A methodology for accelerated design of irradiation experiments: Demonstration via an OpenFOAM-informed TRANSURANUS simulation

The design and licensing of irradiation experiments typically require dedicated neutronics, thermo-hydraulics, and thermo-mechanical simulations, among which neutronics and thermo-hydraulics present considerable computational burdens. In this work, we propose a methodology to potentially reduce the required number of simulations, thus accelerating the design of irradiation experiments. The proposed methodology is based on the systematic comparison of intrinsic modelling uncertainties of relevant figures of merit with either the impact of the reciprocal influence of neutronics, thermo-hydraulics, and thermo-mechanics, or the impact of design parameters of the irradiation experiment itself. We exemplify the application of the proposed methodology on the design of irradiation experiments with varying americium content in the in-pile test section of the MYRRHA research fast reactor, demonstrating the possibility of reducing the number of required thermo-hydraulic and thermo-mechanic simulations.