A Serpent/OpenFOAM coupling for 3D burnup analysis
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A Serpent/OpenFOAM coupling for 3D burnup analysis Christian Castagna1,3 , Eric Cervi1,3 , Stefano Lorenzi1,3 , Antonio Cammi1,3,a Davide Chiesa2,3 , Monica Sisti2,3 , Massimiliano Nastasi2,3 , Ezio Previtali3
,
1 Department of Energy, CeSNEF (Enrico Fermi Center for Nuclear Studies), Politecnico di Milano, Via La
Masa 34, 20156 Milan, Italy
2 Department of Physics “G. Occhialini”, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 3, 20126 Milan,
Italy
3 INFN Section of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza della Scienza 3, 20126 Milan, Italy
Received: 10 May 2019 / Accepted: 29 April 2020 © Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract In nuclear reactor analysis, a relevant challenge is to achieve a suitable global description of nuclear systems through the coupling between neutronics and thermal hydraulics. Indeed, a multi-physics approach improves the reactor safety analysis and the design of different types of nuclear systems; in addition, it allows the investigation of physical effects at different scales of time and space. In this context, a challenging task is the development of multi-physics tools to study the fuel cycle. This paper presents a modelling approach for 3D burnup analysis with the Serpent Monte Carlo code that implements an external interface for the coupling with OpenFOAM, importing material temperatures and density field. We adopt CFD to simulate thermal hydraulics for its high flexibility that simplifies the management of input data. In addition, the coupling with a Monte Carlo code assures a natural description of the different physics phenomena of nuclear reactors. We carry out the burnup calculations for one year of burnup of a PWR fuel cell, composed of an UO2 pin surrounded by water. We compare the results to those obtained from simulations that adopt uniform temperature and density distributions. The results show that thermal hydraulics feedback influences the spatial distribution of the reaction rates over the time, leading to a remarkable effect on the nuclide density field along the radial and axial direction. In future works, we plan to extend the analysis for fuel assembly design.
1 Introduction Over the years, a growing interest has focused on multi-physics modelling of nuclear reactors [1]. Indeed, a global description of nuclear systems may allow to investigate physical effects at different scales of time and space, in order to improve safety analysis and design for current and innovative nuclear systems. Moreover, for Generation IV Reactors (Gen IV), the determination of thermal hydraulics conditions inside the reactor core is fundamental for the safety assessment of these systems [2–5].
Focus Point on Advances in the physics and thermohydraulics of nuclear reactors edited by J. Ongena, P. Ravetto, M. Ripani, P. Saracco. a e-mail: [email protected] (corresponding author)
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In this context, the development of multi-physics coupling with neut
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