Investigations of safety-related parameters applying a new multi-group diffusion code for HTR transients

The energy spectra of fast and thermal neutrons from fission reactions in the FZJ code TINTE are modelled by two broad energy groups. Present demands for increased numerical accuracy led to the question of how precise the 2-group approximation is compared to a multi-group model. Therefore a new simulation program called MGT (Multi Group TINTE) has recently been developed which is able to handle up to 43 energy groups. Furthermore, an internal spectrum calculation for the determination of cross-sections can be performed for each time step and location within the reactor. In this study the multi-group energy models are compared to former calculations with only two energy groups. Different scenarios (normal operation and design-basis accidents) have been defined for a high temperature pebble bed reactor design with annular core. The effect of an increasing number of energy groups on safety-related parameters like the fuel and coolant temperature, the nuclear heat source or the xenon concentration is studied. It has been found that for the studied scenarios the use of up to 8 energy groups is a good trade-off between precision and a tolerable amount of computing time. (orig.)