R&D of the Next Generation Safety Analysis Methods for Fast Reactors With New Computational Science and Technology: 1 — Introduction of the Project and Development of Structural Mechanics Module

Abstract

Sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, a computer code, named COMPASS, has been developed employing the Moving Particle Semi-implicit (MPS) method for various complex phenomena of core disruptive accidents (CDAs) in sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs). The COMPASS is designed to analyze multi-physics problems involving thermal hydraulics, structure and phase change, in a unified framework of MPS method. In this and the following five papers [1–5], the outcomes of the project in FY2006 are presented. In FY2006, development of the basic functions of the COMPASS was completed and fundamental verification calculations were carried out. In this paper, the outline of the project and a part of COMPASS, the structural mechanics part, are described, including formulation of MPS method and the conceptual design of COMPASS, and the results of the basic verification calculations for structural mechanics module.