Consistent Comparison of the Codes RELAP5/PARCS and TRAC-M/PARCS for the OECD MSLB Coupled Code Benchmark

A generalized interface module was developed for coupling any thermal-hydraulic code to any spatial kinetic code. In the design used here the thermal-hydraulic and spatial kinetic codes function as independent processes and communicate using the Parallel Virtual Machine software. This approach helps maximize flexibility while minimizing modifications to the respective codes. Using this interface, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) three-dimensional neutron kinetic code, Purdue Advanced Reactor Core Simulator (PARCS), has been coupled to the NRC system analysis codes RELAP5 and Modernized Transient Reactor Analysis Code (TRAC-M). Consistent comparison of code results for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development/Nuclear Energy Agency main steam line break benchmark problem using RELAP5/PARCS and TRAC-M/PARCS was made to assess code performance.