Development of an integrated fission product release and transport code for spatially resolved full-core calculations of V/HTRs

The computer codes FRESCO-I, FRESCO-II, PANAMA and SPATRA developed at Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany in the early 1980s are essential tools to predict the fission product release from spherical fuel elements and the TRISO fuel performance, respectively, under given normal or accidental conditions. These codes are able to calculate a conservative estimation of the source term, i.e. quantity and duration of radionuclide release. Recently, these codes have been reversed engineered, modernized (FORTRAN 95/2003) and combined to form a consistent code named STACY (Source Term Analysis Code System). STACY will later become a module of the V/HTR Code Package (HCP). In addition, further improvements have been implemented to enable more detailed calculations. For example the distinct temperature profile along the pebble radius is now taken into account and coated particle failure rates can be calculated under normal operating conditions. In addition, the absolute fission product release of an V/HTR pebble bed core can be calculated by using the newly developed burnup code Topological Nuclide Transformation (TNT) replacing the former rudimentary approach. As a new functionality, spatially resolved fission product release calculations for normal operating conditions as well as accident conditions can be performed. In case of a full-core calculation, a large number of individual pebbles which follow a random path through the reactor core can be simulated. The history of the individual pebble is recorded, too. Main input data such as spatially resolved neutron fluxes and fluid dynamics data are provided by the VSOP code. Capabilities of the FRESCO-I and SPATRA code which allow for the simulation of the redistribution of fission products within the primary circuit and the deposition of fission products on graphitic and metallic surfaces are also available in STACY. In this paper, details of the STACY model and first results for its application to the 200 MW(th) HTR-Module are presented.