Whole-core validation of the Superphénix reactor using WIMS11 and an investigation into a hybrid RZ-HEX SP3 calculation route

The Superph´enix SFR has been modelled using the new MERLIN flux solver module of the WIMS reactor physics code. The reactor was simulated for a range of calculation cases which investigated the neutronic effects of different temperatures and control rod insertions, for the purposes of validation against experimental data and verification against Serpent. The WIMS results were found to be in good agreement with the experimental data and the Serpent benchmark. Two different MERLIN models were constructed: a detailed hexagonal-Z geometry in 172 groups, and a hybrid method which used a simplified RZ model to condense the data used in the calculation into fewer groups before using the full hexagonal-Z geometry. This hybrid method was found to decrease the time taken for the calculations by a factor of five while retaining a good level of accuracy.