Modification and validation of THEATRe code for the plate type fuel nuclear reactor

Highlights: ► Modification of THEATRe code is presented. ► The modification was done by inserting a computer program in the source library of THEATRe code. ► The verification studies were performed by comparing the results obtained from the modified THEATRe and RELAP5 codes. ► The verification studies were done by analyzing the thermal hydraulics of a small nuclear reactor core. ► The simulation results from both codes validate the applicability of THEATRe code for plate type fuel nuclear reactor. - Abstract: THEATRe is a real time thermal hydraulic simulation code specifically for the pin type fuel element. In this paper, a research focused on the development of THEATRe code for the plate type fuel nuclear reactor is presented. For this purpose, first a mathematical study for the plate type fuel was completed and was followed by the development of a computer program in FORTRAN language. This program was then coupled with the source code of THEATRe code. The modified code has been verified by comparing its predictions with RELAP5 code. The verification studies were performed by considering a small nuclear reactor, which has the power output of 220 MW and is designed by Nuclear Power Simulation and Research Centre (NPS and RC), China. In this paper, comparisons between simulation results from both codes are presented, which verify that the modification of the THEATRe code for the plate type fuel nuclear reactor has been successful