Application of advanced simulation tools for multiphysics evaluation of the SMR cores

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Small modular reactors (SMRs) are an attractive alternative to modern large-scale nuclear power plants due to their advantages, such as shorter deployment time, smaller capital costs, and the ability to be sited in remote locations. SMRs vary in power from tens to hundreds of MW and can be used for electricity generation, heating, water desalination and other industrial tasks. This PhD project is focused on a methodology for the advanced reactor core simulation that combines efficiency and accuracy and can potentially be used by industry. A key point will be identifying the challenges in modelling and simulating the SMRs (boron and boron-free) compared to traditional large-scale reactors. This will enable the discovery of efficient methods to accurately study the sensitivity of operational parameters using advanced multiphysics and multiscale simulation techniques. A combination of advanced modelling and simulation tools will be used, such as the full-core simulator DYN3D, the neutron transport solvers LOTUS and OpenMC, and the subchannel thermal-hydraulics code CTF. The approach of utilising those advanced multiscale and multiphysics tools to create a computationally efficient model with high accuracy has the potential to be an efficient tool in the evaluation of SMRs' safety and performance. This model will be designed to deliver coupled reactor physics at the assembly level for the entire reactor core while achieving a detailed pin-by-pin level simulation exclusively in selected assemblies for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). In particular, the simplified coupled reactor physics (DYN3D) code will be used to simulate all the nuclear reactor cores at the level of fuel assembly to define an area of interest. Following that, the Improved coupled reactor physics (LOTUS + CTF) code will be used to simulate the designated area of interest in the fuel assembly at the fuel pin level. This approach will allow identification paths for accurate modelling and simulation of the SMR cores without the computationally expensive full-core pin-by-pin simulations, making it attractive for the industrial application of the developed methodology.