Core Modeling and Simulation of Peach Bottom 2 Turbine Trip Test 2 Using CASMO5/TRACE/PARCS

The Purdue Advanced Reactor Core Simulator (PARCS) three-dimensional neutron kinetics code and the TRACE nuclear systems analysis code were interfaced. This provides a best-estimate coupled code system for performing transient plant calculations with reactivity feedback from a detailed core model, significantly contributing to nuclear power plant safety analyses. This study performed steady-state and transient simulations of Peach Bottom 2 Turbine Trip Test 2 (PB2 TT2) using the CASMO5/TRACE/PARCS coupled code. Consequently, CASMO5/TRACE/PARCS simulates the rapid positive reactivity addition caused by the sudden closure of the turbine stop valve. Specifically, the discrepancy in the maximum total power during the transient condition was within 3% compared with the PB2 TT2 experimental data. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the thermal-hydraulic channel (CHAN) component modeling in the coupled CASMO5/TRACE/PARCS code revealed that the number of CHAN components influenced the assembly radial power peaking factor in the PB2 TT2 transient calculation.