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Design and implementation progress of multi-purpose simulator for nuclear

research reactor using LabVIEW

Article  in  Kerntechnik · October 2015

DOI: 10.3139/124.110535

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A. Arafa et al.: Design and implementation progress of multi-purpose simulator for nuclear research reactor using LabVIEW

A. Arafa, H. I. Saleh and N. Ashoub

Design and implementation progress

of multi-purpose simulator for nuclear
research reactor using LabVIEW

sponse characteristics and safety systems associated with var-

This paper illustrates the neutronic and thermal hydraulic ious types of nuclear reactors can be illustrated. The training
models that were implemented in the nuclear research reactor on simulators help the trainees in understanding the stability
simulator based on LabVIEW. It also describes the system and control in steady state and dynamic situations, and the re-
and transient analysis of the simulator that takes into consid- sponse to normal operation and abnormal conditions. On the
eration the temperature effects and poisoning. This simulator other hand, developing the reactor simulators permits to ac-
is designed to be a multi-purpose in which the operator could quire hands on the experience of the physics and technology
understand the effects of the input parameters on the reactor. of nuclear reactors including nuclear reactivity control, ther-
A designer can study different solutions for virtual reactor acci- modynamics, technology design and safety system design.
dent scenarios. The main features of the simulator are the flex- The main steps in developing any simulator are to put and
ibility to design and maintain the interface and the ability to re- adjust the mathematical models of that system, then build
design and remodel the reactor core engine. The developed the suitable interface that communicate between input and
reactor simulator permits to acquire hands-on the experience output parameters of the designed model. To construct the
of the physics and technology of nuclear reactors including re- nuclear reactor simulator, the main scientific issue is simulta-
activity control, thermodynamics, technology design and safety neously solving the mathematical models of neutron kinetic
system design. This simulator can be easily customizable and and the thermo-hydraulic. This model must take into consid-
upgradable and new opportunities for collaboration between eration all parts of the reactor and the interactions between
academic groups could be conducted. these parts.
Mathematical models have been implemented at nuclear
Ausgestaltung und Ausführungfortschritte eines Mehrzweck- plants and institutions for practical applications in training,
simulators für Forschungsreaktoren unter Verwendung von analysis, and emergency exercises. Many computer codes
LabVIEW. In diesem Beitrag werden die neutronischen und were presented to be used as a simulator engine implementa-
thermohydraulischen Modelle, die im LabVIEW-basierten Si- tion such as: RELAP5 [1], RETRAN [2], TRAC-M [3], and
mulator für Forschungsreaktoren implementiert wurden, vorge- OpenSim [4]. Moreover, PCTRAN [5] is a PC-based simula-
stellt. Das System und die Transientenanalyse des Simulators tion code which is written in Microsoft Visual Basic 6, and
werden beschrieben. Dieser Simulator ist so zweckmäßig gestal- using reduced thermal hydraulic nodes for transient predic-
tet, so dass der Reaktor-Betriebspersonal die Wirkung der In- tion. Besides, a PCTRAN-based simulator was developed to
putparameter auf das Reaktorverhalten gut verstehen kann. imitate different types of nuclear reactors [6]. Recently, Lab-
Auf diese Weise können verschiedene Lösungen virtueller VIEW [7] from National Instruments is an alternative for
Reaktorstörfallszenarien untersucht werden. Ein Hauptmerk- building simulation codes. LabVIEW is a graphical program-
mal des Simulators sind die flexiblen Ausgestaltungsmöglich- ming language and strong semantic modeling language that
keiten und Modellierungen des Reaktors. Der Simulator ermög- has widespread use and easy handling and developing. It has
licht es, Physik und Technologie des Reaktors einschließlich been used to develop a web-based virtual laboratory [8], [9]
Reaktivitätskontrolle, Thermodynamik, Ausgestaltung techni- and a front end of large system analysis nuclear simulation
scher und Sicherheits-relevanter Aspekte durch praktische Er- software, such as that was presented in [10] and [11].
fahrung zu verstehen. Der Simulator lässt sich leicht anpassen Most of the presented simulators imitate the nuclear power
und aufrüsten und kann so zur Verbesserung der Zusammenar- plant. Despite of the fact that nuclear research reactors
beit zwischen akademischen Gruppen beitragen. (NRRs) provide a great support in the development of nucle-
ar science and technology [12], they have not great attentions
to be fully simulated. In general, NRRs are operated in many
countries for generation of neutrons for different scientific
1 Introduction and social purposes, as well as for commercial activities such
as the production of radioisotopes, neutron activation analysis
Nuclear newcomer nations highly need to build experiences and neutron radiography. In this context, a multipurpose
in the field of operation, safety and design of nuclear reactors. NRR simulator is presented, which combines different tasks
In order to achieve this target, the nuclear reactor simulators such as the training of operators, and investigating different
are employed. The nuclear reactor simulators are useful to accident scenarios.
teach topics in nuclear energy in order to demonstrate various To build a reactor simulator, each part of the reactor struc-
aspects related to reactor physics. As well as, operational re- ture must be studied to be modeled. One of the main parts of

80 (2015) 5 / Carl Hanser Verlag, München 1

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A. Arafa et al.: Design and implementation progress of multi-purpose simulator for nuclear research reactor using LabVIEW

the NRR is the reactor core, which contains the fuel elements, Afterwards, the development process could be started and
coolant, moderator and control rods. The other part is the for this simulator it consists of three phases. Firstly, the mod-
coolant system, shown in Fig. 1, which contains the primary eling phase is the process of building the mathematical mod-
and secondary loops, heat exchanger and pumps. The core is els using design data of the NRR in question. Secondly, the
composed of channels that enclose the fuel elements. These building the simulation system phase develops the package it-
channels are connected to the lower plenum at the bottom of self. Finally, the verification and validation phase assures the
the core inlet, and to the upper plenum at the core exit. The constructed models as well as generates different accident
flow enters the channels at the bottom through an inlet ori- and transient scenarios. Figure 2 shows the different phases
fice. Under steady state (normal operation) conditions, the of the simulator developing process, and illustrates the impact
core inlet flow is sub-cooled in the cooling tower. As the flow of the simulator design on the first two phases.
in the channel passes by the fuel, it is heated and to preserve Many languages can be used to accomplish the develop-
the temperature at a certain predetermined value, pumps ment process. For this simulator, LabVIEW 11.0 installed on
were established in the recirculation loops. The simplest con- a personal computer with Windows OS was chosen as the de-
figuration was with external pumps suctioning the fluid from velopment platform for the mathematical models and GUI.
the down-comer region and injecting it into the lower plenum The \Modeling" phase utilizes the LabVIEW modeling lan-
of the core. guage for putting the mathematical models of different reac-
This work is a part of the nuclear research reactor simulator tor core processes, and instrumentation and thermo-hydraulic
project whose development environment and tools, GUI, ar- systems. Moreover, the \Building simulation system" phase
chitecture and design overview were introduced in [11]. The constructs the graphical user interface (GUI), which inter-
main goal of this paper is to illustrate the applied neutronic faces the user inputs/outputs of the modeling phase, through
and thermo-hydraulic models and the developing phases and the graphical building blocks (i. e. controls and indicators) of-
progress of the multipurpose NRR simulator. Section 2 intro- fered from LabVIEW. On the other hand, the \Verification"
duces the three development phases and the simulator struc- phase verifies the mathematical model according to the
ture. Section 3 provides the mathematical models and their NRR design and operation (experimental) data. Besides, it
LabVIEW implementations. In Section 4 the verification and validates the simulator software to assure that it satisfies the
validation of the simulator is discussed, and in Section 5 its fu- design requirements. The LabVIEW offers a \Real-Time Ex-
ture development is suggested. Conclusions are given in Sec- ecution Trace Toolkit", which helps in preparing error reports
tion 6. by capturing and displaying the timing and event data of vir-
tual instrument (VI) file and thread events for LabVIEW
modules [7]. In turns, these reported problems are used to
2 Simulator development perform source code analysis and software database analysis
to facilitate code maintenance and fixing those problems.
Before starting the development process, a full design vision The simulator structure consists of two main systems: the
should be founded. This design contains the NRR technical \Instrumentation and monitoring", and \Reactor Modeling"
data and actual specifications, and the simulation require- systems. The Reactor Modeling systems include the \Control
ments (i. e., the structured creation of software components & Reactivity", \Neutronic-Kinetic", and \Thermo-hydraulic"
to implement specific functionality and how a system will ac- systems. Figure 3 shows the simulator block diagram where
complish the desired functionality). the different building processes of each modeled systems are

Fig. 1. Block diagram of an NRR cooling sys-

tem

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A. Arafa et al.: Design and implementation progress of multi-purpose simulator for nuclear research reactor using LabVIEW

Fig. 2. The simulator developing process

phases

Fig. 3. Block diagram of the presented NRR simulator

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A. Arafa et al.: Design and implementation progress of multi-purpose simulator for nuclear research reactor using LabVIEW

described, and the relations between these different modeled 3.1 Neutronic-kinetic modeling
processes and systems are illustrated. Each process of mod-
eled systems has been built using LabVIEW as a subroutine The simulator uses the point kinetics equations to determine
program which is a separate virtual instrument (VI) file. Each the reactor power [13], [15] and allows up to 6 groups of de-
VI subroutine has its front panel which inputs or outputs the layed neutron data. The point kinetics model has been widely
related parameters and controls. used in the analysis of the transient behavior of a nuclear re-
actor. While, the point kinetics Eqs. (1-2) have been derived
from the general neutron balance equations where the time,
3 Reactor mathematical model based on LabVIEW space, energy and direction-dependent neutronics are taken
into account. These equations are the neutron dynamics and
A nuclear reactor is a high complex dynamic system, where the delayed neutron emitting nuclei dynamics as follow:
its components are physically interconnected and dynamically
dn q % b X6
interacting. During the simulator’s developing, it is important ¼ nþ ki Ci ð1Þ
that computer codes should be built to give support to other dt < i¼1
preliminary developments, like the system general concep-
tion, control and instrumentation possibilities, etc. These dCi b i
¼ n þ ki Ci ð2Þ
codes have to follow the dynamic models of the nuclear reac- dt <
tor system which were illustrated in the literatures [13, 14].
where t is the time, q is the total reactivity, b is the effective
One-dimensional thermal hydraulic equations coupled with
delayed neutron fraction, b i is the effective ith group delayed
point kinetics equations have been solved to provide an ap-
neutron fraction, < is the prompt neutron generation time,
propriate model for the NRR system. Simplified and faster
Ci is thtformate concentration of delayed neutron precursors
models are required to enable the utilization of more familiar
of group i, ki is the decay constant of delayed neutron precur-
languages such as MATLAB and LabVIEW.
sors of group i and n is the neutron density as a function of
For this work, the LabVIEW is selected as an appropriate
time.
alternative for the development of a dynamic computer code.
To solve the point kinetics equations, the reactor is consid-
LabVIEW provides advantages in the execution time, easy
ered to be a spatially homogeneous lumped parameter system
handling tools and objects, and flexible creation and modifica-
and its model is chosen to be a time-dependent, linear, single-
tion of models. As well as, LabVIEW allows scientific compu-
group neutron diffusion equation [13]. The point kinetics
tation through its powerful calculation tools. The following
equations implementation is shown in Fig. 4.
subsections discuss the point kinetics calculations with the
fully coupled thermal fluids and fuel temperature feedback Through the fission process, some of produced fission pro-
implemented into the LabVIEW framework. ducts have highly absorbed cross sections for thermal neu-

Fig. 4. Implementation of point kinetics equations

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A. Arafa et al.: Design and implementation progress of multi-purpose simulator for nuclear research reactor using LabVIEW

> ; < ?
trons, so that it’s called poisons. There are two main types of 000 Le pz pL 1 pz
Dt ¼ Tout % Tin ¼ qo Ac sin þ sin þ cos . . . ð4Þ
poisons; the decay chains of Xenon-135 (135 Xe) and Samar- pmcp Le 2Le 2pRco h Le
ium-149 (149 Sm). 135 Xe and 149 Sm are very important and sig- 000

nificant neutron poisons as they have very large thermal ab- where qo is the Volumetric Heat Thermal source in kw/m3, Tin
sorption cross sections. The 135 Xe isotope is formed as a is the Inlet coolant temperature in 8C, Ac is the Channel flow
result of the decay of Iodine-135 (135 I) and also produced di- area in m2, L is the Core height, Le is the Extrapolated core
rectly from the fission. The 149 Sm isotope is of much less con- height, cp is the Specific heat of the coolant in KJ/kg · 8C, m
cern in a reactor than 135 Xe and often included separately in is the mass flow rate of the coolant (m3/h) and Tout is the out-
reactor calculations. 149 Sm is not formed directly in fission let coolant temperature. Figure 7 illustrates the LabVIEW im-
but appears as the result of the decay of the 149 Pm (pro- plementation of the general heat transfer between the fuel
methium-149). The forming of these fission products are mod- and the coolant which is given by Eq. (4) shows a graphical
eled in a LabVIEW VI file which was described in [11]. Fig- representation for the relations between the input and output
ure 5 shows LabVIEW block diagrams of the poisons variables of the two main cooling systems indicating different
equations that consist of the main two loops (i. e. Xenon and parameters used in calculating the temperature difference Dt.
Samarium loops) and the related subsystem for each loop.
3.3.2 Heat exchanger model
3.2 Control and reactivity modeling
Assuming a perfect thermal mixture between the fluid in the
Nuclear reactor dynamics concern with reactor power transi- primary loop and the fluid entering the secondary loop of
ents where the power change causes the reactivity change cooling; the heat exchanger equations are described as fol-
feedbacks. These reactivity feedbacks play an important role lows:
in overall reactor behavior. Tin ¼ Tout % gðTout % Tcold Þ ð5Þ
The reactivity dependence on the rod position is assumed
to be sinusoidal and it is assumed to be linear with the fuel wa
and moderator temperature. Then, the reactivity relates with Thot ¼ Tcold % ðTin % Tout Þ ð6Þ
wb
the temperature and the control rod position [16] as follows:
% & where
q ¼ (f Tf % Tfo þ (m ðTm % Tmo Þ þ
;; < < 1 % e%(
%x þ z 2:5 9 x þ z: g¼ wa %( ; ð7Þ
þb þ sin 2p þd ð3Þ 1% e
2 4p 2:5 wb

Where (f and (m are the temperature coefficients of the fuel ; <

1 1
and the moderator respectively in $=- C, Tf and Tm are the ( ¼ ho pDL % ; wa ¼ ma cp ; wb ¼ mb cp ð8Þ
wa wb
average temperature of the fuel, and moderator,
% &respectively,
b; z and d are the rod parameters, (f Tf % Tfo represents and
the temperature feedback of the fuel, (m ðTm % Tmo Þ repre- ; <
1 r2 r2 r2 1
sents
;; the temperature feedback
< of
< the moderator, and ¼ þ ln þ ð9Þ
%x þ z 2:5 9 x þ z:
ho r1 h1 k r1 h2
b þ sin 2p þ d is the effect of the rod
2 4p 2:5 Note that:
to the reactivity with x being the control rod position.
. Thot and Tcold are the outlet and inlet temperature of the
Figure 6 shows the LabVIEW implementation of the reac-
secondary loop coolant, respectively,
tivity with respect to the temperature and the control rod po-
. g is the efficiency of a heat exchanger,
sition. Eq. (3) is implemented in a formula node to compute
. L and D are the tube length and diameter in (m),
the reactivity (qÞ with different parameters values of the tem-
. ma ; mb are the mass flow rates of the %primary & loop and
perature and the control rods positions. secondary loop coolant, respectively, in m3 =h ,
. cp is the specific heat of the coolant in ðkJ=kg - kÞ,
3.3 Thermal hydraulic modeling . r1 and r2 are the inner and outer radius of the primary loop
tube, respectively,
In reactor design and operation, the most critical issue is the . h1 and h2 are the fluid convection of% primary &and second-
heat removal from the reactor core. Thermal hydraulic mod- ary loops, respectively, measured in W=m2 - k ,
eling concerns in determining the temperature field in a reac- . k is the conductivity of secondary loop wall in ðW=m - kÞ
tor coolant channel such that the operating temperatures are and
maintained within the specified limits. As well as, it describes . ho is the overall heat transfer coefficient of the heat ex-
conduction, convection, and how specific parameters (e. g. changer.
coolant flow) can affect the rate of heat transfer to the sec- Figure 9 introduces the realization of the thermal-hydraulic
ondary coolant circuit. equations utilizing the LabVIEW formula nodes in comput-
ing the overall heat transfer coefficient, and the core tempera-
3.3.1 Core heat removal model ture difference between the inlet and outlet coolant. Most of
the used parameters are inputs with default values in order
The temperature distribution and the maximum fuel tempera- to allow users to change these values for different designs as-
ture are calculated by the following equation which describes pects and accident scenarios studying. In addition, a graph re-
the general heat transfer between the fuel and the coolant presents the core temperatures versus the axial distance is
where the temperature difference Dt between the coolant out- computed to illustrate the variance of the coolant tempera-
let (Tout Þ and inlet ðTin Þ is given: ture inside the core.

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A. Arafa et al.: Design and implementation progress of multi-purpose simulator for nuclear research reactor using LabVIEW

Fig. 5. The poisons equations implementation with its subsystem block diagrams

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A. Arafa et al.: Design and implementation progress of multi-purpose simulator for nuclear research reactor using LabVIEW

Fig. 6. The LabVIEW implementation of the reactivity showing its dependence on the rod position and the temperature of the fuel and moderator

Fig. 7. LabVIEW implementation of the general heat transfer between the fuel and the coolant

Fig. 8. The graphical representation of the relations between the thermal

variables of the two main cooling circuits

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A. Arafa et al.: Design and implementation progress of multi-purpose simulator for nuclear research reactor using LabVIEW

4 Simulator verification and validation Temperature validation

The reactor mathematical models and simulator are verified In this exercise, the simulator is initialized to the full power at
and validated through the checking of the correctness of their the steady state normal operation. The axial variations of
outputs. The verification compares the conceptual model to coolant, cladding surface, fuel element center temperatures
the computer representation which implements that concep- at the steady state are illustrated in Fig. 10. Maximum tem-
tion. Besides, it ensures that the model is correctly implemen- peratures for coolant, clad and the fuel occur above the mid
ted in the computer and the input parameters and logical plane of the axial distance. The effect of the coolant is to shift
structures of the model are precisely represented. upward the radial temperatures along the fuel element. The
Various exercises are conducted to observe system behavior coolant temperature difference is achieving the designed val-
and its congruence to the literature standards. Other exercises ue. The thermal hydraulic parameters obtained from the si-
describe and explain the response of the system to certain op- mulators are coincidence with the theoretical model for the
eration modes and conditions. This section points to some ex- simulated reactor type. The operator keeps following these
ercises that conducted to operate all the inputs and find out screens illustrated in Fig. 10, which indicate the stability of
effects of such a system in action. the system and the nuclear safety margin of the core compo-
nents.

Fig. 9. The LabVIEW implementation of the Thermal-hydraulic equations

Fig. 10. Simulator’s screens displaying the distribution of Coolant, Clad-surface, and Fuel central-line Temperature with respect to axial distance in-
side the core

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A. Arafa et al.: Design and implementation progress of multi-purpose simulator for nuclear research reactor using LabVIEW

Response to reactor trip and poison-out responding variations in the temperature of the coolant at
the core outlet.
This validation exercise shows the response of the simulator
to the reactor trip in which the simulator is set to \manually
reactor trip" and initialized to the full power. The response
of the overall unit is observed to be compared with the stan- 5 Future development
dard safety reports. After waiting five hours of operation the
reactor trip is shutting down. Therefore the rods statuses, The simulator was reevaluated and the possibilities for the fu-
shown in the simulator layout, are totally immersed. The reac- ture concepts were examined. Next steps of development of
tor could not be restarted unless the reactor poison-out time this simulator may be devoted to creation and implementa-
passed. It approximately takes 20 hours to re-set the reactor tion of additional interactive features for operator actions,
trip. Figure 11 shows the variations of Xenon and Iodine den- taking into account results of qualitative and quantitative as-
sities with respect to time during the operation of this scenar- sessments. Further accident scenarios \Mal functions" have
io, as well as the poison-out time is indicated. to be investigated and evaluated to achieve one of the aimed
purposes of this simulator. As well as, the simulation of other
Response to power maneuver reactor type designs will be developed.
Moreover, the simulator interfaces are planned to make
This validation exercise observes the behavior of the reactor use of the standard web browser, so that it opens up the possi-
for a power maneuver, and validates all parameters responses. bility of collaborative work on the computations side of the si-
Whereas, the simulator is initialized to the 100 % of the full mulator. Therefore, the calculations of the Neutronic and
power in which all observed parameters show their consis- thermal hydraulics models could be developed and run on dif-
tency. The power is reduced to 90 % of the full power at a rate ferent computers, allowing a pooling of programming and
of 1.0 % per sec. After the 10 seconds transient-time of power hardware resources. From the educational point of view, that
reduction, the simulator is running at the reduced power for feature will allow individual instructors to tailor the program
approximately one minute. The main change observed is the to specific learning objectives.
reducing of the coolant temperature output by one degree. The work in this simulator open many research fields such
The power is continuing raise to return to 100 % of the full as speeding up the simulation time in the calculation of math-
power at a rate of 1.0 %FP/sec. Therefore, the coolant tem- ematical models which need the parallel computing. The abil-
perature output is slowly increased to its previous saturated ity of using heterogeneous parallel computing will permit in-
value of 37.4. Figure 12 presents the power maneuver in terms vestigating more advanced mathematical model which in
of normalized excess power with respect to time and the cor- turn allows more accurate and convenient results.

Fig. 11. Variations of Xenon and Iodine den-

sities with respect to time during normal op-
eration for 5 hours and then suddenly shut-
down (scram)

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A. Arafa et al.: Design and implementation progress of multi-purpose simulator for nuclear research reactor using LabVIEW

Fig. 12. The normalized excess power with re-

spect to time during the power maneuver and
the corresponding variations of the coolant
temperature at the core outlet

6 Conclusions 2 Paulsen, M. P., et al.: RETRAN-3D: A Program for Transient Ther-

mal-Hydraulic Analysis of Complex Fluid Flow Systems. User’s
Manual, NP-7450 (A), Revision, vol. 6, 2007. Available via web at
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"general purpose simulator for research nuclear reactors" pro- 3 Spore, J. W., et al.: TRAC-M/Fortran 90 (Version 3.0) Theory Man-
ject is started. In this project, the milestone is to develop the ual. 2001. Division of Systems Analysis and Regulatory Effective-
knowledge and expertise not only in the nuclear facilities but ness. Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, US Nuclear Regula-
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velopment phases and progress of that project. The simulator Learned. Simulators International XIV. Society for Computer Sim-
applies simplified mathematical models and their LabVIEW- ulation International. 1997
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The authors of this contribution

Dr. Amany Abdel Aziz Arafa
PhD of computer and system engineering
at Radiation Engineering Department, NCRRT, E.A.E.A.
Atomic Energy Authority
3 Ahmed Elzomor st. Nasr city
Cairo
Egypt
E-Mail: [email protected]

Dr. Hassan Ibrahim Saleh

Associated Professor of electronics engineering
at Radiation Engineering Department, NCRRT, E.A.E.A.
Atomic Energy Authority
3 Ahmed Elzomor st. Nasr city
Cairo
Egypt
E-Mail: [email protected]

Prof. Dr. Nagieb Ashoub Bibliography

Professor of theoretical Reactor Physics DOI 10.3139/124.110535
at Reactor Physics Department, Nuclear Research Center, E.A.E.A.
Atomic Energy Authority
KERNTECHNIK
3 Ahmed Elzomor st. Nasr city 80 (2015) 5; page 1 – 11
Cairo ª Carl Hanser Verlag GmbH & Co. KG
Egypt ISSN 0932-3902
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80 (2015) 5 11

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