WSC Submitted the Final Report to the Department of Energy (DOE) for Phase II Grant
WSC has submitted the Final Report to the US Department of Energy (DOE) for Phase II Grant titled: "Fidelity Enhancement of Nuclear Power Plant Simulators Utilizing High Fidelity Simulation Predictions." WSC has been working on this three-year project, funded with two grants by the DOE, with a team of Light Water Reactors (LWR) experts from Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL), and the former head of the Nuclear Engineering Department at North Carolina State University (NCSU), Dr. Paul Turinsky. This project is employing a higher fidelity core simulator than that of currently used simulators to "inform" such simulators so that their fidelity can be improved. The higher fidelity core simulator that is employed is VERA code package, a product of the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL).
As a result of this research and development project, WSC is planning to offer the following two commercial products to the nuclear industry starting in the Fall of 2021:
1. Engineering simulators that use a fully integrated NESTLE-REALP5-3D-CTF model. In this case, NESTLE and CTF will model the neutronics and T-H inside the core, while RELAP5 will model the rest of the nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) plus control and protection logic. NESTLE will be utilizing the results of VERA to improve the fidelity of the nodal solution. This tool, which is capable of modeling steady state and transients, can be employed to study different aspects of plant and core designs, fuel management, safety analysis followed by the engineering departments.
2. Real-time training simulators that use a fully integrated RELAP5-NESTLE model, which is currently used by WSC, while now utilizing the results of VERA as well. In this case, NESTLE will model the neutronics inside the core, while RELAP5 will model the T-H inside the core and in the rest of the system.
