Regular Article

The Reactor Monte Carlo code RMC: The state-of-the-art technologies, advancements, applications, and next

Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, C.R. China

^* e-mail: liuzy7@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn

Received: 13 June 2024
Received in final form: 21 September 2024
Accepted: 3 October 2024
Published online: 11 December 2024

Abstract

Based on academic research and industrial applications over more than 20 years, the Reactor Monte Carlo code (RMC) developed by the REAL (Reactor Engineering Analysis Laboratory) team at Tsinghua University since 2000 has become a powerful, innovative, and versatile simulation platform for nuclear reactor analysis, shielding simulations, criticality safety calculations, fusion neutronics analysis and beyond. Utilizing collaborative and agile development technology, advanced methods and the most cutting-edge algorithms can be tested and implemented in RMC quickly and efficiently. RMC has been deployed on many world-class supercomputers in China and played an irreplaceable role in the design and analysis of commercial nuclear power plants and newly designed types of advanced nuclear reactors. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art technologies developed in RMC in recent years, such as stochastic and continuous-varying media modeling, advanced transient simulation capability, more accurate energy deposition model, etc. Parallel acceleration on heterogeneous architecture supercomputers and machine learning algorithms would be incorporated in ongoing research and future development plans.