EDN: QNIKAE
Authors & Affiliations
Kupriyanov K.S., Kolobovnikov I.P., Luchina K.A., Feynberg O.S., Ignatiev V.V.
National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, Moscow, Russia
Kupriyanov K.S. – Research Assistant. Contacts: 1, pl. Akademika Kurchatova, Moscow, Russia, 123182. Tel.: +7 (903) 116-22-42; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Kolobovnikov I.P. – Research Assistant.
Luchina K.A. – Research Engineer.
Feinberg O.S. – Senior Researcher.
Ignatiev V.V. – Head of Department, Dr. Sci. (Tech.).
Abstract
To predict the characteristics and assess the safety of liquid reactor systems during steady-state operation and various transient scenarios, special multiphysics calculation tools are required to take into account the design and operation features, as well as the main physical phenomena in such reactor systems. One of these tools is the MULTIMSR calculation complex (CC), developed at the National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, which is several software tools that work together, exchanging information during the calculation.
CC MULTIMSR uses the SERPENT software tool (ST) for neutronic calculations using the Monte Carlo method, and also includes a number of other software tools that solve the equations of thermal hydraulics, neutron transfer in the diffusion approximation, simulate the transfer of insoluble fission products along the fuel circuit, etc. These STs are implemented using the OpenFOAM computational library. CC also includes a constantly updated database of the physical properties of fuel salts, intermediate coolants and structural materials.
The article presents a block diagram of the СС, as well as a brief description of the software tools included in it.
As an example of the use of the MULTIMSR CC, the results of burnup calculation and multiphysics modeling of an accident of introducing positive reactivity in a molten-salt burner reactor with a thermal power of 2.4 GW, using transuranium elements from spent fuel of VVER 1000/1200 reactors with fuel salt composition Li, Be, An/F and a cavity-type core are presented. The calculation of the transient process was carried out using various methods and approximations included in the CC, and based on the results obtained, conclusions were drawn about the need to use precision modeling tools.
Keywords
molten salt nuclear reactor, multiphysical modeling, calculation methods, melts of metal fluoride salts, circulating liquid fuel
Article Text (PDF, in Russian)
References
- LeBlanc D. Molten salt reactors: a new beginning for an old idea. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 2010, vol. 240, p. 1644.
- Generation IV International Forum. A Technology Roadmap for Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems. Technical Report GIF-002-00. U.S. DOE Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committee and the Generation IV International Forum, 2002.
- Molten Salt Reactors and Thorium Energy. Ed. Dolan T.J. Elsevier Ltd., 2017. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-101126-3.00.
- Goryachih A.V., Zaiko I.V. et al. Rezul'taty razrabotki eskiznogo proyekta reaktornoy ustanovki s issledovatel'skim zhidkosolevym reaktorom [The Results of the Development of a Draft Design of a Reactor Installation with a Research Molten Salt Reactor]. Trudy XXIII Rossiyskoy konferentsii “Bezopasnost' issledovatel'skikh yadernykh ustanovok” [Proc. of the XXIII Russian Conference “Safety of Research Nuclear Facilities”]. Dimitrovgrad, May 22–26, 2023, pp. 5–6.
- Zhang D., Liu L., Liu M. et al. Review of conceptual design and fundamental research of molten salt reactors in China. Int J Energy Res. 2018; 42: 1834–1848. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/er.3979.
- Haubenreich P.N., Engel J.R. Experience with the Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment. Nuclear Applications and Technology, 1970, vol. 8, pp. 118–136. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13182/NT8-2-118.
- Ignatiev V.V., Kormilitsyn M.V., Kormilitsyna L.A. et al. Molten-Salt Reactor for Nuclear Fuel Cycle Closure on All Actinides. At Energy, 2019, vol. 125, pp. 279–283. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-019-00481-w.
- Advanced Reactor Technology Options for Utilization and Transmutation of Actinides in Spent Nuclear Fuel. IAEA-TECDOC-1626.
- Manuele Aufiero, Antonio Cammi, Olivier Geoffroy, Mario Losa, Lelio Luzzi, Marco E. Ricotti, Hervé Rouch. Development of an OpenFOAM model for the Molten Salt Fast Reactor transient analysis. Chemical Engineering Science, 2014, vol. 111, pp. 390–401. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2014.03.003.
- Tianliang Hu, Liangzhi Cao, Hongchun Wu, Xianan Du, Mingtao He. Coupled neutronics and thermal-hydraulics simulation of molten salt reactors based on OpenMC/TANSY. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2017, vol. 109(6), pp. 260–276. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2017.05.002.
- Carlo Fiorina, Ivor Clifford, Manuele Aufiero, Konstantin Mikityuk. GeN-Foam: A novel OpenFOAM® based multi-physics solver for 2D/3D transient analysis of nuclear reactors. Nuclear Engineering and Design, 2015, vol. 294, pp. 24–37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2015.05.035.
- Cervi E., Lorenzi S., Cammi A., Luzzi L. Development of a multiphysics model for the study of fuel compressibility effects in the Molten Salt Fast Reactor. Chemical Engineering Science, 2019, vol. 193, pp. 379–393. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2018.09.025.
- Leppanen J. Serpent – A Continuous Energy Monte-Karlo Reactor Physics Burnup Calculation Code. Helsinci, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, 2013.
- SERPENT. Software certification passport No. 379 dated 12/16/2015.
- Dan Chen, Fratoni M., Aufiero M. Zero–Power Criticality Benchmark Evaluation of Molten Salt Reactor Experiment. Proc. PHYSOR 2018: Reactor Physics paving the way towards more efficient systems. Cancun, Mexico, 2018.
- Jasak H., Jemcov A., Tukovic Z. OpenFOAM: A C++ library for complex physics simulations. Proc. of the International Workshop on Coupled Methods in Numerical Dynamics. IUC, Dubrovnik, Croatia, September 19–21, 2007.
- Kupriyanov K.S., Feinberg O.S., Ignatiev V.V. Effektivnaya dolya zapazdyvayushchikh neytronov v reaktore s tsirkuliruyushchim zhidkosolevym toplivom [Effective Delayed Neutron Fraction in a Molten Salt Reactor with Circulating Fuel]. Voprosy atomnoy nauki i tekhniki. Seriya: Fizika yadernykh reaktorov – Problems of Atomic Science and Technology. Series: Physics of Nuclear Reactors, 2022, issue 2, pp. 97–106.
- Zakirov R.Ya., Ignatiev V.V. Toplivnyy tsikl ZHSR-szhigatelya transuranovykh elementov na osnove LiF-BeF2 [Fuel cycle of the MSR-burner of transuranium elements based on LiF-BeF2]. Voprosy atomnoy nauki i tekhniki. Seriya: Fizika yadernykh reaktorov – Problems of Atomic Science and Technology. Series: Physics of Nuclear Reactors, 2022, issue 2, pp. 38–47.
- Menter, Florian & Kuntz, M. & Langtry, RB. Ten years of industrial experience with the SST turbulence model. Heat and Mass Transfer, 2003, 4. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228742295_Ten_years_of_industrial_experience_with_the_SST_turbulence_model (accessed 12.02.2025).
- Gatsa P.V., Ignatiev V.V., Feinberg O.S. Teplogidravlicheskiye kharakteristiki issledovatel'skogo zhidkosolevogo reaktora s aktivnoy zonoy polostnogo tipa [Thermohydraulic characteristics of a research molten salt reactor with a cavity-type core]. Voprosy atomnoy nauki i tekhniki. Seriya: Fizika yadernykh reaktorov – Problems of Atomic Science and Technology. Series: Physics of Nuclear Reactors, 2021, issue 3, pp. 43–52.
- Gatsa P.V., Ignatiev V.V., Feinberg O.S. Teplogidravlicheskiy analiz ZHSR-szhigatelya transuranovykh elementov [Thermohydraulic analysis of the MSR-burner of transuranium elements]. Voprosy atomnoy nauki i tekhniki. Seriya: Fizika yadernykh reaktorov – Problems of Atomic Science and Technology. Series: Physics of Nuclear Reactors, 2023, issue 5, pp. 54–64.
- Laureau, Axel & Bellè, Andrea & Allibert, M. & Heuer, Daniel & Merle, Elsa & Pautz, Andreas. Unmoderated molten salt reactors design optimisation for power stability. Annals of Nuclear Energy, 2022, vol. 177, p. 109265. DOI: 10.1016/j.anucene.2022.109265.
- Zhang D., Rineiski A., Wang C., Guo Z., Xiao Y., Qiu S. Development of a kinetic model for safety studies of liquid-fuel reactors. Progress in Nuclear Energy, 2015, vol. 81, pp. 104–112.
UDC 621.039.4
Problems of Atomic Science and Technology. Series: Nuclear and Reactor Constants, 2025, no. 1, 1:10
