Nuclear fission technology is the only viable grid-scale source of continuous, carbon-free electricity available today. Realizing its potential in the fight against global climate change requires substantial improvements in both the technological and the economic performance of new-generation reactors. Compared with the aging existing fleet, advanced reactor concepts offer many advantages in terms of enhanced safety, commissioning cost, and competitiveness with other low-carbon sources of power.
The commissioning of a new nuclear reactor requires extensive simulation, both to demonstrate the safety and economic viability of new concepts and also to accelerate the lengthy licensing process. This process is dependent on simulation tools that can efficiently and accurately model multidimensional flow and thermal behavior in support (or in place of) legacy simulation tools. Ideally, these tools should be able to represent all complex reactor systems in the construction of a "digital twin" or "virtual reactor model."
