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At least 91 records · Page 5

Planned Destruction of Metal-Core Reactor: Simulation of Catastrophic Accidents and New Experimental Possibilities

A reactor with a destructible core (RIR reactor) generating a pulse with an output of ~1.5 × 10{sup 19} fissions and a full width at half maximum of ~2.5 μs was developed and tested at VNIIEF. In the course of investigation, a computational-experimental method for laboratory calibration of the reactor was created and worked out. This method ensures a high accuracy of predicting the energy release in a real experiment with excess reactivity of ~3β{sub eff} above prompt criticality. A transportable explosion-proof chamber was also developed, which ensures the safe localization of explosion products of the core of small-sized nuclear devices and charges of high explosives with equivalent mass of up to 100 kg of TNT.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

CTF Parallel Performance Improvements

CTF is a modernized version of COBRA-TF (Coolant Boiling in Rod Arrays-Two Fluid), which is a thermal hydraulic (T/H) sub-channel code based on a two-phase, two-fluid model that formulates the conservation equations of mass, energy, and momentum for three fields of vapor, continuous liquid, and entrained liquid droplets. Under the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL) program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, CTF is being further developed and improved for modeling and simulation of light water reactors. The code improvements for predicting T/H responses of pressurized water reactor (PWR) cores are focused on its applications to specific challenge problems deemed significant to the industry, such as departure from nucleate boiling (DNB) and crud-induced power shift. The code is also being used for T/H feedback in normal operating condition depletions in PWR and boiling water reactor designs in the reactor core simulator, Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications Core Simulator (VERA-CS), being developed by CASL. CTF modifications under the CASL program include software optimization, new closure models, and parallelization for modeling full reactor core T/H responses. The purpose of this work was to improve the parallel performance of CTF. CTF was originally parallelized via a domain-decomposition strategy using the Message Passing Interface (MPI), in which the basis of a solution domain was a physical assembly in the model. In other words, a user who wanted to perform a parallel solution with CTF had to provide the code one processor per assembly in the model (e.g., 56 cores for a 56 assembly quarter-core model, or 193 cores for a 193 assembly full-core model). This design was rigid, demanding a very specific number of processors for a model; furthermore, when CTF was run in VERA-CS-which typically uses thousands of processors- many processors sat idle during the CTF solve because CTF was unable to use any more processors than there are physical assemblies. This was not necessarily a problem if the CTF execution speed was very fast, but the average time spent in a CTF solve for prototypical PWR operating conditions was significant (i.e., over 20 % of the simulation wall time was being spent in CTF for a standard core depletion simulation). Larger, more computationally intensive simulations performed in support of the CASL DNB challenge problem demonstrated a need for improvements in this original parallelization approach. The specific goal of this work was to allow CTF to use more processors than there are physical assemblies in the model, which would not only speed up CTF and improve the overall efficiency of VERA-CS but also give users more-flexible options for executing their simulations. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

VUSAT - A VERA-CS Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis Toolkit

VERA-CS (the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications, Core Simulator) is a high-fidelity multiphysics core simulator under development by the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL). VERA-CS includes three main components: MPACT for reactor physics and neutron transport, COBRA-TF for thermal-hydraulics, and ORIGEN for isotopic depletion. VERA-CS has been applied to an array of problems including core physics analysis, and the modeling for all of the fuel cycles of Watts Bar Nuclear Unit 1 (WBN1). MPACT is a 3D pin-resolved reactor transport code developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Michigan. COBRA-TF (CTF) is a three-field two-phase flow subchannel analysis code developed by ORNL and North Carolina State University. CTF solves the mass, momentum, and energy equations for the liquid, vapor, and droplet phases for each subchannel in the core and captures the axial flow within each channel as well as cross-flow between channels. Direct coupling between neutronics (MPACT) and thermal-hydraulics (CTF) in VERA-CS provides temperature and density feedback. CTF includes a number of models important for LWR safety and design analysis including flow regime dependent two-phase wall heat transfer, inter-phase heat transfer and drag, droplet breakup, and quench-front tracking. ORIGEN is developed by ORNL and released through the SCALE package. ORIGEN is directly integrated in MPACT through its API to calculate the changes in nuclides for every depletable cross-section region. Uncertainties exist in safety calculations with computer codes for nuclear reactor modeling and simulation, and they come from code limitations, scaling inaccuracies embedded in the experimental data, and uncertainties associated with the state of the reactor at the initiation of the transient. Consequently, for applications of high fidelity calculations using VERA-CS, proper uncertainty quantification (UQ) and sensitivity analysis (SA) of the computing models of reactor neutronics and thermal-hydraulics are important to comprehensively understand the results. New methods in UQ and SA have to be developed in multi-physics calculations using VERA-CS. Toward this end, a software package called VUSAT which stands for VERA-CS Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis Toolkit has been developed to facilitate the applications of VERA-CS within the context of best estimate plus uncertainty (BEPU) analysis framework. In this work, the VUSAT application to analyze departure from nucleate boiling (DNB) is presented.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

An innovative and advanced coupled neutron transport and thermal hydraulic method (tool) for the design, analysis and optimization of VHTR/NGNP prismatic reactors

This project will develop a 3D, advanced coarse mesh transport method (COMET-Hex) for steady- state and transient analyses in advanced very high-temperature reactors (VHTRs). The project will lead to a coupled neutronics and thermal hydraulic (T/H) core simulation tool with fuel depletion capability. The computational tool will be developed in hexagonal geometry, based solely on transport theory without (spatial) homogenization in complicated 3D geometries. In addition to the hexagonal geometry extension, collaborators will concurrently develop three additional capabilities to increase the code’s versatility as an advanced and robust core simulator for VHTRs. First, the project team will develop and implement a depletion method within the core simulator. Second, the team will develop an elementary (proof-of-concept) 1D time-dependent transport method for efficient transient analyses. The third capability will be a thermal hydraulic method coupled to the neutronics transport module for VHTRs. Current advancements in reactor core design are pushing VHTRs toward greater core and fuel heterogeneity to pursue higher burn-ups, efficiently transmute used fuel, maximize energy production, and improve plant economics and safety. As a result, an accurate and efficient neutron transport, with capabilities to treat heterogeneous burnable poison effects, is highly desirable for predicting VHTR neutronics performance. This research project’s primary objective is to advance the state of the art for reactor analysis.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

THREE-DIMENSIONAL CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVA SIMULATED USING A 15 M{sub ⊙} PROGENITOR

We have performed ab initio neutrino radiation hydrodynamics simulations in three and two spatial dimensions (3D and 2D) of core-collapse supernovae from the same 15 M{sub ☉} progenitor through 440 ms after core bounce. Both 3D and 2D models achieve explosions; however, the onset of explosion (shock revival) is delayed by ∼100 ms in 3D relative to the 2D counterpart and the growth of the diagnostic explosion energy is slower. This is consistent with previously reported 3D simulations utilizing iron-core progenitors with dense mantles. In the ∼100 ms before the onset of explosion, diagnostics of neutrino heating and turbulent kinetic energy favor earlier explosion in 2D. During the delay, the angular scale of convective plumes reaching the shock surface grows and explosion in 3D is ultimately lead by a single, large-angle plume, giving the expanding shock a directional orientation not dissimilar from those imposed by axial symmetry in 2D simulations. We posit that shock revival and explosion in the 3D simulation may be delayed until sufficiently large plumes form, whereas such plumes form more rapidly in 2D, permitting earlier explosions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

ON THE REQUIREMENTS FOR REALISTIC MODELING OF NEUTRINO TRANSPORT IN SIMULATIONS OF CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVAE

We have conducted a series of numerical experiments with the spherically symmetric, general relativistic, neutrino radiation hydrodynamics code AGILE-BOLTZTRAN to examine the effects of several approximations used in multidimensional core-collapse supernova simulations. Our code permits us to examine the effects of these approximations quantitatively by removing, or substituting for, the pieces of supernova physics of interest. These approximations include: (1) using Newtonian versus general relativistic gravity, hydrodynamics, and transport; (2) using a reduced set of weak interactions, including the omission of non-isoenergetic neutrino scattering, versus the current state-of-the-art; and (3) omitting the velocity-dependent terms, or observer corrections, from the neutrino Boltzmann kinetic equation. We demonstrate that each of these changes has noticeable effects on the outcomes of our simulations. Of these, we find that the omission of observer corrections is particularly detrimental to the potential for neutrino-driven explosions and exhibits a failure to conserve lepton number. Finally, we discuss the impact of these results on our understanding of current, and the requirements for future, multidimensional models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

An Assessment of Southern Ocean Water Masses and Sea Ice During 1988-2007 in a Suite of Interannual CORE-II Simulations

We characterise the representation of the Southern Ocean water mass structure and sea ice within a suite of 15 global ocean-ice models run with the Coordinated Ocean-ice Reference Experiment Phase II (CORE-II) protocol. The main focus is the representation of the present (1988-2007) mode and intermediate waters, thus framing an analysis of winter and summer mixed layer depths; temperature, salinity, and potential vorticity structure; and temporal variability of sea ice distributions. We also consider the interannual variability over the same 20 year period. Comparisons are made between models as well as to observation-based analyses where available. The CORE-II models exhibit several biases relative to Southern Ocean observations, including an underestimation of the model mean mixed layer depths of mode and intermediate water masses in March (associated with greater ocean surface heat gain), and an overestimation in September (associated with greater high latitude ocean heat loss and a more northward winter sea-ice extent). In addition, the models have cold and fresh/warm and salty water column biases centred near 50 deg S. Over the 1988-2007 period, the CORE-II models consistently simulate spatially variable trends in sea-ice concentration, surface freshwater fluxes, mixed layer depths, and 200-700 m ocean heat content. In particular, sea-ice coverage around most of the Antarctic continental shelf is reduced, leading to a cooling and freshening of the near surface waters. The shoaling of the mixed layer is associated with increased surface buoyancy gain, except in the Pacific where sea ice is also influential. The models are in disagreement, despite the common CORE-II atmospheric state, in their spatial pattern of the 20-year trends in the mixed layer depth and sea-ice.

Sea ice↗

Development of Preliminary VERA-CS Crud Induced Localized Corrosion Modeling Capability

The Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL) is developing multiphysics core-simulator software for light water reactors (LWRs) known as VERA-CS in order to improve the state of the art in modeling and simulation of challenge problems that are limiting to the nuclear industry. One of these challenge problems includes fuel rod crud deposition, which can lead to crud-induced power shift (CIPS) and crud-induced localized corrosion (CILC). This paper documents work that was performed to develop a preliminary CILC-modeling capability in VERA-CS in support of the crud challenge problem. The CILC capabilities were developed by coupling VERA-CS to the CASL-developed Cicada code, which provides 1D and 3D clad conduction and oxide growth modeling tools, as well as coupling to the CASL-developed MAMBA code, which is used for modeling clad crud deposition. An approach called rod thermal-hydraulic reconstruction (ROTHCON) was developed and integrated into VERA-CS. This allows the modeler to capture spacer-grid turbulence and heat transfer effects in the CTF subchannel code so that the spatial resolution of crud and oxide rod surface growth could be better resolved. After implementing these capabilities, several assessments were performed to ensure that the capabilities function as expected, and a pin-resolved quarter-core simulation was run as a demonstration.

Salko Jr, Robert↗

Simulating HFIR Core Thermal Hydraulics Using 3D-2D Model Coupling

A model utilizing interdimensional variable coupling is presented for simulating the thermal hydraulic interactions of the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) core at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The model s domain consists of a single, explicitly represented three-dimensional fuel plate and a simplified two-dimensional coolant channel slice. In simplifying the coolant channel, and thus the number of mesh points in which the Navier-Stokes equations must be solved, the computational cost and solution time are both greatly reduced. In order for the reduced-dimension coolant channel to interact with the explicitly represented fuel plate, however, interdimensional variable coupling must be enacted along all shared boundaries. The primary focus of this paper is in detailing the collection, storage, passage, and application of variables across this interdimensional interface. Comparisons are made showing the general speed-up associated with this simplified coupled model.

HFIR↗

Verification of Reduced Order Modeling Based Uncertainty/Sensitivity Estimator (ROMUSE)

This article presents a number of verification case studies for a recently developed sensitivity/uncertainty code package. The code package, ROMUSE (Reduced Order Modeling based Uncertainty/Sensitivity Estimator) is an effort to provide an analysis tool to be used in conjunction with reactor core simulators, in particular the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA) core simulator. ROMUSE has been written in C++ and is currently capable of performing various types of parameter perturbations and associated sensitivity analysis, uncertainty quantification, surrogate model construction and subspace analysis. The current version 2.0 has the capability to interface with the Design Analysis Kit for Optimization and Terascale Applications (DAKOTA) code, which gives ROMUSE access to the various algorithms implemented within DAKOTA, most importantly model calibration. The verification study is performed via two basic problems and two reactor physics models. The first problem is used to verify the ROMUSE single physics gradient-based range finding algorithm capability using an abstract quadratic model. The second problem is the Brusselator problem, which is a coupled problem representative of multi-physics problems. This problem is used to test the capability of constructing surrogates via ROMUSE-DAKOTA. Finally, light water reactor pin cell and sodium-cooled fast reactor fuel assembly problems are simulated via SCALE 6.1 to test ROMUSE capability for uncertainty quantification and sensitivity analysis purposes.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

AXISYMMETRIC AB INITIO CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVA SIMULATIONS OF 12-25 M{sub Sun} STARS

We present an overview of four ab initio axisymmetric core-collapse supernova simulations employing detailed spectral neutrino transport computed with our CHIMERA code and initiated from Woosley and Heger progenitors of mass 12, 15, 20, and 25 M{sub Sun }. All four models exhibit shock revival over {approx}200 ms (leading to the possibility of explosion), driven by neutrino energy deposition. Hydrodynamic instabilities that impart substantial asymmetries to the shock aid these revivals, with convection appearing first in the 12 M{sub Sun} model and the standing accretion shock instability appearing first in the 25 M{sub Sun} model. Three of the models have developed pronounced prolate morphologies (the 20 M{sub Sun} model has remained approximately spherical). By 500 ms after bounce the mean shock radii in all four models exceed 3000 km and the diagnostic explosion energies are 0.33, 0.66, 0.65, and 0.70 Bethe (B = 10{sup 51} erg) for the 12, 15, 20, and 25 M{sub Sun} models, respectively, and are increasing. The three least massive of our models are already sufficiently energetic to completely unbind the envelopes of their progenitors (i.e., to explode), as evidenced by our best estimate of their explosion energies, which first become positive at 320, 380, and 440 ms after bounce. By 850 ms the 12 M{sub Sun} diagnostic explosion energy has saturated at 0.38 B, and our estimate for the final kinetic energy of the ejecta is {approx}0.3 B, which is comparable to observations for lower mass progenitors.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Pellet-clad mechanical interaction screening using VERA applied to Watts Bar Unit 1, Cycles 1–3

The Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL) aims to provide high-fidelity multiphysics simulations of light water nuclear reactors. To accomplish this, CASL is developing the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA), which is a suite of code packages for thermal hydraulics, neutron transport, fuel performance, and coolant chemistry. As VERA continues to grow and expand, there has been an increased focus on incorporating fuel performance analysis methods. One of the primary goals of CASL is to estimate local cladding failure probability through pellet-clad interaction, which consists of both pellet-clad mechanical interaction (PCMI) and stress corrosion cracking. Estimating clad failure is important to preventing release of fission products to the primary system and accurate estimates could prove useful in establishing less conservative power ramp rates or when considering load-follow operations.While this capability is being pursued through several different approaches, the procedure presented in this article focuses on running independent fuel performance calculations with BISON using a file-based one-way coupling based on multicycle output data from high fidelity, pin-resolved coupled neutron transport–thermal hydraulics simulations. This type of approach is consistent with traditional fuel performance analysis methods, which are typically separate from core simulation analyses. A more tightly coupled approach is currently being developed, which is the ultimate target application in CASL.Recent work simulating 12 cycles of Watts Bar Unit 1 with VERA core simulator are capitalized upon, and quarter-core BISON results for parameters of interest to PCMI (maximum centerline fuel temperature, maximum clad hoop stress, and minimum gap size) are presented for Cycles 1–3. In conclusion, based on these results, this capability demonstrates its value and how it could be used as a screening tool for gathering insight into PCMI, singling out limiting rods for further, more detailed analysis.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Gyrokinetic Particle Simulations of Core Turbulence in Fusion Plasmas

In this project, we have further developed GTC gyrokinetic particle simulations to study plasma confinement properties in the stellarators and tokamaks with 3D magnetic fields, where both neoclassical and turbulent transport are self-consistently treated on an equal footing.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Drive turbine system for 20-inch turbofan simulators. 2: Core turbine design

Drive-turbines for a given set of 20-inch turbo-fan simulators are described. The simulators had both single-stage and two-stage fans that had design pressure ratios as low as 1.25 and as high as 3.0. The desired objective of the study was to be able to drive all of the single-stage fans with one core turbine and to drive all of the two-stage fans with this same core turbine in combination with a duct turbine. The core turbine is described. Included are the design operating conditions, design velocity diagram and a power-speed envelope determined by an off-design performance procedure. Also discussed is the adaption and scaling of an existing turbine design to this particular application.

Whitney, W. J.↗

FULLY GENERAL RELATIVISTIC SIMULATIONS OF CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVAE WITH AN APPROXIMATE NEUTRINO TRANSPORT

We present results from the first generation of multi-dimensional hydrodynamic core-collapse simulations in full general relativity (GR) that include an approximate treatment of neutrino transport. Using an M1 closure scheme with an analytic variable Eddington factor, we solve the energy-independent set of radiation energy and momentum based on the Thorne's momentum formalism. Our newly developed code is designed to evolve the Einstein field equation together with the GR radiation hydrodynamic equations. We follow the dynamics starting from the onset of gravitational core collapse of a 15 M{sub Sun} star, through bounce, up to about 100 ms postbounce in this study. By computing four models that differ according to 1D to 3D and by switching from special relativistic (SR) to GR hydrodynamics, we study how the spacial multi-dimensionality and GR would affect the dynamics in the early postbounce phase. Our 3D results support the anticipation in previous 1D results that the neutrino luminosity and average neutrino energy of any neutrino flavor in the postbounce phase increase when switching from SR to GR hydrodynamics. This is because the deeper gravitational well of GR produces more compact core structures, and thus hotter neutrino spheres at smaller radii. By analyzing the residency timescale to the neutrino-heating timescale in the gain region, we show that the criterion to initiate neutrino-driven explosions can be most easily satisfied in 3D models, irrespective of SR or GR hydrodynamics. Our results suggest that the combination of GR and 3D hydrodynamics provides the most favorable condition to drive a robust neutrino-driven explosion.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

An Assessment of Antarctic Circumpolar Current and Southern Ocean Meridional Overturning Circulation During 1958-2007 in a Suite of Interannual CORE-2 Simulations

In the framework of the second phase of the Coordinated Ocean-ice Reference Experiments (CORE-II), we present an analysis of the representation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and Southern Ocean Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) in a suite of seventeen global ocean-sea ice models. We focus on the mean, variability and trends of both the ACC and MOC over the 19582007 period, and discuss their relationship with the surface forcing. We aim to quantify the degree of eddy saturation and eddy compensation in the models participating in CORE-II, and compare our results with available observations, previous fine-resolution numerical studies and theoretical constraints. Most models show weak ACC transport sensitivity to changes in forcing during the past five decades, and they can be considered to be in an eddy saturated regime. Larger contrasts arise when considering MOC trends, with a majority of models exhibiting significant strengthening of the MOC during the late 20th and early 21st century. Only a few models show a relatively small sensitivity to forcing changes, responding with an intensified eddy-induced circulation that provides some degree of eddy compensation, while still showing considerable decadal trends. Both ACC and MOC interannual variability are largely controlled by the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). Based on these results, models are clustered into two groups. Models with constant or two-dimensional (horizontal) specification of the eddy-induced advection coefficient show larger ocean interior decadal trends, larger ACC transport decadal trends and no eddy compensation in the MOC. Eddy-permitting models or models with a three-dimensional time varying show smaller changes in isopycnal slopes and associated ACC trends, and partial eddy compensation. As previously argued, a constant in time or space is responsible for a poor representation of mesoscale eddy effects and cannot properly simulate the sensitivity of the ACC and MOC to changing surface forcing. Evidence is given for a larger sensitivity of the MOC as compared to the ACC transport, even when approaching eddy saturation. Future process studies designed for disentangling the role of momentum and buoyancy forcing in driving the ACC and MOC are proposed.

Southern Ocean dynamics↗

Near Real-time Data Analysis of Core-collapse Supernova Simulations with Bellerophon

We present an overview of a software system, Bellerophon, built to support a production-level HPC application called CHIMERA, which simulates core-collapse supernova events at the petascale. Developed over the last four years, Bellerophon enables CHIMERA's geographically dispersed team of collaborators to perform data analysis in near real-time. Its n-tier architecture provides an encapsulated, end-to-end software solution that enables the CHIMERA team to quickly and easily access highly customizable animated and static views of results from anywhere in the world via a web- deliverable, cross-platform desktop application. In addition, Bellerophon addresses software engineering tasks for the CHIMERA team by providing an automated mechanism for performing regression testing on a variety of supercomputing platforms. Elements of the team's workflow management needs are met with software tools that dynamically generate code repository statistics, access important online resources, and monitor the current status of several supercomputing resources.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

A comparison of two- and three-dimensional neutrino-hydrodynamics simulations of core-collapse supernovae

We present numerical results on two- (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic core-collapse simulations of an 11.2 M {sub ☉} star. By changing numerical resolutions and seed perturbations systematically, we study how the postbounce dynamics are different in 2D and 3D. The calculations were performed with an energy-dependent treatment of the neutrino transport based on the isotropic diffusion source approximation scheme, which we have updated to achieve a very high computational efficiency. All of the computed models in this work, including nine 3D models and fifteen 2D models, exhibit the revival of the stalled bounce shock, leading to the possibility of explosion. All of them are driven by the neutrino-heating mechanism, which is fostered by neutrino-driven convection and the standing-accretion-shock instability. Reflecting the stochastic nature of multi-dimensional (multi-D) neutrino-driven explosions, the blast morphology changes from model to model. However, we find that the final fate of the multi-D models, whether an explosion is obtained or not, is little affected by the explosion stochasticity. In agreement with some previous studies, higher numerical resolutions lead to slower onset of the shock revival in both 2D and 3D. Based on the self-consistent supernova models leading to the possibility of explosions, our results systematically show that the revived shock expands more energetically in 2D than in 3D.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗