RSIC CODE PACKAGE PSR-536

 

1.   NAME AND TITLE

      FEMAXI-6/RODBURN:        Code System for Light Water Reactor Fuel Analysis.

 

2.   CONTRIBUTOR

      Nuclear Safety Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tokai-mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki-ken, through the Research Organization for Information Science & Technology (RIST).

 

3.   CODING LANGUAGE AND COMPUTER

            Fortran 77; Pentium Personal Computers (P00536IBMPC00).

 

4.   NATURE OF PROBLEM SOLVED

FEMAXI-6(Updated) predicts the thermal and mechanical behavior of a light water reactor fuel rod during normal and transient (not accident) conditions. This code system includes FEMAXI-6 Version 1 (U), RODBURN 1.2, and EXPLOT, which can be used to view FEMAXI-6 output.

FEMAXI can analyze the integral behavior of a whole fuel rod throughout its life as well as the localized behavior of a small part of fuel rod. Temperature distribution, radial and axial deformations, fission gas release, and inner gas pressure are calculated as a function of irradiation time and axial position. Stresses and strains in the pellet and cladding are calculated and PCMI analysis is performed. Also, thermal conductivity degradation of pellet and cladding waterside oxidation are modeled.  Its analytical capabilities also cover the boiling transient anticipated in BWR.

RODBURN uses part of ORIGEN [Bell, ORNL-4628 (1973)] and RABBLE [Kier and Robba, ANL-7326 (1967)] and calculates the power generation density profile in the radial and axial directions and fast neutron flux, and concentrations of fission product isotopes and fissile materials of a single rod irradiated in PWR, BWR and Halden BWR. RODBURN gives an output file which can be read by FEMAXI-6.

RODBURN can give FEMAXI-6 the result file, so that FEMAXI-6 can read it as one of calculation conditions to determine the power generation density and fast flux in the axial and radial directions of rod.

 

5.   METHOD OF SOLUTION

      Elasto-plasticity creep, thermal expansion, pellet cracking and crack healing, relocation, densification, swelling, hot pressing, heat generation distribution, fission gas release, pellet-cladding mechanical interaction, cladding creep and oxidation are modeled by the code. Efforts have been made to improve numerical accuracy and stability of transient analysis.

      RODBURN uses ORIGEN1 library, RABBLE library and other libraries. First, resonance integral is calculated. Then, three group constants are selected and simplified neutronics analysis is performed along the designated power history and rod geometries.

 

6.   RESTRICTIONS OR LIMITATIONS

None. See the installation guide document telling the hint to install and compile.

 

7.   TYPICAL RUNNING TIME

Less than 1 minute in the sample case on Windows PC.

 

 

 

8.   COMPUTER HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

      Femaxi/Rodburn has been tested on Intel Windows personal computers under the Windows XPSP2 operating system.

 

9.   COMPUTER SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

Executables created by the authors are included in this package. Compaq Digital Visual Fortran 6.1 or newer can be used if one wishes to recompile. At RSICC, CVF 6.6c was used to build executables and run test cases. The calcomp-compatible library pltcal.lib was linked to the system when the authors created the included EXPLOT executable file, which can be used to view FEMAXI-6 output. Adobe Acrobat 4 or higher with Japanese fonts is required to view the report and some output files.

 

10. REFERENCES

a) included in documentation in electronic format:

Motoe SUZUKI and Hiroaki SAITOU, gLight Water Reactor Fuel Analysis Code FEMAXI-6 (Ver.1) - Detailed Structure and Userfs Manual,h JAEA-Data/Code 2005-003 (2006).

b) background reference:

Masaaki Uchida and Hiroaki Saito, gRODBURN: A Code for Calculating Power Distribution in Fuel Rods,h JAERI-M 93-108 (1993) (in Japanese).

 

11. CONTENTS OF CODE PACKAGE

The package is transmitted on a CD that includes the referenced document in 10.a above and a self-extracting, compressed Windows file which contains the Fortran source files, PC executables, data files, and test case input and outputs.

 

12. DATE OF ABSTRACT

December 2006.

 

KEYWORDS:   BURNUP; REACTOR PHYSICS; LWR; STRESS ANALYSIS