Methods and Tools for Core Design and Fuel Management in Light Water Reactors (LWR)

Course 018
 Title Methods and Tools for Core Design and Fuel Management in Light Water Reactors (LWR)
 Prerequisites Fundamentals of Nuclear Engineering
 Goal of the course Get familiar with basic methods and tools for core design and fuel management by combining theoretical background and hands-on training
 Content

This training course will start with the explanation of the principles for design of a LWR-core taking into account technical aspects, economics and safety.

Then, the theoretical basis of state-of-the-art numerical tools used for core design optimization and safety evaluations (reload safety) will be explained. This will cover advances thermal hydraulic methods implemented in sub-channel codes for fuel assembly and sub-channel level simulations that allow the quantification of thermal safety limits (MDNBR, MCPR).

Furthermore, the fundamentals of fuel management will be discussed together with some strategies for core loading pattern optimization. In this connection, LWR fuel cycle, economics aspects for core design and fuel management will be discussed.

Hands-on-training will includes practical exercises for LWR-cores devoted to:

  • Sub-channel analysis of PWR and BWR fuel assemblies and cores using the KIT-code SUBCHAFLOW
  • LWR-core design (including development of low leakage core designs, transition to equilibrium cycles, burnable poisons) using SCALE/POLARIS and SERPENT
  • Fuel assembly reshuffling using the core simulator PARCS

The course will be given in English

 Lecturers:

 

Dr. Victor Hugo Sanchez Espinoza (Head of Group Reactor Physics and Dynamics of INR, Lectureship at KIT Mechanical Engineering Faculty on Reactor Safety)

Areas of Expertise:

  • Modelling and Simulation of Research Reactors, LWR and innovative reactors e.g. SMR
  • Accident analysis of LWR-transient and severe accidents
  • Multi-physical and multi-scale methods for reactor safety
  • Validation, qualification and uncertainty quantification of numerical codes

 

 

MSc Luigi Mercatali (INR/RPD, Senior Scientist, Work Package Leader for Code Integration and Coupling Methods within the EU McSAFE Project)

Area of expertise:

  • Modelling and Simulation of Research Reactors, LWR and innovative reactors
  • Core design
  • Deterministic and Monte Carlo neutronic methods
  • Nuclear data validation
  • Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis
 Schedule March, 25th - 29th, 2019; 9 am to 5 pm daily
 Location KIT Campus Nord, FTU, Bld. 101, Room 155

Dead line for application: March, 11th, 2019

Application form download

 

 

Areas

Basics

Codes and Methods

Core Analysis

 

 

Thermal hydraulics

 

 

Steam/Water properties

Subchannel / System Thermal Hydraulics

 

 

3D Power Distribution a BWR-Core

 

 

Neutronics

 

Nuclear data  and Libraries

Lattice Physics: Generation of nodal homogenized XS