An Investigation into Gas-Cooled Fast Spectrum Nuclear Reactor Modelling Software
Open Access
- Author:
- Cristini, Dalton James
- Area of Honors:
- Interdisciplinary in Mechanical Engineering and Nuclear Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Nicholas Robert Brown, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Sean N Brennan, Thesis Honors Advisor
Marek Flaska, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Nuclear
Reactor
Modelling
Serpent
Fast Spectrum
Gas-Cooled
GFR
NEAMS Workbench - Abstract:
- As the Earth’s population continues to grow at an ever-increasing rate, the demand for electricity grows with it. Meeting the electrical power demands of tomorrow will require a safe, reliable, and sustainable source of energy. Additionally, a growing portion of the world is supportive of protecting the environment through the reduction of carbon emissions. Consequently, an energy source is more desirable if it minimizes its contribution to worldwide carbon emissions. Fortunately, nuclear power satisfies all of those requirements, as well as being a proven technology that can be economically viable. And while current nuclear reactors are certainly capable of supplying energy in the future, research continues in the nuclear industry toward innovation and improvement. One such type of improved reactor design under research is the gas-cooled fast spectrum reactor. With inherent safety features, increased thermal efficiency, and vastly improved fuel utilization, gas-cooled fast reactors may be a better option than current designs. Studying this reactor type could help advance the nuclear industry, but in order to do that, researchers must have access to accurate modelling software. Software such as MC2-3, as well as the NEAMS Workbench, which combines a number of nuclear codes including MC2-3, can aid in this process. However, they must be proven accurate first. The research discussed in this paper investigated the ability of MC2-3 and the NEAMS Workbench to model a GFR design by comparing these code outputs to those of a previous experiment and another reactor physics code, Serpent. It concluded that both MC2-3 and the NEAMS Workbench were capable of accurately modelling a GFR design, provided that the assumptions made in the modelling process do not cause significant deviation from the actual reactor design.