Development of external coupling for calculation of the control rod worth in terms of burn-up for a WWER-1000 nuclear reactor

One of the main problems relating to operation of a nuclear reactor is its safety and controlling system. The most widely used control systems for thermal reactors are neutron adsorbent rods. In this study a code based method has been developed for calculation of integral and differential control rod worth in terms of burn-up for a WWER-1000 nuclear reactor. External coupling of WIMSD-5B, PARCS V2.7 and COBRA-EN has been used for this purpose. WIMSD-5B has been used for cell calculation and handling burn-up of the core in various days. PARCS V2.7 has been used for neutronic calculation of core and critical boron concentration search. Thermal-hydraulic calculation has been performed by COBRA-EN. An external coupling algorithm has been developed by MATLAB to couple and transfer suitable data between these codes in each step. Steady-State Power Picking Factors (PPFs) of the core and control rod worth for different control rod groups have been calculated from Beginning Of Cycle (BOC) to 289.7 Effective Full Power Days (EFPDs) in some steps. Results have been compared with the results of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR). The results show a good agreement and confirm the ability of developed coupling in calculation of control rod worth in terms of burn-up.