A Direct Coupling between RFSP and CATHENA Using PVM

Abstract

An increasing number of safety analyses are being performed with coupled neutronic and thermalhydraulic calculations. Neutronic and thermalhydraulic computer codes, namely RFSP and CATHENA, are currently coupled using scripts. These scripts are used to read and write input files and restart files for both codes, resulting in long computation times.This work presents modifications implemented in RFSP for both the *CERBERUS and *CERBRRS modules, to allow direct coupling with CATHENA using PVM, thus reducing the simulation time. Results obtained with the direct PVM-based coupling are compared to the results produced with scripts for verification purposes. The results are found identical and the simulation time is considerably reduced.