CEFR control rod drop transient simulation using RAST-F code system

This study aimed to verify and validate the transient simulation capability of the hybrid code system RAST-F for fast reactor analysis. For this purpose, control rod (CR) drop experiments involving eight separate CRs and six CR groups in the China Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR) start-up tests were utilized to simulate the CR drop transient. The RAST-F numerical solution, including the neutron population, time-dependent reactivity, and CR worth, was compared against the measurement values obtained from two out-of-core detectors. Moreover, the time-dependent reactivity and CR worth from RAST-F were verified against the results obtained by the Monte Carlo code Serpent using continuous energy nuclear data. A code-to-code comparison between Serpent and RAST-F showed good agreement in terms of time-dependent reactivity and CR worth. The discrepancy was less than 160 pcm for reactivity and less than 110 pcm for CR worth. RAST-F solution was almost identical to the measurement data in terms of neutron population and reactivity. All the calculated CR worth results agreed with experimental results within two standard deviations of experimental uncertainty for all CRs and CR groups. This work demonstrates that the RAST-F code system can be a potential tool for analyzing time-dependent phenomena in fast reactors.