VERA Progression Benchmark Analysis with MCS

Abstract

The VERA Core Physics Benchmark Progression Problems were analyzed using the inhouse coupled Monte Carlo code/thermal-hydraulics MCS, which is under development at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST). MCS solutions for VERA Core Physics Benchmark Progression Problems 6 and 7 showed excellent agreement with MC21/COBRA-IE and VERA-CS solutions. For Watts Bar Nuclear 1 (WBN1) Cycle 1 at beginning-of-cycle, hot full power and equilibrium xenon conditions, MCS predicted a critical boron concentration (CBC) of 865.5±1.2 ppm, resulting a critical eigenvalue of 1.00001±0.00005. Excellent agreement with MC21/CTF and VERA solutions of Problem 7 was also demonstrated for integral and local power and temperature parameters. Overall, it was successfully demonstrated that MCS could be used as a simulation tool for multi-physics single assembly and whole-core problems.