BENCHMARKING THE Q/TRAN THERMAL ANALYSIS COMPUTER CODE*

BENCHMARKING THE Q/TRAN THERMAL ANALYSIS COMPUTER CODE. Q/TRAN, a new thermal analysis computer code, was examined for its use in modelling the responses of radioactive material shipping casks under accident conditions. A comparison between Q/TRAN and HEATING-6 was made using four benchmark problems chosen for their cask-like geometries and similarity to packaging thermal environments. HEATING-6 was chosen for comparison because HEATING-5, a predecessor to HEATING-6, was used in previous cask analyses. Modelling capabilities for each code are discussed as they relate to the four benchmark model problems. Q/TRAN was determined to be advantageous because of (I) its superior numerical algorithms and (2) the pre- and postprocessing capabilities (with PATRAN) that allow the graphical display of flexible meshing schemes and thermal results.