Development of a Standard for Verification and Validation of Software Used to Calculate Nuclear System Thermal Fluids Behavior

This article focuses on the need for development of a standard for verification and validation (V&V) of software used to calculate nuclear system thermal fluids behavior. The V&V 30 Committee has been established to develop an ASME standard for verification and validation of computational fluid dynamics and system analysis software that will be used in the design and analysis of advanced nuclear reactor systems, with an initial focus on high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. The processes and procedures that will be addressed in the new standard will be used in the design and analysis of advanced reactor systems to be licensed in the United States. Recently, the V&V20 standard was released: Standard for Verification and Validation (V&V) in Computational Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer. Because of similarities in the standards being developed by the V&V20 and V&V30 Committees, it is important to define the relationship between the work embodied in the V&V20 Standard versus the work that will be forthcoming in the V&V30 Standard, as noted in the V&V20 Standard.