Current status and validation of the SIMMER-III LMFR safety analysis code

Abstract

The development of a liquid-metal fast reactor (LMFR) safety analysis code, SIMMER-III, has successfully reached a milestone with completion of all the physical models originally intended for simulating accident sequences of core disruptive accidents in LMFRs. The code encompasses advanced fluid-dynamics technologies to eliminate many of the shortcomings of the previous SIMMER-II code. SIMMER-III is a two-dimensional, three-velocity-field, multiphase, multi-component, Eulerian, fluid-dynamics code coupled with a space- and energy- dependent neutron kinetics model. A systematic code assessment program for SIMMER-III has been conducted, in parallel to the model development, under the international collaboration between Japanese JNC and European FZK and CEA. In this paper, the SIMMER-III models are described, and the current status of model development and major achievement of code application studies are presented to demonstrate its practical usefulness as an advanced LMFR safety code. (author)