Validation of NECP-Bamboo with BEAVRS and AP1000 measurements

Highlights: • A two-step code validated by both 2nd and 3rd Gen commercial PWR measurements. • A power history simplification method proposed for fast load-following simulation. • A detailed power history following simulation has been done for AP1000. PWR-core fuel management code system NECP-Bamboo has been validated by about one hundred commercial PWR-core cycles including both the Second and Third Generations such as Chinese Nuclear Power CNP300 and CNP600, Chinese Pressurized Reactor CPR1000 and ACPR1000, France Framatome M310 and European Pressurized Reactor (EPR), USA Westinghouse AP1000, Chinese CAP1400 and Hualong-1, etc. Among those, the last four belong to the Third Generation PWRs. Besides, BEAVRS is the first worldwide well-known international benchmark that provides a complete two-cycle description of a commercial PWR-core, including detailed operating data and measurements, while the Unit 1 of Sanmen Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in mainland China is the worldwide first AP1000 core. Thus, in this paper, measurements of these two PWR-cores were chosen to validate the code NECP-Bamboo, including critical boron concentration (CBC), control rod worth, temperature coefficient, detector response and boron letdown curve. Satisfying agreements have been found between the simulation with NECP-Bamboo and the corresponding measurements.