Qiming Yang , Yuan Yuan , Dong Huang , Youqi Zheng , Guoming Liu
{"title":"SaraGR-K: a deterministic transport-based transient analysis code for prismatic gas-cooled micro-reactors","authors":"Qiming Yang , Yuan Yuan , Dong Huang , Youqi Zheng , Guoming Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.anucene.2026.112130","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper presents SaraGR-K, a three-dimensional code developed for coupled neutronics/thermal-hydraulics (N/T-H) transient analysis, specifically designed for prismatic gas-cooled microreactors. The code solves the 3D neutron transport equation in the time–space domain using a predictor–corrector quasi-static (PCQS) method. To further enhance computational efficiency in 3D transport simulations, SaraGR-K incorporates a fixed-source scaling factor technique to accelerate the convergence of transient fixed-source equations and utilizes a pipelined parallelization strategy to expedite transport calculations. Temperature distributions within reactor materials are subsequently calculated using a 1D fluid dynamics model coupled with a 1D solid heat conduction model, ensuring consistent integration with the neutronics solution.</div><div>With these computational and thermal–hydraulic models in place, SaraGR-K was verified using numerical benchmarks problems and by comparing its results with those from established reference codes. Following the verification, it was applied to the transient analysis of a prismatic gas-cooled microreactor, demonstrating its feasibility for full-core transient simulations in such systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8006,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Nuclear Energy","volume":"230 ","pages":"Article 112130"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5000,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Annals of Nuclear Energy","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306454926000186","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2026/1/22 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"NUCLEAR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This paper presents SaraGR-K, a three-dimensional code developed for coupled neutronics/thermal-hydraulics (N/T-H) transient analysis, specifically designed for prismatic gas-cooled microreactors. The code solves the 3D neutron transport equation in the time–space domain using a predictor–corrector quasi-static (PCQS) method. To further enhance computational efficiency in 3D transport simulations, SaraGR-K incorporates a fixed-source scaling factor technique to accelerate the convergence of transient fixed-source equations and utilizes a pipelined parallelization strategy to expedite transport calculations. Temperature distributions within reactor materials are subsequently calculated using a 1D fluid dynamics model coupled with a 1D solid heat conduction model, ensuring consistent integration with the neutronics solution.
With these computational and thermal–hydraulic models in place, SaraGR-K was verified using numerical benchmarks problems and by comparing its results with those from established reference codes. Following the verification, it was applied to the transient analysis of a prismatic gas-cooled microreactor, demonstrating its feasibility for full-core transient simulations in such systems.
期刊介绍:
Annals of Nuclear Energy provides an international medium for the communication of original research, ideas and developments in all areas of the field of nuclear energy science and technology. Its scope embraces nuclear fuel reserves, fuel cycles and cost, materials, processing, system and component technology (fission only), design and optimization, direct conversion of nuclear energy sources, environmental control, reactor physics, heat transfer and fluid dynamics, structural analysis, fuel management, future developments, nuclear fuel and safety, nuclear aerosol, neutron physics, computer technology (both software and hardware), risk assessment, radioactive waste disposal and reactor thermal hydraulics. Papers submitted to Annals need to demonstrate a clear link to nuclear power generation/nuclear engineering. Papers which deal with pure nuclear physics, pure health physics, imaging, or attenuation and shielding properties of concretes and various geological materials are not within the scope of the journal. Also, papers that deal with policy or economics are not within the scope of the journal.