Overview

The strength of KAMPS lies in its ability to enable high-fidelity, multi-physics, and multi-scale coupled simulations by integrating specialized solvers across domains such as thermal-hydraulics, neutronics, and CFD.

Integrated Solvers

The platform integrates a growing collection of in-house and third-party solvers

TRACE

System thermal-hydraulic code

 

System code developed by the U.S. NRC for LWR safety analysis; solves 1D/3D two-phase thermal-hydraulics with neutron kinetics coupling capabilities.

 

Integrated

SCF (SubChanFlow)

Subchannel code for rod bundle flow

 

Subchannel thermal-hydraulics code developed at KIT for steady-state and transient core analysis, solving conservation equations with empirical models at subchannel level.

 

Integrated

TPF (TwoPorFlow)

Porous media code for reactor core modeling

 

3D two-phase porous media solver using a two-fluid six-equation model for detailed thermal-hydraulic analysis of LWRs and SMRs, including MDNBR prediction.

 

Integrated

PARCS

Core neutronics

 

Nodal diffusion-based neutron kinetics code developed for core-wide steady-state and transient reactor simulations, often coupled with thermal-hydraulics solvers like TRACE or SCF.

 

Integrated

OpenFOAM

Open-Source mechanics simulation

 

Open-source C++ CFD platform capable of simulating complex structural and fluid dynamics, including multi-physics coupling for reactor thermal-hydraulics.

 

Integrated

Serpent2

Monte Carlo neutronics

 

Continuous-energy Monte Carlo code for high-fidelity 3D reactor physics simulations, supporting multi-physics coupling via advanced mesh-based interfaces.

 

Integrated
The communication channels between the codes in the current platform

Solvers under implementation

KANECS

Deterministic Neutronic Core Simulator

KANECS is a 3D multigroup deterministic neutronic core simulator developed to solve the steady-state SP<sub>N</sub> transport equations using high-order Continuous Galerkin Finite Element Methods (CGFEM). It supports Cartesian, hexagonal, and unstructured grids.

KANECS meshes

Software architecture:
Built on top of:

  • deal.II for FEM spatial discretization

  • PETSc for scalable linear system solutions using GMRES + ILU

  • SLEPc for eigenvalue problems using Krylov-Schur solvers

Discretization schemes:

  • Spatial: CGFEM (via deal.II)

  • Energy: Multigroup approximation

  • Angular: Simplified Spherical Harmonics (SP<sub>N</sub>)

KANECS Calculation Scheme

Solution strategy:
A two-level iteration:

  • Inner loop: GMRES (with ILU preconditioning) to solve the linear system

  • Outer loop: Krylov-Schur method to compute the effective multiplication factor (k-eff)

KAIST Benchmark
C5G7 Benchmark

Applications:
KANECS is intended for reactor core analysis of Light Water Reactors (LWRs), including SMR concepts (e.g., NuScale), and has been validated against standard benchmarks like C5G7 and KAIST.

NuScale Assembly-level
NuScale Pin-level
ATHLET

System Thermal-Hydraulics Code

ATHLET (Analysis of Thermal-Hydraulics of Leaks and Transients) is a best-estimate thermal-hydraulic system code developed by GRS (Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit) for analyzing transients and accidents in nuclear power plants, particularly LWRs and SMRs.

Capabilities:

  • 1D and 3D two-phase flow modeling (liquid-vapor mixtures)

  • Comprehensive heat transfer models (wall boiling, condensation, convection)

  • Fluid-structure interaction (e.g., pipe deformation, valve dynamics)

  • Extensive equation-of-state models for various coolants (water, liquid metals, gases)

  • Modular structure for coupling with neutronic or CFD codes (e.g., with TRACE or PARCS)

Applications:

  • Safety assessment for LWR Gen II & III, and small modular reactors

  • Benchmarking against OECD/NEA international standards

  • Simulation of system-level transients, e.g., LOCA, overcooling, natural circulation

Official source: ATHLET Code Overview – GRS

Tools in plan for implementation

KATUSA (Multi-Physics Coupling Framework)

KATUSA is an Uncertainty&Sensitivity tool developed in KIT-INR

 
DAKOTA (Design and Analysis Toolkit)

DAKOTA (by Sandia National Laboratories) is a powerful toolkit for optimization, uncertainty quantification (UQ), sensitivity analysis, and parameter studies. It integrates easily with external solvers, making it suitable for tasks like model calibration, robust design, and propagation of uncertainties in nuclear simulations. Its use enhances decision-making in core design, fuel behavior, and safety margins.