Simulation of the HTR-10 Operation History With the PANGU Code

Abstract

The 10 MW High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor-Test Module (HTR-10) is the first High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) in China, which was operated from January 2003 to May 2007. The HTR-10 operation history provides very important data for the validation of HTGR codes. In this paper, the HTR-10 operation history is simulated with the PANGU code, which has been recently developed for HTGR reactor physics analysis and design. Models and parameters are constructed based on the measured data of the actual conditions. The simulation results agree well with the measurements in all steady-state power periods. The discrepancy of keff is generally below 0.5%, and the discrepancy of coolant outlet temperature is generally below 5°C. It is also figured out that the burnup of graphite impurities has considerable influence on the keff at the end of the operation history, which can cause over 1.5% discrepancy when neglecting the burnup of graphite impurities. By this work, the PANGU code’s applicability in actual HTGR fuel cycle simulations is demonstrated.