A new thermal hydraulics code coupled to agent for light water reactor analysis

A new numerical model for coupling a thermal hydraulics method based on the Drift Flux and Homogeneous Equilibrium Mixture (HEM) models, with a deterministic neutronics code system AGENT (Arbitrary Geometry Neutron Transport), is developed. Named the TH thermal hydraulics code, it is based on the mass continuity, momentum, and energy equations integrated with appropriate relations for liquid and vapor phasic velocities. The modified conservation equations are then evaluated in one-dimensional (1D) steady-state conditions for light water reactor (LWR) coolant subchannel in the axial direction. This permits faster computation times without sacrificing significant accuracy, as compared to other three-dimensional (3D) codes such as RELAP5/TRACE.

AGENT is a deterministic neutronics code system based on the Method of Characteristics to solve the 2D/3D neutron transport equation in current and future reactor systems. The coupling scheme between the TH and AGENT codes is accomplished by computing the normalized fission rate profile in the LWR fuel elements by AGENT. The normalized fission rate profile is then transferred to the TH thermal hydraulics code for computing the reactor coolant properties. In conjunction with the 1D axial TH code, a separate 1D radial heat transfer model within the TH code is used to determine the average fuel temperature at each node where coolant properties are calculated. These properties then are entered into Scale 6.1, a criticality analysis code, to recalculate fuel pin neutron interaction cross sections based on thermal feedback. With updated fuel neutron interaction cross sections, the fission rate profile is recalculated in AGENT, and the cycle continues until convergence is reached.

The TH code and coupled AGENT-TH code are benchmarked against the TRACE reactor analysis software, showing required agreement in evaluating the basic reactor parameters.