Nonlinear Behavior under Regional Neutron Flux Oscillations in BWR Cores

Abstract

A three-dimensional time-domain core analysis code was applied to numerical simulations for an actual regional neutron flux oscillation observed in a commercial BWR core, in order to investigate potential nonlinear behavior in its coupled neutronic and thermohydraulic system. The present study shows existence of the nonlinear reactivity interaction between the fundamental and first azimuthal spatial harmonics modes of neutron flux distribution under the regional event. The spectrum analysis of the simulated data provides a unique result, that is, temporal harmonics peaks are excited at the even- and odd-order multiples of the characteristic resonance frequency in the fundamental and first spatial harmonics responses, respectively. The numerical simulation also shows that the strong nonlinearity of the coupled neutronic and thermohydraulic dynamics locally appears where the power unstably oscillates with large amplitudes, inducing the power shift and reactivity bias which are shown in the core-wide situation under the global oscillations. This contributes to suppression of the divergence of the local power oscillation, and also to development of the saturated self-limited cycles under the regional oscillations.