Applications of mini- and microcomputers to thermal-hydraulic analyses

As their performance increases and their price decreases, mini- and microcomputers are solving engineering problems that once required a mainframe computer. However, successful use of small computers requires rethinking the methods used to solve these problems. In general, mainframe techniques cannot be applied directly to these machines. This paper discusses one class of thermal-hydraulic problems which small computers have solved successfully. The outcome of many reactor transients depends on actions taken by the operator. These actions, in turn, depend on the current state of the transient. These transients are better analyzed interactively. This is one area where the small computers perform better than the mainframes