Real-time modeling of transient behavior of the primary coolant system in pool-type sodium cooled fast reactor

In the paper, a real-time simulation code THCSA-RT is developed to analyze the primary coolant system of pool-type sodium cooled fast reactor which includes reactor core, hot and cold sodium pools, pumps, and intermediate heat exchangers. Different numerical methods including Gear multi-value method and Quasi-Newton iteration method are used to solve the mass and energy equations set and the momentum equations set, respectively. Several typical design basis conditions of CEFR such as planned shutdown condition and RIA are analyzed, and the calculation results agree well with those of the final safety analysis report calculated by DINROS. The simulation time is presented to prove the effectiveness of the new numerical methods developed in the present work, and the new numerical methods could be applied in the similar system analysis codes as well. The newly developed code THCSA-RT could be used in the system real-time simulation of pool-type sodium cooled fast reactor and has been adopted in the development of CEFR full scope simulator. (c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The paper presents the development of a real-time simulation code for analyzing the primary coolant system of a pool-type sodium cooled fast reactor. Different numerical methods are utilized to solve the equations sets, and the results are in good agreement with the final safety analysis report. The newly developed code can be used in the real-time simulation of similar reactor systems and has been adopted in the development of a full scope simulator for the CEFR.