Solution of OECD/NEA PWR MOX/UO2 benchmark with a high-performance pin-by-pin core calculation code

Expanding upon the framework of the steady-state pin-by-pin 2D/1D decoupling method, a novel and high-performance pin-by-pin transient calculation method has been introduced. This transient method, consistent to the steady-state formulation, is designed for time-dependent calculations utilizing a 3D diffusion-based finite difference method (FDM). The inherent complexity of the large 3D problem is effectively managed by decoupling it into a series of planar (2D) and axial (1D) problems. In addition, tens of thousands of pin-cells are grouped into hundreds of boxes to reduce the computing burden for the 1D calculations without essential loss of the accuracy. Two-level coarse mesh finite difference (CMFD) formulation comprising multigroup nodewise CMFD and two-group assemblywise CMFD is employed as well to accelerate the convergence. Errors originating from the pin-level homogenization, energy group condensation, and the use of lower order calculation methods are simultaneously corrected by the pinwise super homogenization (SPH) equivalence factor. The transient method is evaluated with OECD/NEA PWR MOX/UO2 benchmark. Code-to-code comparison with the nTRACER direct whole core calculation code yielded highly satisfactory results for the transient scenario as well as the steady-state problems. Furthermore, comparative analyses with conventional nodal calculations show superiority of the pin-by-pin calculation.