The Amp (advanced Multiphysics) Nuclear Fuel Performance Code

The AMP (Advanced MultiPhysics) Nuclear Fuel Performance code is a new, three-dimensional, multiphysics tool that uses state-of-the-art solution methods and validated nuclear fuel models to simulate the nominal operation and anticipated operational transients of nuclear fuel. The AMP Nuclear Fuel Performance code leverages existing validated material models from traditional fuel performance codes and the Scale/ORIGEN-S spent-fuel characterization code to provide an initial capability that is shown to be sufficiently accurate for a single benchmark problem and anticipated to be accurate for a broad range of problems. The thermomechanics foundation can be solved in a time-dependent or quasi-static approach with any variation of operator-split or fully-coupled solutions at each time step through interoperable interfaces to leading computational mathematics tools, including PETSc, Trilinos, and SUNDIALS. A baseline validation of the AMP Nuclear Fuel Performance code has been performed through the modeling of an experiment in the Halden Reactor Project (IFA-432) that demonstrates the integrated capability and provides a baseline of the initial accuracy of the software. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.