RESULTS OF VERA APPLICATION TO THE AP1000® PWR STARTUP

This paper describes the application of Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications, VERA, under development by Consortium Advanced Simulation LWRs (CASL) to core physics analysis AP1000 PWR. The PWR features an advanced first with radial and axial heterogeneities which provides significant enhancements compared traditional cores, allowing best fuel usage short transition equilibrium cycle subsequent reloads. These can pose some challenges tools making VERA especially relevant qualify performance. focuses on qualification efforts at hot zero power conditions, where Monte-Carlo reference solutions have also been established. In particular, comparison predictions obtained four units that recently started up measured values. It is shown there excellent agreement between key reactor parameters during startup.