Verification of the LWRARC code for light-water-reactor afterheat rate calculations

This report describes verification studies carried out on the LWRARC (Light-Water-Reactor Afterheat Rate Calculations) computer code. The LWRARC code is proposed for automating the implementation of procedures specified in Draft Revision 1 of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Regulatory Guide 3.54, open-quotes Spent-Fuel Heat Generation in an Independent Spent-Fuel Storage Installation,close quotes which gives guidelines on the calculation of decay heat for spent nuclear fuel. Draft Regulatory Guide 3.54 allows one to estimate decay-heat values by means of a table lookup procedure with interpolation performed between table-entry values. The tabulated values of the relevant parameters span ranges that are appropriate for spent fuel from a boiling-water reactor (BWR) or a pressurized-water reactor (PWR), as the case may be, and decay-heat rates are obtained for spent fuel whose properties are within those parameter limits. In some instances, where these limits are either exceeded or where they approach critical regions, adjustments are invoked following table lookup. The LWRARC computer code is intended to replicate the manual process just described. In the code, the table lookup is done by entering a database and carrying out interpolations. The code then determines if adjustments apply, and, if this is the case, adjustment factors are calculated separately. The manual procedures in the Draft Regulatory Guide have been validated (i.e., they produce results that are good estimates of reality). The work reported in this document verifies that the LWRARC code replicates the manual procedures of the Draft Regulatory Guide, and that the code, taken together with the Draft Regulatory Guide, can support both verification and validation processes