Comparison of AETNA02 and PANAC11 BWR Core Simulators using Traversing In-Core Probe Measurements

摘要

LANCER02 [1] is a state-of-the-art lattice physics program developed by Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF) for analyzing BWR lattices. LANCER02 performs a two-dimensional transport calculation using the method of characteristics (MoC) to arrive at a flux solution for a single or multi-bundle model. This flux solution provides nodal data for each lattice at a variety of operating conditions (e.g., coolant void, controlled/uncontrolled, fuel exposure). The nodal data (i.e., cross sections) from LANCER02 are used by AETNA02 [2]. AETNA02 is the next generation BWR core simulator program under development at GNF. AETNA02 uses a semi-analytic nodal flux solution to calculate the neutron flux distribution in a BWR core. This nodal flux solution is coupled to a thermal-hydraulic model, which solves the balance equations for mass, momentum, and energy in the fuel channel and channel bypasses. With these models, AETNA02 is able to predict BWR parameters such as eigenvalue, fuel utilization, power distribution, etc. for a wide range of BWR operating conditions.