| Summary: | At PBMR, long-lived fission product release from spherical fuel spheres is calculated
using the German legacy software product GETTER. GETTER is a good tool when
performing calculations for fuel spheres under controlled operating conditions, including
irradiation tests and post irradiation heat-up experiments. It has proved itself as a
versatile reactor analysis tool, but is rather cumbersome when used for accident and
sensitivity analysis. Developments in depressurized loss of forced cooling (DLOFC)
accident analysis using GETTER led to the creation of FIPREX (Fission Product
RElease under accident (X) conditions), and later FIPREX-GETTER. FIPREX-GETTER
is designed as a wrapper around GETTER so that calculations can be carried out for
large numbers of fuel spheres with design and operating parameters that can be
stochastically varied. This allows full Monte Carlo sensitivity analyses to be performed
for representative cores containing many fuel spheres.
The development process and application of FIPREX-GETTER in reactor analysis at
PBMR is explained and the requirements for future development of the code are
discussed. Results are presented for a sample PBMR core design under normal
operating conditions as well as a suite of design-base accident events, illustrating the
functionality of FIPREX-GETTER. Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis principles are
explained and presented for each calculation type. The plan and current status of
verification and validation (V&V) is described. The effects high temperature events have
on fission product transport are investigated and discussed. === Thesis (M.Sc. (Nuclear Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.
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