Extension of the reactor dynamics code DYN3D to SFR applications – Part III: Validation against the initial phase of the Phenix EOL natural convection test

Abstract The reactor dynamics code DYN3D, initially developed for LWR applications, is being extended for steady state and transient analyses of Sodium cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) cores. The extension includes the development of the few-group cross section generation methodology, updating of the thermal-hydraulic database with thermal-physical properties of sodium, and development of the thermal-mechanical model to account for thermal expansion effects of the core components. Part I of the paper provided a detailed description of the recently implemented thermal expansion models able to treat axial expansion of fuel rod and radial expansion of diagrid. The results of the initial verification tests were also presented in Part I of the paper. The capability of the extended version of DYN3D to perform steady state and transient analyses of SFR cores was validated using selected tests from the end-of-life experiments conducted at the Phenix reactor. Steady state analysis of the control rod withdrawal tests is covered in Part II of the paper. Part III of the paper reports on the results of the transient analysis of the initial stage of the natural circulation test from the Phenix end-of-life experiments.