup 134}Cs/{sup 137}Cs activity ratio compared to the values for the fuel with enrichment up to 3.6 wt. % in {sup 235}U. Currently, the engineering model is applicable within the range of UO{sub 2} enrichment from 3 to 5 wt. % in {sup 235}U, and Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} enrichment from 5 to 8 wt. %.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗