Newly Developed Coupling Scheme in RMC With Internal Thermal Feedback and OTF Doppler-Broadening Method

RMC (Reactor Monte Carlo)[1] is a self-developed Monte Carlo code for nuclear reactor analysis by Reactor Engineering Analysis Lab (REAL), Tsinghua University. On the basis of the self-developed subchannel module (RMC-TH) and Monte Carlo Cell Tally, the internal coupling interface is developed, which combines both input files to one and realizes the fast mesh correspondence process using the cell expansion technology for repeated structure with thermal-hydraulics feedback. It breaks through the bottleneck of geometrical extensibility for coupled code. On-the-fly Doppler broadening method is adopted as the way to consider the temperature effect on microscopic cross section, which only needs the 0 K cross section library so that the memory cost can be apparently reduced. Steady state simulation analysis are performed on PWR fuel pin and 17×17 assembly model, and the results show the feasibility, accuracy and efficiency of the coupling methodology. Therefore, a promising technology roadmap for the large-scale and geometrically universal nuclear reactor in both steady-state and transient conditions with thermal-hydraulic feedback are established. The roadmap can be further applied to neutronics-thermal-hydraulics-depletion coupling in multi-physics simulation process.