Identification and Analysis of Critical Gaps in Nuclear Fuel Cycle Codes Required by the SINEMA Program

Idaho and Argonne National Laboratories (INL and ANL, respectively) have been assigned by the US Department of Energy (DOE) the joint responsibility for providing technical direction for the Simulation Institute for Nuclear Enterprise Modeling and Analyses (SINEMA) project which is managed at INL. In support of the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiatives (AFCI) and the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), the SINEMA project aims to develop a simulation network that can model all aspects of current global nuclear energy infrastructure, the associated fuel cycles and their components.

As part of SINEMA’s effort, an integrated toolbox is currently being developed at INL and University of Wisconsin in order to support the global and domestic assessment, development and deployment of nuclear energy systems at whatever level of detail is required to establish rational decisions by the appropriate decision-makers. The toolbox, called the Global Evaluation of Nuclear Infrastructure Utilization Scenarios (GENIUS), will contain multiple analyses codes aimed at different parts of the nuclear fuel cycle, from the most detailed, first-principle, mechanistic codes to component, systems or top-level, nuclear enterprise codes. The plan is to implement SINEMA using interconnected and interactive pyramid architecture and to avoid/minimize any duplication of effort in achieving this goal.

The current state of the art in nuclear fuel cycle modeling is an eclectic mixture of system codes with various levels of applicability, flexibility, and availability. In an effort to better organize the available information, University of Cincinnati (UC), in collaboration with Idaho State University (ISU), are carrying out a detailed review of the existing nuclear fuel cycle codes developed to date. The code review includes domestically and internationally developed codes, from top-level nuclear enterprise model codes, down to micro-scale model codes that are dealing with any aspect of the nuclear fuel cycle. The nuclear fuel cycle codes will be assessed through a systematic approach that will focus at least on the following features: input/output (I/O) data; functional and design requirements; method of solution; strengths and weaknesses; computer language and platform and capability to link with other codes. The information will be organized in a flexible and easy to update relational database aimed to support the Advanced Fuel Cycle System Analysis and SINEMA effort.

One of the main goals for the UC/ISU project is to provide deliverables that will be of complementary value to larger and more global efforts of this type. Therefore, subsequent to the accomplishment of the nuclear fuel cycle code review, the UC/ISU research will also identify the research and development needs towards a comprehensive modeling of the global nuclear energy infrastructure and the associated nuclear fuel cycles. The results of this research will also support the SINEMA project to identify the most appropriate codes that will be linked into GENIUS so that the SINEMA’s top level, nuclear enterprise code will effectively accomplish its design specifications.

The UC and ISU research will result in a first comprehensive reference on available nuclear fuel cycle codes with focus on their I/O parameters. Once established, it is expected that DOE and its sub-contractors will appropriately populate our initial database, as new models and codes become available. Furthermore, students and scientists alike will be able to study the entire fuel cycle through the codes that models it, and identify the appropriate models to be used in their research. In addition, our research will make possible the identification of further needs on various modeling aspects of the entire nuclear cycle.

Project abstract:
Identification and Analysis of Critical Gaps in Nuclear Fuel Cycle Codes
Required by the SINEMA Program

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