Developing a full core model of the North Anna Reactor using SCALE 6.2.3, NESTLE and MCNP 6.2
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North West University
Abstract
This study presents the development of the modelling for a T-NEWT/NESTLE* lattice-to-nodal
diffusion calculation. The reactor selected for this study is the North-Anna (NA) Unit 1 Pressurized
Water Reactor (PWR) of the Westinghouse design. Calculations are conducted at 300 K, at the
beginning of Cycle (BOC).
The NEWT code of the SCALE-6.2.3 (Standard Computer Analyses for Licensing Evaluation
Version 6.2.3) package, is a multi-group discrete ordinate (deterministic) neutral-particle transport
code that employs the Extended Step Characteristic spatial discretization method. NEWT is used
to process and generate the homogenized-multigroup macroscopic cross-sections and other
group constants for the NESTLE input file. The NESTLE code, embedded within the RELAP5-3D
version 4.1.3 package, is a coupled multigroup (few-group) neutron diffusion reactor core
simulator code that utilizes the nodal expansion method (NEM).
The primary aim of this study was to develop a full core (FC) T-NEWT/NESTLE calculation input
model for the NA PWR using the North-West University Reactor Code suite (NWURCS)
developed at the North-West University, Unit for Energy and Technology Systems, as this
neutronic to nodal diffusion (thermal-hydraulic) combination has not been tested at the North West University. The verification of NWURCS was achieved as the calculations between the
manually generated T-NEWT models by the user with T-NEWT models generated by NWURCS
were in good agreement.
Furthermore, the results generated from the T-NEWT/NESTLE FC model were compared with a
Monte Carlo full core calculation, using the Monte Carlo N-Particle radiation transport code
version 6.2 (MCNP-6.2), which is equipped with a temperature-dependent ENDF/B-VII.1 cross section library. T-NEWT was used to obtain group constants and NESTLE and MCNP-6.2 was
used to obtain the multiplication factor (keff). The efficiency of the T-NEWT/NESTLE code
combination was achieved, as well as ‘the results for both approaches were found to be good
agreement.
* T-NEWT stands for the control module TRITON using NEWT. TRITON stands for Transport
Rigor Implemented with Time-dependent Operation for Neutronic depletion code. NEWT stands
for New ESC-based Weighting Transport code. NESTLE stands for Nodal Eigenvalue, Steady State Transient, Le core Evaluator code)
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Ringane, T.P. 2022. Developing a full core model of the North Anna Reactor using SCALE 6.2.3, NESTLE and MCNP