Present status of reactor physics in the United States and Japan-II. 6. Present Status of GNF New Nodal Simulator

This paper presents core simulator consolidation work done at Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF). The unified simulator needs to supersede the capabilities of past simulator packages from the original GNF partners: GE (Ref. 1), Hitachi (Ref. 2), and Toshiba (Ref. 3). At the same time, an effort is being made to produce a simulation package that will be a state-of-the-art analysis tool when released, in terms of the physics solution methodology and functionality. The core simulator will be capable and qualified for (a) high-energy cycles in the U.S. markets, (b) mixed-oxide (MOX) introduction in Japan, and (c) high-power density plants in Europe, etc. The unification of the lattice physics code is also in progress based on a transport model with collision probability methods. The AETNA core simulator is built upon the PANAC11 software base. The goal is to essentially replace the 1.5-energy group model with a higher-order multigroup nonlinear nodal solution capable of the required modeling fidelity, while keeping highly automated library generation as well as functionality. All required interfaces to PANAC11 will be preserved, which minimizes the impact on users and process automation. Preliminary results show statistical accuracy improvement over the 1.5- group model. The status of the GNF new nodal simulator is presented. It is built on a highly automated software base by combining the best technologies of GE, Hitachi, and Toshiba and will provide a BWR core analysis tool with high functionality and fidelity. (authors)