Development of a discrete-ordinate approximation of the neutron transport equation for coupled xy-R-geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maertens, H.D.

1982-01-01

The inhomogenious structure of modern heavy water reactor fuel elements result in a strong spacial dependence of the neutron flux. The flux distribution can be calculated in detail by numerical methods, which describe exactly the geometrical heterogeniety and take into account the neutron flux anisotropy by higher transport theoretical approximations. Starting from the discrete ordinate method an approximation of the neutron transport equation has been developed, allowing for a cylindrical representation of the fuel-elements in a rectangular array of rods. The discretisation of the space variables, is based on the finite-difference approximation, defining a rectangular lattice in a two-dimensional cartesian coordinate system, which can be cut and replaced by circular mesh elements of a partially one-dimensional cylindrical coordinate system at arbitrary space points. To couple the two spacial regions the outer circle line of a cylindrical geometry is approximated in the cartesian system by a polygon with n >= 8. A cylindrical geometry is approximated in the cartesian system by a polygon with n>=8. A cylindrical geometry is thus enclosed by a system of two-dimensional rectangular, triangular and trapezoid mesh elements. The directional distribution of the neutron flux is conserved when switching from the xy-system to the cylindrical coordinate system. The angle discretisation by balanced sets of squares (EQsub(n)) allows a simple definition of transfer-coefficients for the redistribution of the neutron flux due to coordinate transformations. The procedure is verified and tested by selected problems. Possible applications and limits are discussed. (orig.) [de

Transport of accelerator produced high energy neutrons though concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prabhakar Rao, G.; Sarkar, P.K.

1996-01-01

Development of a computational system for estimating the production and transport of high energy neutrons in particle accelerators is reported. The energy-angle distribution of neutrons from accelerated ions bombarding thick targets is calculated by a hybrid nuclear reaction model code, ALICE-91, modified to suit the purpose. Subsequent transmission of these neutrons through concrete slabs is treated using the anisotropic source-flux iteration technique (ASFIT) in the framework of a coupled neutron-gamma transport. Several parameters of both the codes have been optimized to obtain the transmitted dose through concrete. The calculations are found to be accurate and at the same time faster compared to the detailed Monte Carlo calculations. (author). 8 refs., 2 figs

Multigroup and coupled forward-adjoint Monte Carlo calculation efficiencies for secondary neutron doses from proton beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelsey IV, Charles T.; Prinja, Anil K.

2011-01-01

We evaluate the Monte Carlo calculation efficiency for multigroup transport relative to continuous energy transport using the MCNPX code system to evaluate secondary neutron doses from a proton beam. We consider both fully forward simulation and application of a midway forward adjoint coupling method to the problem. Previously we developed tools for building coupled multigroup proton/neutron cross section libraries and showed consistent results for continuous energy and multigroup proton/neutron transport calculations. We observed that forward multigroup transport could be more efficient than continuous energy. Here we quantify solution efficiency differences for a secondary radiation dose problem characteristic of proton beam therapy problems. We begin by comparing figures of merit for forward multigroup and continuous energy MCNPX transport and find that multigroup is 30 times more efficient. Next we evaluate efficiency gains for coupling out-of-beam adjoint solutions with forward in-beam solutions. We use a variation of a midway forward-adjoint coupling method developed by others for neutral particle transport. Our implementation makes use of the surface source feature in MCNPX and we use spherical harmonic expansions for coupling in angle rather than solid angle binning. The adjoint out-of-beam transport for organs of concern in a phantom or patient can be coupled with numerous forward, continuous energy or multigroup, in-beam perturbations of a therapy beam line configuration. Out-of-beam dose solutions are provided without repeating out-of-beam transport. (author)

A coupled diffusion-transport computational method and its application for the determination of space dependent angular flux distributions at a cold neutron source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turgut, M.H.

1985-01-01

A fast calculation program ''BRIDGE'' was developed for the calculation of a Cold Neutron Source (CNS) at a radial beam tube of the FRG-I reactor, which couples a total assembly diffusion calculation to a transport calculation for a certain subregion. For the coupling flux and current boundary values at the common surfaces are taken from the diffusion calculation and are used as driving conditions in the transport calculation. 'Equivalence Theorie' is used for the transport feedback effect on the diffusion calculation to improve the consistency of the boundary values. The optimization of a CNS for maximizing the subthermal flux in the wavelength range 4 - 6 A is discussed. (orig.) [de

Methodology for coupling computational fluid dynamics and integral transport neutronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, J. W.; Zhong, Z.; Sofu, T.; Downar, T. J.

2004-01-01

The CFD code STAR-CD was coupled to the integral transport code DeCART in order to provide high-fidelity, full physics reactor simulations. An interface program was developed to perform the tasks of mapping the STAR-CD mesh to the DeCART mesh, managing all communication between STAR-CD and DeCART, and monitoring the convergence of the coupled calculations. The interface software was validated by comparing coupled calculation results with those obtained using an independently developed interface program. An investigation into the convergence characteristics of coupled calculations was performed using several test models on a multiprocessor LINUX cluster. The results indicate that the optimal convergence of the coupled field calculation depends on several factors, to include the tolerance of the STAR-CD solution and the number of DeCART transport sweeps performed before exchanging data between codes. Results for a 3D, multi-assembly PWR problem on 12 PEs of the LINUX cluster indicate the best performance is achieved when the STAR-CD tolerance and number of DeCART transport sweeps are chosen such that the two fields converge at approximately the same rate. (authors)

Cellular neural network to the spherical harmonics approximation of neutron transport equation in x–y geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pirouzmand, Ahmad; Hadad, Kamal

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► This paper describes the solution of time-dependent neutron transport equation. ► We use a novel method based on cellular neural networks (CNNs) coupled with the spherical harmonics method. ► We apply the CNN model to simulate step and ramp perturbation transients in a core. ► The accuracy and capabilities of the CNN model are examined for x–y geometry. - Abstract: In an earlier paper we utilized a novel method using cellular neural networks (CNNs) coupled with spherical harmonics method to solve the steady state neutron transport equation in x–y geometry. Here, the previous work is extended to the study of time-dependent neutron transport equation. To achieve this goal, an equivalent electrical circuit based on a second-order form of time-dependent neutron transport equation and one equivalent group of neutron precursor density is obtained by the CNN method. The CNN model is used to simulate step and ramp perturbation transients in a typical 2D core.

Neutron transportation simulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uenohara, Yuzo.

1995-01-01

In the present invention, problems in an existent parallelized monte carlo method is solved, and behaviors of neutrons in a large scaled system are accurately simulated at a high speed. Namely, a neutron transportation simulator according to the monte carlo method simulates movement of each of neutrons by using a parallel computer. In this case, the system to be processed is divided based on a space region and an energy region to which neutrons belong. Simulation of neutrons in the divided regions is allotted to each of performing devices of the parallel computer. Tarry data and nuclear data of the neutrons in each of the regions are memorized dispersedly to memories of each of the performing devices. A transmission means for simulating the behaviors of the neutrons in the region by each of the performing devices, as well as transmitting the information of the neutrons, when the neutrons are moved to other region, to the performing device in a transported portion are disposed to each of the performing devices. With such procedures, simulation for the neutrons in the allotted region can be conducted with small capacity of memories. (I.S.)

Neutron stochastic transport theory with delayed neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munoz-Cobo, J.L.; Verdu, G.

1987-01-01

From the stochastic transport theory with delayed neutrons, the Boltzmann transport equation with delayed neutrons for the average flux emerges in a natural way without recourse to any approximation. From this theory a general expression is obtained for the Feynman Y-function when delayed neutrons are included. The single mode approximation for the particular case of a subcritical assembly is developed, and it is shown that Y-function reduces to the familiar expression quoted in many books, when delayed neutrons are not considered, and spatial and source effects are not included. (author)

VHTR core modeling: coupling between neutronic and thermal-hydraulics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Limaiem, I.; Damian, F.; Raepsaet, X.; Studer, E.

2005-01-01

Following the present interest in the next generation nuclear power plan (NGNP), Cea is deploying special effort to develop new models and qualify its research tools for this next generation reactors core. In this framework, the Very High Temperature Reactor concept (VHTR) has an increasing place in the actual research program. In such type of core, a strong interaction exists between neutronic and thermal-hydraulics. Consequently, the global core modelling requires accounting for the temperature feedback in the neutronic models. The purpose of this paper is to present the new neutronic and thermal-hydraulics coupling model dedicated to the High Temperature Reactors (HTR). The coupling model integrates a new version of the neutronic scheme calculation developed in collaboration between Cea and Framatome-ANP. The neutronic calculations are performed using a specific calculation processes based on the APOLLO2 transport code and CRONOS2 diffusion code which are part of the French reactor physics code system SAPHYR. The thermal-hydraulics model is characterised by an equivalent porous media and 1-D fluid/3-D thermal model implemented in the CAST3M/ARCTURUS code. The porous media approach involves the definition of both homogenous and heterogeneous models to ensure a correct temperature feedback. This study highlights the sensitivity of the coupling system's parameters (radial/axial meshing and data exchange strategy between neutronic and thermal-hydraulics code). The parameters sensitivity study leads to the definition of an optimal coupling system specification for the VHTR. Besides, this work presents the first physical analysis of the VHTR core in steady-state condition. The analysis gives information about the 3-D power peaking and the temperature coefficient. Indeed, it covers different core configurations with different helium distribution in the core bypass. (authors)

Transport calculations for a 14.8 MeV neutron beam in a water phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goetsch, S.J.

1981-01-01

A coupled neutron/photon Monte Carlo radiation transport code (MORSE-CG) has been used to calculate neutron and photon doses in a water phantom irradiated by 14.8 MeV neutrons from the Gas Target Neutron Source. The source-collimator-phantom geometry was carefully simulated. Results of calculations utilizing two different statistical estimators (next-collision and track-length) are presented

Effect of fractional parameter on neutron transport in finite disturbed reactors with quadratic scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sallah, M.; Margeanu, C. A.

2016-01-01

The space-fractional neutron transport equation is used to describe the neutrons transport in finite disturbed reactors. It is approximated using the Pomraning-Eddington technique to yield two space-fractional differential equations, in terms of neutron density and net neutron flux. These resultant equations are coupled into a fractional diffusion-like equation for the neutron density whose solution is obtained by using Laplace transformation method. The solution is represented in terms of the Mittag-Leffler function and its different orders. The scattering is considered as quadratic scattering to offer a more realistic, compact representation of the system, and to increase the accuracy of the estimated neutronic parameters. The results are presented graphically to illustrate the fractional parameter effect in addition to the effect of radiative-transfer properties on the physical parameters of interest (reflection coefficient, transmission coefficient, neutron energy, and net neutron flux). The neutron transport problem in finite disturbed reactor with quadratic scattering is considered in investigating the shielding effectiveness, by using MAVRIC shielding module from SCALE6 programs package. The fractional parameter can be used to adjust the analysed data on neutron energy and flux, both for the theoretical model and the neutron transport application. (authors)

Interfacing MCNPX and McStas for simulation of neutron transport

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klinkby, Esben Bryndt; Lauritzen, Bent; Nonbøl, Erik

2013-01-01

Stas[4, 5, 6, 7]. The coupling between the two simulation suites typically consists of providing analytical fits of MCNPX neutron spectra to McStas. This method is generally successful but has limitations, as it e.g. does not allow for re-entry of neutrons into the MCNPX regime. Previous work to resolve......Simulations of target-moderator-reflector system at spallation sources are conventionally carried out using Monte Carlo codes such as MCNPX[1] or FLUKA[2, 3] whereas simulations of neutron transport from the moderator and the instrument response are performed by neutron ray tracing codes such as Mc...... geometries, backgrounds, interference between beam-lines as well as shielding requirements along the neutron guides....

Angular neutron transport investigation in the HZETRN free-space ion and nucleon transport and shielding computer program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singleterry, R.C. Jr.; Wilson, J.W.

1997-01-01

Extension of the high charge and energy (HZE) transport computer program HZETRN for angular transport of neutrons is considered. For this paper, only light ion transport, He 4 and lighter, will be analyzed using a pure solar proton source. The angular transport calculator is the ANISN/PC program which is being controlled by the HZETRN program. The neutron flux values are compared for straight-ahead transport and angular transport in one dimension. The shield material is aluminum and the target material is water. The thickness of these materials is varied; however, only the largest model calculated is reported which is 50 gm/cm 2 of aluminum and 100 gm/cm 2 of water. The flux from the ANISN/PC calculation is about two orders of magnitude lower than the flux from HZETRN for very low energy neutrons. It is only a magnitude lower for the neutrons in the 10 to 20 MeV range in the aluminum and two orders lower in the water. The major reason for this difference is in the transport modes: straight-ahead versus angular. The angular treatment allows a longer path length than the straight-ahead approximation. Another reason is the different cross section sets used by the ANISN/PC-BUGLE-80 mode and the HZETRN mode. The next step is to investigate further the differences between the two codes and isolate the differences to just the angular versus straight-ahead transport mode. Then, create a better coupling between the angular neutron transport and the charged particle transport

An introduction to neutron transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiesenfeld, Bernard

2015-01-01

Neutron transport science is the study of neutron transport in a nuclear reactor and of associated nuclear reactions, notably fission reactions. Heat released by these reactions can be used for several purposes: electricity production, hydrogen production, sea water desalination, urban heating, naval propulsion, space propulsion, and so on. This publication contains the course proposed at Mines ParisTech and at the Arts et Metiers ParisTech. It is an introduction to neutron transport science and aims at presenting fundamental physical principles of this original branch of nuclear physics, a so called 'low energies' branch whereas 'high energy' nuclear physics focuses on elementary particles. It addresses complex computation methods which have been developed during the last decades with computation codes of always higher performance. The first part presents elements of atom physics: origin of matter, properties of nuclei and atoms, notion of quantum mechanics, interaction between radiation and matter (ray absorption, Compton Effect and scattering, photoelectric effect). The second part introduces neutron transport by addressing the following issues: nuclear structure, the various aspects of the interaction between neutrons and matter, the evolution of the reactivity of a reactor in normal operation, the chain fission reaction kinetics, and neutron slowing down. The third part addresses various aspects of neutron transport calculation: expression of neutron assessment, scattering approximation, critical condition of a nuclear reactor, introduction to transport theory, peculiarities of fast breeder reactors. The last chapter 'from theory to practice' addresses the approach of the neutron scientist, proposes an overview of the main calculation codes, and presents fields of application (within or without nuclear fission)

Importance estimation in Monte Carlo modelling of neutron and photon transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mickael, M.W.

1992-01-01

The estimation of neutron and photon importance in a three-dimensional geometry is achieved using a coupled Monte Carlo and diffusion theory calculation. The parameters required for the solution of the multigroup adjoint diffusion equation are estimated from an analog Monte Carlo simulation of the system under investigation. The solution of the adjoint diffusion equation is then used as an estimate of the particle importance in the actual simulation. This approach provides an automated and efficient variance reduction method for Monte Carlo simulations. The technique has been successfully applied to Monte Carlo simulation of neutron and coupled neutron-photon transport in the nuclear well-logging field. The results show that the importance maps obtained in a few minutes of computer time using this technique are in good agreement with Monte Carlo generated importance maps that require prohibitive computing times. The application of this method to Monte Carlo modelling of the response of neutron porosity and pulsed neutron instruments has resulted in major reductions in computation time. (Author)

The spectral element approach for the solution of neutron transport problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barbarino, A.; Dulla, S.; Ravetto, P.; Mund, E.H.

2011-01-01

In this paper a possible application of the Spectral Element Method to neutron transport problems is presented. The basic features of the numerical scheme on the one-dimensional diffusion equation are illustrated. Then, the AN model for neutron transport is introduced, and the basic steps for the construction of a bi-dimensional solver are described. The AN equations are chosen for their structure, involving a system of coupled elliptic-type equations. Some calculations are carried out on typical benchmark problems and results are compared with the Finite Element Method, in order to evaluate their performances. (author)

Application of Walsh functions to neutron transport problems. I. Theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seed, T.J.; Albrecht, R.W.

1976-01-01

An approximation to the neutron transport equation is made by representing the angular flux with an expansion of the angular dependence in the orthogonal, complete, and binary valued sets of Walsh function. The Walsh approximation is applied to the one-speed, isotropic-scattering, rectangular-geometry form of the neutron transport equation. Sets of partial differential equations for the expansion coefficients are derived along with appropriate boundary conditions for their solution. The sets of the Walsh expansion to one- and two-dimensional forms of the transport equation are also obtained. The two-dimensional expansion coefficient equations are shown to be not only hyperbolic but also transformable to a set of S/sub N/-like equations that are coupled only through the scattering term. Such transformal sets of equations are termed Walsh-derived quadrature sets

Monte Carlo simulation of neutron transport phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srinivasan, P.

2009-01-01

Neutron transport is one of the central problems in nuclear reactor related studies and other applied sciences. Some of the major applications of neutron transport include nuclear reactor design and safety, criticality safety of fissile material handling, neutron detector design and development, nuclear medicine, assessment of radiation damage to materials, nuclear well logging, forensic analysis etc. Most reactor and dosimetry studies assume that neutrons diffuse from regions of high to low density just like gaseous molecules diffuse to regions of low concentration or heat flow from high to low temperature regions. However while treatment of gaseous or heat diffusion is quite accurately modeled, treatment of neutron transport as simple diffusion is quite limited. In simple diffusion, the neutron trajectories are irregular, random and zigzag - where as in neutron transport low reaction cross sections (1 barn- 10 -24 cm 2 ) lead to long mean free paths which again depend on the nature and irregularities of the medium. Hence a more accurate representation of the neutron transport evolved based on the Boltzmann equation of kinetic gas theory. In fact the neutron transport equation is a linearized version of the Boltzmann gas equation based on neutron conservation with seven independent variables. The transport equation is difficult to solve except in simple cases amenable to numerical methods. The diffusion (equation) approximation follows from removing the angular dependence of the neutron flux

Coupled multi-group neutron photon transport for the simulation of high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burns, Kimberly A. [Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)

2009-08-01

The accurate and efficient simulation of coupled neutron-photon problems is necessary for several important radiation detection applications. Examples include the detection of nuclear threats concealed in cargo containers and prompt gamma neutron activation analysis for nondestructive determination of elemental composition of unknown samples.

Implementation of the quasi-static method for neutron transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alcaro, Fabio; Dulla, Sandra; Ravetto, Piero; Le Tellier, Romain; Suteau, Christophe

2011-01-01

The study of the dynamic behavior of next generation nuclear reactors is a fundamental aspect for safety and reliability assessments. Despite the growing performances of modern computers, the full solution of the neutron Boltzmann equation in the time domain is still an impracticable task, thus several approximate dynamic models have been proposed for the simulation of nuclear reactor transients; the quasi-static method represents the standard tool currently adopted for the space-time solution of neutron transport problems. All the practical applications of this method that have been proposed contain a major limit, consisting in the use of isotropic quantities, such as scalar fluxes and isotropic external neutron sources, being the only data structures available in most deterministic transport codes. The loss of the angular information produces both inaccuracies in the solution of the kinetic model and the inconsistency of the quasi-static method itself. The present paper is devoted to the implementation of a consistent quasi-static method. The computational platform developed by CEA in Cadarache has been used for the creation of a kinetic package to be coupled with the existing SNATCH solver, a discrete-ordinate multi-dimensional neutron transport solver, employed for the solution of the steady-state Boltzmann equation. The work aims at highlighting the effects of the angular treatment of the neutron flux on the transient analysis, comparing the results with those produced by the previous implementations of the quasi-static method. (author)

Neutron transport equation - indications on homogenization and neutron diffusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Argaud, J.P.

1992-06-01

In PWR nuclear reactor, the practical study of the neutrons in the core uses diffusion equation to describe the problem. On the other hand, the most correct method to describe these neutrons is to use the Boltzmann equation, or neutron transport equation. In this paper, we give some theoretical indications to obtain a diffusion equation from the general transport equation, with some simplifying hypothesis. The work is organised as follows: (a) the most general formulations of the transport equation are presented: integro-differential equation and integral equation; (b) the theoretical approximation of this Boltzmann equation by a diffusion equation is introduced, by the way of asymptotic developments; (c) practical homogenization methods of transport equation is then presented. In particular, the relationships with some general and useful methods in neutronic are shown, and some homogenization methods in energy and space are indicated. A lot of other points of view or complements are detailed in the text or the remarks

Transmutation approximations for the application of hybrid Monte Carlo/deterministic neutron transport to shutdown dose rate analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biondo, Elliott D.; Wilson, Paul P. H.

2017-01-01

In fusion energy systems (FES) neutrons born from burning plasma activate system components. The photon dose rate after shutdown from resulting radionuclides must be quantified. This shutdown dose rate (SDR) is calculated by coupling neutron transport, activation analysis, and photon transport. The size, complexity, and attenuating configuration of FES motivate the use of hybrid Monte Carlo (MC)/deterministic neutron transport. The Multi-Step Consistent Adjoint Driven Importance Sampling (MS-CADIS) method can be used to optimize MC neutron transport for coupled multiphysics problems, including SDR analysis, using deterministic estimates of adjoint flux distributions. When used for SDR analysis, MS-CADIS requires the formulation of an adjoint neutron source that approximates the transmutation process. In this work, transmutation approximations are used to derive a solution for this adjoint neutron source. It is shown that these approximations are reasonably met for typical FES neutron spectra and materials over a range of irradiation scenarios. When these approximations are met, the Groupwise Transmutation (GT)-CADIS method, proposed here, can be used effectively. GT-CADIS is an implementation of the MS-CADIS method for SDR analysis that uses a series of single-energy-group irradiations to calculate the adjoint neutron source. For a simple SDR problem, GT-CADIS provides speedups of 200 100 relative to global variance reduction with the Forward-Weighted (FW)-CADIS method and 9 _± 5 • _1_0_"_4 relative to analog. As a result, this work shows that GT-CADIS is broadly applicable to FES problems and will significantly reduce the computational resources necessary for SDR analysis.

Coupled 3D neutron kinetics and thermalhydraulic characteristics of the Canadian supercritical water reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hummel, David William, E-mail: hummeld@mcmaster.ca; Novog, David Raymond

2016-03-15

Highlights: • A coupled spatial kinetics and thermalhydraulics model of the PT-SCWR was created. • Positive power excursions were demonstrated during accident-like transients. • The reactor will inherently self-shutdown in such transients with some delay. • A fast-acting shutdown system would limit the consequences of the power pulse. - Abstract: The Canadian Supercritical Water-cooled Reactor concept, as an evolution of the CANada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) reactor, includes both pressure tubes and a low temperature heavy water moderator. The current Pressure Tube type SCWR (PT-SCWR) concept features 64-element fuel assemblies placed within High Efficiency Re-entrant Channels (HERCs) that connect to core inlet and outlet plena. Among current SCWR concepts the PT-SCWR is unique in that the HERC separates multiple coolant and moderator regions, giving rise to coupled neutronic-thermalhydraulic feedbacks beyond those present in CANDU or contemporary Light Water Reactors. The objective of this work was thus to model the coupled neutronic-thermal hydraulic properties of the PT-SCWR to establish the impact of these multiple regions on the core's transient behavior. To that end, the features of the PT-SCWR were first modeled with the neutron transport code DRAGON to create a database of homogenized and condensed cross-sections and thermalhydraulic feedback coefficients. These were used as input to a core-level neutron diffusion model created with the code DONJON. The behavior of the primary heat transport system was modeled with the thermalhydraulic system code CATHENA. A procedure was developed to couple the outputs of DONJON and CATHENA, facilitating three-dimensional spatial neutron kinetics and coupled thermalhydraulic analysis of the PT-SCWR core. Several postulated transients were initiated within the coupled model by changing the core inlet and outlet boundary conditions. Decreasing coolant density around the fuel was demonstrated to produce positive

3-D neutron transport benchmarks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeda, T.; Ikeda, H.

1991-03-01

A set of 3-D neutron transport benchmark problems proposed by the Osaka University to NEACRP in 1988 has been calculated by many participants and the corresponding results are summarized in this report. The results of K eff , control rod worth and region-averaged fluxes for the four proposed core models, calculated by using various 3-D transport codes are compared and discussed. The calculational methods used were: Monte Carlo, Discrete Ordinates (Sn), Spherical Harmonics (Pn), Nodal Transport and others. The solutions of the four core models are quite useful as benchmarks for checking the validity of 3-D neutron transport codes

Analysis of PBMR transients using a coupled neutron transport/thermal-hydraulics code DORT-TD/thermix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tyobeka, B.; Ivanov, K.; Pautz, A.

2007-01-01

In the advent of increased demand for safety and economics of nuclear power plants, nuclear engineers and designers are called upon to develop advanced computation tools. In these developments, space-time effects in the dynamics of nuclear reactors must be considered within the framework of a full 3-dimensional treatment of both neutron kinetics and thermal hydraulics. In a recent effort at the Pennsylvania State University, a time-dependent version of the discrete ordinates transport code DORT, DORT-TD was coupled to a 2-dimensional core thermal hydraulics code THERMIX-DIREKT. In the coupling process, a feedback model was developed to account for the feedback effects and was implemented into DORT-TD. During the calculation process for each spatial node of the DORT-TD core model, feedback parameters representative of this node are passed to the feedback module. Using these values, cross section tables are then interpolated for the appropriate macroscopic cross section values. The updated macroscopic cross sections are passed back to DORT-TD to perform transport core calculations, and the power distribution is transferred to THERMIX-DIREKT to obtain the relevant thermal-hydraulics data in turn, and this calculation loop continues. In this paper, DORT-TD/THERMIX is used to simulate transients of interest in the PBMR (Pebble Bed Modular Reactor) safety using established benchmark problems: load change from 100% to 40% power and fast control rod ejection (PBMR-268 benchmark problem). The results obtained are compared with those obtained using the diffusion-based module of the code. The results are only preliminary and so far show that diffusion theory is not such a bad approximation for PBMR for the prediction of integral parameters

A fully coupled Monte Carlo/discrete ordinates solution to the neutron transport equation. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baker, Randal Scott [Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)

1990-01-01

The neutron transport equation is solved by a hybrid method that iteratively couples regions where deterministic (S_N) and stochastic (Monte Carlo) methods are applied. Unlike previous hybrid methods, the Monte Carlo and S_N regions are fully coupled in the sense that no assumption is made about geometrical separation or decoupling. The hybrid method provides a new means of solving problems involving both optically thick and optically thin regions that neither Monte Carlo nor S_N is well suited for by themselves. The fully coupled Monte Carlo/S_N technique consists of defining spatial and/or energy regions of a problem in which either a Monte Carlo calculation or an S_N calculation is to be performed. The Monte Carlo region may comprise the entire spatial region for selected energy groups, or may consist of a rectangular area that is either completely or partially embedded in an arbitrary S_N region. The Monte Carlo and S_N regions are then connected through the common angular boundary fluxes, which are determined iteratively using the response matrix technique, and volumetric sources. The hybrid method has been implemented in the S_N code TWODANT by adding special-purpose Monte Carlo subroutines to calculate the response matrices and volumetric sources, and linkage subrountines to carry out the interface flux iterations. The common angular boundary fluxes are included in the S_N code as interior boundary sources, leaving the logic for the solution of the transport flux unchanged, while, with minor modifications, the diffusion synthetic accelerator remains effective in accelerating S_N calculations. The special-purpose Monte Carlo routines used are essentially analog, with few variance reduction techniques employed. However, the routines have been successfully vectorized, with approximately a factor of five increase in speed over the non-vectorized version.

Development and Implementation of Photonuclear Cross-Section Data for Mutually Coupled Neutron-Photon Transport Calculations in the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) Radiation Transport Code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, Morgan C.

2000-01-01

The fundamental motivation for the research presented in this dissertation was the need to development a more accurate prediction method for characterization of mixed radiation fields around medical electron accelerators (MEAs). Specifically, a model is developed for simulation of neutron and other particle production from photonuclear reactions and incorporated in the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) radiation transport code. This extension of the capability within the MCNP code provides for the more accurate assessment of the mixed radiation fields. The Nuclear Theory and Applications group of the Los Alamos National Laboratory has recently provided first-of-a-kind evaluated photonuclear data for a select group of isotopes. These data provide the reaction probabilities as functions of incident photon energy with angular and energy distribution information for all reaction products. The availability of these data is the cornerstone of the new methodology for state-of-the-art mutually coupled photon-neutron transport simulations. The dissertation includes details of the model development and implementation necessary to use the new photonuclear data within MCNP simulations. A new data format has been developed to include tabular photonuclear data. Data are processed from the Evaluated Nuclear Data Format (ENDF) to the new class ''u'' A Compact ENDF (ACE) format using a standalone processing code. MCNP modifications have been completed to enable Monte Carlo sampling of photonuclear reactions. Note that both neutron and gamma production are included in the present model. The new capability has been subjected to extensive verification and validation (V and V) testing. Verification testing has established the expected basic functionality. Two validation projects were undertaken. First, comparisons were made to benchmark data from literature. These calculations demonstrate the accuracy of the new data and transport routines to better than 25 percent. Second, the ability to

Development and Implementation of Photonuclear Cross-Section Data for Mutually Coupled Neutron-Photon Transport Calculations in the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) Radiation Transport Code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

White, Morgan C. [Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)

2000-07-01

The fundamental motivation for the research presented in this dissertation was the need to development a more accurate prediction method for characterization of mixed radiation fields around medical electron accelerators (MEAs). Specifically, a model is developed for simulation of neutron and other particle production from photonuclear reactions and incorporated in the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) radiation transport code. This extension of the capability within the MCNP code provides for the more accurate assessment of the mixed radiation fields. The Nuclear Theory and Applications group of the Los Alamos National Laboratory has recently provided first-of-a-kind evaluated photonuclear data for a select group of isotopes. These data provide the reaction probabilities as functions of incident photon energy with angular and energy distribution information for all reaction products. The availability of these data is the cornerstone of the new methodology for state-of-the-art mutually coupled photon-neutron transport simulations. The dissertation includes details of the model development and implementation necessary to use the new photonuclear data within MCNP simulations. A new data format has been developed to include tabular photonuclear data. Data are processed from the Evaluated Nuclear Data Format (ENDF) to the new class ''u'' A Compact ENDF (ACE) format using a standalone processing code. MCNP modifications have been completed to enable Monte Carlo sampling of photonuclear reactions. Note that both neutron and gamma production are included in the present model. The new capability has been subjected to extensive verification and validation (V&V) testing. Verification testing has established the expected basic functionality. Two validation projects were undertaken. First, comparisons were made to benchmark data from literature. These calculations demonstrate the accuracy of the new data and transport routines to better than 25 percent. Second

Deterministic methods to solve the integral transport equation in neutronic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warin, X.

1993-11-01

We present a synthesis of the methods used to solve the integral transport equation in neutronic. This formulation is above all used to compute solutions in 2D in heterogeneous assemblies. Three kinds of methods are described: - the collision probability method; - the interface current method; - the current coupling collision probability method. These methods don't seem to be the most effective in 3D. (author). 9 figs

Neutron stars in non-linear coupling models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taurines, Andre R.; Vasconcellos, Cesar A.Z.; Malheiro, Manuel; Chiapparini, Marcelo

2001-01-01

We present a class of relativistic models for nuclear matter and neutron stars which exhibits a parameterization, through mathematical constants, of the non-linear meson-baryon couplings. For appropriate choices of the parameters, it recovers current QHD models found in the literature: Walecka, ZM and ZM3 models. We have found that the ZM3 model predicts a very small maximum neutron star mass, ∼ 0.72M s un. A strong similarity between the results of ZM-like models and those with exponential couplings is noted. Finally, we discuss the very intense scalar condensates found in the interior of neutron stars which may lead to negative effective masses. (author)

Neutron stars in non-linear coupling models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taurines, Andre R.; Vasconcellos, Cesar A.Z. [Rio Grande do Sul Univ., Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil); Malheiro, Manuel [Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niteroi, RJ (Brazil); Chiapparini, Marcelo [Universidade do Estado, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2001-07-01

We present a class of relativistic models for nuclear matter and neutron stars which exhibits a parameterization, through mathematical constants, of the non-linear meson-baryon couplings. For appropriate choices of the parameters, it recovers current QHD models found in the literature: Walecka, ZM and ZM3 models. We have found that the ZM3 model predicts a very small maximum neutron star mass, {approx} 0.72M{sub s}un. A strong similarity between the results of ZM-like models and those with exponential couplings is noted. Finally, we discuss the very intense scalar condensates found in the interior of neutron stars which may lead to negative effective masses. (author)

Transport equations, Level Set and Eulerian mechanics. Application to fluid-structure coupling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maitre, E.

2008-11-01

My works were devoted to numerical analysis of non-linear elliptic-parabolic equations, to neutron transport equation and to the simulation of fabrics draping. More recently I developed an Eulerian method based on a level set formulation of the immersed boundary method to deal with fluid-structure coupling problems arising in bio-mechanics. Some of the more efficient algorithms to solve the neutron transport equation make use of the splitting of the transport operator taking into account its characteristics. In the present work we introduced a new algorithm based on this splitting and an adaptation of minimal residual methods to infinite dimensional case. We present the case where the velocity space is of dimension 1 (slab geometry) and 2 (plane geometry) because the splitting is simpler in the former

Radiation transport calculations for the ANS [Advanced Neutron Source] beam tubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engle, W.W. Jr.; Lillie, R.A.; Slater, C.O.

1988-01-01

The Advanced Neutron Source facility (ANS) will incorporate a large number of both radial and no-line-of-sight (NLS) beam tubes to provide very large thermal neutron fluxes to experimental facilities. The purpose of this work was to obtain comparisons for the ANS single- and split-core designs of the thermal and damage neutron and gamma-ray scalar fluxes in these beams tubes. For experimental locations far from the reactor cores, angular flux data are required; however, for close-in experimental locations, the scalar fluxes within each beam tube provide a credible estimate of the various signal to noise ratios. In this paper, the coupled two- and three-dimensional radiation transport calculations employed to estimate the scalar neutron and gamma-ray fluxes will be described and the results from these calculations will be discussed. 6 refs., 2 figs

Investigation of coupling scheme for neutronic and thermal-hydraulic codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Guoli; Yu Jianfeng; Pen Muzhang; Zhang Yuman.

1988-01-01

Recently, a number of coupled neutronics/thermal-hydraulics codes have been used in reaction design and safty analysis, which have been obtained by coupling previous neutronic and thermal-hydraulic codes. The different coupling schemes affect computer time and accuracy of calculation results. Numberical experiments of several different coupling schemes and some heuristic results are described

TART 2000: A Coupled Neutron-Photon, 3-D, Combinatorial Geometry, Time Dependent, Monte Carlo Transport Code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cullen, D.E

2000-01-01

TART2000 is a coupled neutron-photon, 3 Dimensional, combinatorial geometry, time dependent Monte Carlo radiation transport code. This code can run on any modern computer. It is a complete system to assist you with input Preparation, running Monte Carlo calculations, and analysis of output results. TART2000 is also incredibly FAST; if you have used similar codes, you will be amazed at how fast this code is compared to other similar codes. Use of the entire system can save you a great deal of time and energy. TART2000 is distributed on CD. This CD contains on-line documentation for all codes included in the system, the codes configured to run on a variety of computers, and many example problems that you can use to familiarize yourself with the system. TART2000 completely supersedes all older versions of TART, and it is strongly recommended that users only use the most recent version of TART2000 and its data files

TART 2000 A Coupled Neutron-Photon, 3-D, Combinatorial Geometry, Time Dependent, Monte Carlo Transport Code

CERN Document Server

Cullen, D

2000-01-01

TART2000 is a coupled neutron-photon, 3 Dimensional, combinatorial geometry, time dependent Monte Carlo radiation transport code. This code can run on any modern computer. It is a complete system to assist you with input Preparation, running Monte Carlo calculations, and analysis of output results. TART2000 is also incredibly FAST; if you have used similar codes, you will be amazed at how fast this code is compared to other similar codes. Use of the entire system can save you a great deal of time and energy. TART2000 is distributed on CD. This CD contains on-line documentation for all codes included in the system, the codes configured to run on a variety of computers, and many example problems that you can use to familiarize yourself with the system. TART2000 completely supersedes all older versions of TART, and it is strongly recommended that users only use the most recent version of TART2000 and its data files.

Exact solution of the neutron transport equation in spherical geometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anli, Fikret; Akkurt, Abdullah; Yildirim, Hueseyin; Ates, Kemal [Kahramanmaras Suetcue Imam Univ. (Turkey). Faculty of Sciences and Letters

2017-03-15

Solution of the neutron transport equation in one dimensional slab geometry construct a basis for the solution of neutron transport equation in a curvilinear geometry. Therefore, in this work, we attempt to derive an exact analytical benchmark solution for both neutron transport equations in slab and spherical medium by using P{sub N} approximation which is widely used in neutron transport theory.

Solution of neutron transport equation using Daubechies' wavelet expansion in the angular discretization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao Liangzhi; Wu Hongchun; Zheng Youqi

2008-01-01

Daubechies' wavelet expansion is introduced to discretize the angular variables of the neutron transport equation when the neutron angular flux varies very acutely with the angular directions. An improvement is made by coupling one-dimensional wavelet expansion and discrete ordinate method to make two-dimensional angular discretization efficient and stable. The angular domain is divided into several subdomains for treating the vacuum boundary condition exactly in the unstructured geometry. A set of wavelet equations coupled with each other is obtained in each subdomain. An iterative method is utilized to decouple the wavelet moments. The numerical results of several benchmark problems demonstrate that the wavelet expansion method can provide more accurate results by lower-order expansion than other angular discretization methods

PHISICS multi-group transport neutronic capabilities for RELAP5

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Epiney, A.; Rabiti, C.; Alfonsi, A.; Wang, Y.; Cogliati, J.; Strydom, G. [Idaho National Laboratory (INL), 2525 N. Fremont Ave., Idaho Falls, ID 83402 (United States)

2012-07-01

PHISICS is a neutronic code system currently under development at INL. Its goal is to provide state of the art simulation capability to reactor designers. This paper reports on the effort of coupling this package to the thermal hydraulic system code RELAP5. This will enable full prismatic core and system modeling and the possibility to model coupled (thermal-hydraulics and neutronics) problems with more options for 3D neutron kinetics, compared to the existing diffusion theory neutron kinetics module in RELAP5 (NESTLE). The paper describes the capabilities of the coupling and illustrates them with a set of sample problems. (authors)

AMPX: a modular code system for generating coupled multigroup neutron-gamma libraries from ENDF/B

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Greene, N.M.; Lucius, J.L.; Petrie, L.M.; Ford, W.E. III; White, J.E.; Wright, R.Q.

1976-03-01

AMPX is a modular system for producing coupled multigroup neutron-gamma cross section sets. Basic neutron and gamma cross-section data for AMPX are obtained from ENDF/B libraries. Most commonly used operations required to generate and collapse multigroup cross-section sets are provided in the system. AMPX is flexibly dimensioned; neutron group structures, and gamma group structures, and expansion orders to represent anisotropic processes are all arbitrary and limited only by available computer core and budget. The basic processes provided will (1) generate multigroup neutron cross sections; (2) generate multigroup gamma cross sections; (3) generate gamma yields for gamma-producing neutron interactions; (4) combine neutron cross sections, gamma cross sections, and gamma yields into final ''coupled sets''; (5) perform one-dimensional discrete ordinates transport or diffusion theory calculations for neutrons and gammas and, on option, collapse the cross sections to a broad-group structure, using the one-dimensional results as weighting functions; (6) plot cross sections, on option, to facilitate the ''evaluation'' of a particular multigroup set of data; (7) update and maintain multigroup cross section libraries in such a manner as to make it not only easy to combine new data with previously processed data but also to do it in a single pass on the computer; and (8) output multigroup cross sections in convenient formats for other codes. (auth)

A random walk approach to stochastic neutron transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mulatier, Clelia de

2015-01-01

One of the key goals of nuclear reactor physics is to determine the distribution of the neutron population within a reactor core. This population indeed fluctuates due to the stochastic nature of the interactions of the neutrons with the nuclei of the surrounding medium: scattering, emission of neutrons from fission events and capture by nuclear absorption. Due to these physical mechanisms, the stochastic process performed by neutrons is a branching random walk. For most applications, the neutron population considered is very large, and all physical observables related to its behaviour, such as the heat production due to fissions, are well characterised by their average values. Generally, these mean quantities are governed by the classical neutron transport equation, called linear Boltzmann equation. During my PhD, using tools from branching random walks and anomalous diffusion, I have tackled two aspects of neutron transport that cannot be approached by the linear Boltzmann equation. First, thanks to the Feynman-Kac backward formalism, I have characterised the phenomenon of 'neutron clustering' that has been highlighted for low-density configuration of neutrons and results from strong fluctuations in space and time of the neutron population. Then, I focused on several properties of anomalous (non-exponential) transport, that can model neutron transport in strongly heterogeneous and disordered media, such as pebble-bed reactors. One of the novel aspects of this work is that problems are treated in the presence of boundaries. Indeed, even though real systems are finite (confined geometries), most of previously existing results were obtained for infinite systems. (author) [fr

Interface requirements to couple thermal-hydraulic codes to 3D neutronic codes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Langenbuch, S.; Austregesilo, H.; Velkov, K. [GRS, Garching (Germany)] [and others

1997-07-01

The present situation of thermalhydraulics codes and 3D neutronics codes is briefly described and general considerations for coupling of these codes are discussed. Two different basic approaches of coupling are identified and their relative advantages and disadvantages are discussed. The implementation of the coupling for 3D neutronics codes in the system ATHLET is presented. Meanwhile, this interface is used for coupling three different 3D neutronics codes.

Interface requirements to couple thermal-hydraulic codes to 3D neutronic codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Langenbuch, S.; Austregesilo, H.; Velkov, K.

1997-01-01

The present situation of thermalhydraulics codes and 3D neutronics codes is briefly described and general considerations for coupling of these codes are discussed. Two different basic approaches of coupling are identified and their relative advantages and disadvantages are discussed. The implementation of the coupling for 3D neutronics codes in the system ATHLET is presented. Meanwhile, this interface is used for coupling three different 3D neutronics codes

Criticality of neutron transport in a slab with finite reflectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pao, C.V.

1978-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the subcriticality and the supercriticality for the neutron transport in a slab which is surrounded by two finite reflectors. The mathematical problem is to determine when the coupled boundary-value problem has or has no positive solution. It is shown under some explicit conditions on the material properties of the transport mediums and the size of the slab length that the coupled problem has a unique solution which insures the subcriticality of the system. It is also shown under some different conditions on the same physical quantities that the system cannot have a nonnegative solution when there is an external source, and it only has the trivial solution when there is no source in the system. This conclusion leads to the supercriticality of the system. Both upper and lower bounds for the critical length of the slab are explicitly given

Solution to the monoenergetic time-dependent neutron transport equation with a time-varying source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ganapol, B.D.

1986-01-01

Even though fundamental time-dependent neutron transport problems have existed since the inception of neutron transport theory, it has only been recently that a reliable numerical solution to one of the basic problems has been obtained. Experience in generating numerical solutions to time-dependent transport equations has indicated that the multiple collision formulation is the most versatile numerical technique for model problems. The formulation coupled with a moment reconstruction of each collided flux component has led to benchmark-quality (four- to five-digit accuracy) numerical evaluation of the neutron flux in plane infinite geometry for any degree of scattering anisotropy and for both pulsed isotropic and beam sources. As will be shown in this presentation, this solution can serve as a Green's function, thus extending the previous results to more complicated source situations. Here we will be concerned with a time-varying source at the center of an infinite medium. If accurate, such solutions have both pedagogical and practical uses as benchmarks against which other more approximate solutions designed for a wider class of problems can be compared

Some improved methods in neutron transport theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pop-Jordanov, J; Stefanovic, D; Kocic, A; Matausek, M; Bosevski, T [Boris Kidric Institute of Nuclear Sciences Vinca, Beograd (Yugoslavia)

1973-07-01

The methods described in this paper are: analytical approach to neutron spectra in case of energy dependent anisotropy of elastic scattering; Monte Carlo estimations of neutron absorption reaction rate during slowing down process; spherical harmonics treatment of space-angle-lethargy dependent slowing down transport equation; integral transport theory based on point-wise representation of variables.

BLINDAGE: A neutron and gamma-ray transport code for shieldings with the removal-diffusion technique coupled with the point-kernel technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fanaro, L.C.C.B.

1984-01-01

It was developed the BLINDAGE computer code for the radiation transport (neutrons and gammas) calculation. The code uses the removal - diffusion method for neutron transport and point-kernel technique with buil-up factors for gamma-rays. The results obtained through BLINDAGE code are compared with those obtained with the ANISN and SABINE computer codes. (Author) [pt

Cosmic-ray neutron transport at a forest field site

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Mie; Jensen, Karsten Høgh; Desilets, Darin

2017-01-01

-ray neutron intensity is essential (e.g., the effect of vegetation, litter layer and soil type). In this study the environmental effect is examined by performing a sensitivity analysis using neutron transport modeling. We use a neutron transport model with various representations of the forest and different...

Neutron Star Structure in the Presence of Conformally Coupled Scalar Fields

Science.gov (United States)

Sultana, Joseph; Bose, Benjamin; Kazanas, Demosthenes

2014-01-01

Neutron star models are studied in the context of scalar-tensor theories of gravity in the presence of a conformally coupled scalar field, using two different numerical equations of state (EoS) representing different degrees of stiffness. In both cases we obtain a complete solution by matching the interior numerical solution of the coupled Einstein-scalar field hydrostatic equations, with an exact metric on the surface of the star. These are then used to find the effect of the scalar field and its coupling to geometry, on the neutron star structure, particularly the maximum neutron star mass and radius. We show that in the presence of a conformally coupled scalar field, neutron stars are less dense and have smaller masses and radii than their counterparts in the minimally coupled case, and the effect increases with the magnitude of the scalar field at the center of the star.

Analysis of coupled neutron-gamma radiations, applied to shieldings in multigroup albedo method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunley, Leonardo Souza

2002-01-01

The principal mathematical tools frequently available for calculations in Nuclear Engineering, including coupled neutron-gamma radiations shielding problems, involve the full Transport Theory or the Monte Carlo techniques. The Multigroup Albedo Method applied to shieldings is characterized by following the radiations through distinct layers of materials, allowing the determination of the neutron and gamma fractions reflected from, transmitted through and absorbed in the irradiated media when a neutronic stream hits the first layer of material, independently of flux calculations. Then, the method is a complementary tool of great didactic value due to its clarity and simplicity in solving neutron and/or gamma shielding problems. The outstanding results achieved in previous works motivated the elaboration and the development of this study that is presented in this dissertation. The radiation balance resulting from the incidence of a neutronic stream into a shielding composed by 'm' non-multiplying slab layers for neutrons was determined by the Albedo method, considering 'n' energy groups for neutrons and 'g' energy groups for gammas. It was taken into account there is no upscattering of neutrons and gammas. However, it was considered that neutrons from any energy groups are able to produce gammas of all energy groups. The ANISN code, for an angular quadrature order S 2 , was used as a standard for comparison of the results obtained by the Albedo method. So, it was necessary to choose an identical system configuration, both for ANISN and Albedo methods. This configuration was six neutron energy groups and eight gamma energy groups, using three slab layers (iron aluminum - manganese). The excellent results expressed in comparative tables show great agreement between the values determined by the deterministic code adopted as standard and, the values determined by the computational program created using the Albedo method and the algorithm developed for coupled neutron

Study of a transportable neutron radiography system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Souza, S.N.A. de.

1991-05-01

This work presents a study a transportable neutron radiography system for a 185 GBq 241 Am-Be (α, η) source with a neutron yield roughly 1,25 x 10 7 n/s. Studies about moderation, collimation and shielding are showed. In these studies, a calculation using Transport Theory was carried out by means of transport codes ANISN and DOT (3.5). Objectives were: to obtain a maximum and more homogeneous thermal neutron flux in the collimator outlet to the image plain, and an adequate radiation shielding to attend radiological protection rules. With the presented collimator, it was possible to obtain for the thermal neutron flux, at the collimator outlet and next to the image plain, a L/D ratio of 14, for neutron fluxes up to 4,09 x 10 2 n.cm -2 .s -1 . Considering the low intensity of the source, it is a good value. Studies have also been carried out for L/D ratios of 22 and 30, giving thermal neutron fluxes at the image plain of 1,27 x 10 2 n.cm -2 .s -1 and 2,65 x 10 2 n.cm -2 .s -1 , respectively. (author). 30 refs, 39 figs, 9 tabs

The coupling of the Star-Cd software to a whole-core neutron transport code Decart for PWR applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, J.W.; Lee, H.C.; Downar, T.J.; Sofu, T.; Weber, D.P.; Joo, H.G.; Cho, J.Y.

2003-01-01

As part of a U.S.- Korea collaborative U.S. Department of Energy INERI project, a comprehensive high-fidelity reactor-core modeling capability is being developed for detailed analysis of existing and advanced PWR reactor designs. An essential element of the project has been the development of an interface between the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) module, STAR-CD, and the neutronics module, DeCART. Since the computational mesh for CFD and neutronics calculations are generally different, the capability to average and decompose data on these different meshes has been an important part of code coupling activities. An averaging process has been developed to extract neutronics zone temperatures in the fuel and coolant and to generate appropriate multi group cross sections and densities. Similar procedures have also been established to map the power distribution from the neutronics zones to the mesh structure used in the CFD module. Since MPI is used as the parallel model in STAR-CD and conflicts arise during initiation of a second level of MPI, the interface developed here is based on using TCP/IP protocol sockets to establish communication between the CFD and neutronics modules. Preliminary coupled calculations have been performed for PWR fuel assembly size problems and converged solutions have been achieved for a series of steady-state problems ranging from a single pin to a 1/8 model of a 17 x 17 PWR fuel assembly. (authors)

New methods in transport theory. Part of a coordinated programme on methods in neutron transport theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stefanovic, D.

1975-09-01

The research work of this contract was oriented towards the study of different methods in neutron transport theory. Authors studied analytical solution of the neutron slowing down transport equation and extension of this solution to include the energy dependence of the anisotropy of neutron scattering. Numerical solution of the fast and resonance transport equation for the case of mixture of scatterers including inelastic effects were also reviewed. They improved the existing formalism for treating the scattering of neutrons on water molecules; Identifying modal analysis as the Galerkin method, general conditions for modal technique applications have been investigated. Inverse problems in transport theory were considered. They obtained the evaluation of an advanced level distribution function, made improvement of the standard formalism for treating the inelastic scattering and development of a cluster nuclear model for this evaluation. Authors studied the neutron transport treatment in space energy groups for criticality calculation of a reactor core, and development of the Monte Carlo sampling scheme from the neutron transport equation

MCNP4C2, Coupled Neutron, Electron Gamma 3-D Time-Dependent Monte Carlo Transport Calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

1 - Description of program or function: MCNP is a general-purpose, continuous-energy, generalized geometry, time-dependent, coupled neutron-photon-electron Monte Carlo transport code system. MCNP4C2 is an interim release of MCNP4C with distribution restricted to the Criticality Safety community and attendees of the LANL MCNP workshops. The major new features of MCNP4C2 include: - Photonuclear physics; - Interactive plotting; - Plot superimposed weight window mesh; - Implement remaining macro-body surfaces; - Upgrade macro-bodies to surface sources and other capabilities; - Revised summary tables; - Weight window improvements. See the MCNP home page more information http://www-xdiv.lanl.gov/XCI/PROJECTS/MCNP with a link to the MCNP Forum. See the Electronic Notebook at http://www-rsicc.ornl.gov/rsic.html for information on user experiences with MCNP. 2 - Methods:MCNP treats an arbitrary three-dimensional configuration of materials in geometric cells bounded by first- and second-degree surfaces and some special fourth-degree surfaces. Pointwise continuous-energy cross section data are used, although multigroup data may also be used. Fixed-source adjoint calculations may be made with the multigroup data option. For neutrons, all reactions in a particular cross-section evaluation are accounted for. Both free gas and S(alpha, beta) thermal treatments are used. Criticality sources as well as fixed and surface sources are available. For photons, the code takes account of incoherent and coherent scattering with and without electron binding effects, the possibility of fluorescent emission following photoelectric absorption, and absorption in pair production with local emission of annihilation radiation. A very general source and tally structure is available. The tallies have extensive statistical analysis of convergence. Rapid convergence is enabled by a wide variety of variance reduction methods. Energy ranges are 0-60 MeV for neutrons (data generally only available up to

AUS, Neutron Transport and Gamma Transport System for Fission Reactors and Fusion Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-01-01

1 - Description of program or function: AUS is a neutronics code system which may be used for calculations of a wide range of fission reactors, fusion blankets and other neutron applications. The present version, AUS98, has a nuclear cross section library based on ENDF/B-VI and includes modules which provide for reactor lattice calculations, one-dimensional transport calculations, multi-dimensional diffusion calculations, cell and whole reactor burnup calculations, and flexible editing of results. Calculations of multi-region resonance shielding, coupled neutron and photon transport, energy deposition, fission product inventory and neutron diffusion are combined within the one code system. The major changes from the previous release, AUS87, are the inclusion of a cross-section library based on ENDF/B-VI, the addition of the POW3D multi-dimensional diffusion module, the addition of the MICBURN module for controlling whole reactor burnup calculations, and changes to the system as a consequence of moving from IBM mainframe computers to UNIX workstations. 2 - Method of solution: AUS98 is a modular system in which the modules are complete programs linked by a path given in the input stream. A simple path is simply a sequence of modules, but the path is actually pre-processed and compiled using the Fortran 77 compiler. This provides for complex module linking if required. Some of the modules included in AUS98 are: MIRANDA Cross-section generation in a multi-region resonance subgroup calculation and preliminary group condensation. ANAUSN One-dimensional discrete ordinates calculation. ICPP Isotropic collision probability calculation in one dimension and for rod clusters. POW3D Multi-dimensional neutron diffusion calculation including feedback-free kinetics. AUSIDD One-dimensional diffusion calculation. EDITAR Reaction-rate editing and group collapsing following a transport calculation. CHAR Lattice and global burnup calculation. MICBURN Control of global burnup

Uncertainty analysis of neutron transport calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oka, Y.; Furuta, K.; Kondo, S.

1987-01-01

A cross section sensitivity-uncertainty analysis code, SUSD was developed. The code calculates sensitivity coefficients for one and two-dimensional transport problems based on the first order perturbation theory. Variance and standard deviation of detector responses or design parameters can be obtained using cross section covariance matrix. The code is able to perform sensitivity-uncertainty analysis for secondary neutron angular distribution(SAD) and secondary neutron energy distribution(SED). Covariances of 6 Li and 7 Li neutron cross sections in JENDL-3PR1 were evaluated including SAD and SED. Covariances of Fe and Be were also evaluated. The uncertainty of tritium breeding ratio, fast neutron leakage flux and neutron heating was analysed on four types of blanket concepts for a commercial tokamak fusion reactor. The uncertainty of tritium breeding ratio was less than 6 percent. Contribution from SAD/SED uncertainties are significant for some parameters. Formulas to estimate the errors of numerical solution of the transport equation were derived based on the perturbation theory. This method enables us to deterministically estimate the numerical errors due to iterative solution, spacial discretization and Legendre polynomial expansion of transfer cross-sections. The calculational errors of the tritium breeding ratio and the fast neutron leakage flux of the fusion blankets were analysed. (author)

Investigation of the possibility to use a fine-mesh solver for resolving coupled neutronics and thermal-hydraulics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jareteg, K.; Vinai, P.; Demaziere, C.

2013-01-01

The development of a fine-mesh coupled neutronic/thermal-hydraulic solver is touched upon in this paper. The reported work investigates the feasibility of using finite volume techniques to discretize a set of conservation equations modeling neutron transport, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer within a single numerical tool. With the long-term objective of developing fine-mesh computing capabilities for a few selected fuel assemblies in a nuclear core, this preliminary study considers an infinite array of a single fuel assembly having a finite height. Thermal-hydraulic conditions close to the ones existing in PWRs are taken as a first test case. The neutronic modeling relies on the diffusion approximation in a multi-energy group formalism, with cross-sections pre-calculated and tabulated at the sub-pin level using a Monte Carlo technique. The thermal-hydraulics is based on the Navier-Stokes equations, complemented by an energy conservation equation. The non-linear coupling terms between the different conservation equations are fully resolved using classical iteration techniques. Early tests demonstrate that the numerical tool provides an unprecedented level of details of the coupled solution estimated within the same numerical tool and thus avoiding any external data transfer, using fully consistent models between the neutronics and the thermal-hydraulics. (authors)

TRIPOLI-4.3.3 and 4.4, Coupled Neutron, Photon, Electron, Positron 3-D, Time Dependent Monte-Carlo, Transport Calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Both, J.P.; Mazzolo, A.; Petit, O.; Peneliau, Y.; Roesslinger, B.

2008-01-01

1 - Description of program or function: TRIPOLI-4 is a general purpose radiation transport code. It uses the Monte Carlo method to simulate neutron and photon behaviour in three-dimensional geometries. The main areas of applications include but are not restricted to: radiation protection and shielding, nuclear criticality safety, fission and fusion reactor design, nuclear instrumentation. In addition, it can simulate electron-photon cascade showers. It computes particle fluxes and currents and several related physical quantities such as, reaction rates, dose rates, heating, energy deposition, effective multiplication factor, perturbation effects due to density, concentration or partial cross-section variations. The summary precises the types of particles, the nuclear data format and cross sections, the energy ranges, the geometry, the sources, the calculated physical quantities and estimators, the biasing, the time-dependant transport for neutrons, the perturbation, the coupled particle transport and the qualification benchmarks. Data libraries distributed with the TRIPOLI-4: ENDFB6R4, ENDL, JEF2, Mott-Rutherford and Qfission. NEA-1716/04: TRIPOLI-4.4 does not contain the source programs. New features available in TRIPOLI-4 version 4 concern the following points: New biasing features, neutron collision in multigroup homogenized mode, display of the collision sites, ENDF format evaluations, computation of the gamma source produced by neutrons, output format for all results, Verbose level for output warnings, photons reactions rates, XML format output, ENDF format evaluations, combinatorial geometry checks, Green's functions files, and neutronics-shielding coupling. 2 - Methods: The geometry package allows the user to describe a three dimensional configuration by means of surfaces (as in the MCNP code) and also through predefined shapes combine with operators (union, intersection, subtraction...). It is also possible to repeat a pattern to built a network of networks

Multi-group neutron transport theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zelazny, R.; Kuszell, A.

1962-01-01

Multi-group neutron transport theory. In the paper the general theory of the application of the K. M. Case method to N-group neutron transport theory in plane geometry is given. The eigenfunctions (distributions) for the system of Boltzmann equations have been derived and the completeness theorem has been proved. By means of general solution two examples important for reactor and shielding calculations are given: the solution of a critical and albedo problem for a slab. In both cases the system of singular integral equations for expansion coefficients into a full set of eigenfunction distributions has been reduced to the system of Fredholm-type integral equations. Some results can be applied also to some spherical problems. (author) [fr

Thermohydraulic stability coupled to the neutronic in a BWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calleros M, G.; Zapata Y, M.; Gomez H, R.A.; Mendez M, A.; Castlllo D, R.

2006-01-01

In a BWR type reactor the phenomenon of the nuclear fission is presented, in which are liberated in stochastic form neutrons, originating that the population of the same ones varies in statistic form around a mean value. This variation will cause that when the neutron flow impacts on the neutron detectors, its are had as a result neutron flow signals with fluctuations around an average value. In this article it is shown that it conforms it lapses the time, this variations in the neutron flow (and therefore, in the flow signal due only to the fission), they presented oscillations inside a stable range, which won't be divergent. Considering that the BWR is characterized because boiling phenomena are presented, which affect the moderation of the neutrons, additional variations will be had in the signal coming from the neutron detectors, with relationship to the fission itself, which will be influenced by the feedback of the moderator's reactivity and of the temperature of the fuel pellet. Also, as the BWR it has coupled control systems to maintain the coolant level one and of the thermal power of the reactor, for each control action it was affected the neutron population. This means that the reactor could end up straying of a stable state condition. By it previously described, the study of the thermohydraulic stability coupled to the neutronic is complex. In this work it is shown the phenomenology, the mathematical models and the theoretical behavior associated to the stability of the BWR type reactor; the variables that affect it are identified, the models that reproduce the behavior of the thermohydraulic stability coupled to the neutronic, the way to maintain stable the reactor and the instrumentation that can settle to detect and to suppress uncertainties is described. In particular, is make reference to the evolution of the methods to maintain the stability of the reactor and the detection system and suppression of uncertainties implemented in the Laguna Verde

Limits on Tensor Coupling from Neutron $\\beta$-Decay

OpenAIRE

Pattie Jr, Robert W.; Hickerson, Kevin P.; Young, Albert R.

2013-01-01

Limits on the tensor couplings generating a Fierz interference term, b, in mixed Gamow-Teller Fermi decays can be derived by combining data from measurements of angular correlation parameters in neutron decay, the neutron lifetime, and $G_{\\text{V}}=G_{\\text{F}} V_{ud}$ as extracted from measurements of the $\\mathcal{F}t$ values from the $0^{+} \\to 0^{+}$ superallowed decays dataset. These limits are derived by comparing the neutron $\\beta$-decay rate as predicted in the standard model with t...

Linear stochastic neutron transport theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewins, J.

1978-01-01

A new and direct derivation of the Bell-Pal fundamental equation for (low power) neutron stochastic behaviour in the Boltzmann continuum model is given. The development includes correlation of particle emission direction in induced and spontaneous fission. This leads to generalizations of the backward and forward equations for the mean and variance of neutron behaviour. The stochastic importance for neutron transport theory is introduced and related to the conventional deterministic importance. Defining equations and moment equations are derived and shown to be related to the backward fundamental equation with the detector distribution of the operational definition of stochastic importance playing the role of an adjoint source. (author)

Multi-group transport methods for high-resolution neutron activation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burns, K. A.; Smith, L. E.; Gesh, C. J.; Shaver, M. W.

2009-01-01

The accurate and efficient simulation of coupled neutron-photon problems is necessary for several important radiation detection applications. Examples include the detection of nuclear threats concealed in cargo containers and prompt gamma neutron activation analysis for nondestructive determination of elemental composition of unknown samples. In these applications, high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometers are used to preserve as much information as possible about the emitted photon flux, which consists of both continuum and characteristic gamma rays with discrete energies. Monte Carlo transport is the most commonly used modeling tool for this type of problem, but computational times for many problems can be prohibitive. This work explores the use of multi-group deterministic methods for the simulation of neutron activation problems. Central to this work is the development of a method for generating multi-group neutron-photon cross-sections in a way that separates the discrete and continuum photon emissions so that the key signatures in neutron activation analysis (i.e., the characteristic line energies) are preserved. The mechanics of the cross-section preparation method are described and contrasted with standard neutron-gamma cross-section sets. These custom cross-sections are then applied to several benchmark problems. Multi-group results for neutron and photon flux are compared to MCNP results. Finally, calculated responses of high-resolution spectrometers are compared. Preliminary findings show promising results when compared to MCNP. A detailed discussion of the potential benefits and shortcomings of the multi-group-based approach, in terms of accuracy, and computational efficiency, is provided. (authors)

BALTORO a general purpose code for coupling discrete ordinates and Monte-Carlo radiation transport calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zazula, J.M.

1983-01-01

The general purpose code BALTORO was written for coupling the three-dimensional Monte-Carlo /MC/ with the one-dimensional Discrete Ordinates /DO/ radiation transport calculations. The quantity of a radiation-induced /neutrons or gamma-rays/ nuclear effect or the score from a radiation-yielding nuclear effect can be analysed in this way. (author)

Calibration of neutron yield activation measurements at JET using MCNP and furnace neutron transport codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pillon, M.; Martone, M.; Verschuur, K.A.; Jarvis, O.N.; Kaellne, J.

1989-01-01

Neutron transport calculations have been performed using fluence ray tracing (FURNACE code) and Monte Carlo particle trajectory sampling methods (MCNP code) in order to determine the neutron fluence and energy distributions at different locations in the JET tokamak. These calculations were used to calibrate the activation measurements used in the determination of the absolute fusion neutron yields from the JET plasma. We present here the neutron activation response coefficients calculated for three different materials. Comparison of the MCNP and FURNACE results helps identify the sources of error in these neutron transport calculations. The accuracy of these calculations was tested by comparing the total 2.5 MeV neutron yields derived from the activation measurements with those obtained with calibrated fission chambers; agreement at the ±15% level was demonstrate. (orig.)

Pin level neutronic - thermal hydraulic two-way-coupling using DYN3D-SP3 and SUBCHANFLOW

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torres, Armando Gomez; Espinoza, Victor Sanchez; Imke, Uwe; Juan, Rafael Macian

2011-01-01

Nowadays several Reactor Dynamic Codes, (RDC) are able to solve the diffusion equation or even the transport equation (SP3 approximation) considering feedback parameters coming from the thermalhydraulic (TH) core behavior. These kinds of codes (DYN3D, PARCS, among others) usually contain a 1D two phase flow thermalhydraulic model capable to pass them assembly averaged feedback parameters. At fuel assembly base this nodal coupling is completely a two way coupling. The Neutronic part calculates the mean power of the whole assembly and passes it to the TH part in order to actualize the heat source. In turn, the TH model passes the assembly-based feedback parameters to the neutronic code for actualizing the nodal cross sections. The process will be repeated until convergence. At pin level, the current situation is somehow different. Although the neutronic solver can pass the pin power distribution in every sub - node (pin distribution), the 1-D TH model will average the pin power distribution to assembly-based scale and will give back assembly averaged feedbacks to the neutronic part for cross sections up-date (one and a half way coupling), leading to information loss in the calculation. A new coupled program system DYNSUB was developed by coupling DYN3D-SP3 and SUBCHANFLOW at pin level. DYNSUB was used to analyze stationary PWR minicore problems at pin-level. The comparison of the Keff predicted by DYNSUB with the one calculated by DYN3D-SP3 (coarse TH solution) shows small differences of up to 26 pcm. Differences up to 4.5% were found in the radial distribution of the pin power. The local safety parameters such as cladding and fuel temperature predicted with DYNSUB shows larger deviations compared with the ones obtained with DYN3D-SP3. These differences may increase when analyzing transients. (author)

Heterogeneity effects in neutron transport computations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gelbard, E.M.

1975-01-01

A nuclear reactor is, generally, an intricate heterogeneous structure whose adjacent components may differ radically in their neutronic properties. The heterogeneities in the structure of the reactor complicate the work of the reactor analyst and tend to degrade the efficiency of the numerical methods used in reactor computations. Two types of heterogeneity effects are considered. First, certain singularities in the solution of the neutron transport equation, induced by heterogeneities, are briefly described. Second, the effect of heterogeneities on neutron leakage rates, and consequently on effective diffusion coefficients, are discussed. (5 figures) (U.S.)

Measurements of anomalous neutron transport in bulk graphite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowman, C.D.; Smith, G.A.; Vogelaar, B.; Howell, C.R.; Bilpuch, E.G.; Tornow, W.

2003-01-01

The neutron absorption of bulk granular graphite has been measured in a classical exponential diffusion experiment. Our first measurements of April 2002 implementing both exponential decay and pulsed die-away experiments and using the TUNL pulsed accelerator at Duke University as a neutron source indicated a capture cross section for graphite a striking factor of three lower than the measured value for carbon of 3.4 millibarns. Therefore a new exponential experiment with an improved geometry enabling greater accuracy has been performed giving an apparent cross section for carbon in the form of bulk granular graphite of less than 0.5 millibarns. This result confirms our first result and is also consistent with less than one part per million of boron in our graphite. The bulk density of the graphite is 1.02 compared with the actual particle density of 1.60 indicating a packing fraction of 0.64 or a void fraction of 0.36. We suspect that the apparent suppression of absorption in bulk graphite may be associated with the strong coherent diffraction of neutrons that dominates neutron transport in graphite. Coherent diffraction has never been taken into account in graphite reactor design and no neutron transport code including general use codes such as MCNP incorporate diffraction effects even though diffraction dominates many practical thermal neutron transport problems. (orig.)

Measurements of anomalous neutron transport in bulk graphite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bowman, C.D.; Smith, G.A. [ADNA Corp., Los Alamos, NM (United States); Vogelaar, B. [Virginia Tech., Blacksburg, VA (United States); Howell, C.R.; Bilpuch, E.G.; Tornow, W. [Triangle Univ. Nuclear Lab., Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States)

2003-07-01

The neutron absorption of bulk granular graphite has been measured in a classical exponential diffusion experiment. Our first measurements of April 2002 implementing both exponential decay and pulsed die-away experiments and using the TUNL pulsed accelerator at Duke University as a neutron source indicated a capture cross section for graphite a striking factor of three lower than the measured value for carbon of 3.4 millibarns. Therefore a new exponential experiment with an improved geometry enabling greater accuracy has been performed giving an apparent cross section for carbon in the form of bulk granular graphite of less than 0.5 millibarns. This result confirms our first result and is also consistent with less than one part per million of boron in our graphite. The bulk density of the graphite is 1.02 compared with the actual particle density of 1.60 indicating a packing fraction of 0.64 or a void fraction of 0.36. We suspect that the apparent suppression of absorption in bulk graphite may be associated with the strong coherent diffraction of neutrons that dominates neutron transport in graphite. Coherent diffraction has never been taken into account in graphite reactor design and no neutron transport code including general use codes such as MCNP incorporate diffraction effects even though diffraction dominates many practical thermal neutron transport problems. (orig.)

Solving the equation of neutron transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nasfi, Rim

2009-01-01

This work is devoted to the study of some numerical methods of resolution of the problem of transport of the neutrons. We started by introducing the equation integro-differential transport of the neutrons. Then we applied the finite element method traditional for stationary and nonstationary linear problems in 2D. A great part is reserved for the presentation of the mixed numerical diagram and mixed hybrid with two types of uniform grids: triangular and rectangular. Thereafter we treated some numerical examples by implementations in Matlab in order to test the convergence of each method. To finish, we had results of simulation by the Monte Carlo method on a problem of two-dimensional transport with an aim of comparing them with the results resulting from the finite element method mixed hybrids. Some remarks and prospects conclude this work.

Cellular neural network to the spherical harmonics approximation of neutron transport equation in x-y geometry. Part I: Modeling and verification for time-independent solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pirouzmand, Ahmad; Hadad, Kamal

2011-01-01

Highlights: → This paper describes the solution of time-independent neutron transport equation. → Using a novel method based on cellular neural networks (CNNs) coupled with P N method. → Utilize the CNN model to simulate spatial scalar flux distribution in steady state. → The accuracy, stability, and capabilities of CNN model are examined in x-y geometry. - Abstract: This paper describes a novel method based on using cellular neural networks (CNN) coupled with spherical harmonics method (P N ) to solve the time-independent neutron transport equation in x-y geometry. To achieve this, an equivalent electrical circuit based on second-order form of neutron transport equation and relevant boundary conditions is obtained using CNN method. We use the CNN model to simulate spatial response of scalar flux distribution in the steady state condition for different order of spherical harmonics approximations. The accuracy, stability, and capabilities of CNN model are examined in 2D Cartesian geometry for fixed source and criticality problems.

Structures of the fractional spaces generated by the difference neutron transport operator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashyralyev, Allaberen; Taskin, Abdulgafur

2015-01-01

The initial boundary value problem for the neutron transport equation is considered. The first, second and third order of accuracy difference schemes for the approximate solution of this problem are presented. Highly accurate difference schemes for neutron transport equation based on Padé approximation are constructed. In applications, stability estimates for solutions of difference schemes for the approximate solution of the neutron transport equation are obtained.The positivity of the neutron transport operator in Slobodeckij spaces is proved. Numerical techniques are developed and algorithms are tested on an example in MATLAB

A New Coupled CFD/Neutron Kinetics System for High Fidelity Simulations of LWR Core Phenomena: Proof of Concept

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Pérez Mañes

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The Institute for Neutron Physics and Reactor Technology (INR at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT is investigating the application of the meso- and microscale analysis for the prediction of local safety parameters for light water reactors (LWR. By applying codes like CFD (computational fluid dynamics and SP3 (simplified transport reactor dynamics it is possible to describe the underlying phenomena in a more accurate manner than by the nodal/coarse 1D thermal hydraulic coupled codes. By coupling the transport (SP3 based neutron kinetics (NK code DYN3D with NEPTUNE-CFD, within a parallel MPI-environment, the NHESDYN platform is created. The newly developed system will allow high fidelity simulations of LWR fuel assemblies and cores. In NHESDYN, a heat conduction solver, SYRTHES, is coupled to NEPTUNE-CFD. The driver module of NHESDYN controls the sequence of execution of the solvers as well as the communication between the solvers based on MPI. In this paper, the main features of NHESDYN are discussed and the proof of the concept is done by solving a single pin problem. The prediction capability of NHESDYN is demonstrated by a code-to-code comparison with the DYNSUB code. Finally, the future developments and validation efforts are highlighted.

The transport of neutrons and gamma-rays in the air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adamski, J.

1980-01-01

The transport of neutrons and gamma rays in the infinite homogeneous air has been investigated. For the calculations has been used the Multigroup One Dimensional Discrete Ordinates Transport Code ANISN-W. The calculations have been performed for three types of neutron sources. The neutrons and gamma ray doses in the air have been analyzed, and comparison to the other authors' results has been given. (author)

The Lattice Boltzmann Method applied to neutron transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erasmus, B.; Van Heerden, F. A.

2013-01-01

In this paper the applicability of the Lattice Boltzmann Method to neutron transport is investigated. One of the main features of the Lattice Boltzmann method is the simultaneous discretization of the phase space of the problem, whereby particles are restricted to move on a lattice. An iterative solution of the operator form of the neutron transport equation is presented here, with the first collision source as the starting point of the iteration scheme. A full description of the discretization scheme is given, along with the quadrature set used for the angular discretization. An angular refinement scheme is introduced to increase the angular coverage of the problem phase space and to mitigate lattice ray effects. The method is applied to a model problem to investigate its applicability to neutron transport and the results are compared to a reference solution calculated, using MCNP. (authors)

Neutronics - thermal-hydraulics coupling: application to the helium-cooled fast reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaiana, F.

2009-11-01

This thesis focuses on the study of interactions between neutron-kinetics and thermal-hydraulics. Neutron-kinetics allow to calculate the power in a nuclear reactor and the temperature evolution of materials where this power is deposited is known thanks to thermal-hydraulics. Moreover, when the temperatures evolve, the densities and cross sections change. These two disciplines are thus coupled. The first part of this work corresponds to the study and development of a method which allows to simulate transients in nuclear reactors and especially with a Monte-Carlo code for neutron-kinetics. An algorithm for the resolution of the neutron transport equation has been established and validated with a benchmark. In thermal-hydraulics, a porous media approach, based on another thesis, is considered. This gives the opportunity to solve the equations on the whole core without unconscionable computation time. Finally, a theoretical study has been performed on the statistical uncertainties which result from the use of a Monte-Carlo code and which spread from the reactivity to the power and from the power to the temperatures. The second part deals with the study of a misplaced control rod withdrawing in a GFR (helium-cooled fast reactor), a fourth generation reactor. Some models allowing to calculate neutron-kinetics and thermal-hydraulics in the core (which contains assemblies built up with fuel plates) were defined. In thermal-hydraulics, a model for the core based on the porous media approach and a fuel plate homogenization model have been set up. A similar homogenization model has been studied for neutron-kinetics. Finally, the control rod withdrawing transient where we can observe the power raising and the stabilisation by thermal feedback has been performed with the Monte-Carlo code Tripoli for neutron-kinetics and the code Trio-U for thermal-hydraulics. (author)

The coupled code system DORT-TD/THERMIX and its application to the OECD/NEA/NSC PBMR400 MW coupled neutronics thermal hydraulics transient benchmark

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pautz, A.; Tyobeka, B.; Ivanov, K.

2009-01-01

In new reactor designs that are still under review such as the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR), not much experimental data exists to benchmark newly developed computer codes against. Such a situation requires that nuclear engineers and designers of this novel reactor design must resort to the validation of a newly developed code through a code-to-code benchmarking exercise because there are validated codes that are currently in use to analyze this reactor design, albeit very few of them. There are numerous HTR core physics benchmarks that are currently being pursued by different organizations, for different purposes. One such benchmark exercise is the PBMR-400MW OECD/NEA coupled neutronics/thermal hydraulics transient benchmark. In this paper, a newly developed coupled neutronics thermal hydraulics code system, DORT-TD/THERMIX with both transport and diffusion theory options, is used to simulate both the steady-state as well as several transient scenarios in this benchmark problem. (orig.)

Development of a coupled neutronic/thermal-hydraulic tool with multi-scale capabilities and applications to HPLWR core analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monti, Lanfranco; Starflinger, Joerg; Schulenberg, Thomas

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Advanced analysis and design techniques for innovative reactors are addressed. → Detailed investigation of a 3 pass core design with a multi-physics-scales tool. → Coupled 40-group neutron transport/equivalent channels TH core analyses methods. → Multi-scale capabilities: from equivalent channels to sub-channel pin-by-pin study. → High fidelity approach: reduction of conservatism involved in core simulations. - Abstract: The High Performance Light Water Reactor (HPLWR) is a thermal spectrum nuclear reactor cooled and moderated with light water operated at supercritical pressure. It is an innovative reactor concept, which requires developing and applying advanced analysis tools as described in the paper. The relevant water density reduction associated with the heat-up, together with the multi-pass core design, results in a pronounced coupling between neutronic and thermal-hydraulic analyses, which takes into account the strong natural influence of the in-core distribution of power generation and water properties. The neutron flux gradients within the multi-pass core, together with the pronounced dependence of water properties on the temperature, require to consider a fine spatial resolution in which the individual fuel pins are resolved to provide precise evaluation of the clad temperature, currently considered as one of the crucial design criteria. These goals have been achieved considering an advanced analysis method based on the usage of existing codes which have been coupled with developed interfaces. Initially neutronic and thermal-hydraulic full core calculations have been iterated until a consistent solution is found to determine the steady state full power condition of the HPLWR core. Results of few group neutronic analyses might be less reliable in case of HPLWR 3-pass core than for conventional LWRs because of considerable changes of the neutron spectrum within the core, hence 40 groups transport theory has been preferred to the

Asymptotic time dependent neutron transport in multidimensional systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagy, M.E.; Sawan, M.E.; Wassef, W.A.; El-Gueraly, L.A.

1983-01-01

A model which predicts the asymptotic time behavior of the neutron distribution in multi-dimensional systems is presented. The model is based on the kernel factorization method used for stationary neutron transport in a rectangular parallelepiped. The accuracy of diffusion theory in predicting the asymptotic time dependence is assessed. The use of neutron pulse experiments for predicting the diffusion parameters is also investigated

A tilted fiber-optic plate coupled CCD detector for high resolution neutron imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jongyul; Cho, Gyuseong [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jongyul; Hwy, Limchang; Kim, Taejoo; Lee, Kyehong [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Seungwook [Pusan National Univ., Pusan (Korea, Republic of)

2013-05-15

One of these efforts is that a tilted scintillator geometry and lens coupled CCD detector for neutron imaging system were used to improve spatial resolution in one dimension. The increased spatial resolution in one dimension was applied to fuel cell study. However, a lens coupled CCD detector has lower sensitivity than a fiber-optic plate coupled CCD detector due to light loss. In this research, a tilted detector using fiber-optic plate coupled CCD detector was developed to improve resolution and sensitivity. In addition, a tilted detector can prevent an image sensor from direct radiation damage. Neutron imaging has been used for fuel cell study, lithium ion battery study, and many scientific applications. High quality neutron imaging is demanded for more detailed studies of applications, and spatial resolution should be considered to get high quality neutron imaging. Therefore, there were many efforts to improve spatial resolution.

MCNP: a general Monte Carlo code for neutron and photon transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-11-01

The general-purpose Monte Carlo code MCNP ca be used for neutron, photon, or coupled neutron-photon transport, including the capability to calculate eigenvalues for critical systems. The code treats an arbitrary three-dimensional configuration of materials in geometric cells bounded by first- and second-degree surfaces and some special fourth-degree surfaces (elliptical tori). Pointwise cross-section data are used. For neutrons, all reactions given in a particular cross-section evaluation are accounted for. Thermal neutrons are described by both the free-gas and S(α,β) models. For photons, the code takes account of incoherent and coherent scattering, the possibility of fluorescent emission following photoelectric absorption, and absorption in pair production with local emission of annihilation radiation. MCNP includes an elaborate, interactive plotting capability that allows the user to view his input geometry to help check for setup errors. Standard features which are available to improve computational efficiency include geometry splitting and Russian roulette, weight cutoff with Russian roulette, correlated sampling, analog capture or capture by weight reduction, the exponential transformation, energy splitting, forced collisions in designated cells, flux estimates at point or ring detectors, deterministically transporting pseudo-particles to designated regions, track-length estimators, source biasing, and several parameter cutoffs. Extensive summary information is provided to help the user better understand the physics and Monte Carlo simulation of his problem. The standard, user-defined output of MCNP includes two-way current as a function of direction across any set of surfaces or surface segments in the problem. Flux across any set of surfaces or surface segments is available. 58 figures, 28 tables

Creation and validation of a neutron-gamma coupled multigroup cross section library

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devan, K.; Gopalakrishnan, V.; Lee, S.M.

1995-01-01

The task of creating our own neutron-gamma coupled library was taken up. By using 1985 version of NJOY code system, a coupled set called IGC-DE4-S1 in ANISN format for 25 nuclides has been arrived at based on ENDF/B-IV neutron library and DLC-99 gamma library, with Legendre order of up to 5. The flow chart for the creation of coupled set is given. 5 refs, 1 fig., 3 tabs

Coupling of discrete ordinates methods by transmission of boundary conditions in solving the neutron transport equation in slab geometry; Couplage de discretisations aux ordonnees discretes d`equations de transport 1D par passage de conditions frontieres

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bal, G. [Departement MMN, Service IMA, Direction des Etudes et Recherches, Electricite de France (EDF), 92 - Clamart (France)

1995-10-01

Neutron transport in nuclear reactors is quite well modelled by the linear Boltzmann transport equation. Its solution is relatively easy, but unfortunately too expensive to achieve whole core computations. Thus, we have to simplify it, for example by homogenizing some physical characteristics. However, the solution may then be inaccurate. Moreover, in strongly homogeneous areas, the error may be too big. Then we would like to deal with such an inconvenient by solving the equation accurately on this area, but more coarsely away from it, so that the computation is not too expensive. This problem is the subject of a thesis. We present here some results obtained for slab geometry. The couplings between the fine and coarse discretization regions could be conceived in a number of approaches. Here, we only deal with the coupling at crossing the interface between two sub-domains. In the first section, we present the coupling of discrete ordinate methods for solving the homogeneous, isotropic and mono-kinetic equation. Coupling operators are defined and shown to be optimal. The second and the third sections are devoted to an extension of the previous results when the equation is non-homogeneous, anisotropic and multigroup (under some restrictive assumptions). Some numerical results are given in the case of isotropic and mono-kinetic equations. (author) 15 refs.

Effect of granulation of geological samples in neutron transport measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woznicka, Urszula; Drozdowicz, Krzysztof; Gabanska, Barbara; Krynicka, Ewa; Igielski, Andrzej

2001-01-01

The thermal neutron absorption cross section is one of the parameters describing the transport of thermal neutrons in a medium. Theoretical descriptions and experiments which determine the absorption cross section have a wide literature for homogeneous media. The situation comes true e.g. for fluids or amorphous solids. There are many other media which should be treated as heterogeneous. Among others - geological materials. The material heterogeneity for the thermal neutron transport in a considered volume is understood here as an existence of many small regions which differ significantly in their macroscopic neutron diffusion parameters (defined by the absorption and transport cross sections). The final difference, which influences the neutron transport, comes from a combination of the absolute differences between the parameters and of sizes of regions (related to the neutron mean free paths). A rock can be naturally heterogeneous in the above meaning. Besides, it can happen that a preparation of the rock sample for a neutron measurement can increase its natural heterogeneity. (For example, when the rock material is crushed and the measured sample consists of the obtained grains). The question is which granulation is allowed to treat the sample material as still homogeneous, and from which size of the rock grains we have to consider a two-component medium. It has been experimentally proved that the effective absorption of thermal neutrons in a heterogeneous two-component material can significantly differ from the absorption in a homogeneous one which consists of the same elements. The final effect is dependent on a few factors: the macroscopic absorption cross sections of the components, their total mass contributions, and the size of the grains. The ratio of the effective absorption cross section of the heterogeneous material to the cross section of the equivalent homogeneous, is a measure of the heterogeneity effect on the thermal neutron absorption

Magnetic field devices for neutron spin transport and manipulation in precise neutron spin rotation measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maldonado-Velázquez, M. [Posgrado en Ciencias Físicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510 (Mexico); Barrón-Palos, L., E-mail: libertad@fisica.unam.mx [Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 20-364, 01000 (Mexico); Crawford, C. [University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506 (United States); Snow, W.M. [Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405 (United States)

2017-05-11

The neutron spin is a critical degree of freedom for many precision measurements using low-energy neutrons. Fundamental symmetries and interactions can be studied using polarized neutrons. Parity-violation (PV) in the hadronic weak interaction and the search for exotic forces that depend on the relative spin and velocity, are two questions of fundamental physics that can be studied via the neutron spin rotations that arise from the interaction of polarized cold neutrons and unpolarized matter. The Neutron Spin Rotation (NSR) collaboration developed a neutron polarimeter, capable of determining neutron spin rotations of the order of 10{sup −7} rad per meter of traversed material. This paper describes two key components of the NSR apparatus, responsible for the transport and manipulation of the spin of the neutrons before and after the target region, which is surrounded by magnetic shielding and where residual magnetic fields need to be below 100 μG. These magnetic field devices, called input and output coils, provide the magnetic field for adiabatic transport of the neutron spin in the regions outside the magnetic shielding while producing a sharp nonadiabatic transition of the neutron spin when entering/exiting the low-magnetic-field region. In addition, the coils are self contained, forcing the return magnetic flux into a compact region of space to minimize fringe fields outside. The design of the input and output coils is based on the magnetic scalar potential method.

Safety improvement of start-up neutron source handling work by preparing new transport containers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimazaki, Yosuke; Sawahata, Hiroaki; Yanagida, Yoshinori; Shinohara, Masanori; Kawamoto, Taiki; Takada, Shoji

2016-01-01

The conventional transport containers that have been used in HTTR start-up neutron source replacement work are not specialized type for HTTR start-up neutron source. As the risks associated with the safe handling of neutron source holders due to the above fact, the following three risks have been confirmed: (1) exposure risk due to leakage of neutron source or gamma rays, (2) risk of erroneous fall of neutron source holders, and (3) accident due to incorrect handling of transport containers. This paper reports the risks confirmed in the handling of neutron source holders associated with transport containers and the risk reduction measures, as well as the fabrication of new transport containers. By employing the size-reduction and simple structure, new transport containers have been completed at the same level of costs compared with the continuous use of the conventional transport containers, while satisfying the criteria of Type A transport materials and serving as risk preventive measures. Thus, new transport containers aimed at the risk prevention measures for the handling work of neutron source holders have been completed, and the safety of operation has been improved. (A.O.)

Neutron and gamma-ray transport experiments in liquid air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farley, W.E.

1976-01-01

Accurate estimates of neutron and gamma radiations from a nuclear explosion and their subsequent transport through the atmosphere are vital to nuclear-weapon employment studies: i.e., for determining safety radii for aircraft crews, casualty and collateral-damage risk radii for tactical weapons, and the kill range from a high-yield defensive burst for a maneuvering reentry vehicle. Radiation transport codes, such as the Laboratory's TARTNP, are used to calculate neutron and gamma fluences. Experiments have been performed to check and update these codes. Recently, a 1.3-m-radius liquid-air (21 percent oxygen) sphere, with a pulsed source of 14-MeV neutrons at its center, was used to measure the fluence and spectra of emerging neutrons and secondary gamma rays. Comparison of measured radiation dose with TARTNP showed agreement within 10 percent

Transportable, Low-Dose Active Fast-Neutron Imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mihalczo, John T. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Wright, Michael C. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); McConchie, Seth M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Archer, Daniel E. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Palles, Blake A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2017-08-01

This document contains a description of the method of transportable, low-dose active fast-neutron imaging as developed by ORNL. The discussion begins with the technique and instrumentation and continues with the image reconstruction and analysis. The analysis discussion includes an example of how a gap smaller than the neutron production spot size and detector size can be detected and characterized depending upon the measurement time.

A Green function of neutron transport equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simovic, R.

1993-01-01

In this paper the angularly dependent Green function of the neutron transport equation is derived analytically and approximately. By applying the analytical FDPN approximation up to eighth order, numerical values of the Green functions are obtained with the accuracy of six significant figures in the whole range of parameter c, angle cosine μ and distances x up to the ten optical lengths from the neutron source. (author)

Simulations of neutron transport at low energy: a comparison between GEANT and MCNP.

Science.gov (United States)

Colonna, N; Altieri, S

2002-06-01

The use of the simulation tool GEANT for neutron transport at energies below 20 MeV is discussed, in particular with regard to shielding and dose calculations. The reliability of the GEANT/MICAP package for neutron transport in a wide energy range has been verified by comparing the results of simulations performed with this package in a wide energy range with the prediction of MCNP-4B, a code commonly used for neutron transport at low energy. A reasonable agreement between the results of the two codes is found for the neutron flux through a slab of material (iron and ordinary concrete), as well as for the dose released in soft tissue by neutrons. These results justify the use of the GEANT/MICAP code for neutron transport in a wide range of applications, including health physics problems.

Strongly Coupled Chameleons and the Neutronic Quantum Bouncer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brax, Philippe; Pignol, Guillaume

2011-01-01

We consider the potential detection of chameleons using bouncing ultracold neutrons. We show that the presence of a chameleon field over a planar plate would alter the energy levels of ultracold neutrons in the terrestrial gravitational field. When chameleons are strongly coupled to nuclear matter, β > or approx. 10 8 , we find that the shift in energy levels would be detectable with the forthcoming GRANIT experiment, where a sensitivity of the order of 1% of a peV is expected. We also find that an extremely large coupling β > or approx. 10 11 would lead to new bound states at a distance of order 2 μm, which is already ruled out by previous Grenoble experiments. The resulting bound, β 11 , is already 3 orders of magnitude better than the upper bound, β 14 , from precision tests of atomic spectra.

Radiation transport analyses in support of the SNS Target Station Neutron Beam Line Shutters Title I Design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, T.M.; Pevey, R.E.; Lillie, R.A.; Johnson, J.O.

2000-01-01

A detailed radiation transport analysis of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) shutters is important for the construction of the SNS because of its impact on conventional facility design, normal operation of the facility, and maintenance operations. Thus far the analysis of the SNS shutter travel gaps has been completed. This analysis was performed using coupled Monte Carlo and multi-dimensional discrete ordinates calculations

Neutron measurement by transportable spectrometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1990-01-01

Two levels of neutron spectrometry are in regular use at nuclear power plants: some techniques used in the laboratory produce detailed spectra but require specialist operators, while simple instruments used by non-specialists to measure the neutron dose-rate to operators provide little spectral information. The standard portable instruments are therefore of no use when anomalous readings are obtained which require further investigation. AEA Technology at Winfrith has developed a Transportable Neutron Spectrometer (TNS) which is designed to produce reasonable spectra in routine use by staff with no specialist skill in spectroscopy, and high-quality spectra in the hands of skilled staff. The TNS provides a level of information intermediate between those currently available, and is also designed to solve the problem of imperfect dose response which is common in portable dosimeters. The TNS system consists of a power supply, a probe and a signal processing and data acquisition unit. (author)

Neutronics and thermal hydraulics coupling scheme for design improvement of liquid metal fast systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanchez-Espinoza, V.H.; Jaeger, W.; Travleev, A.; Monti, L.; Doern, R.

2009-01-01

Many advanced reactor concepts are nowadays under investigations within the Generation IV international initiative as well as in European research programs including subcritical and critical fast reactor systems cooled by liquid metal, gas and supercritical water. The Institute of Neutron Physics and Reactor Technology (INR) at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH is involved in different European projects like IP EUROTRANS, ELSY, ESFR. The main goal of these projects is, among others, to assess the technical feasibility of proposed concepts regarding safety, economics and transmutation requirements. In view of increased computer capabilities, improved computational schemes, where the neutronic and the thermal hydraulic solution is iteratively coupled, become practicable. The codes ERANOS2.1 and TRACE are being coupled to analyze fuel assembly or core designs of lead-cooled fast reactors (LFR). The neutronic solution obtained with the coupled system for a LFR fuel assembly was compared with the MCNP5 solution. It was shown that the coupled system is predicting physically sound results. The iterative coupling scheme was realized using Perlscripts and auxiliary Fortran programs to ensure that the mapping between the neutronic and the thermal hydraulic part is consistent. The coupled scheme is very flexible and appropriate for the neutron physical and thermal hydraulic investigation of fuel assemblies and of cores of lead cooled fast reactors. The developed methods and the obtained results will be presented and discussed. (author)

Determination of the Axial-Vector Weak Coupling Constant with Ultracold Neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, J.; Mendenhall, M. P.; Carr, R.; Filippone, B. W.; Hickerson, K. P.; Perez Galvan, A.; Russell, R.; Holley, A. T.; Hoagland, J.; VornDick, B.; Back, H. O.; Pattie, R. W. Jr.; Young, A. R.; Bowles, T. J.; Clayton, S.; Currie, S.; Hogan, G. E.; Ito, T. M.; Makela, M.; Morris, C. L.

2010-01-01

A precise measurement of the neutron decay β asymmetry A 0 has been carried out using polarized ultracold neutrons from the pulsed spallation ultracold neutron source at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center. Combining data obtained in 2008 and 2009, we report A 0 =-0.119 66±0.000 89 -0.00140 +0.00123 , from which we determine the ratio of the axial-vector to vector weak coupling of the nucleon g A /g V =-1.275 90 -0.00445 +0.00409 .

A tightly coupled scheme for neutronics and thermal–hydraulics using open-source software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Hsingtzu; Rizwan-uddin

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A novel tight coupling scheme called “the Integrated Tight Coupling (ITC) method” is proposed. • The ITC method is implemented using DRAGON and OpenFOAM. • The ITC method is verified using a 1.5-D example. - Abstract: Coupling neutronic and thermal–hydraulic analyses of a nuclear reactor core is important because it helps identify the most relevant safety issues without conservative assumptions. Currently coupled computations solve the same governing equations using different coupling methods, which can be sorted into two categories: loose coupling and tight coupling. This paper proposes and verifies a third coupling approach called “the Integrated Tight Coupling (ITC) method”. The mathematical equations in the nuclear fuel are rearranged to be integrated via a novel concept of the energy-group function. In addition, the data from the neutron cross section library can be used directly. The ITC method is implemented using two open-source codes: the DRAGON code and OpenFOAM. Additionally, a coupled computation using these two codes is new and has not been done. The ITC method is verified using a 1.5-D (1-D neutronics and 2-D thermal–hydraulics) symmetric unit cell example. The mesh of the tightly integrated computation is 25% coarser than the loosely coupled one. Starting from a similar initial guess, the number of iterations for the ITC method is 24% fewer than that for the loosely coupled computation to reach the same accuracy. In addition, the ITC method is tested with different initial guesses. For all cases tested, the scheme converged to the same solution. With further improvement and additional testing, the ITC method has the potential to be incorporated with other neutronics and thermal–hydraulics codes.

Concise four-vector scheme for neutron transport calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kulacsy, K.; Lukacs, B.; Racz, A.

1995-01-01

An explicit Riemannian geometrical form or the vectorial Neutron Streaming Term is presented. The method applies the full Riemannian technique of general covariance. There are cases when the symmetry of the neutron flux must be smaller than that of the arrangement. However, in coordinate space there are always solutions of the Neutron Transport Equation as symmetric as the arrangement, if the latter's symmetry is at least an affine collineation of the Euclidian 3-space. (author). 7 refs

The isotope density inverse problem in multigroup neutron transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zazula, J.M.

1981-01-01

The inverse problem for stationary multigroup anisotropic neutron transport is discussed in order to search for isotope densities in multielement medium. The spatial- and angular-integrated form of neutron transport equation, in terms of the flux in a group - density of an element spatial correlation, leads to a set of integral functionals for the densities weighted by the group fluxes. Some methods of approximation to make the problem uniquently solvable are proposed. Particularly P 0 angular flux information and the spherically-symetrical geometry of an infinite medium are considered. The numerical calculation using this method related to sooner evaluated direct problem data gives promising agreement with primary densities. This approach would be the basis for further application in an elemental analysis of a medium, using an isotopic neutron source and a moving, energy-dependent neutron detector. (author)

Challenges in coupled thermal-hydraulics and neutronics simulations for LWR safety analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ivanov, Kostadin; Avramova, Maria

2007-01-01

The simulation of nuclear power plant accident conditions requires three-dimensional (3D) modeling of the reactor core to ensure a realistic description of physical phenomena. The operational flexibility of Light Water Reactor (LWR) plants can be improved by utilizing accurate 3D coupled neutronics/thermal-hydraulics calculations for safety margins evaluations. There are certain requirements to the coupling of thermal-hydraulic system codes and neutron-kinetics codes that ought to be considered. The objective of these requirements is to provide accurate solutions in a reasonable amount of CPU time in coupled simulations of detailed operational transient and accident scenarios. These requirements are met by the development and implementation of six basic components of the coupling methodologies: ways of coupling (internal or external coupling); coupling approach (integration algorithm or parallel processing); spatial mesh overlays; coupled time-step algorithms; coupling numerics (explicit, semi-implicit and implicit schemes); and coupled convergence schemes. These principles of the coupled simulations are discussed in details along with the scientific issues associated with the development of appropriate neutron cross-section libraries for coupled code transient modeling. The current trends in LWR nuclear power generation and regulation as well as the design of next generation LWR reactor concepts along with the continuing computer technology progress stimulate further development of these coupled code systems. These efforts have been focused towards extending the analysis capabilities as well as refining the scale and level of detail of the coupling. This article analyses the coupled phenomena and modeling challenges on both global (assembly-wise) and local (pin-wise) levels. The issues related to the consistent qualification of coupled code systems as well as their application to different types of LWR transients are presented. Finally, the advances in numerical

Cation-Coupled Bicarbonate Transporters

OpenAIRE

Aalkjaer, Christian; Boedtkjer, Ebbe; Choi, Inyeong; Lee, Soojung

2014-01-01

Cation-coupled HCO3− transport was initially identified in the mid-1970s when pioneering studies showed that acid extrusion from cells is stimulated by CO2/HCO3− and associated with Na+ and Cl− movement. The first Na+-coupled bicarbonate transporter (NCBT) was expression-cloned in the late 1990s. There are currently five mammalian NCBTs in the SLC4-family: the electrogenic Na,HCO3-cotransporters NBCe1 and NBCe2 (SLC4A4 and SLC4A5 gene products); the electroneutral Na,HCO3-cotransporter NBCn1 ...

Continuous energy Neutron Transport Monte Carlo Simulator Project: Decomposition of the neutron energy spectrum by target nuclei tagging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barcellos, Luiz Felipe F.C.; Bodmann, Bardo E.J.; Vilhena, Marco T.M.B., E-mail: luizfelipe.fcb@gmail.com, E-mail: bardo.bodmann@ufrgs.br, E-mail: mtmbvilhena@gmail.com [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil). Grupo de Estudos Nucleares; Leite, Sergio Q. Bogado, E-mail: sbogado@ibest.com.br [Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2017-07-01

In this work a Monte Carlo simulator with continuous energy is used. This simulator distinguishes itself by using the sum of three probability distributions to represent the neutron spectrum. Two distributions have known shape, but have varying population of neutrons in time, and these are the fission neutron spectrum (for high energy neutrons) and the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution (for thermal neutrons). The third distribution has an a priori unknown and possibly variable shape with time and is determined from parametrizations of Monte Carlo simulation. It is common practice in neutron transport calculations, e.g. multi-group transport, to consider that the neutrons only lose energy with each scattering reaction and then to use a thermal group with a Maxwellian distribution. Such an approximation is valid due to the fact that for fast neutrons up-scattering occurrence is irrelevant, being only appreciable at low energies, i.e. in the thermal energy region, in which it can be regarded as a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution for thermal equilibrium. In this work the possible neutron-matter interactions are simulated with exception of the up-scattering of neutrons. In order to preserve the thermal spectrum, neutrons are selected stochastically as being part of the thermal population and have an energy attributed to them taken from a Maxwellian distribution. It is then shown how this procedure can emulate the up-scattering effect by the increase in the neutron population kinetic energy. Since the simulator uses tags to identify the reactions it is possible not only to plot the distributions by neutron energy, but also by the type of interaction with matter and with the identification of the target nuclei involved in the process. This work contains some preliminary results obtained from a Monte Carlo simulator for neutron transport that is being developed at Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. (author)

Alanine and TLD coupled detectors for fast neutron dose measurements in neutron capture therapy (NCT)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cecilia, A.; Baccaro, S.; Cemmi, A. [ENEA-FIS-ION, Casaccia RC, Via Anguillarese 301, 00060 Santa Maria di Galeria, Rome (Italy); Colli, V.; Gambarini, G. [Dept. of Physics of the Univ., INFN, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milan (Italy); Rosi, G. [ENEA-FIS-ION, Casaccia RC, Via Anguillarese 301, 00060 Santa Maria di Galeria, Rome (Italy); Scolari, L. [Dept. of Physics of the Univ., INFN, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milan (Italy)

2004-07-01

A method was investigated to measure gamma and fast neutron doses in phantoms exposed to an epithermal neutron beam designed for neutron capture therapy (NCT). The gamma dose component was measured by TLD-300 [CaF{sub 2}:Tm] and the fast neutron dose, mainly due to elastic scattering with hydrogen nuclei, was measured by alanine dosemeters [CH{sub 3}CH(NH{sub 2})COOH]. The gamma and fast neutron doses deposited in alanine dosemeters are very near to those released in tissue, because of the alanine tissue equivalence. Couples of TLD-300 and alanine dosemeters were irradiated in phantoms positioned in the epithermal column of the Tapiro reactor (ENEA-Casaccia RC). The dosemeter response depends on the linear energy transfer (LET) of radiation, hence the precision and reliability of the fast neutron dose values obtained with the proposed method have been investigated. Results showed that the combination of alanine and TLD detectors is a promising method to separate gamma dose and fast neutron dose in NCT. (authors)

Coupled neutronics/thermal-hydraulics for analysis of molten salt reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Zhangpeng; Zhou, Jianjun; Zhang, Dalin; Chaudri, Khurrum Saleem; Tian, Wenxi; Su, Guanghui; Qiu, Suizheng

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► A multiple-channel analysis code (MAC) is developed to be coupled with MCNP. ► 1/8 of core is simulated in MCNP and thermal-hydraulic code. ► The coupling calculation can achieve stable state after a few iterations. ► The coupling calculation results are in reasonable agreement with the analytic solutions of the ORNL. ► Parametric studies of MSR are performed to provide valuable information for future design MSR. -- Abstract: The Generation IV International Forum (GIF) selected molten salt reactor (MSR) among six advanced reactor types. It is characterized by a liquid circulating fuel that also serves as coolant. In this study, a multiple-channel analysis code (MAC) is developed and it is coupled with MCNP4c to analyze the neutronics/thermal-hydraulics behavior of molten salt reactor experiment (MSRE). The MAC calculates thermal-hydraulic parameters, such as temperature distribution, flow distribution and pressure drop. MCNP4c performs the analysis of effective multiplication factor, neutron flux and power distribution. A linkage code is developed to exchange data between MAC and MCNP to implement coupling iteration process until the power convergence is achieved. The coupling calculation can achieve converged solution after a few iterations. The results are in reasonable agreement with the analytic solutions from the ORNL. For further design analysis, parametric studies are performed to provide valuable information for new design of MSR. The effect of inlet temperature, graphite to molten salt volume ratio (G/Ms) from varying channel diameter and different power levels on the effective multiplication factor, neutron flux, graphite lifetime and temperature distribution are discussed in detail

Analysis of the ITER computational shielding benchmark with the Monte Carlo TRIPOLI-4® neutron gamma coupled calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Yi-Kang

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Verification and validation of TRIPOLI-4 radiation transport calculations for ITER shielding benchmark. • Evaluation of CEA-V5.1.1 and FENDL-3.0 nuclear data libraries on D–T fusion neutron continuous energy transport calculations. • Advances in nuclear analyses for nuclear heating and radiation damage in iron. • This work also demonstrates that the “safety factors” concept is necessary in the nuclear analyses of ITER. - Abstract: With the growing interest in using the continuous-energy TRIPOLI-4 ® Monte Carlo radiation transport code for ITER applications, a key issue that arises is whether or not the released TRIPOLI-4 code and its associated nuclear data libraries are verified and validated for the D–T fusion neutronics calculations. Previous published benchmark results of TRIPOLI-4 code on the ITER related activities have concentrated on the first wall loading, the reactor dosimetry, the nuclear heating, and the tritium breeding ratio. To enhance the TRIPOLI-4 verification and validation on neutron-gamma coupled calculations for fusion device application, the computational ITER shielding benchmark of M. E. Sawan was performed in this work by using the 2013 released TRIPOLI-4.9S code and the associated CEA-V5.1.1 data library. First wall, blanket, vacuum vessel and toroidal field magnet of the inboard and outboard components were fully modelled in this 1-D toroidal cylindrical benchmark. The 14.1 MeV source neutrons were sampled from a uniform isotropic distribution in the plasma zone. Nuclear responses including neutron and gamma fluxes, nuclear heating, and material damage indicator were benchmarked against previous published results. The capabilities of the TRIPOLI-4 code on the evaluation of above physics parameters were presented. The nuclear data library from the new FENDL-3.0 evaluation was also benchmarked against the CEA-V5.1.1 results for the neutron transport calculations. The results show that both data libraries can be

Transport calculation of medium-energy protons and neutrons by Monte Carlo method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ban, Syuuichi; Hirayama, Hideo; Katoh, Kazuaki.

1978-09-01

A Monte Carlo transport code, ARIES, has been developed for protons and neutrons at medium energy (25 -- 500 MeV). Nuclear data provided by R.G. Alsmiller, Jr. were used for the calculation. To simulate the cascade development in the medium, each generation was represented by a single weighted particle and an average number of emitted particles was used as the weight. Neutron fluxes were stored by the collisions density method. The cutoff energy was set to 25 MeV. Neutrons below the cutoff were stored to be used as the source for the low energy neutron transport calculation upon the discrete ordinates method. Then transport calculations were performed for both low energy neutrons (thermal -- 25 MeV) and secondary gamma-rays. Energy spectra of emitted neutrons were calculated and compared with those of published experimental and calculated results. The agreement was good for the incident particles of energy between 100 and 500 MeV. (author)

A three-dimensional neutron transport benchmark solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ganapol, B.D.; Kornreich, D.E.

1993-01-01

For one-group neutron transport theory in one dimension, several powerful analytical techniques have been developed to solve the neutron transport equation, including Caseology, Wiener-Hopf factorization, and Fourier and Laplace transform methods. In addition, after a Fourier transform in the transverse plane and formulation of a pseudo problem, two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) problems can be solved using the techniques specifically developed for the one-dimensional (1-D) case. Numerical evaluation of the resulting expressions requiring an inversion in the transverse plane have been successful for 2-D problems but becomes exceedingly difficult in the 3-D case. In this paper, we show that by using the symmetry along the beam direction, a 2-D problem can be transformed into a 3-D problem in an infinite medium. The numerical solution to the 3-D problem is then demonstrated. Thus, a true 3-D transport benchmark solution can be obtained from a well-established numerical solution to a 2-D problem

Parallelization of MCNP Monte Carlo neutron and photon transport code in parallel virtual machine and message passing interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng Li; Xie Zhongsheng

1999-01-01

The coupled neutron and photon transport Monte Carlo code MCNP (version 3B) has been parallelized in parallel virtual machine (PVM) and message passing interface (MPI) by modifying a previous serial code. The new code has been verified by solving sample problems. The speedup increases linearly with the number of processors and the average efficiency is up to 99% for 12-processor. (author)

A modular spherical harmonics approach to the neutron transport equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inanc, F.; Rohach, A.F.

1989-01-01

A modular nodal method was developed for solving the neutron transport equation in 2-D xy coordinates. The spherical harmonic expansion was used for approximating the second-order even-parity form of the neutron transport equation. The boundary conditions of the spherical harmonics approximation were derived in a form to have forms analogous to the partial currents in the neutron diffusion equation. Relations were developed for generating both the second-order spherical harmonic equations and the boundary conditions in an automated computational algorithm. Nodes using different orders of the spherical harmonics approximation to the transport equation were interfaced through mixed-type boundary conditions. The determination of spherical harmonic orders implemented in the nodes were determined by the scheme in an automated manner. Results of the method compared favorably to benchmark problems. (author)

Neutron radiography using a transportable superconducting cyclotron

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allen, D.A. (School of Physics and Space Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT (United Kingdom)); Hawkesworth, M.R. (School of Physics and Space Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT (United Kingdom)); Beynon, T.D. (School of Physics and Space Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT (United Kingdom)); Green, S. (School of Physics and Space Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT (United Kingdom)); Rogers, J.D. (Rolls-Royce, Derby (United Kingdom)); Allen, M.J. (Rolls-Royce, Derby (United Kingdom)); Plummer, H.C. (Rolls-Royce, MatEval, Derby (United Kingdom)); Boulding, N.J. (Oxford Instruments (United Kingdom)); Cox, M. (Oxford Instruments (United Kingdom)); McDougall, I. (Oxford Instruments (United Kingdom))

1994-12-30

A thermal neutron radiography system based on a compact 12 MeV superconducting proton cyclotron is described. Neutrons are generated using a thick beryllium target and moderated in high density polyethylene. Monte Carlo computer simulations have been used to model the neutron and photon transport in order to optimise the performance of the system. With proton beam currents in excess of 100 [mu]A, it can provide high thermal neutron fluxes with L/D ratios of between 50 and 300 for various applications. Both film and electronic imaging are used to produce radiographs. The electronic imaging system consists of a [sup 6]Li-loaded ZnS intensifier screen, and a low light CCD or SIT camera. High resolution images can be recorded and computer-controlled data processing, analysis and display are possible. ((orig.))

A Monte Carlo Green's function method for three-dimensional neutron transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gamino, R.G.; Brown, F.B.; Mendelson, M.R.

1992-01-01

This paper describes a Monte Carlo transport kernel capability, which has recently been incorporated into the RACER continuous-energy Monte Carlo code. The kernels represent a Green's function method for neutron transport from a fixed-source volume out to a particular volume of interest. This method is very powerful transport technique. Also, since kernels are evaluated numerically by Monte Carlo, the problem geometry can be arbitrarily complex, yet exact. This method is intended for problems where an ex-core neutron response must be determined for a variety of reactor conditions. Two examples are ex-core neutron detector response and vessel critical weld fast flux. The response is expressed in terms of neutron transport kernels weighted by a core fission source distribution. In these types of calculations, the response must be computed for hundreds of source distributions, but the kernels only need to be calculated once. The advance described in this paper is that the kernels are generated with a highly accurate three-dimensional Monte Carlo transport calculation instead of an approximate method such as line-of-sight attenuation theory or a synthesized three-dimensional discrete ordinates solution

Coupled Transport Phenomena in the Opalinus Clay: Implications for Radionuclide Transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soler, J.M.

1999-09-01

Coupled phenomena (thermal and chemical osmosis, hyperfiltration, coupled diffusion, thermal diffusion, thermal filtration, Dufour effect) may play an important role in fluid, solute and heat transport in clay-rich formations, such as the Opalinus Clay (OPA), which are being considered as potential hosts for radioactive waste repositories. In this study, the potential effects of coupled phenomena on radionuclide transport in the vicinity of a repository for vitrified high-level radioactive waste (HLW) and spent nuclear fuel (SF) hosted by the Opalinus Clay, at times equal to or greater than the expected lifetime of the waste canisters (about 1000 years), have been addressed. Firstly, estimates of the solute fluxes associated with chemical osmosis, hyperfiltration, thermal diffusion and thermal osmosis have been calculated. Available experimental data concerning coupled transport phenomena in compacted clays, and the hydrogeological and geochemical conditions to which the Opalinus Clay is subject, have been used for these estimates. These estimates suggest that thermal osmosis is the only coupled transport mechanism that could have a strong impact on solute and fluid transport in the vicinity of the repository. Secondly, estimates of the heat fluxes associated with thermal filtration and the Dufour effect in the vicinity of the repository have been calculated. The calculated heat fluxes are absolutely negligible compared to the heat flux caused by thermal conduction. As a further step to obtain additional insight into the effects of coupled phenomena on solute transport, the solute fluxes associated with advection, chemical diffusion, thermal and chemical osmosis, hyperfiltration and thermal diffusion have been incorporated into a simple one-dimensional transport equation. The analytical solution of this equation, with appropriate parameters, shows again that thermal osmosis is the only coupled transport mechanism that could have a strong effect on repository

Coupled Transport Phenomena in the Opalinus Clay: Implications for Radionuclide Transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soler, J.M.

1999-09-01

Coupled phenomena (thermal and chemical osmosis, hyperfiltration, coupled diffusion, thermal diffusion, thermal filtration, Dufour effect) may play an important role in fluid, solute and heat transport in clay-rich formations, such as the Opalinus Clay (OPA), which are being considered as potential hosts for radioactive waste repositories. In this study, the potential effects of coupled phenomena on radionuclide transport in the vicinity of a repository for vitrified high-level radioactive waste (HLW) and spent nuclear fuel (SF) hosted by the Opalinus Clay, at times equal to or greater than the expected lifetime of the waste canisters (about 1000 years), have been addressed. Firstly, estimates of the solute fluxes associated with chemical osmosis, hyperfiltration, thermal diffusion and thermal osmosis have been calculated. Available experimental data concerning coupled transport phenomena in compacted clays, and the hydrogeological and geochemical conditions to which the Opalinus Clay is subject, have been used for these estimates. These estimates suggest that thermal osmosis is the only coupled transport mechanism that could have a strong impact on solute and fluid transport in the vicinity of the repository. Secondly, estimates of the heat fluxes associated with thermal filtration and the Dufour effect in the vicinity of the repository have been calculated. The calculated heat fluxes are absolutely negligible compared to the heat flux caused by thermal conduction. As a further step to obtain additional insight into the effects of coupled phenomena on solute transport, the solute fluxes associated with advection, chemical diffusion, thermal and chemical osmosis, hyperfiltration and thermal diffusion have been incorporated into a simple one-dimensional transport equation. The analytical solution of this equation, with appropriate parameters, shows again that thermal osmosis is the only coupled transport mechanism that could have a strong effect on repository

A spin-transport system for a longitudinally polarized epithermal neutron beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crawford, B.E.; Bowman, J.D.; Penttilae, S.I.; Roberson, N.R.

2001-01-01

The TRIPLE (Time Reversal and Parity at Low Energies) collaboration uses a polarized epithermal neutron beam and a capture γ-ray detector to study parity violation in neutron-nucleus reactions. In order to preserve the spin polarization of the neutrons as they travel the 60-m path to the target, the beam pipes are wrapped with wire to produce a solenoidal magnetic field of about 10 G along the beam direction. The flanges and bellows between sections of the beam pipe cause gaps in the windings which in turn produce radial fields that can depolarize the neutron spins. A computer code has been developed that numerically evaluates the effect of these gaps on the polarization. A measurement of the neutron depolarization for neutrons in the actual spin-transport system agrees with a calculation of the neutron depolarization for the TRIPLE system. Features that will aid in designing similar spin-transport systems are discussed

Three dimensional neutronic/thermal-hydraulic coupled simulation of MSR in transient state condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Jianjun; Zhang, Daling; Qiu, Suizheng; Su, Guanghui; Tian, Wenxi; Wu, Yingwei

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Developed a three dimensional neutronic/thermal-hydraulic coupled transient analysis code for MSR. • Investigated the neutron distribution and thermal-hydraulic characters of the core under transient condition. • Analyzed three different transient conditions of inlet temperature drop, reactivity jump and pump coastdown. - Abstract: MSR (molten salt reactor) use liquid molten salt as coolant and fuel solvent, which was the only one liquid reactor of six Generation IV reactor types. As a liquid reactor the physical property of reactor was significantly influenced by fuel salt flow and the conventional analysis methods applied in solid fuel reactors are not applicable for this type of reactors. The present work developed a three dimensional neutronic/thermal-hydraulic coupled code investigated the neutronics and thermo-hydraulics characteristics of the core in transient condition based on neutron diffusion theory and numerical heat transfer. The code consists of two group neutron diffusion equations for fast and thermal neutron fluxes and six group balance equations for delayed neutron precursors. The code was separately validated by neutron benchmark and flow and heat transfer benchmark. Three different transient conditions was analyzed with inlet temperature drop, reactivity jump and pump coastdown. The results provide some valuable information in design and research this kind of reactor

Three dimensional neutronic/thermal-hydraulic coupled simulation of MSR in transient state condition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Jianjun [School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xianning Road, 28, Xi’an 710049, Shaanxi (China); College of Mechanical and Power Engineering, China Three Gorges University, No 8, Daxue road, Yichang, Hubei 443002 (China); Zhang, Daling, E-mail: dlzhang@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xianning Road, 28, Xi’an 710049, Shaanxi (China); Qiu, Suizheng; Su, Guanghui; Tian, Wenxi; Wu, Yingwei [School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xianning Road, 28, Xi’an 710049, Shaanxi (China)

2015-02-15

Highlights: • Developed a three dimensional neutronic/thermal-hydraulic coupled transient analysis code for MSR. • Investigated the neutron distribution and thermal-hydraulic characters of the core under transient condition. • Analyzed three different transient conditions of inlet temperature drop, reactivity jump and pump coastdown. - Abstract: MSR (molten salt reactor) use liquid molten salt as coolant and fuel solvent, which was the only one liquid reactor of six Generation IV reactor types. As a liquid reactor the physical property of reactor was significantly influenced by fuel salt flow and the conventional analysis methods applied in solid fuel reactors are not applicable for this type of reactors. The present work developed a three dimensional neutronic/thermal-hydraulic coupled code investigated the neutronics and thermo-hydraulics characteristics of the core in transient condition based on neutron diffusion theory and numerical heat transfer. The code consists of two group neutron diffusion equations for fast and thermal neutron fluxes and six group balance equations for delayed neutron precursors. The code was separately validated by neutron benchmark and flow and heat transfer benchmark. Three different transient conditions was analyzed with inlet temperature drop, reactivity jump and pump coastdown. The results provide some valuable information in design and research this kind of reactor.

Coupled-channels analyses for 9,11Li + 208Pb fusion reactions with multi-neutron transfer couplings

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Ki-Seok; Cheoun, Myung-Ki; So, W. Y.; Hagino, K.; Kim, K. S.

2018-05-01

We discuss the role of two-neutron transfer processes in the fusion reaction of the 9,11Li + 208Pb systems. We first analyze the 9Li + 208Pb reaction by taking into account the coupling to the 7Li + 210Pb channel. To this end, we assume that two neutrons are directly transferred to a single effective channel in 210Pb and solve the coupled-channels equations with the two channels. By adjusting the coupling strength and the effective Q-value, we successfully reproduce the experimental fusion cross sections for this system. We then analyze the 11Li + 208Pb reaction in a similar manner, that is, by taking into account three effective channels with 11Li + 208Pb, 9Li + 210Pb, and 7Li + 212Pb partitions. In order to take into account the halo structure of the 11Li nucleus, we construct the potential between 11Li and 208Pb with a double folding procedure, while we employ a Woods-Saxon type potential with the global Akyüz-Winther parameters for the other channels. Our calculation indicates that the multiple two-neutron transfer process plays a crucial role in the 11Li + 208Pb fusion reaction at energies around the Coulomb barrier.

An application of reactor noise techniques to neutron transport problems in a random medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sahni, D.C.

1989-01-01

Neutron transport problems in a random medium are considered by defining a joint Markov process describing the fluctuations of one neutron population and the random changes in the medium. Backward Chapman-Kolmogorov equations are derived which yield an adjoint transport equation for the average neutron density. It is shown that this average density also satisfied the direct transport equation as given by the phenomenological model. (author)

Neutron transport simulation in high speed moving media using Geant4

Science.gov (United States)

Li, G.; Ciungu, B.; Harrisson, G.; Rogge, R. B.; Tun, Z.; van der Ende, B. M.; Zwiers, I.

2017-12-01

A method using Geant4 to simulate neutron transport in moving media is described. The method is implanted in the source code of the software since Geant4 does not intrinsically support a moving object. The simulation utilizes the existing physical model and data library in Geant4, combined with frame transformations to account for the effect of relative velocity between neutrons and the moving media. An example is presented involving a high speed rotating cylinder to verify this method and show the effect of moving media on neutron transport.

Novel Parallel Numerical Methods for Radiation and Neutron Transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, P N

2001-01-01

In many of the multiphysics simulations performed at LLNL, transport calculations can take up 30 to 50% of the total run time. If Monte Carlo methods are used, the percentage can be as high as 80%. Thus, a significant core competence in the formulation, software implementation, and solution of the numerical problems arising in transport modeling is essential to Laboratory and DOE research. In this project, we worked on developing scalable solution methods for the equations that model the transport of photons and neutrons through materials. Our goal was to reduce the transport solve time in these simulations by means of more advanced numerical methods and their parallel implementations. These methods must be scalable, that is, the time to solution must remain constant as the problem size grows and additional computer resources are used. For iterative methods, scalability requires that (1) the number of iterations to reach convergence is independent of problem size, and (2) that the computational cost grows linearly with problem size. We focused on deterministic approaches to transport, building on our earlier work in which we performed a new, detailed analysis of some existing transport methods and developed new approaches. The Boltzmann equation (the underlying equation to be solved) and various solution methods have been developed over many years. Consequently, many laboratory codes are based on these methods, which are in some cases decades old. For the transport of x-rays through partially ionized plasmas in local thermodynamic equilibrium, the transport equation is coupled to nonlinear diffusion equations for the electron and ion temperatures via the highly nonlinear Planck function. We investigated the suitability of traditional-solution approaches to transport on terascale architectures and also designed new scalable algorithms; in some cases, we investigated hybrid approaches that combined both

Performance, Accuracy and Efficiency Evaluation of a Three-Dimensional Whole-Core Neutron Transport Code AGENT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jevremovic, Tatjana; Hursin, Mathieu; Satvat, Nader; Hopkins, John; Xiao, Shanjie; Gert, Godfree

2006-01-01

The AGENT (Arbitrary Geometry Neutron Transport) an open-architecture reactor modeling tool is deterministic neutron transport code for two or three-dimensional heterogeneous neutronic design and analysis of the whole reactor cores regardless of geometry types and material configurations. The AGENT neutron transport methodology is applicable to all generations of nuclear power and research reactors. It combines three theories: (1) the theory of R-functions used to generate real three-dimensional whole-cores of square, hexagonal or triangular cross sections, (2) the planar method of characteristics used to solve isotropic neutron transport in non-homogenized 2D) reactor slices, and (3) the one-dimensional diffusion theory used to couple the planar and axial neutron tracks through the transverse leakage and angular mesh-wise flux values. The R-function-geometrical module allows a sequential building of the layers of geometry and automatic sub-meshing based on the network of domain functions. The simplicity of geometry description and selection of parameters for accurate treatment of neutron propagation is achieved through the Boolean algebraic hierarchically organized simple primitives into complex domains (both being represented with corresponding domain functions). The accuracy is comparable to Monte Carlo codes and is obtained by following neutron propagation through real geometrical domains that does not require homogenization or simplifications. The efficiency is maintained through a set of acceleration techniques introduced at all important calculation levels. The flux solution incorporates power iteration with two different acceleration techniques: Coarse Mesh Re-balancing (CMR) and Coarse Mesh Finite Difference (CMFD). The stand-alone originally developed graphical user interface of the AGENT code design environment allows the user to view and verify input data by displaying the geometry and material distribution. The user can also view the output data such

A New Monte Carlo Neutron Transport Code at UNIST

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Hyunsuk; Kong, Chidong; Lee, Deokjung

2014-01-01

Monte Carlo neutron transport code named MCS is under development at UNIST for the advanced reactor design and research purpose. This MC code can be used for fixed source calculation and criticality calculation. Continuous energy neutron cross section data and multi-group cross section data can be used for the MC calculation. This paper presents the overview of developed MC code and its calculation results. The real time fixed source calculation ability is also tested in this paper. The calculation results show good agreement with commercial code and experiment. A new Monte Carlo neutron transport code is being developed at UNIST. The MC codes are tested with several benchmark problems: ICSBEP, VENUS-2, and Hoogenboom-Martin benchmark. These benchmarks covers pin geometry to 3-dimensional whole core, and results shows good agreement with reference results

TORT/MCNP coupling method for the calculation of neutron flux around a core of BWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurosawa, M.

2005-01-01

For the analysis of BWR neutronics performance, accurate data are required for neutron flux distribution over the In-Reactor Pressure Vessel equipments taking into account the detailed geometrical arrangement. The TORT code can calculate neutron flux around a core of BWR in a three-dimensional geometry model, but has difficulties in fine geometrical modelling and lacks huge computer resource. On the other hand, the MCNP code enables the calculation of the neutron flux with a detailed geometry model, but requires very long sampling time to give enough number of particles. Therefore, a TORT/MCNP coupling method has been developed to eliminate the two problems mentioned above in each code. In this method, the TORT code calculates angular flux distribution on the core surface and the MCNP code calculates neutron spectrum at the points of interest using the flux distribution. The coupling method will be used as the DOT-DOMINO-MORSE code system. This TORT/MCNP coupling method was applied to calculate the neutron flux at points where induced radioactivity data were measured for 54 Mn and 60 Co and the radioactivity calculations based on the neutron flux obtained from the above method were compared with the measured data. (authors)

TORT/MCNP coupling method for the calculation of neutron flux around a core of BWR.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurosawa, Masahiko

2005-01-01

For the analysis of BWR neutronics performance, accurate data are required for neutron flux distribution over the In-Reactor Pressure Vessel equipments taking into account the detailed geometrical arrangement. The TORT code can calculate neutron flux around a core of BWR in a three-dimensional geometry model, but has difficulties in fine geometrical modelling and lacks huge computer resource. On the other hand, the MCNP code enables the calculation of the neutron flux with a detailed geometry model, but requires very long sampling time to give enough number of particles. Therefore, a TORT/MCNP coupling method has been developed to eliminate the two problems mentioned above in each code. In this method, the TORT code calculates angular flux distribution on the core surface and the MCNP code calculates neutron spectrum at the points of interest using the flux distribution. The coupling method will be used as the DOT-DOMINO-MORSE code system. This TORT/MCNP coupling method was applied to calculate the neutron flux at points where induced radioactivity data were measured for 54Mn and 60Co and the radioactivity calculations based on the neutron flux obtained from the above method were compared with the measured data.

Coupling of 3D neutronics models with the system code ATHLET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Langenbuch, S.; Velkov, K.

1999-01-01

The system code ATHLET for plant transient and accident analysis has been coupled with 3D neutronics models, like QUABOX/CUBBOX, for the realistic evaluation of some specific safety problems under discussion. The considerations for the coupling approach and its realization are discussed. The specific features of the coupled code system established are explained and experience from first applications is presented. (author)

Analysis of the ITER computational shielding benchmark with the Monte Carlo TRIPOLI-4{sup ®} neutron gamma coupled calculations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Yi-Kang, E-mail: yi-kang.lee@cea.fr

2016-11-01

Highlights: • Verification and validation of TRIPOLI-4 radiation transport calculations for ITER shielding benchmark. • Evaluation of CEA-V5.1.1 and FENDL-3.0 nuclear data libraries on D–T fusion neutron continuous energy transport calculations. • Advances in nuclear analyses for nuclear heating and radiation damage in iron. • This work also demonstrates that the “safety factors” concept is necessary in the nuclear analyses of ITER. - Abstract: With the growing interest in using the continuous-energy TRIPOLI-4{sup ®} Monte Carlo radiation transport code for ITER applications, a key issue that arises is whether or not the released TRIPOLI-4 code and its associated nuclear data libraries are verified and validated for the D–T fusion neutronics calculations. Previous published benchmark results of TRIPOLI-4 code on the ITER related activities have concentrated on the first wall loading, the reactor dosimetry, the nuclear heating, and the tritium breeding ratio. To enhance the TRIPOLI-4 verification and validation on neutron-gamma coupled calculations for fusion device application, the computational ITER shielding benchmark of M. E. Sawan was performed in this work by using the 2013 released TRIPOLI-4.9S code and the associated CEA-V5.1.1 data library. First wall, blanket, vacuum vessel and toroidal field magnet of the inboard and outboard components were fully modelled in this 1-D toroidal cylindrical benchmark. The 14.1 MeV source neutrons were sampled from a uniform isotropic distribution in the plasma zone. Nuclear responses including neutron and gamma fluxes, nuclear heating, and material damage indicator were benchmarked against previous published results. The capabilities of the TRIPOLI-4 code on the evaluation of above physics parameters were presented. The nuclear data library from the new FENDL-3.0 evaluation was also benchmarked against the CEA-V5.1.1 results for the neutron transport calculations. The results show that both data libraries

Development of gas-jet transport systems for fission products and coupling these with methods for continuous separation of short-lived product nuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stender, E.

1979-01-01

The development of gas-jet transport systems for fission products as well as the coupling of these with continuous separation methods from aqueous solutions (SISAK) and with a mass separator for on-line separation of neutron-rich nuclides are described in this work. Nuclides from the fission of 235 U or other fission materials can be transported using gas-jet systems with thermal neutrons over larger distances (100 m and over). Aerosols (clusters) of either organic (e.g. ethylene) or inorganic nature (e.g. potassium chloride) serve as carrier for the nuclides. The clusters are passed through 1 mm capillaries with a transport gas (nitrogen, helium etc.) under laminar flow conditions. The diameter of the cluster fluctuates between 10 -7 and 10 -6 m. The time required from the production of a nuclide to its detection at the end of a 8 m long capillary tube is 0.8 s for the ethylene/nitrogen and potassium chloride/helium gas-jet systems. By coupling various gas-jet systems with the continuous extraction technique SISAK working with H centrifuges, the elements lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, zirconium, niobium and technetium can be separated out of the complex fission product mixtures. The on-line technetium chemistry was used with neutron-rich 106 Tc (36 s), 107 Tc (21 s) and 108 Tc (5 s) for γγ(t) measurements. The coupling of a potassium chloride/helium gas jet with a mass separator equiped with a plasma ion source is described. The dependence of the transmission rate of various test parameters is investigated to optimize the system. (orig.) [de

Progress in multidimensional neutron transport computation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, E.E.

1977-01-01

The methods available for solution of the time-independent neutron transport problems arising in the analysis of nuclear systems are examined. The merits of deterministic and Monte Carlo methods are briefly compared. The capabilities of deterministic computational methods derived from the first-order form of the transport equation, from the second-order even-parity form of this equation, and from integral transport formulations are discussed in some detail. Emphasis is placed on the approaches for dealing with the related problems of computer memory requirements, computational cost, and achievable accuracy. Attention is directed to some areas where problems exist currently and where the need for further work appears to be particularly warranted

Comparison of neutron transport calculations with NRC test results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koban, J.; Hofmann, W.

1981-02-01

For an exactly defined reactor arrangement (PCA = Pool Critical Assembly) neutron fluxes, neutron spectra and reaction rates for several neutron detectors were calculated by means of one and two dimensional transport codes. An international comparison proved the methods applied at KWU to be adequate. There were difficulties, however, in considering the three dimensions of the assembly which result mainly from its small dimension. This fact applies to all participants who didn't use three dimensional codes. (orig.) [de

Design studies for a high-resolution, transportable neutron radiography/radioscopy system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gillespie, G.H.; Micklich, B.J.; McMichael, G.E.

1996-01-01

A preliminary design has been developed for a high-resolution, transportable neutron radiology system (TNRS) concept. The primary system requirement is taken to be a thermal neutron flux of 10[sup 6] n/(cm[sup 2]-sec) with a L/D ratio of 100. The approach is to use an accelerator-driven neutron source, with a radiofrequency quadrupole (RFQ) as the primary accelerator component. Initial concepts for all of the major components of the system have been developed,and selected key parts have been examined further. An overview of the system design is presented, together with brief summaries of the concepts for the ion source, low energy beam transport (LEBT), RFQ, high energy beam transport (HEBT), target, moderator, collimator, image collection, power, cooling, vacuum, structure, robotics, control system, data analysis, transport vehicle, and site support. The use of trade studies for optimizing the TNRS concept are also described

Homogenization of the critically spectral equation in neutron transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allaire, G.; Paris-6 Univ., 75; Bal, G.

1998-01-01

We address the homogenization of an eigenvalue problem for the neutron transport equation in a periodic heterogeneous domain, modeling the criticality study of nuclear reactor cores. We prove that the neutron flux, corresponding to the first and unique positive eigenvector, can be factorized in the product of two terms, up to a remainder which goes strongly to zero with the period. On terms is the first eigenvector of the transport equation in the periodicity cell. The other term is the first eigenvector of a diffusion equation in the homogenized domain. Furthermore, the corresponding eigenvalue gives a second order corrector for the eigenvalue of the heterogeneous transport problem. This result justifies and improves the engineering procedure used in practice for nuclear reactor cores computations. (author)

Homogenization of the critically spectral equation in neutron transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allaire, G. [CEA Saclay, 91 - Gif-sur-Yvette (France). Dept. de Mecanique et de Technologie]|[Paris-6 Univ., 75 (France). Lab. d' Analyse Numerique; Bal, G. [Electricite de France (EDF), 92 - Clamart (France). Direction des Etudes et Recherches

1998-07-01

We address the homogenization of an eigenvalue problem for the neutron transport equation in a periodic heterogeneous domain, modeling the criticality study of nuclear reactor cores. We prove that the neutron flux, corresponding to the first and unique positive eigenvector, can be factorized in the product of two terms, up to a remainder which goes strongly to zero with the period. On terms is the first eigenvector of the transport equation in the periodicity cell. The other term is the first eigenvector of a diffusion equation in the homogenized domain. Furthermore, the corresponding eigenvalue gives a second order corrector for the eigenvalue of the heterogeneous transport problem. This result justifies and improves the engineering procedure used in practice for nuclear reactor cores computations. (author)

A midway forward-adjoint coupling method for neutron and photon Monte Carlo transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serov, I.V.; John, T.M.; Hoogenboom, J.E.

1999-01-01

The midway Monte Carlo method for calculating detector responses combines a forward and an adjoint Monte Carlo calculation. In both calculations, particle scores are registered at a surface to be chosen by the user somewhere between the source and detector domains. The theory of the midway response determination is developed within the framework of transport theory for external sources and for criticality theory. The theory is also developed for photons, which are generated at inelastic scattering or capture of neutrons. In either the forward or the adjoint calculation a so-called black absorber technique can be applied; i.e., particles need not be followed after passing the midway surface. The midway Monte Carlo method is implemented in the general-purpose MCNP Monte Carlo code. The midway Monte Carlo method is demonstrated to be very efficient in problems with deep penetration, small source and detector domains, and complicated streaming paths. All the problems considered pose difficult variance reduction challenges. Calculations were performed using existing variance reduction methods of normal MCNP runs and using the midway method. The performed comparative analyses show that the midway method appears to be much more efficient than the standard techniques in an overwhelming majority of cases and can be recommended for use in many difficult variance reduction problems of neutral particle transport

Toward whole-core neutron transport without spatial homogenization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, E. E.

2009-01-01

Full text of publication follows: A long-term goal of computational reactor physics is the deterministic analysis of power reactor core neutronics without incurring significant discretization errors in the energy, spatial or angular variables. In principle, given large enough parallel configurations with unlimited CPU time and memory, this goal could be achieved using existing three-dimensional neutron transport codes. In practice, however, solving the Boltzmann equation for neutrons over the six-dimensional phase space is made intractable by the nature of neutron cross-sections and the complexity and size of power reactor cores. Tens of thousands of energy groups would be required for faithful cross section representation. Likewise, the numerous material interfaces present in power reactor lattices require exceedingly fine spatial mesh structures; these ubiquitous interfaces preclude effective implementation of adaptive grid, mesh-less methods and related techniques that have been applied so successfully in other areas of engineering science. These challenges notwithstanding, substantial progress continues in the pursuit for more robust deterministic methods for whole-core neutronics analysis. This paper examines the progress over roughly the last decade, emphasizing the space-angle variables and the quest to eliminate errors attributable to spatial homogenization. As prolog we briefly assess 1990's methods used in light water reactor analysis and review the lessons learned from the C5G7 benchmark exercises which were originated in 1999 to appraise the ability of transport codes to perform core calculations without homogenization. We proceed by examining progress over the last decade much of which falls into three areas. These may be broadly characterized as reduced homogenization, dynamic homogenization and planar-axial synthesis. In the first, homogenization in three-dimensional calculations is reduced from the fuel assembly to the pin-cell level. In the second

Intensity enhancement of cold neutrons from a coupled liquid-hydrogen moderator for pulsed cold neutron sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogawa, Y.; Kiyanagi, Y.; Kosugi, N.; Iwasa, H.; Furusaka, M.; Watanabe, N.

1999-01-01

In order to obtain higher cold neutron intensity from a coupled liquid-hydrogen moderator with a premoderator for pulsed cold neutron sources, we examined a partial enhancement method, namely, narrow beam extraction for both a flat liquid-hydrogen moderator and a single-groove one. Combined with the narrow beam extraction, which is especially suitable for small-angle scattering and neutron reflectometry experiments, a single-groove moderator provides higher intensity, by about 30%, than a flat-surface moderator at the region of interest on a viewed surface. The effect of double-side beam extraction from such moderators on the intensity gain factor is also discussed. (author)

Parallel processing of neutron transport in fuel assembly calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Jae Seung

1992-02-01

Group constants, which are used for reactor analyses by nodal method, are generated by fuel assembly calculations based on the neutron transport theory, since one or a quarter of the fuel assembly corresponds to a unit mesh in the current nodal calculation. The group constant calculation for a fuel assembly is performed through spectrum calculations, a two-dimensional fuel assembly calculation, and depletion calculations. The purpose of this study is to develop a parallel algorithm to be used in a parallel processor for the fuel assembly calculation and the depletion calculations of the group constant generation. A serial program, which solves the neutron integral transport equation using the transmission probability method and the linear depletion equation, was prepared and verified by a benchmark calculation. Small changes from the serial program was enough to parallelize the depletion calculation which has inherent parallel characteristics. In the fuel assembly calculation, however, efficient parallelization is not simple and easy because of the many coupling parameters in the calculation and data communications among CPU's. In this study, the group distribution method is introduced for the parallel processing of the fuel assembly calculation to minimize the data communications. The parallel processing was performed on Quadputer with 4 CPU's operating in NURAD Lab. at KAIST. Efficiencies of 54.3 % and 78.0 % were obtained in the fuel assembly calculation and depletion calculation, respectively, which lead to the overall speedup of about 2.5. As a result, it is concluded that the computing time consumed for the group constant generation can be easily reduced by parallel processing on the parallel computer with small size CPU's

Neutron Imaging with Timepix Coupled Lithium Indium Diselenide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elan Herrera

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The material lithium indium diselenide, a single crystal neutron sensitive semiconductor, has demonstrated its capabilities as a high resolution imaging device. The sensor was prepared with a 55 μ m pitch array of gold contacts, designed to couple with the Timepix imaging ASIC. The resulting device was tested at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, demonstrating a response to cold neutrons when enriched in 95% 6 Li. The imaging system performed a series of experiments resulting in a <200 μ m resolution limit with the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI Siemens star mask and a feature resolution of 34 μ m with a knife-edge test. Furthermore, the system was able to resolve the University of Tennessee logo inscribed into a 3D printed 1 cm 3 plastic block. This technology marks the application of high resolution neutron imaging using a direct readout semiconductor.

Numerical study of the particle transport in fast neutron detectors with conversion layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sedlackova, K.; Zatko, B.; Necas, V.

2012-01-01

This paper deals with fast neutron and recoil proton transport simulation using statistical analysis of Monte Carlo radiation transport code (MCNPX). Its possibilities in the detector design and optimization are presented. MCNPX proved as a very advantageous self-contained simulation program for fast neutron and secondary proton tracking. Simulations of respective particle transport through conversion layer of HDPE and further in the active volume of detector let us to follow important characteristics as neutron/proton flux density, reaction rate of elastic scattering on hydrogen nuclei and deposited energy as well as their dependencies on incident neutron energy and conversion layer/active region thickness. The efficiency of neutrons to protons conversion has been calculated and its maximum was reached for 500 μm thick conversion layer. The minimum active region thickness has been estimated to be about 300 μm.(authors)

On the reciprocity-like relations in linear neutron transport theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Modak, R.S.; Sahni, D.C.

1997-01-01

The existence of certain reciprocity-like relations in neutron transport theory was shown earlier under some quite restrictive conditions. Here, these relations are shown to be valid in more general situations by using a different approach based on individual neutron trajectories. (author)

Monte Carlo method for neutron transport problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asaoka, Takumi

1977-01-01

Some methods for decreasing variances in Monte Carlo neutron transport calculations are presented together with the results of sample calculations. A general purpose neutron transport Monte Carlo code ''MORSE'' was used for the purpose. The first method discussed in this report is the method of statistical estimation. As an example of this method, the application of the coarse-mesh rebalance acceleration method to the criticality calculation of a cylindrical fast reactor is presented. Effective multiplication factor and its standard deviation are presented as a function of the number of histories and comparisons are made between the coarse-mesh rebalance method and the standard method. Five-group neutron fluxes at core center are also compared with the result of S4 calculation. The second method is the method of correlated sampling. This method was applied to the perturbation calculation of control rod worths in a fast critical assembly (FCA-V-3) Two methods of sampling (similar flight paths and identical flight paths) are tested and compared with experimental results. For every cases the experimental value lies within the standard deviation of the Monte Carlo calculations. The third method is the importance sampling. In this report a biased selection of particle flight directions discussed. This method was applied to the flux calculation in a spherical fast neutron system surrounded by a 10.16 cm iron reflector. Result-direction biasing, path-length stretching, and no biasing are compared with S8 calculation. (Aoki, K.)

CRISSUE-S, Neutronics/Thermal-hydraulics Coupling in LWR Technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Auria, Francesco; Bousbia Salah, Anis; Galassi, G.M.; Vedovi, Juswald; Van Goethem, Georges; Hadek, Jan; Macek, Jiri; Rindelhardt, Udo; Rohde, Ulrich; Ahnert Iglesias, Carol; Aragones Beltran, Jose Maria; Reventos, Francesc; Cuadra, Arantxa; Gago, Jose Luis; Verdu, Gumersindo; Miro, Rafael; Ginestar, Damian; Sanchez, Ana Maria; Sjoberg, Anders; Yitbarek, M.; Sandervag, Oddbjoern; Garis, Ninos; Frid, Wiktor; Panayotov, Dobromir; Ivanov, Kostadin; Uddin, Rizwan; Sartori, Enrico

2004-01-01

Description: The CRISSUE-S project was created with the aim of re-evaluating fundamental technical issues in the technology of LWRs. Specifically, the project seeks to address the interactions between neutron kinetics and thermal-hydraulics that affect neutron moderation and influence the accident performance of the NPPs. This is undertaken in the light of the advanced computational tools that are readily available to the scientific community today. Specifically, the CRISSUE-S activity deals with the control of fission power and the use of high burn up fuel; these topics are part of the EC Work Programme as well as that of other international organisations such as the OECD/NEA and the IAEA. The problems of evaluating reactivity induced accident (RIA) consequences and eventually deciding the possibility of NPP prolongation must be addressed and resolved. RIA constitutes one of the most important of the ?less-resolved? safety issues, and treating this problem may have huge positive financial, social and environmental impacts. Public acceptance of nuclear technology implies that problems such as these be satisfactorily resolved. Cross-disciplinary (regulators, industry, utilities and research bodies) interaction and co operation within CRISSUE-S provides results which can directly and immediately be beneficial to EU industry. Co-operation at an international level: the participation of the EU, former Eastern European countries, the USA, and observers from Japan testify to the broad interest these problems engender. Competencies in broad areas such as thermal-hydraulics, neutronics and fuel, overall system design and reactor surveillance are needed to address the problems that are posed here. Excellent expertise is available in specific areas, while limited knowledge exists in the interface zones of those areas, e.g. in the coupling between thermal-hydraulics and neutronics. In general terms, the activities carried out and described here aim at exploiting available

Neutron transport in Eulerian coordinates with bulk material motion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baker, Randal S., E-mail: rsb@lanl.gov [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Computational Physics Group, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Dahl, Jon A., E-mail: dahl@lanl.gov [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Computational Physics Group, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Fichtl, Erin J., E-mail: efichtl@lanl.gov [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Computational Physics Group, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Morel, Jim E., E-mail: morel@tamu.edu [Department of Nuclear Engineering, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX (United States)

2015-12-15

A consistent, numerically stable algorithm for the solution of the neutron transport equation in the presence of a moving material background is presented for one-dimensional spherical geometry. Manufactured solutions are used to demonstrate the correctness and stability of our numerical algorithm. The importance of including moving material corrections is shown for the r-process in proto-neutron stars.

The Application of Neutron Transport Green's Functions to Threat Scenario Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Thoreson, Gregory G.; Schneider, Erich A.; Armstrong, Hirotatsu; van der Hoeven, Christopher A.

2015-02-01

Radiation detectors provide deterrence and defense against nuclear smuggling attempts by scanning vehicles, ships, and pedestrians for radioactive material. Understanding detector performance is crucial to developing novel technologies, architectures, and alarm algorithms. Detection can be modeled through radiation transport simulations; however, modeling a spanning set of threat scenarios over the full transport phase-space is computationally challenging. Previous research has demonstrated Green's functions can simulate photon detector signals by decomposing the scenario space into independently simulated submodels. This paper presents decomposition methods for neutron and time-dependent transport. As a result, neutron detector signals produced from full forward transport simulations can be efficiently reconstructed by sequential application of submodel response functions.

Coupled 3D neutronics/thermal hydraulics modeling of the SAFARI-1 MTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosenkrantz, Adam; Avramova, Maria; Ivanov, Kostadin; Prinsloo, Rian; Botes, Danniëll; Elsakhawy, Khalid

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Development of 3D coupled neutronics/thermal–hydraulic model of SAFARI-1. • Verification of 3D steady-state NEM based neutronics model for SAFARI-1. • Verification of 3D COBRA-TF based thermal–hydraulic model of SAFARI-1. • Quantification of the effect of correct modeling of thermal–hydraulic feedback. - Abstract: The purpose of this study was to develop a coupled accurate multi-physics model of the SAFARI-1 Material Testing Reactor (MTR), a facility that is used for both research and the production of medical isotopes. The model was developed as part of the SAFARI-1 benchmarking project as a cooperative effort between the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) and the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa). It was created using a multi-physics coupling of state of the art nuclear reactor simulation tools, consisting of a neutronics code and a thermal hydraulics code. The neutronics tool used was the PSU code NEM, and the results from this component were verified using the Necsa neutronics code OSCAR-4, which is utilized for SAFARI-1 core design and fuel management. On average, the multiplication factors of the neutronics models agreed to within 5 pcm and the radial assembly-averaged powers agreed to within 0.2%. The thermal hydraulics tool used was the PSU version of COBRA-TF (CTF) sub-channel code, and the results of this component were verified against another thermal hydraulics code, the RELAP5-3D system code, used at Necsa for thermal–hydraulics analysis of SAFARI-1. Although only assembly-averaged results from RELAP5-3D were available, they fell within the range of values for the corresponding assemblies in the comprehensive CTF solution. This comparison allows for the first time to perform a quantification of steady-state errors for a low-powered MTR with an advanced thermal–hydraulic code such as CTF on a per-channel basis as compared to simpler and coarser-mesh RELAP5-3D modeling. Additionally, a new cross section

Analytical benchmarks for nuclear engineering applications. Case studies in neutron transport theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

The developers of computer codes involving neutron transport theory for nuclear engineering applications seldom apply analytical benchmarking strategies to ensure the quality of their programs. A major reason for this is the lack of analytical benchmarks and their documentation in the literature. The few such benchmarks that do exist are difficult to locate, as they are scattered throughout the neutron transport and radiative transfer literature. The motivation for this benchmark compendium, therefore, is to gather several analytical benchmarks appropriate for nuclear engineering applications under one cover. We consider the following three subject areas: neutron slowing down and thermalization without spatial dependence, one-dimensional neutron transport in infinite and finite media, and multidimensional neutron transport in a half-space and an infinite medium. Each benchmark is briefly described, followed by a detailed derivation of the analytical solution representation. Finally, a demonstration of the evaluation of the solution representation includes qualified numerical benchmark results. All accompanying computer codes are suitable for the PC computational environment and can serve as educational tools for courses in nuclear engineering. While this benchmark compilation does not contain all possible benchmarks, by any means, it does include some of the most prominent ones and should serve as a valuable reference. (author)

Neutron transport. Physics and calculation of nuclear reactors with applications to pressurized water reactors and fast neutron reactors. 2 ed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bussac, J.; Reuss, P.

1985-01-01

This book presents the main physical bases of neutron theory and nuclear reactor calculation. 1) Interactions of neutrons with matter and basic principles of neutron transport; 2) Neutron transport in homogeneous medium and the neutron field: kinetic behaviour, slowing-down, resonance absorption, diffusion equation, processing methods; 3) Theory of a reactor constituted with homogeneous zones: critical condition, kinetics, separation of variables, calculation and neutron balance of the fundamental mode, one-group and multigroup theories; 4) Study of heterogeneous cell lattices: fast fission factor, resonance absorption, thermal output factor, diffusion coefficient, computer codes; 5) Operation and control of reactors: perturbation theory, reactivity, fuel properties evolution, poisoning by fission products, calculation of a reactor and fuel management; 6) Study of some types of reactors: PWR and fast breeder reactors, the main reactor types of the present French program [fr

Quasiparticle Interactions in Neutron Matter for Applications in Neutron Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Wambach, J.; Anisworth, T. L.; Pines, D.

1993-01-01

A microscopic model for the quaisiparticle interaction in neutron matter is presented. Both particle-particle (pp) and particle-hole (ph) correlation are are included. The pp correlations are treated in semi-empirical way, while ph correlations are incorporated by solving coupled two-body equations for the particle hole interaction and the scattering amplitude on the Fermi sphere. The resulting integral equations self-consistently sum the ph reducible diagrams. Antisymmetry is kept at all stages and hence the forward-scattering sum rules are obeyed. Results for Landau parameters and transport coefficients in a density regime representing the crust of a neutron star are presented. We also estimate the S-1 gap parameter for neutron superfluidity and comment briefly on neutron-star implications.

TORT-TD/ATTICA3D: a coupled neutron transport and thermal hydraulics code system for 3-D transient analysis of gas cooled high temperature reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lapins, J.; Seubert, A.; Buck, M.; Bader, J.; Laurien, E.

2011-01-01

Comprehensive safety studies of high temperature gas cooled reactors (HTR) require full three dimensional coupled treatments of both neutron kinetics and thermal-hydraulics. In a common effort, GRS and IKE developed the coupled code system TORT-TD/ATTICA3D for pebble bed type HTR that connects the 3-D transient discrete-ordinates transport code TORT-TD with the 3-D porous medium thermal-hydraulics code ATTICA3D. In this paper, the physical models and calculation capabilities of TORT-TD and ATTICA3D are presented, focusing on model improvements in ATTICA3D and extensions made in TORT-TD related to HTR application. For first applications, the OECD/NEA/NSC PBMR-400 benchmark has been chosen. Results obtained with TORT-TD/ATTICA3D will be shown for transient exercises, e.g. control rod withdrawal and a control rod ejection. Results are compared to other benchmark participants' solutions with special focus on fuel temperature modelling features of ATTICA3D. The provided “grey-curtain” nuclear cross section libraries have been used. First results on 3-D effects during a control rod withdrawal transient will be presented. (author)

3D neutronic codes coupled with thermal-hydraulic system codes for PWR, and BWR and VVER reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Langenbuch, S.; Velkov, K. [GRS, Garching (Germany); Lizorkin, M. [Kurchatov-Institute, Moscow (Russian Federation)] [and others

1997-07-01

This paper describes the objectives of code development for coupling 3D neutronics codes with thermal-hydraulic system codes. The present status of coupling ATHLET with three 3D neutronics codes for VVER- and LWR-reactors is presented. After describing the basic features of the 3D neutronic codes BIPR-8 from Kurchatov-Institute, DYN3D from Research Center Rossendorf and QUABOX/CUBBOX from GRS, first applications of coupled codes for different transient and accident scenarios are presented. The need of further investigations is discussed.

Effects of fuel particle size distributions on neutron transport in stochastic media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, Chao; Pavlou, Andrew T.; Ji, Wei

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Effects of fuel particle size distributions on neutron transport are evaluated. • Neutron channeling is identified as the fundamental reason for the effects. • The effects are noticeable at low packing and low optical thickness systems. • Unit cells of realistic reactor designs are studied for different size particles. • Fuel particle size distribution effects are not negligible in realistic designs. - Abstract: This paper presents a study of the fuel particle size distribution effects on neutron transport in three-dimensional stochastic media. Particle fuel is used in gas-cooled nuclear reactor designs and innovative light water reactor designs loaded with accident tolerant fuel. Due to the design requirements and fuel fabrication limits, the size of fuel particles may not be perfectly constant but instead follows a certain distribution. This brings a fundamental question to the radiation transport computation community: how does the fuel particle size distribution affect the neutron transport in particle fuel systems? To answer this question, size distribution effects and their physical interpretations are investigated by performing a series of neutron transport simulations at different fuel particle size distributions. An eigenvalue problem is simulated in a cylindrical container consisting of fissile fuel particles with five different size distributions: constant, uniform, power, exponential and Gaussian. A total of 15 parametric cases are constructed by altering the fissile particle volume packing fraction and its optical thickness, but keeping the mean chord length of the spherical fuel particle the same at different size distributions. The tallied effective multiplication factor (k eff ) and the spatial distribution of fission power density along axial and radial directions are compared between different size distributions. At low packing fraction and low optical thickness, the size distribution shows a noticeable effect on neutron

Development of neutronic models for the thermal hydraulics coupling of the MSFR and the calculation of effective kinetic parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laureau, Axel

2015-01-01

In this PhD thesis, we describe the development of innovative neutronic models for their coupling with thermal hydraulics such that they combine precision and reasonable computational times. One of the main cases where this method is applied is the Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR) whose combines a fast neutron spectrum with a thorium cycle. In this fourth generation reactor, the motion of the delayed neutron precursors and the associated phenomena have to be taken into account due to the liquid fuel circulation. The starting point for these developments was the preliminary design of this type of system where a dedicated multi-physical representation was needed to study the reactor performance in steady and transient conditions. As a first step, a stationary coupling was developed. A neutronic model based on a stochastic approach was associated to a CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) code to solve the Navier Stokes equations for turbulent flows and the transport of the delayed neutron precursors. The impact of this precursor motion is taken into account by reconstructing the prompt shower that they generate. This approach, called by shower, views the critical reactor as a prompt subcritical reactor that amplifies a source of delayed neutrons. A second step consisted in developing a neutronic model based on a time dependent version of the fission matrices (Transient Fission Matrix or TFM) so as to enable reactor transient studies. With the TFM model, an initial computation of the matrices with a stochastic code (MCNP, SERPENT) allows the characterization of the global spatial and time dependent neutronic response of the reactor with a precision close to that of a Monte Carlo calculation. The information thus obtained is then used to calculate transients, while retaining the advantage of reduced computational time. The TFM model, which can be used for various system concepts, also allows the evaluation of effective kinetic parameters such as the effective fraction of

Radiation transport and shielding information, computer codes, and nuclear data for use in CTR neutronics research and development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santoro, R.T.; Maskewitz, B.F.; Roussin, R.W.; Trubey, D.K.

1976-01-01

The activities of the Radiation Shielding Information Center (RSIC) of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are being utilized in support of fusion reactor technology. The major activities of RSIC include the operation of a computer-based information storage and retrieval system, the collection, packaging, and distribution of large computer codes, and the compilation and dissemination of processed and evaluated data libraries, with particular emphasis on neutron and gamma-ray cross-section data. The Center has acquired thirteen years of experience in serving fission reactor, weapons, and accelerator shielding research communities, and the extension of its technical base to fusion reactor research represents a logical progression. RSIC is currently working with fusion reactor researchers and contractors in computer code development to provide tested radiation transport and shielding codes and data library packages. Of significant interest to the CTR community are the 100 energy group neutron and 21 energy group gamma-ray coupled cross-section data package (DLC-37) for neutronics studies, a comprehensive 171 energy group neutron and 36 energy group gamma-ray coupled cross-section data base with retrieval programs, including resonance self-shielding, that are tailored to CTR application, and a data base for the generation of energy-dependent atomic displacement and gas production cross sections and heavy-particle-recoil spectra for estimating radiation damage to CTR structural components

KAMCCO, a reactor physics Monte Carlo neutron transport code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arnecke, G.; Borgwaldt, H.; Brandl, V.; Lalovic, M.

1976-06-01

KAMCCO is a 3-dimensional reactor Monte Carlo code for fast neutron physics problems. Two options are available for the solution of 1) the inhomogeneous time-dependent neutron transport equation (census time scheme), and 2) the homogeneous static neutron transport equation (generation cycle scheme). The user defines the desired output, e.g. estimates of reaction rates or neutron flux integrated over specified volumes in phase space and time intervals. Such primary quantities can be arbitrarily combined, also ratios of these quantities can be estimated with their errors. The Monte Carlo techniques are mostly analogue (exceptions: Importance sampling for collision processes, ELP/MELP, Russian roulette and splitting). Estimates are obtained from the collision and track length estimators. Elastic scattering takes into account first order anisotropy in the center of mass system. Inelastic scattering is processed via the evaporation model or via the excitation of discrete levels. For the calculation of cross sections, the energy is treated as a continuous variable. They are computed by a) linear interpolation, b) from optionally Doppler broadened single level Breit-Wigner resonances or c) from probability tables (in the region of statistically distributed resonances). (orig.) [de

Search for EC-decayed neutron-deficient actinide isotopes using gas-jet coupled JAERI-ISOL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsukada, Kazuaki [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

1997-07-01

To study the nuclear properties of unknown neutron deficient actinide isotopes which decay mainly via orbital electron capture (EC), we have developed a composite system consisting of a gas-jet transport apparatus and a thermal ion-source at the JAERI-ISOL. With this system, search for {sup 236}Am produced in the {sup 235}U({sup 6}Li, 5n) reaction has been performed. Pu KX-rays associated with the EC decay of {sup 236}Am are observed at the mass-236 fraction. The half-life of {sup 236}Am is evaluated to be 4.4min. The outline of the gas-jet coupled JAERI-ISOL system and typical performance are given. (author)

Coupling calculation of CFD-ACE computational fluid dynamics code and DeCART whole-core neutron transport code for development of numerical reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shin, Chang Hwan; Seo, Kyong Won; Chun, Tae Hyun; Kim, Kang Seog

2005-03-15

Code coupling activities have so far focused on coupling the neutronics modules with the CFD module. An interface module for the CFD-ACE/DeCART coupling was established as an alternative to the original STAR-CD/DeCART interface. The interface module for DeCART/CFD-ACE was validated by single-pin model. The optimized CFD mesh was decided through the calculation of multi-pin model. It was important to consider turbulent mixing of subchannels for calculation of fuel temperature. For the parallel calculation, the optimized decompose process was necessary to reduce the calculation costs and setting of the iteration and convergence criterion for each code was important, too.

Coupling calculation of CFD-ACE computational fluid dynamics code and DeCART whole-core neutron transport code for development of numerical reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, Chang Hwan; Seo, Kyong Won; Chun, Tae Hyun; Kim, Kang Seog

2005-03-01

Code coupling activities have so far focused on coupling the neutronics modules with the CFD module. An interface module for the CFD-ACE/DeCART coupling was established as an alternative to the original STAR-CD/DeCART interface. The interface module for DeCART/CFD-ACE was validated by single-pin model. The optimized CFD mesh was decided through the calculation of multi-pin model. It was important to consider turbulent mixing of subchannels for calculation of fuel temperature. For the parallel calculation, the optimized decompose process was necessary to reduce the calculation costs and setting of the iteration and convergence criterion for each code was important, too

properties of the SN - equivalent integral transport operator in slab geometry and the iterative acceleration of neutron transport methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Massimiliano, Rosa; Azmy, Y.Y.; Morel, J.E.

2005-01-01

The general expressions for the matrix elements of the discrete Sn-equivalent integral transport operator have been derived in slab geometry. Their asymptotic behavior has been investigated both for a homogeneous slab and for a heterogeneous slab characterized by a periodic material discontinuity wherein each optically thick cell is surrounded by two optically thin cells in a repeating pattern. In the case of a homogeneous slab, the asymptotic analysis conducted in a diffusive limit obtained as the thick limit of computational cell size for a highly scattering medium, has shown that the discretized integral transport operator is approximated by a sparse matrix characterized by a tri-diagonal diffusion-like coupling stencil. Also, the tri-diagonal matrix structure, characteristic of the diffusion coupling stencil, is approached at a fast exponential rate. In the case of periodically heterogeneous slab configurations, the asymptotic behavior investigated is that in which the cells' optical thicknesses are pushed apart, i.e. the thick is made thicker while the thin is made thinner at a prescribed rate. It has been shown that in this limit the discretized integral transport operator is approximated by a penta-diagonal structure. Notwithstanding, the discrete operator is amenable to algebraic transformations leading to a matrix representation still asymptotically approaching a tri-diagonal structure at a fast exponential rate. The existence of a low order tri-diagonal approximation to the full discrete integral transport operator in the case of a periodically heterogeneous slab might provide a basic understanding of the superior convergence properties of diffusion-based acceleration schemes observed in slab geometry, even in the presence of sharp material discontinuities. The obtained results also suggest that a sparse approximation to the S n -equivalent integral transport operator might itself be used as the low-order operator in an acceleration scheme for the

New methods in linear transport theory. Part of a coordinated programme on methods in neutron transport theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mika, J.

1975-09-01

Originally the work was oriented towards two main topics: a) difference and integral methods in neutron transport theory. Two computers were used for numerical calculations GIER and CYBER-72. During the first year the main effort was shifted towards basic theoretical investigations. At the first step the ANIS code was adopted and later modified to check various finite difference approaches against each other. Then the general finite element method and the singular perturbation method were developed. The analysis of singularities of the one-dimensional neutron transport equation in spherical geometry has been done and presented. Later the same analysis for the case of cylindrical symmetry has been carried out. The second and the third year programme included the following topics: 1) finite difference methods in stationary neutron transport theory; 2)mathematical fundamentals of approximate methods for solving the transport equation; 3) singular perturbation method for the time-dependent transport equation; 4) investigation of various iterative procedures in reactor calculations. This investigation will help to better understanding of the mathematical basis for existing and developed numerical methods resulting in more effective algorithms for reactor computer codes

Application of direct discrete method (DDM) to multigroup neutron transport problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vosoughi, Naser; Salehi, Ali Akbar; Shahriari, Majid

2003-01-01

The Direct Discrete Method (DDM), which produced excellent results for one-group neutron transport problems, has been developed for multigroup energy. A multigroup neutron transport discrete equation has been produced for a cylindrical shape fuel element with and without associated coolant regions with two boundary conditions. The calculations are illustrated for two-group energy by graphs showing the fast and thermal fluxes. The validity of the results are tested against the results obtained by the ANISN code. (author)

Transport calculation of neutron flux distribution in reflector of PW reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Remec, I.

1982-01-01

Two-dimensional transport calculation of the neutron flux and spectrum in the equatorial plain of PW reactor, using computer program DOT 3, is presented. Results show significant differences between neutron fields in which test samples and reactor vessel are exposed. (author)

The importance of anisotropic scattering in high energy neutron transport problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prillinger, G.; Mattes, M.

1984-01-01

To describe the highly anisotropic scattering of very fast neutrons adequately the transport code ANISN has been improved. Fokker-Planck terms have been introduced into the transport equation which accurately describe the small changes in energy and angle. The new code has been tested for a d(50)-Be neutron source in a deep penetration iron problem. The influence of the forward peaked elastic scattering on the fast neutron spectrum is shown to be significant and can be handled efficiently in the new ANISN version. Since common cross-section libraries are limited by Legendre expansion, or by their upper energy boundary, or exclude elastic scattering above 20 MeV a special library has been created. (Auth.)

DORT-TD/THERMIX solutions for the OECD/NEA/NSC PBMR400 MW coupled neutronics thermal hydraulics transient benchmark

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tyobeka, Bismark; Pautz, Andreas; Ivanov, Kostadin

2008-01-01

In new reactor designs that are still under review such as the PBMR, not much experimental data exists to benchmark newly developed computer codes against. Such a situation requires that nuclear engineers and designers of this novel reactor design must resort to the validation of a newly developed code through a code-to-code benchmarking exercise because there are validated codes that are currently in use to analyze this reactor design, albeit very few of them. There are numerous HTR core physics benchmarks that are currently being pursued by different organizations, for different purposes. One such benchmark exercise is the PBMR-400 MW OECD/NEA/NSC coupled neutronics/thermal hydraulics transient benchmark. In this paper, a newly developed coupled neutronics thermal hydraulics code system, DORT-TD/THERMIX with both transport and diffusion theory options, is used to simulate the transient scenarios in the above-mentioned benchmark problem. Steady-state calculations results are compared with selected participants' results as well as transient models in which the diffusion and transport theory solutions of the same code system are directly compared. Several sensitivity studies are also shown in order to determine how much the change in certain parameters influences the overall behaviour of a given transient. It is shown in this paper that DORT-TD/THERMIX is a versatile tool which can be deployed for design and safety analyses of high temperature reactors of pebble-bed type. (authors)

Light-water-reactor coupled neutronic and thermal-hydraulic codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diamond, D.J.

1982-01-01

An overview is presented of computer codes that model light water reactor cores with coupled neutronics and thermal-hydraulics. This includes codes for transient analysis and codes for steady state analysis which include fuel depletion and fission product buildup. Applications in nuclear design, reactor operations and safety analysis are given and the major codes in use in the USA are identified. The neutronic and thermal-hydraulic methodologies and other code features are outlined for three steady state codes (PDQ7, NODE-P/B and SIMULATE) and four dynamic codes (BNL-TWIGL, MEKIN, RAMONA-3B, RETRAN-02). Speculation as to future trends with such codes is also presented

Direct-coupled-ray method for design-oriented three-dimensional transport analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bucholz, J.A.; Poncelet, C.G.

1977-01-01

A fast three-dimensional design-oriented transport method has been developed for the solution of both neutron and gamma transport problems. It combines a nodal approach with analytic integral transport to achieve relative speed and accuracy. An analytic solution is obtained for the angular flux in each of the 14 directions defined by the six faces and eight corners of a cubic mesh block. The scheme used to accommodate high-order anisotropic scattering is based on the formulation of ray-to-ray scattering probabilities in an integral sense. A variable mesh approximation has also been introduced to provide greater flexibility. The details of a direct-coupled-ray (DCR) → P 1 conversion technique have been developed but not yet implemented. The DCR method, as implemented in the TRANS3 code, has been used in a number of liquid-metal fast breeder reactor shielding applications. These included a one-dimensional deep penetration configuration and one-, two-, and three dimensional representations of the lower axial shield of the Clinch River Breeder Reactor. Comparisons with ANISN and DOT-III solutions indicated good to excellent agreement in most situations

Coupled geochemical and solute transport code development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morrey, J.R.; Hostetler, C.J.

1985-01-01

A number of coupled geochemical hydrologic codes have been reported in the literature. Some of these codes have directly coupled the source-sink term to the solute transport equation. The current consensus seems to be that directly coupling hydrologic transport and chemical models through a series of interdependent differential equations is not feasible for multicomponent problems with complex geochemical processes (e.g., precipitation/dissolution reactions). A two-step process appears to be the required method of coupling codes for problems where a large suite of chemical reactions must be monitored. Two-step structure requires that the source-sink term in the transport equation is supplied by a geochemical code rather than by an analytical expression. We have developed a one-dimensional two-step coupled model designed to calculate relatively complex geochemical equilibria (CTM1D). Our geochemical module implements a Newton-Raphson algorithm to solve heterogeneous geochemical equilibria, involving up to 40 chemical components and 400 aqueous species. The geochemical module was designed to be efficient and compact. A revised version of the MINTEQ Code is used as a parent geochemical code

Study on MPI/OpenMP hybrid parallelism for Monte Carlo neutron transport code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang Jingang; Xu Qi; Wang Kan; Liu Shiwen

2013-01-01

Parallel programming with mixed mode of messages-passing and shared-memory has several advantages when used in Monte Carlo neutron transport code, such as fitting hardware of distributed-shared clusters, economizing memory demand of Monte Carlo transport, improving parallel performance, and so on. MPI/OpenMP hybrid parallelism was implemented based on a one dimension Monte Carlo neutron transport code. Some critical factors affecting the parallel performance were analyzed and solutions were proposed for several problems such as contention access, lock contention and false sharing. After optimization the code was tested finally. It is shown that the hybrid parallel code can reach good performance just as pure MPI parallel program, while it saves a lot of memory usage at the same time. Therefore hybrid parallel is efficient for achieving large-scale parallel of Monte Carlo neutron transport. (authors)

Evaluation of the fluence to dose conversion coefficients for high energy neutrons using a voxel phantom coupled with the GEANT4 code

CERN Document Server

Paganini, S

2005-01-01

Crews working on present-day jet aircraft are a large occupationally exposed group with a relatively high average effective dose from Galactic cosmic radiation. Crews of future high-speed commercial flying at higher altitudes would be even more exposed. To help reduce the significant uncertainties in calculations of such exposures, the male adult voxels phantom MAX, developed in the Nuclear Energy Department of Pernambuco Federal University in Brazil, has been coupled with the Monte Carlo simulation code GEANT4. This toolkit, distributed and upgraded from the international scientific community of CERN/Switzerland, simulates thermal to ultrahigh energy neutrons transport and interactions in the matter. The high energy neutrons are pointed as the component that contribute about 70% of the neutron effective dose that represent the 35% to 60% total dose at aircraft altitude. In this research calculations of conversion coefficients from fluence to effective dose are performed for neutrons of energies from 100 MeV ...

Improvement of neutron collimator design for thermal neutron radiography using Monte Carlo N-particle transport code version 5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thiagu Supramaniam

2007-01-01

The aim of this research was to propose a new neutron collimator design for thermal neutron radiography facility using tangential beam port of PUSPATI TRIGA Mark II reactor, Malaysia Institute of Nuclear Technology Research (MINT). Best geometry and materials for neutron collimator were chosen in order to obtain a uniform beam with maximum thermal neutron flux, high L/ D ratio, high neutron to gamma ratio and low beam divergence with high resolution. Monte Carlo N-particle Transport Code version 5 (MCNP 5) was used to optimize six neutron collimator components such as beam port medium, neutron scatterer, neutron moderator, gamma filter, aperture and collimator wall. The reactor and tangential beam port setup in MCNP5 was plotted according to its actual sizes. A homogeneous reactor core was assumed and population control method of variance reduction technique was applied by using cell importance. The comparison between experimental results and simulated results of the thermal neutron flux measurement of the bare tangential beam port, shows that both graph obtained had similar pattern. This directly suggests the reliability of MCNP5 in order to obtained optimal neutron collimator parameters. The simulated results of the optimal neutron medium, shows that vacuum was the best medium to transport neutrons followed by helium gas and air. The optimized aperture component was boral with 3 cm thickness. The optimal aperture center hole diameter was 2 cm which produces 88 L/ D ratio. Simulation also shows that graphite neutron scatterer improves thermal neutron flux while reducing fast neutron flux. Neutron moderator was used to moderate fast and epithermal neutrons in the beam port. Paraffin wax with 90 cm thick was bound to be the best neutron moderator material which produces the highest thermal neutron flux at the image plane. Cylindrical shape high density polyethylene neutron collimator produces the highest thermal neutron flux at the image plane rather than divergent

Killing symmetries in neutron transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lukacs, B.; Racz, A.

1992-10-01

Although inside the reactor zone there is no exact continuous spatial symmetry, in certain configurations neutron flux distribution is close to a symmetrical one. In such cases the symmetrical solution could provide a good starting point to determine the non-symmetrical power distribution. All possible symmetries are determined in the 3-dimensional Euclidean space, and the form of the transport equation is discussed in such a coordinate system which is adapted to the particular symmetry. Possible spontaneous symmetry breakings are pointed out. (author) 6 refs

On generating neutron transport tables with the NJOY system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caldeira, Alexandre D.; Claro, Luiz H.

2013-01-01

Incorrect values for the product of the average number of neutrons released per fission and the fission microscopic cross-section were detected in several energy groups of a neutron transport table generated with the most updated version of the NJOY system. It was verified that the problem persists when older versions of this system are utilized. Although this problem exists for, at least, ten years, it is still an open question. (author)

A benchmark for coupled thermohydraulics system/three-dimensional neutron kinetics core models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kliem, S.

1999-01-01

During the last years 3D neutron kinetics core models have been coupled to advanced thermohydraulics system codes. These coupled codes can be used for the analysis of the whole reactor system. Although the stand-alone versions of the 3D neutron kinetics core models and of the thermohydraulics system codes generally have a good verification and validation basis, there is a need for additional validation work. This especially concerns the interaction between the reactor core and the other components of a nuclear power plant (NPP). In the framework of the international 'Atomic Energy Research' (AER) association on VVER Reactor Physics and Reactor Safety, a benchmark for these code systems was defined. (orig.)

Sensitivity of neutron scattering properties to the coupling to giant resonances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delaroche, J.P.; Guss, P.P.; Floyd, C.E.; Walter, R.L.; Tornow, W.

1983-01-01

Extended coupled channels calculations have been performed for neutron elastic and inelastic cross sections and analyzing powers for vibrational nuclei with 40 208 Pb and 12 MeV results for 40 Ca are illustrated here

Neutron-induced photon production in MCNP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Little, R.C.; Seamon, R.E.

1983-01-01

An improved method of neutron-induced photon production has been incorporated into the Monte Carlo transport code MCNP. The new method makes use of all partial photon-production reaction data provided by ENDF/B evaluators including photon-production cross sections as well as energy and angular distributions of secondary photons. This faithful utilization of sophisticated ENDF/B evaluations allows more precise MCNP calculations for several classes of coupled neutron-photon problems

Study of a transportable neutron radiography system; Estudo de um sistema neutrongrafico transportavel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Souza, S N.A. de

1991-05-01

This work presents a study a transportable neutron radiography system for a 185 GBq {sup 241} Am-Be ({alpha}, {eta}) source with a neutron yield roughly 1,25 x 10{sup 7} n/s. Studies about moderation, collimation and shielding are showed. In these studies, a calculation using Transport Theory was carried out by means of transport codes ANISN and DOT (3.5). Objectives were: to obtain a maximum and more homogeneous thermal neutron flux in the collimator outlet to the image plain, and an adequate radiation shielding to attend radiological protection rules. With the presented collimator, it was possible to obtain for the thermal neutron flux, at the collimator outlet and next to the image plain, a L/D ratio of 14, for neutron fluxes up to 4,09 x 10{sup 2} n.cm{sup -2}.s{sup -1}. Considering the low intensity of the source, it is a good value. Studies have also been carried out for L/D ratios of 22 and 30, giving thermal neutron fluxes at the image plain of 1,27 x 10{sup 2} n.cm{sup -2}.s{sup -1} and 2,65 x 10{sup 2} n.cm{sup -2}.s{sup -1}, respectively. (author). 30 refs, 39 figs, 9 tabs.

The spectral element method for static neutron transport in AN approximation. Part I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barbarino, A.; Dulla, S.; Mund, E.H.; Ravetto, P.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Spectral elements methods (SEMs) are extended for the neutronics of nuclear reactor cores. ► The second-order, A N formulation of neutron trasport is adopted. ► Results for classical benchmark cases in 2D are presented and compared to finite elements. ► The advantages of SEM in terms of precision and convergence rate are illustrated. ► SEM consitutes a promising approach for the solution of neutron transport problems. - Abstract: Spectral elements methods provide very accurate solutions of elliptic problems. In this paper we apply the method to the A N (i.e. SP 2N−1 ) approximation of neutron transport. Numerical results for classical benchmark cases highlight its performance in comparison with finite element computations, in terms of accuracy per degree of freedom and convergence rate. All calculations presented in this paper refer to two-dimensional problems. The method can easily be extended to three-dimensional cases. The results illustrate promising features of the method for more complex transport problems

Numerical solution of neutron transport equations in discrete ordinates and slab geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serrano Pedraza, F.

1985-01-01

An unified formalism to solve numerically, between other equation, the neutron transport in discrete ordinates, slab geometry, several energy groups and independents of time, has been developed recently. Such a formalism cover some of the conventional schemes as diamond difference, (WDD) characteristic step (SC) lineal characteristic (LC), quadratic characteristic (QC) and lineal discontinuous. Unified formation gives before hand the convergence order of the previously selected scheme. In fact it allows besides to generate a big amount of numerical schemes, with which is also possible to solve numerical equations as soon as neutron transport. The essential purpose of this work was to solve the neutron transport equations in slab geometry and discrete ordinates considering several energy groups without to take under advisement time dependence based in the above mentioned unified formalism. To reach this purpose it was necesary to design a computer code with the name TNOD1 (Neutron transport in discrete ordinates and 1 dimension) which includes each one of the schemes already pointed out. there exist two numerical schemes, also recently developed, quadratic continuous (QC) and cubic continuous (CN), although covered by unified formalism, it has been possible to include them inside this computer code without make substantial changes in its structure. In chapter I, derivative of neutron transport equation independent of time is taken, for angular flux, including boundary conditions and discontinuity. In chapter II the neutron transport equations are obtained in multigroups, independents of time, for approximation of discrete ordinates. Description of theory related with unified formalism and its relationship with mentioned discretization schemes is presented in chapter III. Chapter IV describes the computer code developed and finally, in chapter V different numerical results obtained with TNOD1 program are shown. In Appendix A theorems and mathematical arguments used

Considerations in the design of an improved transportable neutron spectrometer

CERN Document Server

Williams, A M; Brushwood, J M; Beeley, P A

2002-01-01

The Transportable Neutron Spectrometer (TNS) has been used by the Ministry of Defence for over 15 years to characterise neutron fields in workplace environments and provide local correction factors for both area and personal dosimeters. In light of advances in neutron spectrometry, a programme to evaluate and improve TNS has been initiated. This paper describes TNS, presents its operation in known radioisotope fields and in a reactor environment. Deficiencies in the operation of the instrument are highlighted, together with proposals for updating the response functions and spectrum unfolding methodologies.

Convergence analysis of neutronic/thermohydraulic coupling behavior of SCWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Shichang; Cai, Jiejin

2013-01-01

The neutronic/thermohydraulic coupling (N–T coupling) calculations play an important role in core design and stability analysis. The traditional iterative method is not applicable for some new reactors (such as supercritical water-cooled reactor) which have intense N–T coupling behavior. In this paper, the mathematical model of N–T coupling based on fixed point theory is established firstly, with the convergent criterion, which can show the real-time convergence situation of iteration. Secondly, the self-adaptive relaxation factor and corresponding algorithm are proposed. Thirdly, the convergence analysis of the method of self-adaptive relaxation factor and common relaxation iteration has been performed, based on three calculation examples of SCWR fuel assembly. The results show that the proposed algorithm can efficiently reduce the calculation time and be adapted to different coupling cases and different initial distribution. It is easy to program, providing convenience for reactor design and analysis. This research also provides the theoretical basis for further study of N–T coupling behavior of new reactors such as SCWR

Neutron transport in two dissimilar media anisotropic scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burkart, A.R.; Ishiguro, Y.; Siewert, C.E.

1976-01-01

The elementary solution of the one-speed neutron-transport equation with linearly anisotropic scattering are used in conjunction with Chandrasekhar's invariance principles to solve in a concise manner the Milne problem for two adjoining half-spaces and the critical reactor problem for a reflected slab

Least-squares finite element discretizations of neutron transport equations in 3 dimensions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manteuffel, T.A [Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); Ressel, K.J. [Interdisciplinary Project Center for Supercomputing, Zurich (Switzerland); Starkes, G. [Universtaet Karlsruhe (Germany)

1996-12-31

The least-squares finite element framework to the neutron transport equation introduced in is based on the minimization of a least-squares functional applied to the properly scaled neutron transport equation. Here we report on some practical aspects of this approach for neutron transport calculations in three space dimensions. The systems of partial differential equations resulting from a P{sub 1} and P{sub 2} approximation of the angular dependence are derived. In the diffusive limit, the system is essentially a Poisson equation for zeroth moment and has a divergence structure for the set of moments of order 1. One of the key features of the least-squares approach is that it produces a posteriori error bounds. We report on the numerical results obtained for the minimum of the least-squares functional augmented by an additional boundary term using trilinear finite elements on a uniform tesselation into cubes.

(Anti)-ferromagnetic coupling in Fe/Si multilayers from polarized neutron reflectomy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fredrikze, H.; Graaf, van der A; Valkier, M.; Kohlhepp, J.T.; Broeder, den F.J.A.

1997-01-01

Polarized neutron reflectometry data on Fe/Si multilayers are interpreted using strongly depth-dependent magnetization in the Fe layers. This behaviour is ascribed to a depth-dependent mixture of ferromagnetic and anti-ferromagnetic coupled regions in the sample.

A Newton-based Jacobian-free approach for neutronic-Monte Carlo/thermal-hydraulic static coupled analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mylonakis, Antonios G.; Varvayanni, M.; Catsaros, N.

2017-01-01

Highlights: •A Newton-based Jacobian-free Monte Carlo/thermal-hydraulic coupling approach is introduced. •OpenMC is coupled with COBRA-EN with a Newton-based approach. •The introduced coupling approach is tested in numerical experiments. •The performance of the new approach is compared with the traditional “serial” coupling approach. -- Abstract: In the field of nuclear reactor analysis, multi-physics calculations that account for the bonded nature of the neutronic and thermal-hydraulic phenomena are of major importance for both reactor safety and design. So far in the context of Monte-Carlo neutronic analysis a kind of “serial” algorithm has been mainly used for coupling with thermal-hydraulics. The main motivation of this work is the interest for an algorithm that could maintain the distinct treatment of the involved fields within a tight coupling context that could be translated into higher convergence rates and more stable behaviour. This work investigates the possibility of replacing the usually used “serial” iteration with an approximate Newton algorithm. The selected algorithm, called Approximate Block Newton, is actually a version of the Jacobian-free Newton Krylov method suitably modified for coupling mono-disciplinary solvers. Within this Newton scheme the linearised system is solved with a Krylov solver in order to avoid the creation of the Jacobian matrix. A coupling algorithm between Monte-Carlo neutronics and thermal-hydraulics based on the above-mentioned methodology is developed and its performance is analysed. More specifically, OpenMC, a Monte-Carlo neutronics code and COBRA-EN, a thermal-hydraulics code for sub-channel and core analysis, are merged in a coupling scheme using the Approximate Block Newton method aiming to examine the performance of this scheme and compare with that of the “traditional” serial iterative scheme. First results show a clear improvement of the convergence especially in problems where significant

CFD - neutronic coupled calculation of a quarter of a simplified PWR fuel assembly including spacer pressure drop and turbulence enhancement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pena, C.; Pellacani, F.; Macian Juan, R., E-mail: carlos.pena@ntech.mw.tum.de, E-mail: pellacani@ntech.mw.tum.de, E-mail: macian@ntech.mw.tum.de [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Garching (Germany). Ntech Lehrstuhl fuer Nukleartechnik; Chiva, S., E-mail: schiva@emc.uji.es [Universitat Jaume I, Castellon de la Plana (Spain). Dept. de Ingenieria Mecanica y Construccion; Barrachina, T.; Miro, R., E-mail: rmiro@iqn.upv.es, E-mail: tbarrachina@iqn.upv.es [Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (ISIRYM/UPV) (Spain). Institute for Industrial, Radiophysical and Environmental Safety

2011-07-01

A computational code system based on coupling the 3D neutron diffusion code PARCS v2.7 and the Ansys CFX 13.0 Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code has been developed as a tool for nuclear reactor systems simulations. This paper presents the coupling methodology between the CFD and the neutronic code. The methodology to simulate a 3D-neutronic problem coupled with 1D thermal hydraulics is already a mature technology, being part of the regular calculations performed to analyze different kinds of Reactivity Insertion Accidents (RIA) and asymmetric transients in Nuclear Power Plants, with state-of-the-art coupled codes like TRAC-B/NEM, RELAP5/PARCS, TRACE/PARCS, RELAP3D, RETRAN3D, etc. This work represents one of the first attempts to couple the multiphysics of a nuclear reactor core with a 3D spatial resolution in a computer code. This will open new possibilities regarding the analysis of fuel elements, contributing to a better understanding and design of the heat transfer process and specific fluid dynamics phenomena such as cross flow among fuel elements. The transient simulation of control rod insertion, boron dilution and cold water injection will be made possible with a degree of accuracy not achievable with current methodologies based on the use of system and/or subchannel codes. The transport of neutrons depends on several parameters, like fuel temperature, moderator temperature and density, boron concentration and fuel rod insertion. These data are calculated by the CFD code with high local resolution and used as input to the neutronic code to calculate a 3D nodal power distribution that will be returned and remapped to the CFD code control volumes (cells). Since two different nodalizations are used to discretized the same system, an averaging and interpolating procedure is needed to realize an effective data exchange. These procedures have been developed by means of the Ansys CFX 'User Fortran' interface; a library with several subroutines has

CFD - neutronic coupled calculation of a quarter of a simplified PWR fuel assembly including spacer pressure drop and turbulence enhancement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pena, C.; Pellacani, F.; Macian Juan, R.; Chiva, S.; Barrachina, T.; Miro, R.

2011-01-01

A computational code system based on coupling the 3D neutron diffusion code PARCS v2.7 and the Ansys CFX 13.0 Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code has been developed as a tool for nuclear reactor systems simulations. This paper presents the coupling methodology between the CFD and the neutronic code. The methodology to simulate a 3D-neutronic problem coupled with 1D thermal hydraulics is already a mature technology, being part of the regular calculations performed to analyze different kinds of Reactivity Insertion Accidents (RIA) and asymmetric transients in Nuclear Power Plants, with state-of-the-art coupled codes like TRAC-B/NEM, RELAP5/PARCS, TRACE/PARCS, RELAP3D, RETRAN3D, etc. This work represents one of the first attempts to couple the multiphysics of a nuclear reactor core with a 3D spatial resolution in a computer code. This will open new possibilities regarding the analysis of fuel elements, contributing to a better understanding and design of the heat transfer process and specific fluid dynamics phenomena such as cross flow among fuel elements. The transient simulation of control rod insertion, boron dilution and cold water injection will be made possible with a degree of accuracy not achievable with current methodologies based on the use of system and/or subchannel codes. The transport of neutrons depends on several parameters, like fuel temperature, moderator temperature and density, boron concentration and fuel rod insertion. These data are calculated by the CFD code with high local resolution and used as input to the neutronic code to calculate a 3D nodal power distribution that will be returned and remapped to the CFD code control volumes (cells). Since two different nodalizations are used to discretized the same system, an averaging and interpolating procedure is needed to realize an effective data exchange. These procedures have been developed by means of the Ansys CFX 'User Fortran' interface; a library with several subroutines has been

Strongly coupled chameleon fields: Possible test with a neutron Lloyd's mirror interferometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pokotilovski, Yu.N.

2013-01-01

The consideration of possible neutron Lloyd's mirror interferometer experiment to search for strongly coupled chameleon fields is presented. The chameleon scalar fields were proposed to explain the acceleration of expansion of the Universe. The presence of a chameleon field results in a change of a particle's potential energy in vicinity of a massive body. This interaction causes a phase shift of neutron waves in the interferometer. The sensitivity of the method is estimated

On the Modeling of Local Neutronically-Coupled Flow-Induced Oscillations in Advanced Boiling Water Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aniel-Buchheit, Sylvie; Podowski, Michael Z.

2006-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development in progress of a complete space- and time-dependent model of the coupled neutron kinetic and reactor thermal-hydraulics. The neutron kinetics model is based on two-group diffusion equations with Doppler and void reactivity feedback effects. This model is coupled with the model of two-phase flow and heat transfer in parallel coolant channels. The modeling concepts considered for this purpose include one-dimensional drift flux and two-fluid models, as well a CFD model implemented in the NPHASE advanced computational multiphase fluid dynamics (CMFD) computer code. Two methods of solution for the overall model are proposed. One is based on direct numerical integration of the spatially-discretized governing equations. The other approach is based on a quasi-analytical modal approach to the neutronics model, in which a complete set of eigenvectors is found for step-wise temporal changes of the cross-sections of core materials (fuel and coolant/moderator). The issues investigated in the paper include details of model formulation, as well as the results of calculations for neutronically-coupled density-wave oscillations. (authors)

Application of neutron/gamma transport codes for the design of explosive detection systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elias, E.; Shayer, Z.

1994-01-01

Applications of neutron and gamma transport codes to the design of nuclear techniques for detecting concealed explosives material are discussed. The methodology of integrating radiation transport computations in the development, optimization and analysis phases of these new technologies is discussed. Transport and Monte Carlo codes are used for proof of concepts, guide the system integration, reduce the extend of experimental program and provide insight into the physical problem involved. The paper concentrates on detection techniques based on thermal and fast neutron interactions in the interrogated object. (authors). 6 refs., 1 tab., 5 figs

Monte Carlo simulations of the particle transport in semiconductor detectors of fast neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sedlačková, Katarína; Zaťko, Bohumír; Šagátová, Andrea; Nečas, Vladimír

2013-01-01

Several Monte Carlo all-particle transport codes are under active development around the world. In this paper we focused on the capabilities of the MCNPX code (Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended) to follow the particle transport in semiconductor detector of fast neutrons. Semiconductor detector based on semi-insulating GaAs was the object of our investigation. As converter material capable to produce charged particles from the (n, p) interaction, a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) was employed. As the source of fast neutrons, the 239 Pu–Be neutron source was used in the model. The simulations were performed using the MCNPX code which makes possible to track not only neutrons but also recoiled protons at all interesting energies. Hence, the MCNPX code enables seamless particle transport and no other computer program is needed to process the particle transport. The determination of the optimal thickness of the conversion layer and the minimum thickness of the active region of semiconductor detector as well as the energy spectra simulation were the principal goals of the computer modeling. Theoretical detector responses showed that the best detection efficiency can be achieved for 500 μm thick HDPE converter layer. The minimum detector active region thickness has been estimated to be about 400 μm. -- Highlights: ► Application of the MCNPX code for fast neutron detector design is demonstrated. ► Simulations of the particle transport through conversion film of HDPE are presented. ► Simulations of the particle transport through detector active region are presented. ► The optimal thickness of the HDPE conversion film has been calculated. ► Detection efficiency of 0.135% was reached for 500 μm thick HDPE conversion film

Thermodynamically coupled mass transport processes in a saturated clay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carnahan, C.L.

1984-01-01

Gradients of temperature, pressure, and fluid composition in saturated clays give rise to coupled transport processes (thermal and chemical osmosis, thermal diffusion, ultrafiltration) in addition to the direct processes (advection and diffusion). One-dimension transport of water and a solute in a saturated clay subjected to mild gradients of temperature and pressure was simulated numerically. When full coupling was accounted for, volume flux (specific discharge) was controlled by thermal osmosis and chemical osmosis. The two coupled fluxes were oppositely directed, producing a point of stagnation within the clay column. Solute flows were dominated by diffusion, chemical osmosis, and thermal osmosis. Chemical osmosis produced a significant flux of solute directed against the gradient of solute concentration; this effect reduced solute concentrations relative to the case without coupling. Predictions of mass transport in clays at nuclear waste repositories could be significantly in error if coupled transport processes are not accounted for. 14 refs., 8 figs

Thermodynamically coupled mass transport processes in a saturated clay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carnahan, C.L.

1984-11-01

Gradients of temperature, pressure, and fluid composition in saturated clays give rise to coupled transport processes (thermal and chemical osmosis, thermal diffusion, ultrafiltration) in addition to the direct processes (advection and diffusion). One-dimensional transport of water and a solute in a saturated clay subjected to mild gradients of temperature and pressure was simulated numerically. When full coupling was accounted for, volume flux (specific discharge) was controlled by thermal osmosis and chemical osmosis. The two coupled fluxes were oppositely directed, producing a point of stagnation within the clay column. Solute flows were dominated by diffusion, chemical osmosis, and thermal osmosis. Chemical osmosis produced a significant flux of solute directed against the gradient of solute concentration; this effect reduced solute concentrations relative to the case without coupling. Predictions of mass transport in clays at nuclear waste repositories could be significantly in error if coupled transport processes are not accounted for. 14 references, 8 figures, 1 table

New Multi-group Transport Neutronics (PHISICS) Capabilities for RELAP5-3D and its Application to Phase I of the OECD/NEA MHTGR-350 MW Benchmark

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gerhard Strydom; Cristian Rabiti; Andrea Alfonsi

2012-10-01

PHISICS is a neutronics code system currently under development at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Its goal is to provide state of the art simulation capability to reactor designers. The different modules for PHISICS currently under development are a nodal and semi-structured transport core solver (INSTANT), a depletion module (MRTAU) and a cross section interpolation (MIXER) module. The INSTANT module is the most developed of the mentioned above. Basic functionalities are ready to use, but the code is still in continuous development to extend its capabilities. This paper reports on the effort of coupling the nodal kinetics code package PHISICS (INSTANT/MRTAU/MIXER) to the thermal hydraulics system code RELAP5-3D, to enable full core and system modeling. This will enable the possibility to model coupled (thermal-hydraulics and neutronics) problems with more options for 3D neutron kinetics, compared to the existing diffusion theory neutron kinetics module in RELAP5-3D (NESTLE). In the second part of the paper, an overview of the OECD/NEA MHTGR-350 MW benchmark is given. This benchmark has been approved by the OECD, and is based on the General Atomics 350 MW Modular High Temperature Gas Reactor (MHTGR) design. The benchmark includes coupled neutronics thermal hydraulics exercises that require more capabilities than RELAP5-3D with NESTLE offers. Therefore, the MHTGR benchmark makes extensive use of the new PHISICS/RELAP5-3D coupling capabilities. The paper presents the preliminary results of the three steady state exercises specified in Phase I of the benchmark using PHISICS/RELAP5-3D.

Sensitivity of neutron air transport to nitrogen cross section uncertainties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niiler, A.; Beverly, W.B.; Banks, N.E.

1975-01-01

The sensitivity of the transport of 14-MeV neutrons in sea level air to uncertainties in the ENDF/B-III values of the various Nitrogen cross sections has been calculated using the correlated sampling Monte Carlo neutron transport code SAMCEP. The source consisted of a 14.0- to 14.9-MeV band of isotropic neutrons and the fluences (0.5 to 15.0 MeV) were calculated at radii from 50 to 1500 metres. The maximum perturbations, assigned to the ENDF/B-III or base cross section set in the 6.0- to 14.5-MeV energy range were; (1) 2 percent to the total, (2) 10 percent to the total elastic, (3) 40 percent to the inelastic and absorption and (4) 20 percent to the first Legendre coefficient and 10 percent to the second Legendre coefficient of the elastic angular distribtuions. Transport calculations were carried out using various physically realistic sets of perturbed cross sections, bounded by evaluator-assigned uncertainties, as well as the base set. Results show that in some energy intervals at 1500 metres, the differential fluence level with a perturbed set differed by almost a factor of two from the differential fluence level with the base set. 5 figures

Polyethylene-reflected plutonium metal sphere : subcritical neutron and gamma measurements.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mattingly, John K.

2009-11-01

Numerous benchmark measurements have been performed to enable developers of neutron transport models and codes to evaluate the accuracy of their calculations. In particular, for criticality safety applications, the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiment Program (ICSBEP) annually publishes a handbook of critical and subcritical benchmarks. Relatively fewer benchmark measurements have been performed to validate photon transport models and codes, and unlike the ICSBEP, there is no program dedicated to the evaluation and publication of photon benchmarks. Even fewer coupled neutron-photon benchmarks have been performed. This report documents a coupled neutron-photon benchmark for plutonium metal reflected by polyethylene. A 4.5-kg sphere of ?-phase, weapons-grade plutonium metal was measured in six reflected configurations: (1) Bare; (2) Reflected by 0.5 inch of high density polyethylene (HDPE); (3) Reflected by 1.0 inch of HDPE; (4) Reflected by 1.5 inches of HDPE; (5) Reflected by 3.0 inches of HDPE; and (6) Reflected by 6.0 inches of HDPE. Neutron and photon emissions from the plutonium sphere were measured using three instruments: (1) A gross neutron counter; (2) A neutron multiplicity counter; and (3) A high-resolution gamma spectrometer. This report documents the experimental conditions and results in detail sufficient to permit developers of radiation transport models and codes to construct models of the experiments and to compare their calculations to the measurements. All of the data acquired during this series of experiments are available upon request.

Polyethylene-reflected plutonium metal sphere: subcritical neutron and gamma measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mattingly, John K.

2009-01-01

Numerous benchmark measurements have been performed to enable developers of neutron transport models and codes to evaluate the accuracy of their calculations. In particular, for criticality safety applications, the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiment Program (ICSBEP) annually publishes a handbook of critical and subcritical benchmarks. Relatively fewer benchmark measurements have been performed to validate photon transport models and codes, and unlike the ICSBEP, there is no program dedicated to the evaluation and publication of photon benchmarks. Even fewer coupled neutron-photon benchmarks have been performed. This report documents a coupled neutron-photon benchmark for plutonium metal reflected by polyethylene. A 4.5-kg sphere of ?-phase, weapons-grade plutonium metal was measured in six reflected configurations: (1) Bare; (2) Reflected by 0.5 inch of high density polyethylene (HDPE); (3) Reflected by 1.0 inch of HDPE; (4) Reflected by 1.5 inches of HDPE; (5) Reflected by 3.0 inches of HDPE; and (6) Reflected by 6.0 inches of HDPE. Neutron and photon emissions from the plutonium sphere were measured using three instruments: (1) A gross neutron counter; (2) A neutron multiplicity counter; and (3) A high-resolution gamma spectrometer. This report documents the experimental conditions and results in detail sufficient to permit developers of radiation transport models and codes to construct models of the experiments and to compare their calculations to the measurements. All of the data acquired during this series of experiments are available upon request.

Thermal neutron imaging through XRQA2 GAFCHROMIC films coupled with a cadmium radiator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sacco, D. [INFN – LNF, Via E. Fermi n.40, Frascati, 00044 Roma (Italy); INAIL – DIT, Via di Fontana Candida n.1, 00040 Monteporzio Catone (Italy); Bedogni, R., E-mail: roberto.bedogni@lnf.infn.it [INFN – LNF, Via E. Fermi n.40, Frascati, 00044 Roma (Italy); Bortot, D. [Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Energia, Via La Masa 34, 20156 Milano (Italy); INFN – Milano, Via Celoria16, 20133 Milano (Italy); Palomba, M. [ENEA Casaccia, Via Anguillarese, 301, S. Maria di Galeria, 00123 Roma (Italy); Pola, A. [Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Energia, Via La Masa 34, 20156 Milano (Italy); INFN – Milano, Via Celoria16, 20133 Milano (Italy); Introini, M.V.; Lorenzoli, M. [Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Energia, Via La Masa 34, 20156 Milano (Italy); Gentile, A. [INFN – LNF, Via E. Fermi n.40, Frascati, 00044 Roma (Italy); Strigari, L. [Laboratory of Medical Physics, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Via E. Chianesi 53, 00144 Roma (Italy); Pressello, C. [Department of Medical Physics, Azienda Ospedaliera San Camillo Forlanini, Circonvallazione Gianicolense 87, 00152 Roma (Italy); Soriani, A. [Laboratory of Medical Physics, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Via E. Chianesi 53, 00144 Roma (Italy); Gómez-Ros, J.M. [INFN – LNF, Via E. Fermi n.40, Frascati, 00044 Roma (Italy); CIEMAT, Av. Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

2015-10-21

A simple and inexpensive method to perform passive thermal neutron imaging on large areas was developed on the basis of XRQA2 GAFCHROMIC films, commonly employed for quality assurance in radiology. To enhance their thermal neutron response, the sensitive face of film was coupled with a 1 mm thick cadmium radiator, forming a sandwich. By exchanging the order of Cd filter and sensitive film with respect to the incident neutron beam direction, two different configurations (beam-Cd-film and beam-film-Cd) were identified. These configurations were tested at thermal neutrons fluence values in the range 10{sup 9}–10{sup 10} cm{sup −2}, using the ex-core radial thermal neutron column of the ENEA Casaccia – TRIGA reactor. The results are presented in this work.

Coupling of unidimensional neutron kinetics to thermal hydraulics in parallel channels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cecenas F, M.; Campos G, R.M.

2003-01-01

In this work the dynamic behavior of a consistent system in fifteen channels in parallel that represent the reactor core of a BWR type, coupled of a kinetic neutronic model in one dimension is studied by means of time series. The arrangement of channels is obtained collapsing the assemblies that it consists the core to an arrangement of channels prepared in straight lines, and it is coupled to the unidimensional solution of the neutron diffusion equation. This solution represents the radial power distribution, and initially the static solution is obtained to verify that the one modeling core is critic. The coupled set nuclear-thermal hydraulics it is solved numerically by means of a net of CPUs working in the outline teacher-slave by means of Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM), subject to the restriction that the pressure drop is equal for each channel, which is executed iterating on the refrigerant distribution. The channels are dimensioned according to the one Stability Benchmark of the Ringhals swedish plant, organized by the Nuclear Energy Agency in 1994. From the information of this benchmark it is obtained the axial power profile for each channel, which is assumed as invariant in the time. To obtain the time series, the system gets excited with white noise (sequence that statistically obeys to a normal distribution with zero media), so that the power generated in each channel it possesses the same ones characteristics of a typical signal obtained by means of the acquisition of those signals of neutron flux in a BWR reactor. (Author)

The infinite medium Green's function for neutron transport in plane geometry 40 years later

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ganapol, B.D.

1993-01-01

In 1953, the first of what was supposed to be two volumes on neutron transport theory was published. The monograph, entitled open-quotes Introduction to the Theory of Neutron Diffusionclose quotes by Case et al., appeared as a Los Alamos National Laboratory report and was to be followed by a second volume, which never appeared as intended because of the death of Placzek. Instead, Case and Zweifel collaborated on the now classic work entitled Linear Transport Theory 2 in which the underlying mathematical theory of linear transport was presented. The initial monograph, however, represented the coming of age of neutron transport theory, which had its roots in radiative transfer and kinetic theory. In addition, it provided the first benchmark results along with the mathematical development for several fundamental neutron transport problems. In particular, one-dimensional infinite medium Green's functions for the monoenergetic transport equation in plane and spherical geometries were considered complete with numerical results to be used as standards to guide code development for applications. Unfortunately, because of the limited computational resources of the day, some numerical results were incorrect. Also, only conventional mathematics and numerical methods were used because the transport theorists of the day were just becoming acquainted with more modern mathematical approaches. In this paper, Green's function solution is revisited in light of modern numerical benchmarking methods with an emphasis on evaluation rather than theoretical results. The primary motivation for considering the Green's function at this time is its emerging use in solving finite and heterogeneous media transport problems

Neutron secondary-particle production cross sections and their incorporation into Monte-Carlo transport codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brenner, D.J.; Prael, R.E.; Little, R.C.

1987-01-01

Realistic simulations of the passage of fast neutrons through tissue require a large quantity of cross-sectional data. What are needed are differential (in particle type, energy and angle) cross sections. A computer code is described which produces such spectra for neutrons above ∼14 MeV incident on light nuclei such as carbon and oxygen. Comparisons have been made with experimental measurements of double-differential secondary charged-particle production on carbon and oxygen at energies from 27 to 60 MeV; they indicate that the model is adequate in this energy range. In order to utilize fully the results of these calculations, they should be incorporated into a neutron transport code. This requires defining a generalized format for describing charged-particle production, putting the calculated results in this format, interfacing the neutron transport code with these data, and charged-particle transport. The design and development of such a program is described. 13 refs., 3 figs

The generation, validation and testing of a coupled 219-group neutron 36-group gamma ray AMPX-II library

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panini, G.C.; Siciliano, F.; Lioi, A.

1987-01-01

The main characteristics of a P 3 coupled 219-group neutron 36-group gamma-ray library in the AMPX-II Master Interface Format obtained processing ENDF/B-IV data by means of various AMPX-II System modules are presented in this note both for the more reprocessing aspects and features of the generated component files-neutrons, photon and secondary gamma-ray production cross sections. As far as the neutron data are concerned there is the avaibility of 186 data sets regarding most significant fission products. Results of the additional validation of the neutron data pertaining to eighteen benchmark experiments are also given. Some calculational tests on both neutron and coupled data emphasize the important role of the secondary gamma-ray data in nuclear criticality safety calculations

Hybrid variational principles and synthesis method for finite element neutron transport calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ackroyd, R.T.; Nanneh, M.M.

1990-01-01

A family of hybrid variational principles is derived using a generalised least squares method. Neutron conservation is automatically satisfied for the hybrid principles employing two trial functions. No interfaces or reflection conditions need to be imposed on the independent even-parity trial function. For some hybrid principles a single trial function can be employed by relating one parity trial function to the other, using one of the parity transport equation in relaxed form. For other hybrid principles the trial functions can be employed sequentially. Synthesis of transport solutions, starting with the diffusion theory approximation, has been used as a way of reducing the scale of the computation that arises with established finite element methods for neutron transport. (author)

Development of a transportable neutron radiography system for non-destructive tests application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, Ademir X. da; Crispim, Verginia R.

1999-01-01

This paper presents a study of a transportable neutron radiography system utilizing californium-252. Studies about moderation, collimation and shielding are showed. A Monte Carlo Code, MCNP3b, has been used to obtain a maximum and more homogeneous thermal neutron flux in the collimator outlet next to the image plain, and an adequate radiation shielding to attend radiological protection rules. With the presented collimator, it was possible to obtain for the thermal neutron flux, at the collimator outlet and next to the image plain, a L/D ratio 7,5, for neutron flux up to 6 X 10 -6 cm -2 .s -1 per neutron source. (author)

OECD/NEA benchmark for time-dependent neutron transport calculations without spatial homogenization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hou, Jason, E-mail: jason.hou@ncsu.edu [Department of Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 (United States); Ivanov, Kostadin N. [Department of Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 (United States); Boyarinov, Victor F.; Fomichenko, Peter A. [National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute”, Kurchatov Sq. 1, Moscow (Russian Federation)

2017-06-15

Highlights: • A time-dependent homogenization-free neutron transport benchmark was created. • The first phase, known as the kinetics phase, was described in this work. • Preliminary results for selected 2-D transient exercises were presented. - Abstract: A Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) benchmark for the time-dependent neutron transport calculations without spatial homogenization has been established in order to facilitate the development and assessment of numerical methods for solving the space-time neutron kinetics equations. The benchmark has been named the OECD/NEA C5G7-TD benchmark, and later extended with three consecutive phases each corresponding to one modelling stage of the multi-physics transient analysis of the nuclear reactor core. This paper provides a detailed introduction of the benchmark specification of Phase I, known as the “kinetics phase”, including the geometry description, supporting neutron transport data, transient scenarios in both two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) configurations, as well as the expected output parameters from the participants. Also presented are the preliminary results for the initial state 2-D core and selected transient exercises that have been obtained using the Monte Carlo method and the Surface Harmonic Method (SHM), respectively.

Fast rigorous numerical method for the solution of the anisotropic neutron transport problem and the NITRAN system for fusion neutronics application. Pt. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, A.; Rusch, D.

1979-07-01

Some recent neutronics experiments for fusion reactor blankets show that the precise treatment of anisotropic secondary emissions for all types of neutron scattering is needed for neutron transport calculations. In the present work new rigorous methods, i.e. based on non-approximative microscopic neutron balance equations, are applied to treat the anisotropic collision source term in transport equations. The collision source calculation is free from approximations except for the discretization of energy, angle and space variables and includes the rigorous treatment of nonelastic collisions, as far as nuclear data are given. Two methods are presented: first the Ii-method, which relies on existing nuclear data files and then, as an ultimate goal, the I*-method, which aims at the use of future double-differential cross section data, but which is also applicable to the present single-differential data basis to allow a smooth transition to the new data type. An application of the Ii-method is given in the code system NITRAN which employs the Ssub(N)-method to solve the transport equations. Both rigorous methods, the Ii- and the I*-method, are applicable to all radiation transport problems and they can be used also in the Monte-Carlo-method to solve the transport problem. (orig./RW) [de

Multigroup neutron transport equation in the diffusion and P{sub 1} approximation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Obradovic, D [Boris Kidric Institute of nuclear sciences Vinca, Belgrade (Yugoslavia)

1970-07-01

Investigations of the properties of the multigroup transport operator, width and without delayed neutrons in the diffusion and P{sub 1} approximation, is performed using Keldis's theory of operator families as well as a technique . recently used for investigations into the properties of the general linearized Boltzmann operator. It is shown that in the case without delayed neutrons, multigroup transport operator in the diffusion and P{sub 1} approximation possesses a complete set of generalized eigenvectors. A formal solution to the initial value problem is also given. (author)

Finite element method for solving neutron transport problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferguson, J.M.; Greenbaum, A.

1984-01-01

A finite element method is introduced for solving the neutron transport equations. Our method falls into the category of Petrov-Galerkin solution, since the trial space differs from the test space. The close relationship between this method and the discrete ordinate method is discussed, and the methods are compared for simple test problems

FIFRELIN - TRIPOLI-4® coupling for Monte Carlo simulations with a fission model. Application to shielding calculations

Science.gov (United States)

Petit, Odile; Jouanne, Cédric; Litaize, Olivier; Serot, Olivier; Chebboubi, Abdelhazize; Pénéliau, Yannick

2017-09-01

TRIPOLI-4® Monte Carlo transport code and FIFRELIN fission model have been coupled by means of external files so that neutron transport can take into account fission distributions (multiplicities and spectra) that are not averaged, as is the case when using evaluated nuclear data libraries. Spectral effects on responses in shielding configurations with fission sampling are then expected. In the present paper, the principle of this coupling is detailed and a comparison between TRIPOLI-4® fission distributions at the emission of fission neutrons is presented when using JEFF-3.1.1 evaluated data or FIFRELIN data generated either through a n/g-uncoupled mode or through a n/g-coupled mode. Finally, an application to a modified version of the ASPIS benchmark is performed and the impact of using FIFRELIN data on neutron transport is analyzed. Differences noticed on average reaction rates on the surfaces closest to the fission source are mainly due to the average prompt fission spectrum. Moreover, when working with the same average spectrum, a complementary analysis based on non-average reaction rates still shows significant differences that point out the real impact of using a fission model in neutron transport simulations.

Application of the decoupling scheme on complex neutron-gamma shielding problems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feher, S. [Institute of Nuclear Technology, Technical University of Budapest, Budapest (Hungary); Leege, P.F.A. de; Hoogenboom, J.E.; Kloosterman, J.L. [Interfaculty Reactor Institute, Delft University of Technology, Delft (Netherlands)

2000-03-01

Coupled neutron-gamma shielding calculations using S{sub n} transport theory can be time consuming, especially for two- and three-dimensional geometries. In general, the CPU time of these calculations increases stronger than linear with increasing number of neutron and gamma energy groups, and depends on the order of Legendre expansion and number of S{sub n} directions used. This fact induced the idea of the decoupling method, which seems applicable to accelerate coupled neutron-gamma shielding calculations. The data included in a combined neutron-gamma library can be readily separated into a library containing neutron data only and another library containing gamma data only. Separate calculations for neutrons and gammas are performed on complex geometries using a different Legendre order expansion for neutrons and gammas. CPU savings of 60 to 85% can be achieved for the two-dimensional DORT and three-dimensional TORT calculations respectively. (author)

SAM-CE, Time-Dependent 3-D Neutron Transport, Gamma Transport in Complex Geometry by Monte-Carlo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

1 - Nature of physical problem solved: The SAM-CE system comprises two Monte Carlo codes, SAM-F and SAM-A. SAM-F supersedes the forward Monte Carlo code, SAM-C. SAM-A is an adjoint Monte Carlo code designed to calculate the response due to fields of primary and secondary gamma radiation. The SAM-CE system is a FORTRAN Monte Carlo computer code designed to solve the time-dependent neutron and gamma-ray transport equations in complex three-dimensional geometries. SAM-CE is applicable for forward neutron calculations and for forward as well as adjoint primary gamma-ray calculations. In addition, SAM-CE is applicable for the gamma-ray stage of the coupled neutron-secondary gamma ray problem, which may be solved in either the forward or the adjoint mode. Time-dependent fluxes, and flux functionals such as dose, heating, count rates, etc., are calculated as functions of energy, time and position. Multiple scoring regions are permitted and these may be either finite volume regions or point detectors or both. Other scores of interest, e.g., collision and absorption densities, etc., are also made. 2 - Method of solution: A special feature of SAM-CE is its use of the 'combinatorial geometry' technique which affords the user geometric capabilities exceeding those available with other commonly used geometric packages. All nuclear interaction cross section data (derived from the ENDF for neutrons and from the UNC-format library for gamma-rays) are tabulated in point energy meshes. The energy meshes for neutrons are internally derived, based on built-in convergence criteria and user- supplied tolerances. Tabulated neutron data for each distinct nuclide are in unique and appropriate energy meshes. Both resolved and unresolved resonance parameters from ENDF data files are treated automatically, and extremely precise and detailed descriptions of cross section behaviour is permitted. Such treatment avoids the ambiguities usually associated with multi-group codes, which use flux

Coupled electron-photon radiation transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lorence, L.; Kensek, R.P.; Valdez, G.D.; Drumm, C.R.; Fan, W.C.; Powell, J.L.

2000-01-01

Massively-parallel computers allow detailed 3D radiation transport simulations to be performed to analyze the response of complex systems to radiation. This has been recently been demonstrated with the coupled electron-photon Monte Carlo code, ITS. To enable such calculations, the combinatorial geometry capability of ITS was improved. For greater geometrical flexibility, a version of ITS is under development that can track particles in CAD geometries. Deterministic radiation transport codes that utilize an unstructured spatial mesh are also being devised. For electron transport, the authors are investigating second-order forms of the transport equations which, when discretized, yield symmetric positive definite matrices. A novel parallelization strategy, simultaneously solving for spatial and angular unknowns, has been applied to the even- and odd-parity forms of the transport equation on a 2D unstructured spatial mesh. Another second-order form, the self-adjoint angular flux transport equation, also shows promise for electron transport

Beam-transport optimization for cold-neutron spectrometer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nakajima Kenji

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We report the design of the beam-transport system (especially the vertical geometry for a cold-neutron disk-chopper spectrometer AMATERAS at J-PARC. Based on the elliptical shape, which is one of the most effective geometries for a ballistic mirror, the design was optimized to obtain, at the sample position, a neutron beam with high flux without serious degrading in divergence and spacial homogeneity within the boundary conditions required from actual spectrometer construction. The optimum focal point was examined. An ideal elliptical shape was modified to reduce its height without serious loss of transmission. The final result was adapted to the construction requirements of AMATERAS. Although the ideas studied in this paper are considered for the AMATERAS case, they can be useful also to other spectrometers in similar situations.

MCNP: a general Monte Carlo code for neutron and photon transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-07-01

The general-purpose Monte Carlo code MCNP can be used for neutron, photon, or coupled neutron--photon transport. The code treats an arbitrary three-dimensional configuration of materials in geometric cells bounded by first- and second-degree surfaces and some special fourth-degree surfaces (elliptical tori). Pointwise cross-section data are used. For neutrons, all reactions given in a particular cross-section evaluation (such as ENDF/B-IV) are accounted for. For photons, the code takes account of incoherent and coherent scattering, the possibility of fluorescent emission following photoelectric absorption, and absorption in pair production with local emission of annihilation radiation. Standard optional variance reduction schemes include geometry splitting and Russian roulette, the exponential transformation, energy splitting, forced collisions in designated cells, flux estimates at point detectors, track-length estimators, and source biasing. The standard output of MCNP includes two-way current as a function of energy, time, and angle with the normal, across any subset of bounding surfaces in the problem. Fluxes across any set of bounding surfaces are available as a function of time and energy. Similarly, the flux at designated points and the average flux in a cell (track length per unit volume) are standard tallies. Reactions such as fissions or absorptions may be obtained in a subset of geometric cells. The heating tallies give the energy deposition per starting particle. In addition, particles may be flagged when they cross specified surfaces or enter designated cells, and the contributions of these flagged particles to certain of the tallies are listed separately. All quantities printed out have their relative errors listed also. 11 figures, 27 tables

Specification of the Advanced Burner Test Reactor Multi-Physics Coupling Demonstration Problem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shemon, E. R. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Grudzinski, J. J. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Lee, C. H. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Thomas, J. W. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Yu, Y. Q. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

2015-12-21

This document specifies the multi-physics nuclear reactor demonstration problem using the SHARP software package developed by NEAMS. The SHARP toolset simulates the key coupled physics phenomena inside a nuclear reactor. The PROTEUS neutronics code models the neutron transport within the system, the Nek5000 computational fluid dynamics code models the fluid flow and heat transfer, and the DIABLO structural mechanics code models structural and mechanical deformation. The three codes are coupled to the MOAB mesh framework which allows feedback from neutronics, fluid mechanics, and mechanical deformation in a compatible format.

Simulation of neutron transport equation using parallel Monte Carlo for deep penetration problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bekar, K. K.; Tombakoglu, M.; Soekmen, C. N.

2001-01-01

Neutron transport equation is simulated using parallel Monte Carlo method for deep penetration neutron transport problem. Monte Carlo simulation is parallelized by using three different techniques; direct parallelization, domain decomposition and domain decomposition with load balancing, which are used with PVM (Parallel Virtual Machine) software on LAN (Local Area Network). The results of parallel simulation are given for various model problems. The performances of the parallelization techniques are compared with each other. Moreover, the effects of variance reduction techniques on parallelization are discussed

Coupled transport in field-reversed configurations

Science.gov (United States)

Steinhauer, L. C.; Berk, H. L.; TAE Team

2018-02-01

Coupled transport is the close interconnection between the cross-field and parallel fluxes in different regions due to topological changes in the magnetic field. This occurs because perpendicular transport is necessary for particles or energy to leave closed field-line regions, while parallel transport strongly affects evolution of open field-line regions. In most toroidal confinement systems, the periphery, namely, the portion with open magnetic surfaces, is small in thickness and volume compared to the core plasma, the portion with closed surfaces. In field-reversed configurations (FRCs), the periphery plays an outsized role in overall confinement. This effect is addressed by an FRC-relevant model of coupled particle transport that is well suited for immediate interpretation of experiments. The focus here is particle confinement rather than energy confinement since the two track together in FRCs. The interpretive tool yields both the particle transport rate χn and the end-loss time τǁ. The results indicate that particle confinement depends on both χn across magnetic surfaces throughout the plasma and τǁ along open surfaces and that they provide roughly equal transport barriers, inhibiting particle loss. The interpretation of traditional FRCs shows Bohm-like χn and inertial (free-streaming) τǁ. However, in recent advanced beam-driven FRC experiments, χn approaches the classical rate and τǁ is comparable to classic empty-loss-cone mirrors.

Radiation transport and shielding information, computer codes, and nuclear data for use in CTR neutronics research and development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santoro, R.T.; Maskewitz, B.F.; Roussin, R.W.; Trubey, D.K.

1976-01-01

The activities of the Radiation Shielding Information Center (RSIC) of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are being utilized in support of fusion reactor technology. The major activities of RSIC include the operation of a computer-based information storage and retrieval system, the collection, packaging, and distribution of large computer codes, and the compilation and dissemination of processed and evaluated data libraries, with particular emphasis on neutron and gamma-ray cross-section data. The Center has acquired thirteen years of experience in serving fission reactor, weapons, and accelerator shielding research communities, and the extension of its technical base to fusion reactor research represents a logical progression. RSIC is currently working with fusion reactor researchers and contractors in computer code development to provide tested radiation transport and shielding codes and data library packages. Of significant interest to the CTR community are the 100 energy group neutron and 21 energy group gamma-ray coupled cross-section data package (DLC-37) for neutronics studies, a comprehensive 171 energy group neutron and 36 energy group gamma-ray coupled cross-section data base with retrieval programs, including resonance self-shielding, that are tailored to CTR application, and a data base for the generation of energy-dependent atomic displacement and gas production cross sections and heavy-particle-recoil spectra for estimating radiation damage to CTR structural components. Since 1964, the Center has been involved in the international exchange of information, encouraged and supported by both government and interagency agreements; and to achieve an equally viable and successful program in fusion research, the reciprocal exchange of CTR data and computing technology is encouraged and welcomed

Proton movement and coupling in the POT family of peptide transporters.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Joanne L; Li, Chenghan; Brinth, Allete; Wang, Zhi; Vogeley, Lutz; Solcan, Nicolae; Ledderboge-Vucinic, Gregory; Swanson, Jessica M J; Caffrey, Martin; Voth, Gregory A; Newstead, Simon

2017-12-12

POT transporters represent an evolutionarily well-conserved family of proton-coupled transport systems in biology. An unusual feature of the family is their ability to couple the transport of chemically diverse ligands to an inwardly directed proton electrochemical gradient. For example, in mammals, fungi, and bacteria they are predominantly peptide transporters, whereas in plants the family has diverged to recognize nitrate, plant defense compounds, and hormones. Although recent structural and biochemical studies have identified conserved sites of proton binding, the mechanism through which transport is coupled to proton movement remains enigmatic. Here we show that different POT transporters operate through distinct proton-coupled mechanisms through changes in the extracellular gate. A high-resolution crystal structure reveals the presence of ordered water molecules within the peptide binding site. Multiscale molecular dynamics simulations confirm proton transport occurs through these waters via Grotthuss shuttling and reveal that proton binding to the extracellular side of the transporter facilitates a reorientation from an inward- to outward-facing state. Together these results demonstrate that within the POT family multiple mechanisms of proton coupling have likely evolved in conjunction with variation of the extracellular gate. Copyright © 2017 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Coupled neutronic/thermal-hydraulic analysis of the HPLWR three pass core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monti, Lanfranco; Starflinger, Joerg; Schulenberg, Thomas

2008-01-01

The High Performance Light Water Reactor is an innovative Gen-IV reactor cooled and moderated with water at supercritical pressure. The three pass core concept has been proposed to reduce peaking factors, i.e. hot-channel effects, and it further increases the core heterogeneity, which is mainly due to pronounced water density reduction. For this kind of nuclear reactor, the significant feedbacks - which exist between the properties of the components and the power generation rate - can not be neglected and require a coupled Neutronic/Thermal-Hydraulic analysis even for steady state conditions. The main goal of this paper is to present the developed tool for coupled analyses of the HPLWR. Two state-of-the-art codes have been chosen for Thermal-Hydraulic and Neutronic core analyses, namely TRACE and ERANOS, and they have been coupled with in an iterative procedure in which they are run in series until a steady state condition has been reached. In the simplifying assumptions of uniform enrichment distribution, zero burn-up and ignoring the effect of the control rods, the obtained steady state condition will be discussed and a core power map, flow rate redistribution as well as water and fuel temperature variations will be presented. (author)

Advances in the solution of three-dimensional nodal neutron transport equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pazos, Ruben Panta; Hauser, Eliete Biasotto; Vilhena, Marco Tullio de

2003-01-01

In this paper we study the three-dimensional nodal discrete-ordinates approximations of neutron transport equation in a convex domain with piecewise smooth boundaries. We use the combined collocation method of the angular variables and nodal approach for the spatial variables. By nodal approach we mean the iterated transverse integration of the S N equations. This procedure leads to the set of one-dimensional averages angular fluxes in each spatial variable. The resulting system of equations is solved with the LTS N method, first applying the Laplace transform to the set of the nodal S N equations and then obtaining the solution by symbolic computation. We include the LTS N method by diagonalization to solve the nodal neutron transport equation and then we outline the convergence of these nodal-LTS N approximations with the help of a norm associated to the quadrature formula used to approximate the integral term of the neutron transport equation. We give numerical results obtained with an algebraic computer system (for N up to 8) and with a code for higher values of N. We compare our results for the geometry of a box with a source in a vertex and a leakage zone in the opposite with others techniques used in this problem. (author)

Transport of D-D fusion neutrons in thick concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ku, L.P.; Kolibal, J.G.

1982-07-01

By altering the collision mechanism in the numerical transport calculations, and by constructing an analytical model based on age-diffusion theory, the outstanding feature in the life history of D-D fusion neutrons penetrating deeply into ordinary concrete is shown to be the transport in the 2.3 MeV oxygen anti-resonance. This result is used to assess the impact of the cross-section uncertainties and the uncertainties due to variations in the D-D fusion spectrum and temperature

Positive solution of a time and energy dependent neutron transport problem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pao, C.V.

1975-01-01

A constructive method is given for the determination of a solution and an existence--uniqueness theorem for some nonlinear time and energy dependent neutron transport problems, including the linear transport system. The geometry of the medium under consideration is allowed to be either bounded or unbounded which includes the geometry of a finite or infinite cylinder, a half-space and the whole space R/subm/ (m=1,2,center-dotcenter-dotcenter-dot). Our approach to the problem is by successive approximation which leads to various recursion formulas for the approximations in terms of explicit integrations. It is shown under some Lipschitz conditions on the nonlinear functions, which describe the process of neutrons absorption, fission, and scattering, that the sequence of approximations converges to a unique positive solution. Since these conditions are satisfied by the linear transport equation, all the results for the nonlinear system are valid for the linear transport problem. In the general nonlinear problem, the existence of both local and global solutions are discussed, and an iterative process for the construction of the solution is given

LO-phonon and plasmon coupling in neutron-transmutation-doped GaAs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuriyama, K.; Sakai, K.; Okada, M.

1996-01-01

Coupling between the longitudinal-optic (LO) phonon mode and the longitudinal plasma mode in neutron-transmutation-doped (NTD) semi-insulating GaAs was studied using Raman-scattering spectroscopy and a Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer. When the electron concentration due to the activation of NTD impurities (Ge Ga and Se As ) approaches ∼8x10 16 cm -3 , the LO-phonon endash plasmon coupling is observed. This behavior is consistent with the free-electron absorption due to the activation of NTD impurities in samples annealed above 600 degree C. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

Exact analytical solution of time-independent neutron transport equation, and its applications to systems with a point source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mikata, Y.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • An exact solution for the one-speed neutron transport equation is obtained. • This solution as well as its derivation are believed to be new. • Neutron flux for a purely absorbing material with a point neutron source off the origin is obtained. • Spherically as well as cylindrically piecewise constant cross sections are studied. • Neutron flux expressions for a point neutron source off the origin are believed to be new. - Abstract: An exact analytical solution of the time-independent monoenergetic neutron transport equation is obtained in this paper. The solution is applied to systems with a point source. Systematic analysis of the solution of the time-independent neutron transport equation, and its applications represent the primary goal of this paper. To the best of the author’s knowledge, certain key results on the scalar neutron flux as well as their derivations are new. As an application of these results, a scalar neutron flux for a purely absorbing medium with a spherically piecewise constant cross section and an isotropic point neutron source off the origin as well as that for a cylindrically piecewise constant cross section with a point neutron source off the origin are obtained. Both of these results are believed to be new

Neutron transport calculations of some fast critical assemblies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martinez-Val Penalosa, J A

1976-07-01

To analyse the influence of the input variables of the transport codes upon the neutronic results (eigenvalues, generation times, . . . ) four Benchmark calculations have been performed. Sensitivity analysis have been applied to express these dependences in a useful way, and also to get an unavoidable experience to carry out calculations achieving the required accuracy and doing them in practical computing times. (Author) 29 refs.

Neutron transport calculations of some fast critical assemblies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez-Val Penalosa, J. A.

1976-01-01

To analyse the influence of the input variables of the transport codes upon the neutronic results (eigenvalues, generation times, . . . ) four Benchmark calculations have been performed. Sensitivity analysis have been applied to express these dependences in a useful way, and also to get an unavoidable experience to carry out calculations achieving the required accuracy and doing them in practical computing times. (Author) 29 refs

Coupling of transport and geochemical models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noy, D.J.

1986-01-01

This report considers mass transport in the far-field of a radioactive waste repository, and detailed geochemical modelling of the ground-water in the near-field. A parallel approach to this problem of coupling transport and geochemical codes is the subject of another CEC report (ref. EUR 10226). Both studies were carried out in the framework of the CEC project MIRAGE. (Migration of radionuclides in the geosphere)

Modular coupling of transport and chemistry: theory and model applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pfingsten, W.

1994-06-01

For the description of complex processes in the near-field of a radioactive waste repository, the coupling of transport and chemistry is necessary. A reason for the relatively minor use of coupled codes in this area is the high amount of computer time and storage capacity necessary for calculations by conventional codes, and lack of available data. The simple application of the sequentially coupled code MCOTAC, which couples one-dimensional advective, dispersive and diffusive transport with chemical equilibrium complexation and precipitation/dissolution reactions in a porous medium, shows some promising features with respect to applicability to relevant problems. Transport, described by random walk of multi-species particles, and chemical equilibrium calculations are solved separately, coupled only by an exchange term to ensure mass conservation. (For full text of the abstract see 25:072321)

Neutronic characteristics of coupled moderator proposed in integrated model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teshigawara, Makoto; Meigo, Shin-ichiro; Sakata, Hideaki; Kai, Tetsuya; Harada, Masahide; Ikeda, Yujiro; Watanabe, Noboru

2001-05-01

A pulsed spallation source for the materials science and the life science is currently developing for its construction in the High Intensity Proton Accelerator Project proposed jointly by the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) and the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK). This report presents the analytical results of the neutronic characteristics of the coupled moderator based on the analytical results obtained by using an integrated model which has established on the extensive neutronic and technical study. Total heat deposition in a hydrogen (H 2 ) moderator working as the main moderator was about 420 W/MW. Maximum nuclear heat density in the H 2 moderator was about 1 W/cm 3 /MW. Also total heat deposition in a premoderator was about 9.2 kW/MW. The heat density of the premoderator was comparable to that of the moderator vessel made of aluminum alloy. The heat density of the premoderator and the moderator vessel is about 1.2-2 times higher than that of the hydrogen moderator. The temperature from 300 K to 400 K of the premoderator did not affect on neutron intensity of the H 2 moderator. This suggested an engineering advantage on the thermal and hydraulic design. 6000 or 7000 type of a aluminum alloy was considered from the viewpoint of the neutron beam transmission. The proton beams scattered by the proton beam window did not affect on the nuclear heating in the H 2 moderator. The heat deposition in the H 2 moderator and the neutron intensity of the H 2 moderator did not depend on the proton beam profile but it did on the distance between the proton beam and the moderator. (author)

Accuracy and Efficiency of a Coupled Neutronics and Thermal Hydraulics Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pope, Michael A.; Mousseau, Vincent A.

2009-01-01

The accuracy requirements for modern nuclear reactor simulation are steadily increasing due to the cost and regulation of relevant experimental facilities. Because of the increase in the cost of experiments and the decrease in the cost of simulation, simulation will play a much larger role in the design and licensing of new nuclear reactors. Fortunately as the work load of simulation increases, there are better physics models, new numerical techniques, and more powerful computer hardware that will enable modern simulation codes to handle this larger workload. This manuscript will discuss a numerical method where the six equations of two-phase flow, the solid conduction equations, and the two equations that describe neutron diffusion and precursor concentration are solved together in a tightly coupled, nonlinear fashion for a simplified model of a nuclear reactor core. This approach has two important advantages. The first advantage is a higher level of accuracy. Because the equations are solved together in a single nonlinear system, the solution is more accurate than the traditional 'operator split' approach where the two-phase flow equations are solved first, the heat conduction is solved second and the neutron diffusion is solved third, limiting the temporal accuracy to 1st order because the nonlinear coupling between the physics is handled explicitly. The second advantage of the method described in this manuscript is that the time step control in the fully implicit system can be based on the timescale of the solution rather than a stability-based time step restriction like the material Courant. Results are presented from a simulated control rod movement and a rod ejection that address temporal accuracy for the fully coupled solution and demonstrate how the fastest timescale of the problem can change between the state variables of neutronics, conduction and two-phase flow during the course of a transient.

Accuracy and Efficiency of a Coupled Neutronics and Thermal Hydraulics Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vincent A. Mousseau; Michael A. Pope

2007-01-01

The accuracy requirements for modern nuclear reactor simulation are steadily increasing due to the cost and regulation of relevant experimental facilities. Because of the increase in the cost of experiments and the decrease in the cost of simulation, simulation will play a much larger role in the design and licensing of new nuclear reactors. Fortunately as the work load of simulation increases, there are better physics models, new numerical techniques, and more powerful computer hardware that will enable modern simulation codes to handle the larger workload. This manuscript will discuss a numerical method where the six equations of two-phase flow, the solid conduction equations, and the two equations that describe neutron diffusion and precursor concentration are solved together in a tightly coupled, nonlinear fashion for a simplified model of a nuclear reactor core. This approach has two important advantages. The first advantage is a higher level of accuracy. Because the equations are solved together in a single nonlinear system, the solution is more accurate than the traditional 'operator split' approach where the two-phase flow equations are solved first, the heat conduction is solved second and the neutron diffusion is solved third, limiting the temporal accuracy to 1st order because the nonlinear coupling between the physics is handled explicitly. The second advantage of the method described in this manuscript is that the time step control in the fully implicit system can be based on the timescale of the solution rather than a stability-based time step restriction like the material Courant. Results are presented from a simulated control rod movement and a rod ejection that address temporal accuracy for the fully coupled solution and demonstrate how the fastest timescale of the problem can change between the state variables of neutronics, conduction and two-phase flow during the course of a transient

FMCEIR: a Monte Carlo program for solving the stationary neutron and gamma transport equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taormina, A.

1978-05-01

FMCEIR is a three-dimensional Monte Carlo program for solving the stationary neutron and gamma transport equation. It is used to study the problem of neutron and gamma streaming in the GCFR and HHT reactor channels. (G.T.H.)

Analytical three-dimensional neutron transport benchmarks for verification of nuclear engineering codes. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ganapol, B.D.; Kornreich, D.E.

1997-01-01

Because of the requirement of accountability and quality control in the scientific world, a demand for high-quality analytical benchmark calculations has arisen in the neutron transport community. The intent of these benchmarks is to provide a numerical standard to which production neutron transport codes may be compared in order to verify proper operation. The overall investigation as modified in the second year renewal application includes the following three primary tasks. Task 1 on two dimensional neutron transport is divided into (a) single medium searchlight problem (SLP) and (b) two-adjacent half-space SLP. Task 2 on three-dimensional neutron transport covers (a) point source in arbitrary geometry, (b) single medium SLP, and (c) two-adjacent half-space SLP. Task 3 on code verification, includes deterministic and probabilistic codes. The primary aim of the proposed investigation was to provide a suite of comprehensive two- and three-dimensional analytical benchmarks for neutron transport theory applications. This objective has been achieved. The suite of benchmarks in infinite media and the three-dimensional SLP are a relatively comprehensive set of one-group benchmarks for isotropically scattering media. Because of time and resource limitations, the extensions of the benchmarks to include multi-group and anisotropic scattering are not included here. Presently, however, enormous advances in the solution for the planar Green's function in an anisotropically scattering medium have been made and will eventually be implemented in the two- and three-dimensional solutions considered under this grant. Of particular note in this work are the numerical results for the three-dimensional SLP, which have never before been presented. The results presented were made possible only because of the tremendous advances in computing power that have occurred during the past decade

Removal, transportation and disposal of the Millstone 2 neutron thermal shield

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snedeker, D.F.; Thomas, L.S.; Schmoker, D.S.; Cade, M.S.

1985-01-01

Some PWR reactors equipped with neutron thermal shields (NTS) have experienced severe neutron shield degradation to the extent that removal and disposal of these shields has become necessary. Due to the relative size and activation levels of the thermal shield, disposal techniques, remote material handling and transportation equipment must be carefully evaluated to minimize plant down time and maintain disposal costs at a minimum. This paper describes the techniques, equipment and methodology employed in the removal, transportation and disposal of the NTS at the Millstone 2 Nuclear Generating Station, a PWR facility owned and operated by Northeast Utilities of Hartford, CT. Specific areas addressed include: (1) remote underwater equipment and tooling for use in segmenting and loading the thermal shield in a disposal liner; (2) adaptation of the General Electric IF-300 Irradiated Fuel Cask for transportation of the NTS for disposal; (3) equipment and techniques used for cask handling and liner burial at the Low Level Radioactive Waste (LLRW) disposal facility

Error reduction techniques for Monte Carlo neutron transport calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ju, J.H.W.

1981-01-01

Monte Carlo methods have been widely applied to problems in nuclear physics, mathematical reliability, communication theory, and other areas. The work in this thesis is developed mainly with neutron transport applications in mind. For nuclear reactor and many other applications, random walk processes have been used to estimate multi-dimensional integrals and obtain information about the solution of integral equations. When the analysis is statistically based such calculations are often costly, and the development of efficient estimation techniques plays a critical role in these applications. All of the error reduction techniques developed in this work are applied to model problems. It is found that the nearly optimal parameters selected by the analytic method for use with GWAN estimator are nearly identical to parameters selected by the multistage method. Modified path length estimation (based on the path length importance measure) leads to excellent error reduction in all model problems examined. Finally, it should be pointed out that techniques used for neutron transport problems may be transferred easily to other application areas which are based on random walk processes. The transport problems studied in this dissertation provide exceptionally severe tests of the error reduction potential of any sampling procedure. It is therefore expected that the methods of this dissertation will prove useful in many other application areas

Rapid Measurement of Neutron Dose Rate for Transport Index

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morris, R.L.

2000-01-01

A newly available neutron dose equivalent remmeter with improved sensitivity and energy response has been put into service at Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS). This instrument is being used to expedite measurement of the Transport Index and as an ALARA tool to identify locations where slightly elevated neutron dose equivalent rates exist. The meter is capable of measuring dose rates as low as 0.2 μSv per hour (20 μrem per hour). Tests of the angular response and energy response of the instrument are reported. Calculations of the theoretical instrument response made using MCNPtrademark are reported for materials typical of those being shipped

Comparison of analytical transport and stochastic solutions for neutron slowing down in an infinite medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jahshan, S.N.; Wemple, C.A.; Ganapol, B.D.

1993-01-01

A comparison of the numerical solutions of the transport equation describing the steady neutron slowing down in an infinite medium with constant cross sections is made with stochastic solutions obtained from tracking successive neutron histories in the same medium. The transport equation solution is obtained using a numerical Laplace transform inversion algorithm. The basis for the algorithm is an evaluation of the Bromwich integral without analytical continuation. Neither the transport nor the stochastic solution is limited in the number of scattering species allowed. The medium may contain an absorption component as well. (orig.)

Application of synthetic diffusion method in the numerical solution of the equations of neutron transport in slab geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valdes Parra, J.J.

1986-01-01

One of the main problems in reactor physics is to determine the neutron distribution in reactor core, since knowing that, it is possible to calculate the rapidity of occurrence of different nuclear reaction inside the reactor core. Within different theories existing in nuclear reactor physics, is neutron transport the one in which equation who govern the exact behavior of neutronic distribution are developed even inside the proper neutron transport theory, there exist different methods of solution which are approximations to exact solution; still more, with the purpose to reach a more precise solution, the majority of methods have been approached to the obtention of solutions in numerical form with the aim of take the advantages of modern computers, and for this reason a great deal of effort is dedicated to numerical solution of the equations of neutron transport. In agreement with the above mentioned, in this work has been developed a computer program which uses a relatively new techniques known as 'acceleration of synthetic diffusion' which has been applied to solve the neutron transport equation with 'classical schemes of spatial integration' obtaining results with a smaller quantity of interactions, if they compare to done without using such equation (Author)

Recent developments in discrete ordinates electron transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morel, J.E.; Lorence, L.J. Jr.

1986-01-01

The discrete ordinates method is a deterministic method for numerically solving the Boltzmann equation. It was originally developed for neutron transport calculations, but is routinely used for photon and coupled neutron-photon transport calculations as well. The computational state of the art for coupled electron-photon transport (CEPT) calculations is not as developed as that for neutron transport calculations. The only production codes currently available for CEPT calculations are condensed-history Monte Carlo codes such as the ETRAN and ITS codes. A deterministic capability for production calculations is clearly needed. In response to this need, we have begun the development of a production discrete ordinates code for CEPT calculations. The purpose of this paper is to describe the basic approach we are taking, discuss the current status of the project, and present some new computational results. Although further characterization of the coupled electron-photon discrete ordinates method remains to be done, the results to date indicate that the discrete ordinates method can be just as accurate and from 10 to 100 times faster than the Monte Carlo method for a wide variety of problems. We stress that these results are obtained with standard discrete ordinates codes such as ONETRAN. It is clear that even greater efficiency can be obtained by developing a new generation of production discrete ordinates codes specifically designed to solve the Boltzmann-Fokker-Planck equation. However, the prospects for such development in the near future appear to be remote

Calculated characteristics of subcritical assembly with anisotropic transport of neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorin, N.V.; Lipilina, E.N.; Lyutov, V.D.; Saukov, A.I.

2003-01-01

There was considered possibility of creating enough sub-critical system that multiply neutron fluence from a primary source by many orders. For assemblies with high neutron tie between parts, it is impossible. That is why there was developed a construction consisting of many units (cascades) having weak feedback with preceding cascades. The feedback attenuation was obtained placing layers of slow neutron absorber and moderators between the cascades of fission material. Anisotropy of fast neutron transport through the layers was used. The system consisted of many identical cascades aligning one by another. Each cascade consists of layers of moderator, fissile material and absorber of slow neutrons. The calculations were carried out using the code MCNP.4a with nuclear data library ENDF/B5. In this construction neutrons spread predominantly in one direction multiplying in each next fissile layer, and they attenuate considerably in the opposite direction. In a calculated construction, multiplication factor of one cascade is about 1.5 and multiplication factor of whole construction composed of n cascades is 1.5 n . Calculated keff value is 0.9 for one cascade and does not exceed 0.98 for a system containing any number of cascades. Therefore the assembly is always sub-critical and therefore it is safe in respect of criticality. There was considered using such a sub-critical assembly to create a powerful neutron fluence for neutron boron-capturing therapy. The system merits and demerits were discussed. (authors)

Discrete elements method of neutron transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mathews, K.A.

1988-01-01

In this paper a new neutron transport method, called discrete elements (L N ) is derived and compared to discrete ordinates methods, theoretically and by numerical experimentation. The discrete elements method is based on discretizing the Boltzmann equation over a set of elements of angle. The discrete elements method is shown to be more cost-effective than discrete ordinates, in terms of accuracy versus execution time and storage, for the cases tested. In a two-dimensional test case, a vacuum duct in a shield, the L N method is more consistently convergent toward a Monte Carlo benchmark solution

Comparison of multimesh hp-FEM to interpolation and projection methods for spatial coupling of thermal and neutron diffusion calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubcova, Lenka; Solin, Pavel; Hansen, Glen; Park, HyeongKae

2011-01-01

Multiphysics solution challenges are legion within the field of nuclear reactor design and analysis. One major issue concerns the coupling between heat and neutron flow (neutronics) within the reactor assembly. These phenomena are usually very tightly interdependent, as large amounts of heat are quickly produced with an increase in fission events within the fuel, which raises the temperature that affects the neutron cross section of the fuel. Furthermore, there typically is a large diversity of time and spatial scales between mathematical models of heat and neutronics. Indeed, the different spatial resolution requirements often lead to the use of very different meshes for the two phenomena. As the equations are coupled, one must take care in exchanging solution data between them, or significant error can be introduced into the coupled problem. We propose a novel approach to the discretization of the coupled problem on different meshes based on an adaptive multimesh higher-order finite element method (hp-FEM), and compare it to popular interpolation and projection methods. We show that the multimesh hp-FEM method is significantly more accurate than the interpolation and projection approaches considered in this study.

Reactor physics simulations with coupled Monte Carlo calculation and computational fluid dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seker, V.; Thomas, J.W.; Downar, T.J.

2007-01-01

A computational code system based on coupling the Monte Carlo code MCNP5 and the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code STAR-CD was developed as an audit tool for lower order nuclear reactor calculations. This paper presents the methodology of the developed computer program 'McSTAR'. McSTAR is written in FORTRAN90 programming language and couples MCNP5 and the commercial CFD code STAR-CD. MCNP uses a continuous energy cross section library produced by the NJOY code system from the raw ENDF/B data. A major part of the work was to develop and implement methods to update the cross section library with the temperature distribution calculated by STARCD for every region. Three different methods were investigated and implemented in McSTAR. The user subroutines in STAR-CD are modified to read the power density data and assign them to the appropriate variables in the program and to write an output data file containing the temperature, density and indexing information to perform the mapping between MCNP and STAR-CD cells. Preliminary testing of the code was performed using a 3x3 PWR pin-cell problem. The preliminary results are compared with those obtained from a STAR-CD coupled calculation with the deterministic transport code DeCART. Good agreement in the k eff and the power profile was observed. Increased computational capabilities and improvements in computational methods have accelerated interest in high fidelity modeling of nuclear reactor cores during the last several years. High-fidelity has been achieved by utilizing full core neutron transport solutions for the neutronics calculation and computational fluid dynamics solutions for the thermal-hydraulics calculation. Previous researchers have reported the coupling of 3D deterministic neutron transport method to CFD and their application to practical reactor analysis problems. One of the principal motivations of the work here was to utilize Monte Carlo methods to validate the coupled deterministic neutron transport

Characteristics of the WNR: a pulsed spallation neutron source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Russell, G.J.; Lisowski, P.W.; Howe, S.D.; King, N.S.P.; Meier, M.M.

1982-01-01

The Weapons Neutron Research facility (WNR) is a pulsed spallation neutron source in operation at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The WNR uses part of the 800-MeV proton beam from the Clinton P. Anderson Meson Physics Facility accelerator. By choosing different target and moderator configurations and varying the proton pulse structure, the WNR can provide a white neutron source spanning the energy range from a few MeV to 800 MeV. The neutron spectrum from a bare target has been measured and is compared with predictions using an Intranuclear Cascade model coupled to a Monte Carlo transport code. Calculations and measurements of the neutronics of WNR target-moderator assemblies are presented

Direct integration multiple collision integral transport analysis method for high energy fusion neutronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koch, K.R.

1985-01-01

A new analysis method specially suited for the inherent difficulties of fusion neutronics was developed to provide detailed studies of the fusion neutron transport physics. These studies should provide a better understanding of the limitations and accuracies of typical fusion neutronics calculations. The new analysis method is based on the direct integration of the integral form of the neutron transport equation and employs a continuous energy formulation with the exact treatment of the energy angle kinematics of the scattering process. In addition, the overall solution is analyzed in terms of uncollided, once-collided, and multi-collided solution components based on a multiple collision treatment. Furthermore, the numerical evaluations of integrals use quadrature schemes that are based on the actual dependencies exhibited in the integrands. The new DITRAN computer code was developed on the Cyber 205 vector supercomputer to implement this direct integration multiple-collision fusion neutronics analysis. Three representative fusion reactor models were devised and the solutions to these problems were studied to provide suitable choices for the numerical quadrature orders as well as the discretized solution grid and to understand the limitations of the new analysis method. As further verification and as a first step in assessing the accuracy of existing fusion-neutronics calculations, solutions obtained using the new analysis method were compared to typical multigroup discrete ordinates calculations

Solution and study of nodal neutron transport equation applying the LTSN-DiagExp method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hauser, Eliete Biasotto; Pazos, Ruben Panta; Vilhena, Marco Tullio de; Barros, Ricardo Carvalho de

2003-01-01

In this paper we report advances about the three-dimensional nodal discrete-ordinates approximations of neutron transport equation for Cartesian geometry. We use the combined collocation method of the angular variables and nodal approach for the spatial variables. By nodal approach we mean the iterated transverse integration of the S N equations. This procedure leads to the set of one-dimensional averages angular fluxes in each spatial variable. The resulting system of equations is solved with the LTS N method, first applying the Laplace transform to the set of the nodal S N equations and then obtained the solution by symbolic computation. We include the LTS N method by diagonalization to solve the nodal neutron transport equation and then we outline the convergence of these nodal-LTS N approximations with the help of a norm associated to the quadrature formula used to approximate the integral term of the neutron transport equation. (author)

Prototype coupling of the CFD software ansys CFX with the 3D neutron kinetic core model DYN3D - 249

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kliem, S.; Rohde, U.; Schutze, J.; Frank, Th.

2010-01-01

The CFD code ANSYS CFX has been coupled with the neutron-kinetic core model DYN3D. ANSYS CFX calculates the fluid dynamics and related transport phenomena in the reactor's coolant and provides the corresponding data to DYN3D. In the fluid flow simulation of the coolant, the core itself is modeled within the porous body approach. DYN3D calculates the neutron kinetics and the fuel behavior including the heat transfer to the coolant. The physical data interface between the codes is the volumetric heat release rate into the coolant. In the prototype that is currently available, the coupling is restricted to single-phase flow problems. In the time domain an explicit coupling of the codes has been implemented so far. Steady-state and transient verification calculations for a small-size test problem confirm the correctness of the implementation of the prototype coupling. This test problem was a mini-core consisting of nine real-size fuel assemblies. Comparison was performed with the DYN3D standalone code. In the steady state, the effective multiplication factor obtained by the ANSYS CFX/DYN3D codes shows a deviation of 9.8 pcm from the DYN3D stand-alone solution. This difference can be attributed to the use of different water property packages in the two codes. The transient test case simulated the withdrawal of the control rod from the central fuel assembly at hot zero power. Power increase during the introduction of positive reactivity and power reduction due to fuel temperature increase are calculated in the same manner by the coupled and the stand-alone codes. The maximum values reached during the power rise differ by about 1 MW at a power level of 50 MW. Beside the different water property packages, these differences are caused by the use of different flow solvers. (authors)

Use of the light-water neutron scattering kernel in the study of neutron transport processes in mixtures of light and heavy water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tewari, S.P.

1975-01-01

A method of studying neutron transport properties in H 2 O-D 2 O mixtures, both liquid and solid, which extrapolates the neutron thermalization parameters of H 2 O is described. The decay of pulsed neutrons in the media has been investigated as an example of the application of the method. The results of the calcutions agree with the experiment for concentrations up to 50 percent D 2 O. (1 figure) (U.S.)

Application of Trotter approximation for solving time dependent neutron transport equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stancic, V.

1987-01-01

A method is proposed to solve multigroup time dependent neutron transport equation with arbitrary scattering anisotropy. The recurrence relation thus obtained is simple, numerically stable and especially suitable for treatment of complicated geometries. (author)

Neutronics issues in fusion-fission hybrid reactor design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Chengan

1995-01-01

The coupled neutron and γ-ray transport equations and nuclear number density equations, and its computer program systems concerned in fusion-fission hybrid reactor design are briefly described. The current status and focal point for coming work of nuclear data used in fusion reactor design are explained

Accuracy estimation for intermediate and low energy neutron transport calculation with Monte Carlo code MCNP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kotegawa, Hiroshi; Sasamoto, Nobuo; Tanaka, Shun-ichi

1987-02-01

Both ''measured radioactive inventory due to neutron activation in the shield concrete of JPDR'' and ''measured intermediate and low energy neutron spectra penetrating through a graphite sphere'' are analyzed using a continuous energy model Monte Carlo code MCNP so as to estimate calculational accuracy of the code for neutron transport in thermal and epithermal energy regions. Analyses reveal that MCNP calculates thermal neutron spectra fairly accurately, while it apparently over-estimates epithermal neutron spectra (of approximate 1/E distribution) as compared with the measurements. (author)

Coupled neutronics and thermal-hydraulics numerical simulations of a Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laureau, A.; Rubiolo, P.R.; Heuer, D.; Merle-Lucotte, E.; Brovchenko, M.

2013-01-01

Coupled neutronics and thermalhydraulic numerical analyses of a molten salt fast reactor (MSFR) are presented. These preliminary numerical simulations are carried-out using the Monte Carlo code MCNP and the Computation Fluid Dynamic code OpenFOAM. The main objectives of this analysis performed at steady-reactor conditions are to confirm the acceptability of the current neutronic and thermalhydraulic designs of the reactor, to study the effects of the reactor operating conditions on some of the key MSFR design parameters such as the temperature peaking factor. The effects of the precursor's motion on the reactor safety parameters such as the effective fraction of delayed neutrons have been evaluated. (authors)

A domian Decomposition Method for Transient Neutron Transport with Pomrning-Eddington Approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hendi, A.A.; Abulwafa, E.E.

2008-01-01

The time-dependent neutron transport problem is approximated using the Pomraning-Eddington approximation. This approximation is two-flux approximation that expands the angular intensity in terms of the energy density and the net flux. This approximation converts the integro-differential Boltzmann equation into two first order differential equations. The A domian decomposition method that used to solve the linear or nonlinear differential equations is used to solve the resultant two differential equations to find the neutron energy density and net flux, which can be used to calculate the neutron angular intensity through the Pomraning-Eddington approximation

Neutron transport calculation for Activation Evaluation for Decommissioning of PET cyclotron Facility

Science.gov (United States)

Nobuhara, Fumiyoshi; Kuroyanagi, Makoto; Masumoto, Kazuyoshi; Nakamura, Hajime; Toyoda, Akihiro; Takahashi, Katsuhiko

2017-09-01

In order to evaluate the state of activation in a cyclotron facility used for the radioisotope production of PET diagnostics, we measured the neutron flux by using gold foils and TLDs. Then, the spatial distribution of neutrons and induced activity inside the cyclotron vault were simulated with the Monte Calro calculation code for neutron transport and DCHAIN-SP for activation calculation. The calculated results are in good agreement with measured values within factor 3. Therefore, the adaption of the advanced evaluation procedure for activation level is proved to be important for the planning of decommissioning of these facilities.

Thermohydraulic stability coupled to the neutronic in a BWR; Estabilidad termohidraulica acoplada a la neutronica en un BWR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calleros M, G.; Zapata Y, M.; Gomez H, R.A.; Mendez M, A. [Comision Federal de Electricidad, Central Nucleoelectrica de Laguna Verde, Carretera Cardel-Nautla Km. 42.5, Mpio. Alto Lucero, Veracruz (Mexico); Castlllo D, R. [ININ, Carretera Mexico-Toluca Km 36.5, La Marquesa, Estado de Mexico (Mexico)]. e-mail: gcm9acpp@cfe.gob.mx

2006-07-01

In a BWR type reactor the phenomenon of the nuclear fission is presented, in which are liberated in stochastic form neutrons, originating that the population of the same ones varies in statistic form around a mean value. This variation will cause that when the neutron flow impacts on the neutron detectors, its are had as a result neutron flow signals with fluctuations around an average value. In this article it is shown that it conforms it lapses the time, this variations in the neutron flow (and therefore, in the flow signal due only to the fission), they presented oscillations inside a stable range, which won't be divergent. Considering that the BWR is characterized because boiling phenomena are presented, which affect the moderation of the neutrons, additional variations will be had in the signal coming from the neutron detectors, with relationship to the fission itself, which will be influenced by the feedback of the moderator's reactivity and of the temperature of the fuel pellet. Also, as the BWR it has coupled control systems to maintain the coolant level one and of the thermal power of the reactor, for each control action it was affected the neutron population. This means that the reactor could end up straying of a stable state condition. By it previously described, the study of the thermohydraulic stability coupled to the neutronic is complex. In this work it is shown the phenomenology, the mathematical models and the theoretical behavior associated to the stability of the BWR type reactor; the variables that affect it are identified, the models that reproduce the behavior of the thermohydraulic stability coupled to the neutronic, the way to maintain stable the reactor and the instrumentation that can settle to detect and to suppress uncertainties is described. In particular, is make reference to the evolution of the methods to maintain the stability of the reactor and the detection system and suppression of uncertainties implemented in the

MCNPX and MCB coupled methodology for the burnup calculation of the KIPT accelerator driven subcritical system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhong, Z.; Gohar, Y.; Talamo, A.

2009-01-01

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) of USA and Kharkov Inst. of Physics and Technology (KIPT) of Ukraine have been collaborating on the conceptual design development of an electron accelerator driven subcritical facility (ADS). The facility will be utilized for basic research, medical isotopes production, and training young nuclear specialists. The burnup methodology and analysis of the KIPT ADS are presented in this paper. MCNPX and MCB Monte Carlo computer codes have been utilized. MCNPX has the capability of performing electron, photon and neutron coupled transport problems, but it lacks the burnup capability for driven subcritical systems. MCB has the capability for performing the burnup calculation of driven subcritical systems, while it cannot transport electrons. A calculational methodology coupling MCNPX and MCB has been developed, which can exploit the electrons transport capability of MCNPX for neutron production and the burnup capability of MCB for driven subcritical systems. In this procedure, a neutron source file is generated using MCNPX transport calculation, preserving the neutrons yield from photonuclear reactions initiated by electrons, and this source file is utilized by MCB for the burnup analyses with the same geometrical model. In this way, the ADS depletion calculation can be accurately. (authors)

The potential of detecting intermediate-scale biomass and canopy interception in a coniferous forest using cosmic-ray neutron intensity measurements and neutron transport modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Andreasen, M.; Looms, M. C.; Bogena, H. R.; Desilets, D.; Zreda, M. G.; Sonnenborg, T. O.; Jensen, K. H.

2014-12-01

The water stored in the various compartments of the terrestrial ecosystem (in snow, canopy interception, soil and litter) controls the exchange of the water and energy between the land surface and the atmosphere. Therefore, measurements of the water stored within these pools are critical for the prediction of e.g. evapotranspiration and groundwater recharge. The detection of cosmic-ray neutron intensity is a novel non-invasive method for the quantification of continuous intermediate-scale soil moisture. The footprint of the cosmic-ray neutron probe is a hemisphere of a few hectometers and subsurface depths of 10-70 cm depending on wetness. The cosmic-ray neutron method offers measurements at a scale between the point-scale measurements and large-scale satellite retrievals. The cosmic-ray neutron intensity is inversely correlated to the hydrogen stored within the footprint. Overall soil moisture represents the largest pool of hydrogen and changes in the soil moisture clearly affect the cosmic-ray neutron signal. However, the neutron intensity is also sensitive to variations of hydrogen in snow, canopy interception and biomass offering the potential to determine water content in such pools from the signal. In this study we tested the potential of determining canopy interception and biomass using cosmic-ray neutron intensity measurements within the framework of the Danish Hydrologic Observatory (HOBE) and the Terrestrial Environmental Observatories (TERENO). Continuous measurements at the ground and the canopy level, along with profile measurements were conducted at towers at forest field sites. Field experiments, including shielding the cosmic-ray neutron probes with cadmium foil (to remove lower-energy neutrons) and measuring reference intensity rates at complete water saturated conditions (on the sea close to the HOBE site), were further conducted to obtain an increased understanding of the physics controlling the cosmic-ray neutron transport and the equipment used

Development and application of neutron transport methods and uncertainty analyses for reactor core calculations. Technical report; Entwicklung und Einsatz von Neutronentransportmethoden und Unsicherheitsanalysen fuer Reaktorkernberechnungen. Technischer Bericht

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zwermann, W.; Aures, A.; Bernnat, W.; and others

2013-06-15

This report documents the status of the research and development goals reached within the reactor safety research project RS1503 ''Development and Application of Neutron Transport Methods and Uncertainty Analyses for Reactor Core Calculations'' as of the 1{sup st} quarter of 2013. The superordinate goal of the project is the development, validation, and application of neutron transport methods and uncertainty analyses for reactor core calculations. These calculation methods will mainly be applied to problems related to the core behaviour of light water reactors and innovative reactor concepts. The contributions of this project towards achieving this goal are the further development, validation, and application of deterministic and stochastic calculation programmes and of methods for uncertainty and sensitivity analyses, as well as the assessment of artificial neutral networks, for providing a complete nuclear calculation chain. This comprises processing nuclear basis data, creating multi-group data for diffusion and transport codes, obtaining reference solutions for stationary states with Monte Carlo codes, performing coupled 3D full core analyses in diffusion approximation and with other deterministic and also Monte Carlo transport codes, and implementing uncertainty and sensitivity analyses with the aim of propagating uncertainties through the whole calculation chain from fuel assembly, spectral and depletion calculations to coupled transient analyses. This calculation chain shall be applicable to light water reactors and also to innovative reactor concepts, and therefore has to be extensively validated with the help of benchmarks and critical experiments.

Strongly coupled chameleon fields: Possible test with a neutron Lloyd's mirror interferometer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pokotilovski, Yu.N., E-mail: pokot@nf.jinr.ru [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna, Moscow Region (Russian Federation)

2013-02-26

The consideration of possible neutron Lloyd's mirror interferometer experiment to search for strongly coupled chameleon fields is presented. The chameleon scalar fields were proposed to explain the acceleration of expansion of the Universe. The presence of a chameleon field results in a change of a particle's potential energy in vicinity of a massive body. This interaction causes a phase shift of neutron waves in the interferometer. The sensitivity of the method is estimated.

Arbitrary quadrature: its application in the solution of one-dimensional, planar neutron transport problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanchez, J.

2010-10-01

A standard numerical procedure for the solution of singular integral equations is applied to the one-dimensional transport equation for monoenergetic neutrons. As is usual in quadrature methods, the procedure yields an Eigen system whose solution provide, for the critical slab, both the eigenvalue which is proportional to the number of secondary neutrons per collision, and the density as a function of position. The results obtained with two versions of the procedure, differing only in the extent of the basic region to which they are applied, are compared with analytically derived results available for benchmarking. The procedures considered yield consistent results for the calculated neutron densities and eigenvalues. Since the one-dimensional transport kernel and its spatial moments are integrable and their integrals can be put in terms of exponential integral functions, the resulting approximations to the neutron density yield somewhat lengthy but closed, forms. These approximate expressions of the neutron density can be used to render, after they are operated on, closed-form formulas for build-up factors, extrapolation distances or angular densities or employed for other purposes that require an analytical expression of the neutron density. As an example of this latter capability, the results of the calculation of the angular density at the surface of the slab are provided. (Author)

Discontinuous nodal schemes applied to the bidimensional neutron transport equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delfin L, A.; Valle G, E. Del; Hennart B, J.P.

1996-01-01

In this paper several strong discontinuous nodal schemes are described, starting from the one that has only two interpolation parameters per cell to the one having ten. Their application to the spatial discretization of the neutron transport equation in X-Y geometry is also described, giving, for each one of the nodal schemes, the approximation for the angular neutron flux that includes the set of interpolation parameters and the corresponding polynomial space. Numerical results were obtained for several test problems presenting here the problem with the highest degree of difficulty and their comparison with published results 1,2 . (Author)

Coupled electric and transport phenomena in porous media

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Li, Shuai

2014-01-01

The coupled electrical and transport properties of clay-containing porous media are the topics of interest in this study. Both experimental and numerical (pore network modeling) techniques are employed to gain insight into the macro-scale interaction between electrical and solute transport phenomena

Monte Carlo study of the mechanisms of transport of fast neutrons in various media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ku, L.

1976-01-01

The technique of analyzing Monte Carlo histories was used to study the details of neutron transport and slowing down mechanisms. The statistical properties of life histories of ''exceptional'' neutrons, i.e., those staying closer to the source or penetrating to larger distances from the source, were compared to those of the general population. The macroscopic behavior of ''exceptional'' neutrons was also related to the interaction mechanics and to the microscopic properties of the medium

Guideline of Monte Carlo calculation. Neutron/gamma ray transport simulation by Monte Carlo method

CERN Document Server

2002-01-01

This report condenses basic theories and advanced applications of neutron/gamma ray transport calculations in many fields of nuclear energy research. Chapters 1 through 5 treat historical progress of Monte Carlo methods, general issues of variance reduction technique, cross section libraries used in continuous energy Monte Carlo codes. In chapter 6, the following issues are discussed: fusion benchmark experiments, design of ITER, experiment analyses of fast critical assembly, core analyses of JMTR, simulation of pulsed neutron experiment, core analyses of HTTR, duct streaming calculations, bulk shielding calculations, neutron/gamma ray transport calculations of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. Chapters 8 and 9 treat function enhancements of MCNP and MVP codes, and a parallel processing of Monte Carlo calculation, respectively. An important references are attached at the end of this report.

A neutron irradiator applied to cancer treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campos, Tarcisio P.R.; Andrade, Ana P. de

2000-01-01

Cancer and the way of treating it with neutron capture therapy are addressed. This paper discusses also the type of neutron facilities used to treat cancer around the world, as follow: discrete neutron sources, accelerators, and nuclear reactors. The major features of an epithermal neutron irradiation facility applied to BNCT treatment are addressed. The main goal is to give another choice of neutron irradiators to be set in a hospital. The irradiation facility embeds a set of 252 Cf neutron source coupled with a homogeneous mixture of uranium-zirconium hydride alloy containing 8.4 wt % uranium enriched to 20% U 235 . The facility delivers an epithermal neutron beam with low background of fast neutron and gamma rays. The N particle transport code (MCNP-4A) has been used during the simulation in order to achieve the desired configurations and to estimate the multiplication factor, k eff . The present facility loaded with 30 mg of 252 Cf neutron source generates an external beam with an intensity of 10 7 n/cm 2 .s on the spectrum of 4 eV to 40 KeV. The 252 Cf - facility coupled with fissile material was able to amplify the epithermal flux to 10 8 n/cm 2 .s, maintaining the figure-of-merits represented by the ratios of the fast dose and gamma dose in air per epithermal neutron flux closed to those values presented by BMRR, MITR-II and Petten Reactor. The medical irradiation facility loaded with 252 Cf- 235 U can be a choice for BNCT. (author)

Completely boundary-free minimum and maximum principles for neutron transport and their least-squares and Galerkin equivalents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ackroyd, R.T.

1982-01-01

Some minimum and maximum variational principles for even-parity neutron transport are reviewed and the corresponding principles for odd-parity transport are derived by a simple method to show why the essential boundary conditions associated with these maximum principles have to be imposed. The method also shows why both the essential and some of the natural boundary conditions associated with these minimum principles have to be imposed. These imposed boundary conditions for trial functions in the variational principles limit the choice of the finite element used to represent trial functions. The reasons for the boundary conditions imposed on the principles for even- and odd-parity transport point the way to a treatment of composite neutron transport, for which completely boundary-free maximum and minimum principles are derived from a functional identity. In general a trial function is used for each parity in the composite neutron transport, but this can be reduced to one without any boundary conditions having to be imposed. (author)

Computational Modeling of a Time-Independent, Heterogeneous Reactor Core Using Simplified Discrete Ordinates Neutron Transport Techniques

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Labowski, Kristofer

2001-01-01

The Linear Characteristic (LC) method on rectangular boxoid meshes is a discrete ordinate neutron transport technique that uses both zeroth and first moments of the angular neutron flux to construct a relatively accurate...

Radiation Shielding Information Center: a source of computer codes and data for fusion neutronics studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McGill, B.L.; Roussin, R.W.; Trubey, D.K.; Maskewitz, B.F.

1980-01-01

The Radiation Shielding Information Center (RSIC), established in 1962 to collect, package, analyze, and disseminate information, computer codes, and data in the area of radiation transport related to fission, is now being utilized to support fusion neutronics technology. The major activities include: (1) answering technical inquiries on radiation transport problems, (2) collecting, packaging, testing, and disseminating computing technology and data libraries, and (3) reviewing literature and operating a computer-based information retrieval system containing material pertinent to radiation transport analysis. The computer codes emphasize methods for solving the Boltzmann equation such as the discrete ordinates and Monte Carlo techniques, both of which are widely used in fusion neutronics. The data packages include multigroup coupled neutron-gamma-ray cross sections and kerma coefficients, other nuclear data, and radiation transport benchmark problem results

Monoenergetic time-dependent neutron transport in an infinite medium with time-varying cross sections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ganapol, B.D.

1987-01-01

For almost 20 yr, the main thrust of the author's research has been the generation of as many benchmark solutions to the time-dependent monoenergetic neutron transport equation as possible. The major motivation behind this effort has been to provide code developers with highly accurate numerical solutions to serve as standards in the assessment of numerical transport algorithms. In addition, these solutions provide excellent educational tools since the important physical features of neutron transport are still present even though the problems solved are idealized. A secondary motivation, though of equal importance, is the intellectual stimulation and understanding provided by the combination of the analytical, numerical, and computational techniques required to obtain these solutions. Therefore, to further the benchmark development, the added complication of time-dependent cross sections in the one-group transport equation is considered here

Spatially adaptive hp refinement approach for PN neutron transport equation using spectral element method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nahavandi, N.; Minuchehr, A.; Zolfaghari, A.; Abbasi, M.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Powerful hp-SEM refinement approach for P N neutron transport equation has been presented. • The method provides great geometrical flexibility and lower computational cost. • There is a capability of using arbitrary high order and non uniform meshes. • Both posteriori and priori local error estimation approaches have been employed. • High accurate results are compared against other common adaptive and uniform grids. - Abstract: In this work we presented the adaptive hp-SEM approach which is obtained from the incorporation of Spectral Element Method (SEM) and adaptive hp refinement. The SEM nodal discretization and hp adaptive grid-refinement for even-parity Boltzmann neutron transport equation creates powerful grid refinement approach with high accuracy solutions. In this regard a computer code has been developed to solve multi-group neutron transport equation in one-dimensional geometry using even-parity transport theory. The spatial dependence of flux has been developed via SEM method with Lobatto orthogonal polynomial. Two commonly error estimation approaches, the posteriori and the priori has been implemented. The incorporation of SEM nodal discretization method and adaptive hp grid refinement leads to high accurate solutions. Coarser meshes efficiency and significant reduction of computer program runtime in comparison with other common refining methods and uniform meshing approaches is tested along several well-known transport benchmarks

Development of a coupled dynamics code with transport theory capability and application to accelerator driven systems transients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cahalan, J.E.; Ama, T.; Palmiotti, G.; Taiwo, T.A.; Yang, W.S.

2000-01-01

The VARIANT-K and DIF3D-K nodal spatial kinetics computer codes have been coupled to the SAS4A and SASSYS-1 liquid metal reactor accident and systems analysis codes. SAS4A and SASSYS-1 have been extended with the addition of heavy liquid metal (Pb and Pb-Bi) thermophysical properties, heat transfer correlations, and fluid dynamics correlations. The coupling methodology and heavy liquid metal modeling additions are described. The new computer code suite has been applied to analysis of neutron source and thermal-hydraulics transients in a model of an accelerator-driven minor actinide burner design proposed in an OECD/NEA/NSC benchmark specification. Modeling assumptions and input data generation procedures are described. Results of transient analyses are reported, with emphasis on comparison of P1 and P3 variational nodal transport theory results with nodal diffusion theory results, and on significance of spatial kinetics effects

Calculation of neutron and gamma transport at the FOA:type of problems and calculation methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lefvert, T.

1975-11-01

Protection against the effects of nuclear warfare involves the analysis of the forms of results of a nuclear charge explosion producing neutron and gamma radiation. It brings out problems leading to the calculation of criticality, leakage, and deep transmission. Methods have been developed for various kinds of particle transport problems. Applications to radiation therapy, storage of fissile materials, and fast reactors are discussed. A list (with brief description) of all neutron and gamma transport programmes of the FOA is given. (J.S.)

Developing an interface between MCNP and McStas for simulation of neutron moderators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klinkby, Esben Bryndt; Lauritzen, Bent; Nonbøl, Erik

2012-01-01

Simulations of target-moderator-reflector system at spallation sources are conventionally carried out using MCNP/X whereas simulations of neutron transport and instrument performance are carried out by neutron ray tracing codes such as McStas. The coupling between the two simulations suites...... typically consists of providing analytical fits from MCNP/X neutron spectra to McStas. This method is generally successful, but as will be discussed in the this paper, there are limitations and a more direct coupling between MCNP/X andMcStas could allow for more accurate simulations of e.g. complex...... moderator geometries, interference between beamlines as well as shielding requirements along the neutron guides. In this paper different possible interfaces between McStas and MCNP/X are discussed and first preliminary performance results are shown....

Anisotropic kernel p(μ → μ') for transport calculations of elastically scattered neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stevenson, B.

1985-01-01

Literature in the area of anisotropic neutron scattering is by no means lacking. Attention, however, is usually devoted to solution of some particular neutron transport problem and the model employed is at best approximate. The present approach to the problem in general is classically exact and may be of some particular value to individuals seeking exact numerical results in transport calculations. For attempts neutrons originally directed toward the unit vector Omega, it attempts the evaluation of p(theta'), defined such that p(theta') d theta' is that fraction of scattered neutrons that emerges in the vicinity of a cone i.e., having been scattered to between angles theta' and theta' + d theta' with the axis of preferred orientation i; Omega makes an angle theta with i. The relative simplicity of the final form of the solution for hydrogen, in spite of the complicated nature of the limits involved, is a trade-off that truly is not necessary. The exact general solution presented here in integral form, has exceedingly simple limits, i.e., 0 ≤ theta' ≤ π regardless of the material involved; but the form of the final solution is extraordinarily complicated

Development of a CAD-based neutron transport code with the method of characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Zhenping; Wang Dianxi; He Tao; Wang Guozhong; Zheng Huaqing

2012-01-01

The main problem determining whether the method of characteristics (MOC) can be used in complicated and highly heterogeneous geometry is how to combine an effective geometry processing method with MOC. In this study, a new idea making use of MCAM, which is a Mutlti-Calculation Automatic Modeling for Neutronics and Radiation Transport program developed by FDS Team, for geometry description and ray tracing of particle transport was brought forward to solve the geometry problem mentioned above. Based on the theory and approach as the foregoing statement, a two dimensional neutron transport code was developed which had been integrated into VisualBUS, developed by FDS Team. Several benchmarks were used to verify the validity of the code and the numerical results were coincident with the reference values very well, which indicated the accuracy and feasibility of the method and the MOC code. (authors)

Computational complexity in multidimensional neutron transport theory calculations. Progress report, September 1976--November 30, 1977

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bareiss, E.H.

1977-08-01

The objectives of this research are to develop mathematically and computationally founded criteria for the design of highly efficient and reliable multidimensional neutron transport codes to solve a variety of neutron migration and radiation problems, and to analyze existing and new methods for performance

Analysis of the neutrons dispersion in a semi-infinite medium based in transport theory and the Monte Carlo method; Analisis de la dispersion de neutrones en un medio semi-infinito en base a teoria de transporte y el metodo de Monte Carlo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arreola V, G. [IPN, Escuela Superior de Fisica y Matematicas, Posgrado en Ciencias Fisicomatematicas, area en Ingenieria Nuclear, Unidad Profesional Adolfo Lopez Mateos, Edificio 9, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco, 07730 Mexico D. F. (Mexico); Vazquez R, R.; Guzman A, J. R., E-mail: energia.arreola.uam@gmail.com [Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, Unidad Iztapalapa, Area de Ingenieria en Recursos Energeticos, Av. San Rafael Atlixco 186, Col. Vicentina, 09340 Mexico D. F. (Mexico)

2012-10-15

In this work a comparative analysis of the results for the neutrons dispersion in a not multiplicative semi-infinite medium is presented. One of the frontiers of this medium is located in the origin of coordinates, where a neutrons source in beam form, i.e., {mu}{omicron}=1 is also. The neutrons dispersion is studied on the statistical method of Monte Carlo and through the unidimensional transport theory and for an energy group. The application of transport theory gives a semi-analytic solution for this problem while the statistical solution for the flow was obtained applying the MCNPX code. The dispersion in light water and heavy water was studied. A first remarkable result is that both methods locate the maximum of the neutrons distribution to less than two mean free trajectories of transport for heavy water, while for the light water is less than ten mean free trajectories of transport; the differences between both methods is major for the light water case. A second remarkable result is that the tendency of both distributions is similar in small mean free trajectories, while in big mean free trajectories the transport theory spreads to an asymptote value and the solution in base statistical method spreads to zero. The existence of a neutron current of low energy and toward the source is demonstrated, in contrary sense to the neutron current of high energy coming from the own source. (Author)

Whole core pin-by-pin coupled neutronic-thermal-hydraulic steady state and transient calculations using COBAYA3 code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jimenez, J.; Herrero, J. J.; Cuervo, D.; Aragones, J. M.

2010-10-01

Nowadays coupled 3-dimensional neutron kinetics and thermal-hydraulic core calculations are performed by applying a radial average channel approach using a meshing of one quarter of assembly in the best case. This approach does not take into account the subchannels effects due to the averaging of the physical fields and the loose of heterogeneity in the thermal-hydraulic model. Therefore the models do not have enough resolution to predict those subchannels effects which are important for the fuel design safety margins, because it is in the local scale, where we can search the hottest pellet or the maximum heat flux. The Polytechnic University of Madrid advanced multi-scale neutron-kinetics and thermal-hydraulics methodologies being implemented in COBAYA3 include domain decomposition by alternate core dissections for the local 3-dimensional fine-mesh scale problems (pin cells/subchannels) and an analytical nodal diffusion solver for the coarse mesh scale coupled with the thermal-hydraulic using a model of one channel per assembly or per quarter of assembly. In this work, we address the domain decomposition by the alternate core dissections methodology applied to solve coupled 3-dimensional neutronic-thermal-hydraulic problems at the fine-mesh scale. The neutronic-thermal-hydraulic coupling at the cell-subchannel scale allows the treatment of the effects of the detailed thermal-hydraulic feedbacks on cross-sections, thus resulting in better estimates of the local safety margins at the pin level. (Author)

Analysis of neutron cross sections using the coupled-channel theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, Shigeya

1975-01-01

Fast neutron total and scattering cross sections calculated with the coupled-channel theory and the spherical optical model are compared with experimental data. The optical-potential parameters used in both the calculations were obtained from comparison of calculations with scattering data for 209 Bi. The calculations for total cross sections were made for thirty-five nuclides from 23 Na to 239 Pu in the energy range of 0.25 to 15 MeV, and good results were obtained with the coupled-channel calculations. The comparisons of the calculations with the elastic data for about twenty nuclides were made at incident energies of 8 and 14 MeV. In general, the coupled-channel calculations at 8 MeV have given better agreements with the experimental data than the spherical optical-model calculations. At 14 MeV, differences between both the calculations were small. The analysis was also made for the elastic and inelastic scattering by several nuclei such as Fe, Ni, 120 Sn, Pu in the low energy region, and good results have been given by the coupled-channel calculations. Thus, it is demonstrated that the coupled-channel calculations with one set of the optical parameters well reproduce the total and scattering cross sections over a wide energy and mass region. (auth.)

Coupled models in porous media: reactive transport and fractures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amir, L.

2008-12-01

This thesis deals with numerical simulation of coupled models for flow and transport in porous media. We present a new method for coupling chemical reactions and transport by using a Newton-Krylov method, and we also present a model of flow in fractured media, based on a domain decomposition method that takes into account the case of intersecting fractures. This study is composed of three parts: the first part contains an analysis, and implementation, of various numerical methods for discretizing advection-diffusion problems, in particular by using operator splitting methods. The second part is concerned with a fully coupled method for modeling transport and chemistry problems. The coupled transport-chemistry model is described, after discretization in time, by a system of nonlinear equations. The size of the system, namely the number of grid points times the number a chemical species, precludes a direct solution of the linear system. To alleviate this difficulty, we solve the system by a Newton-Krylov method, so as to avoid forming and factoring the Jacobian matrix. In the last part, we present a model of flow in 3D for intersecting fractures, by using a domain decomposition method. The fractures are treated as interfaces between sub-domains. We show existence and uniqueness of the solution, and we validate the model by numerical tests. (author)

Neutron scattering and muon spin rotation as probes of light interstitial transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, D.W.

1985-01-01

The transport of light interstitials, specifically of hydrogen isotopes and the positive muon, is studied with the help of microscopic transport models. The principal observables are the differential neutron scattering cross section of the hydrogen isotopes and the muon spin rotation signal of the positive muon. The transport feature of primary interest is coherence arising as a result of persistence of quantum mechanical phase memory. Evaluation of observables is based on the generalized master equation, or alternatively, the stochastic Liouville equation. The latter is applied to obtain the neutron scattering lineshapes for local tunneling systems as well as for extended Bravais and non-Bravais lattices. It is found that the usual form of the stochastic Liouville equation does not address adequately transport among non-degenerate site-states. An appropriate modification is suggested and employed to obtain scattering lineshapes applicable to recent experiments on impurity-trapped hydrogen. The muon spin rotation signal is formulated under the assumption that spin interactions constitute a negligible source of scattering for muon transport. The depolarization function is evaluated for the cases of local tunneling systems and simple models of spatially extended transport. The former addresses consequences of coherence and both address the consequences of the spatial extent of the muon wavefunction. It is found that the depolarization function is sensitive to the wave function extent, and the detail attributable to it is characterized

Theoretical analysis of integral neutron transport equation using collision probability method with quadratic flux approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shafii, Mohammad Ali; Meidianti, Rahma; Wildian,; Fitriyani, Dian; Tongkukut, Seni H. J.; Arkundato, Artoto

2014-01-01

Theoretical analysis of integral neutron transport equation using collision probability (CP) method with quadratic flux approach has been carried out. In general, the solution of the neutron transport using the CP method is performed with the flat flux approach. In this research, the CP method is implemented in the cylindrical nuclear fuel cell with the spatial of mesh being conducted into non flat flux approach. It means that the neutron flux at any point in the nuclear fuel cell are considered different each other followed the distribution pattern of quadratic flux. The result is presented here in the form of quadratic flux that is better understanding of the real condition in the cell calculation and as a starting point to be applied in computational calculation

Theoretical analysis of integral neutron transport equation using collision probability method with quadratic flux approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shafii, Mohammad Ali, E-mail: mashafii@fmipa.unand.ac.id; Meidianti, Rahma, E-mail: mashafii@fmipa.unand.ac.id; Wildian,, E-mail: mashafii@fmipa.unand.ac.id; Fitriyani, Dian, E-mail: mashafii@fmipa.unand.ac.id [Department of Physics, Andalas University Padang West Sumatera Indonesia (Indonesia); Tongkukut, Seni H. J. [Department of Physics, Sam Ratulangi University Manado North Sulawesi Indonesia (Indonesia); Arkundato, Artoto [Department of Physics, Jember University Jember East Java Indonesia (Indonesia)

2014-09-30

Theoretical analysis of integral neutron transport equation using collision probability (CP) method with quadratic flux approach has been carried out. In general, the solution of the neutron transport using the CP method is performed with the flat flux approach. In this research, the CP method is implemented in the cylindrical nuclear fuel cell with the spatial of mesh being conducted into non flat flux approach. It means that the neutron flux at any point in the nuclear fuel cell are considered different each other followed the distribution pattern of quadratic flux. The result is presented here in the form of quadratic flux that is better understanding of the real condition in the cell calculation and as a starting point to be applied in computational calculation.

The neutron transport code DTF-TRACA. User's manual and input data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anhert, C.

1979-01-01

A user's manual of the neutron transport code DTF-TRACA, which is a version of the original DTF-IV with some modifications made at JEN. A detailed input data description is given. The new options developped at JEN are included too. (author)

Reevaluation of the case, de Hoffman, and Placzek one-group neutron transport benchmark solution in plane geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ganapol, B.D.

1986-01-01

In a course on neutron transport theory and also in the analytical neutron transport theory literature, the pioneering work of Case et al. (CdHP) is often referenced. This work was truly a monumental effort in that it treated the fundamental mathematical properties of the one-group neutron Boltzmann equation in detail as well as the numerical evaluation of most of the resulting solutions. Many mathematically and numerically oriented dissertations were based on this classic monograph. In light of the considerable advances made both in numerical methods and computer technology since 1953, when the historic CdHP monograph first appeared, it seems appropriate to reevaluate the numerical benchmark solutions found therein with present-day computational technology. In most transport theory courses, the subject of proper benchmarking of numerical algorithms and transport codes is seldom addressed at any great length. This may be the reason that the benchmarking procedure is so rarely practiced in the nuclear community and when practiced is improperly applied. In this presentation, the development of a new benchmark for the one-group neutron flux in an infinite medium will be detailed with emphasis placed on the educational aspects of the benchmarking activity

Comparison of 2D and 3D Neutron Transport Analyses on Yonggwang Unit 3 Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maeng, Aoung Jae; Kim, Byoung Chul; Lim, Mi Joung; Kim, Kyung Sik; Jeon, Young Kyou; Yoo, Choon Sung

2012-01-01

10 CFR Part 50 Appendix H requires periodical surveillance program in the reactor vessel (RV) belt line region of light water nuclear power plant to check vessel integrity resulting from the exposure to neutron irradiation and thermal environment. Exact exposure analysis of the neutron fluence based on right modeling and simulations is the most important in the evaluation. Traditional 2 dimensional (D) and 1D synthesis methodologies have been widely applied to evaluate the fast neutron (E > 1.0 MeV) fluence exposure to RV. However, 2D and 1D methodologies have not provided accurate fast neutron fluence evaluation at elevations far above or below the active core region. RAPTOR-M3G (RApid Parallel Transport Of Radiation - Multiple 3D Geometries) program for 3D geometries calculation was therefore developed both by Westinghouse Electronic Company, USA and Korea Reactor Integrity Surveillance Technology (KRIST) for the analysis of In-Vessel Surveillance Test and Ex-Vessel Neutron Dosimetry (EVND). Especially EVND which is installed at active core height between biological shielding material and concrete also evaluates axial neutron fluence by placing three dosimetries each at Top, Middle and Bottom part of the angle representing maximum neutron fluence. The EVND programs have been applied to the Korea Nuclear Plants. The objective of this study is therefore to compare the 3D and the 2D Neutron Transport Calculations and Analyses on the Yonggwang unit 3 Reactor as an example

Optimization of a neutron detector design using adjoint transport simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yi, C.; Manalo, K.; Huang, M.; Chin, M.; Edgar, C.; Applegate, S.; Sjoden, G.

2012-01-01

A synthetic aperture approach has been developed and investigated for Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) detection in vehicles passing a checkpoint at highway speeds. SNM is postulated to be stored in a moving vehicle and detector assemblies are placed on the road-side or in chambers embedded below the road surface. Neutron and gamma spectral awareness is important for the detector assembly design besides high efficiencies, so that different SNMs can be detected and identified with various possible shielding settings. The detector assembly design is composed of a CsI gamma-ray detector block and five neutron detector blocks, with peak efficiencies targeting different energy ranges determined by adjoint simulations. In this study, formulations are derived using adjoint transport simulations to estimate detector efficiencies. The formulations is applied to investigate several neutron detector designs for Block IV, which has its peak efficiency in the thermal range, and Block V, designed to maximize the total neutron counts over the entire energy spectrum. Other Blocks detect different neutron energies. All five neutron detector blocks and the gamma-ray block are assembled in both MCNP and deterministic simulation models, with detector responses calculated to validate the fully assembled design using a 30-group library. The simulation results show that the 30-group library, collapsed from an 80-group library using an adjoint-weighting approach with the YGROUP code, significantly reduced the computational cost while maintaining accuracy. (authors)

Influence of an SN solver in a fine-mesh neutronics/thermal-hydraulics framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jareteg, Klas; Vinai, Paolo; Demaziere, Christophe; Sasic, Srdjan

2015-01-01

In this paper a study on the influence of a neutron discrete ordinates (S N ) solver within a fine-mesh neutronic/thermal-hydraulic methodology is presented. The methodology consists of coupling a neutronic solver with a single-phase fluid solver, and it is aimed at computing the two fields on a three-dimensional (3D) sub-pin level. The cross-sections needed for the neutron transport equations are pre-generated using a Monte Carlo approach. The coupling is resolved in an iterative manner with full convergence of both fields. A conservative transfer of the full 3D information is achieved, allowing for a proper coupling between the neutronic and the thermal-hydraulic meshes on the finest calculated scales. The discrete ordinates solver is benchmarked against a Monte Carlo reference solution for a two-dimensional (2D) system. The results confirm the need of a high number of ordinates, giving a satisfactory accuracy in k eff and scalar flux profile applying S 16 for 16 energy groups. The coupled framework is used to compare the S N implementation and a solver based on the neutron diffusion approximation for a full 3D system of a quarter of a symmetric, 7x7 array in an infinite lattice setup. In this case, the impact of the discrete ordinates solver shows to be significant for the coupled system, as demonstrated in the calculations of the temperature distributions. (author)

Presentation of some methods for the solution of the monoenergetic neutrons transport equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valle G, E. del.

1978-01-01

The neutrons transport theory problems whose solution has been reached were collected in order to show that the transport equation is so complicated that different techniques were developed so as to give approximative numerical solutions to problems concerning the practical application. Such a technique, which had not been investigated in the literature dealing with these problems, is described here. The results which were obtained through this technique in undimensional problems of criticity are satisfactory and speaking in a conceptual way this method is extremely simple because it times. There is no limitation to deal with problems related neutrons sources with an arbitrary distribution and in principle the application of this technique can be extended to unhomogeneous environments. (author)

Analysis of the neutrons dispersion in a semi-infinite medium based in transport theory and the Monte Carlo method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arreola V, G.; Vazquez R, R.; Guzman A, J. R.

2012-10-01

In this work a comparative analysis of the results for the neutrons dispersion in a not multiplicative semi-infinite medium is presented. One of the frontiers of this medium is located in the origin of coordinates, where a neutrons source in beam form, i.e., μο=1 is also. The neutrons dispersion is studied on the statistical method of Monte Carlo and through the unidimensional transport theory and for an energy group. The application of transport theory gives a semi-analytic solution for this problem while the statistical solution for the flow was obtained applying the MCNPX code. The dispersion in light water and heavy water was studied. A first remarkable result is that both methods locate the maximum of the neutrons distribution to less than two mean free trajectories of transport for heavy water, while for the light water is less than ten mean free trajectories of transport; the differences between both methods is major for the light water case. A second remarkable result is that the tendency of both distributions is similar in small mean free trajectories, while in big mean free trajectories the transport theory spreads to an asymptote value and the solution in base statistical method spreads to zero. The existence of a neutron current of low energy and toward the source is demonstrated, in contrary sense to the neutron current of high energy coming from the own source. (Author)

Coupled hydro-neutronic calculations for fast burst reactor accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paternoster, R.; Kimpland, R.; Jaegers, P.; McGhee, J.

1994-01-01

Methods are described for determining the fully coupled neutronic/hydrodynamic response of fast burst reactors (FBR) under disruptive accident conditions. Two code systems, PAD (1 -D Lagrangian) and NIKE-PAGOSA (3-D Eulerian) were used to accomplish this. This is in contrast to the typical methodology that computes these responses by either single point kinetics or in a decoupled manner. This methodology is enabled by the use of modem supercomputers (CM-200). Two examples of this capability are presented: an unreflected metal fast burst assembly, and a reflected fast burst assembly typical of the Skua or SPR-III class of fast burst reactor

Neutron-proton analyzing power at 12 MeV and charged πNN coupling constant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braun, R.T.; Tornow, W.; Gonzalez Trotter, D.E.; Howell, C.R.; Machleidt, R.; Roper, C.D.; Salinas, F.; Setze, H.R.; Walter, R.L.

1995-01-01

Recent reanalysis of scattering data by the Nijmegen group has led to new values for the πNN coupling constants, g 2 πdegree /4π and g 2 π± /4π, about 6% smaller than the previously accepted values. The impact of this finding is far reaching. Since the neutron-proton A y (θ) is dominated at low energies by the one-pion-exchange mechanism, accurate np data should provide unique information as to the magnitude of g 2 π± /4π. Using a new experimental setup consisting of a shielded neutron source, a five-pair neutron detector array, a n- 4 He polarimeter, and an intense polarized source with fast spin-flipping capability, we have measured a 15 point angular distribution of the neutron-proton A y (θ) at and incident neutron energy of 12 MeV to a statistical accuracy of 5x10 -4 . We will discuss the data taking procedures, the analysis, and the corrections applied to the data. Preliminary results will be presented

Comparison of preconditioned generalized conjugate gradient methods to two-dimensional neutron and photon transport equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, G.S.

1997-01-01

We apply and compare the preconditioned generalized conjugate gradient methods to solve the linear system equation that arises in the two-dimensional neutron and photon transport equation in this paper. Several subroutines are developed on the basis of preconditioned generalized conjugate gradient methods for time-independent, two-dimensional neutron and photon transport equation in the transport theory. These generalized conjugate gradient methods are used. TFQMR (transpose free quasi-minimal residual algorithm), CGS (conjuage gradient square algorithm), Bi-CGSTAB (bi-conjugate gradient stabilized algorithm) and QMRCGSTAB (quasi-minimal residual variant of bi-conjugate gradient stabilized algorithm). These sub-routines are connected to computer program DORT. Several problems are tested on a personal computer with Intel Pentium CPU. (author)

ZZ AIRFEWG, Gamma, Neutron Transport Calculation in Air Using FEWG1 Cross-Section

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-01-01

1 - Description of program or function: Format: ANISN; Number of groups: 37 neutron / 21 gamma-ray; Nuclides: air (79% N and 21% O); Origin: DLC-0031/FEWG1 cross sections (ENDF/B-IV). Weighting spectrum: 1/E. The AIRFEWG library has been generated by an ANISN multigroup calculation of gamma-ray, neutron, and secondary gamma-ray transport in infinite homogeneous air using DLC-0031/FEWG1 cross sections. 2 - Method of solution: The results were generated with a P3, ANISN run with a source in a single energy group. Thus, 58 such runs were required. For sources in the 37 neutron groups, both neutron and secondary gamma-ray fluence results were calculated. For gamma-ray sources only gamma-ray fluences were calculated

Mathematical models for volume rendering and neutron transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Max, N.

1994-09-01

This paper reviews several different models for light interaction with volume densities of absorbing, glowing, reflecting, or scattering material. They include absorption only, glow only, glow and absorption combined, single scattering of external illumination, and multiple scattering. The models are derived from differential equations, and illustrated on a data set representing a cloud. They are related to corresponding models in neutron transport. The multiple scattering model uses an efficient method to propagate the radiation which does not suffer from the ray effect

Quantum transport in coupled resonators enclosed synthetic magnetic flux

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin, L.

2016-01-01

Quantum transport properties are instrumental to understanding quantum coherent transport processes. Potential applications of quantum transport are widespread, in areas ranging from quantum information science to quantum engineering, and not restricted to quantum state transfer, control and manipulation. Here, we study light transport in a ring array of coupled resonators enclosed synthetic magnetic flux. The ring configuration, with an arbitrary number of resonators embedded, forms a two-arm Aharonov–Bohm interferometer. The influence of magnetic flux on light transport is investigated. Tuning the magnetic flux can lead to resonant transmission, while half-integer magnetic flux quantum leads to completely destructive interference and transmission zeros in an interferometer with two equal arms. -- Highlights: •The light transport is investigated through ring array of coupled resonators enclosed synthetic magnetic field. •Aharonov–Bohm ring interferometer of arbitrary configuration is investigated. •The half-integer magnetic flux quantum leads to destructive interference and transmission zeros for two-arm at equal length. •Complete transmission is available via tuning synthetic magnetic flux.

Fluid transport with time on peritoneal dialysis: the contribution of free water transport and solute coupled water transport

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coester, Annemieke M.; Smit, Watske; Struijk, Dirk G.; Krediet, Raymond T.

2009-01-01

Ultrafiltration in peritoneal dialysis occurs through endothelial water channels (free water transport) and together with solutes across small pores: solute coupled water transport. A review is given of cross-sectional studies and on the results of longitudinal follow-up

Thermal hydraulic and neutron kinetic simulation of the Angra 2 reactor using a RELAP5/PARCS coupled model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reis, Patricia A.L.; Costa, Antonella L.; Hamers, Adolfo R.; Pereira, Claubia; Rodrigues, Thiago D.A.; Mantecon, Javier G.; Veloso, Maria A.F., E-mail: patricialire@yahoo.com.br, E-mail: antonella@nuclear.ufmg.br, E-mail: adolforomerohamers@hotmail.com, E-mail: claubia@nuclear.ufmg.br, E-mail: thiagodanielbh@gmail.com, E-mail: mantecon1987@gmail.com, E-mail: dora@nuclear.ufmg.br [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Departamento de Engenharia Nuclear; Instituto Nacional de Ciencias e Tecnologia de Reatores Nucleares Inovadores (INCT/CNPq), Belo Horizonte (Brazil); Miro, Rafael; Verdu, Gumersindo, E-mail: rmiro@iqn.upv.es, E-mail: gverdu@iqn.upv.es [Universidad Politecnica de Valencia (Spain). Departamento de Ingenieria Quimica y Nuclear

2015-07-01

The computational advances observed in the last two decades have been provided direct impact on the researches related to nuclear simulations, which use several types of computer codes, including coupled between them, allowing representing with very accuracy the behavior of nuclear plants. Studies of complex scenarios in nuclear reactors have been improved by the use of thermal-hydraulic (TH) and neutron kinetics (NK) coupled codes. This technique consists in incorporating three-dimensional (3D) neutron modeling of the reactor core into codes, mainly to simulate transients that involve asymmetric core spatial power distributions and strong feedback effects between neutronics and reactor thermal-hydraulics. Therefore, this work presents preliminary results of TH RELAP5 and the NK PARCS calculations applied to model of the Angra 2 reactor. The WIMSD-5B code has been used to generate the macroscopic cross sections used in the NK code. The results obtained are satisfactory and represent important part of the development of this methodology. The next step is to couple the codes. (author)

BARC 75 - A 75 group neutron-photon coupled cross-section library with P5- anisotropic scattering matrices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garg, S.B.

1990-01-01

A 75 group neutron-photon coupled cross-section library has been developed for 42 reactor nuclides utilizing the basic cross-section files - ENDF/B-IV for neutrons and DLC-7F for photons. 50 neutron energy groups and gamma energy groups are included in this library which should be well suited to carry out safety, shielding and core physics studies of nuclear reactors based on fission or fusion processes. This library is also adequate for oil logging and mineral exploration investigations. (author). 11 refs., 3 tabs

VENTURE: a code block for solving multigroup neutronics problems applying the finite-difference diffusion-theory approximation to neutron transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vondy, D.R.; Fowler, T.B.; Cunningham, G.W.

1975-10-01

The computer code block VENTURE, designed to solve multigroup neutronics problems with application of the finite-difference diffusion-theory approximation to neutron transport (or alternatively simple P 1 ) in up to three-dimensional geometry is described. A variety of types of problems may be solved: the usual eigenvalue problem, a direct criticality search on the buckling, on a reciprocal velocity absorber (prompt mode), or on nuclide concentrations, or an indirect criticality search on nuclide concentrations, or on dimensions. First-order perturbation analysis capability is available at the macroscopic cross section level

The neutron transport code DTF-Traca users manual and input data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahnert, C

1979-07-01

This is a users manual of the neutron transport code DTF-TRACA, which is a version of the original DTF-IV with some modifications made at JEN. A detailed input data descriptions is given. The new options developed at JEN are included too. (Author) 18 refs.

The neutron transport code DTF-Traca users manual and input data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahnert, C.

1979-01-01

This is a users manual of the neutron transport code DTF-TRACA, which is a version of the original DTF-IV with some modifications made at JEN. A detailed input data descriptions is given. The new options developed at JEN are included too. (Author) 18 refs

Method for calculating anisotropic neutron transport using scattering kernel without polynomial expansion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Akito; Yamamoto, Junji; Ebisuya, Mituo; Sumita, Kenji

1979-01-01

A new method for calculating the anisotropic neutron transport is proposed for the angular spectral analysis of D-T fusion reactor neutronics. The method is based on the transport equation with new type of anisotropic scattering kernels formulated by a single function I sub(i) (μ', μ) instead of polynomial expansion, for instance, Legendre polynomials. In the calculation of angular flux spectra by using scattering kernels with the Legendre polynomial expansion, we often observe the oscillation with negative flux. But in principle this oscillation disappears by this new method. In this work, we discussed anisotropic scattering kernels of the elastic scattering and the inelastic scatterings which excite discrete energy levels. The other scatterings were included in isotropic scattering kernels. An approximation method, with use of the first collision source written by the I sub(i) (μ', μ) function, was introduced to attenuate the ''oscillations'' when we are obliged to use the scattering kernels with the Legendre polynomial expansion. Calculated results with this approximation showed remarkable improvement for the analysis of the angular flux spectra in a slab system of lithium metal with the D-T neutron source. (author)

Computational complexity in multidimensional neutron transport theory calculations. Progress report, September 1, 1975--August 31, 1976

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bareiss, E.H.

1976-05-01

The objectives of the work are to develop mathematically and computationally founded for the design of highly efficient and reliable multidimensional neutron transport codes to solve a variety of neutron migration and radiation problems, and to analyze existing and new methods for performance. As new analytical insights are gained, new numerical methods are developed and tested. Significant results obtained include implementation of the integer-preserving Gaussian elimination method (two-step method) in a CDC 6400 computer code, modes analysis for one-dimensional transport solutions, and a new method for solving the 1-T transport equation. Some of the work dealt with the interface and corner problem in diffusion theory

Modular coupling of transport and chemistry: theory and model applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pfingsten, W.

1994-06-01

For the description of complex processes in the near-field of a radioactive waste repository, the coupling of transport and chemistry is necessary. A reason for the relatively minor use of coupled codes in this area is the high amount of computer time and storage capacity necessary for calculations by conventional codes, and lack of available data. The simple application of the sequentially coupled code MCOTAC, which couples one-dimensional advective, dispersive and diffusive transport with chemical equilibrium complexation and precipitation/dissolution reactions in a porous medium, shows some promising features with respect to applicability to relevant problems. Transport, described by a random walk of multi-species particles, and chemical equilibrium calculations are solved separately, coupled only by an exchange term to ensure mass conservation. The modular-structured code was applied to three problems: a) incongruent dissolution of hydrated silicate gels, b) dissolution of portlandite and c) calcite dissolution and hypothetical dolomite precipitation. This allows for a comparison with other codes and their applications. The incongruent dissolution of cement phases, important for degradation of cementitious materials in a repository, can be included in the model without the problems which occur with a directly coupled code. The handling of a sharp multi-mineral front system showed a much faster calculation time compared to a directly coupled code application. Altogether, the results are in good agreement with other code calculations. Hence, the chosen modular concept of MCOTAC is more open to an easy extension of the code to include additional processes like sorption, kinetically controlled processes, transport in two or three spatial dimensions, and adaptation to new developments in computing (hardware and software), an important factor for applicability. (author) figs., tabs., refs

Criticality calculations in reactor accelerator coupling experiment (Race)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reda, M.A.; Spaulding, R.; Hunt, A.; Harmon, J.F.; Beller, D.E.

2005-01-01

A Reactor Accelerator Coupling Experiment (RACE) is to be performed at the Idaho State University Idaho Accelerator Center (IAC). The electron accelerator is used to generate neutrons by inducing Bremsstrahlung photon-neutron reactions in a Tungsten- Copper target. This accelerator/target system produces a source of ∼1012 n/s, which can initiate fission reactions in the subcritical system. This coupling experiment between a 40-MeV electron accelerator and a subcritical system will allow us to predict and measure coupling efficiency, reactivity, and multiplication. In this paper, the results of the criticality and multiplication calculations, which were carried out using the Monte Carlo radiation transport code MCNPX, for different coupling design options are presented. The fuel plate arrangements and the surrounding tank dimensions have been optimized. Criticality using graphite instead of water for reflector/moderator outside of the core region has been studied. The RACE configuration at the IAC will have a criticality (k-effective) of about 0,92 and a multiplication of about 10. (authors)

Monte Carlo method for neutron transport calculations in graphics processing units (GPUs)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pellegrino, Esteban

2011-01-01

Monte Carlo simulation is well suited for solving the Boltzmann neutron transport equation in an inhomogeneous media for complicated geometries. However, routine applications require the computation time to be reduced to hours and even minutes in a desktop PC. The interest in adopting Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) for Monte Carlo acceleration is rapidly growing. This is due to the massive parallelism provided by the latest GPU technologies which is the most promising solution to the challenge of performing full-size reactor core analysis on a routine basis. In this study, Monte Carlo codes for a fixed-source neutron transport problem were developed for GPU environments in order to evaluate issues associated with computational speedup using GPUs. Results obtained in this work suggest that a speedup of several orders of magnitude is possible using the state-of-the-art GPU technologies. (author) [es

Effect of Fast Neutron Irradiation on Current Transport Properties of HTS Materials

CERN Document Server

Ballarino, A; Kruglov, V S; Latushkin, S T; Lubimov, A N; Ryazanov, A I; Shavkin, S V; Taylor, T M; Volkov, P V

2004-01-01

The effect of fast neutron irradiation with energy up to 35 MeV and integrated fluence of up to 5 x 10**15 cm-2 on the current transport properties of HTS materials Bi-2212 and Bi-2223 has been studied, both at liquid nitrogen and at room temperatures. The samples irradiated were selected after verification of the stability of their superconducting properties after temperature cycling in the range of 77 K - 293 K. It has been found that the irradiation by fast neutrons up to the above dose does not produce a significant degradation of critical current. The effect of room temperature annealing on the recovery of transport properties of the irradiated samples is also reported, as is a preliminary microstructure investigation of the effect of irradiation on the soldered contacts.

A coordinate transform method for one-speed neutron transport in composite slabs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haidar, N.H.S.

1988-01-01

The optical path transformation is applied to reduce the one-speed neutron transport equation for a class of composite subcritical slabs to single-region problems. The class idealises, within the uncertainty of the one-speed model, a variety of practical situations such as U-D 2 O-C-Zr-Pb or Pu-U-Na-Fe symmetric reactor assemblies; which may possibly contain a symmetrically anisotropic neutron source. A closed form double series solution, which turns out to be quite convenient for design and optimisation purposes, has been obtained, in terms of discontinuous functions for the multi-regional angular flux by application of a double finite Legendre transform. Disadvantage factor evaluations for a U-C lattice cell resulting from a low-order P 0 P 1 approximation of this method are found to be in full agreement with hybrid diffusion-transport estimates. (author)

Resolution of the neutron transport equation by a three-dimensional least square method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varin, Elisabeth

2001-01-01

The knowledge of space and time distribution of neutrons with a certain energy or speed allows the exploitation and control of a nuclear reactor and the assessment of the irradiation dose about an irradiated nuclear fuel storage site. The neutron density is described by a transport equation. The objective of this research thesis is to develop a software for the resolution of this stationary equation in a three-dimensional Cartesian domain by means of a deterministic method. After a presentation of the transport equation, the author gives an overview of the different deterministic resolution approaches, identifies their benefits and drawbacks, and discusses the choice of the Ressel method. The least square method is precisely described and then applied. Numerical benchmarks are reported for validation purposes

Solution and study of nodal neutron transport equation applying the LTS{sub N}-DiagExp method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hauser, Eliete Biasotto; Pazos, Ruben Panta [Pontificia Univ. Catolica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil). Faculdade de Matematica]. E-mail: eliete@pucrs.br; rpp@mat.pucrs.br; Vilhena, Marco Tullio de [Pontificia Univ. Catolica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil). Instituto de Matematica]. E-mail: vilhena@mat.ufrgs.br; Barros, Ricardo Carvalho de [Universidade do Estado, Nova Friburgo, RJ (Brazil). Instituto Politecnico]. E-mail: ricardo@iprj.uerj.br

2003-07-01

In this paper we report advances about the three-dimensional nodal discrete-ordinates approximations of neutron transport equation for Cartesian geometry. We use the combined collocation method of the angular variables and nodal approach for the spatial variables. By nodal approach we mean the iterated transverse integration of the S{sub N} equations. This procedure leads to the set of one-dimensional averages angular fluxes in each spatial variable. The resulting system of equations is solved with the LTS{sub N} method, first applying the Laplace transform to the set of the nodal S{sub N} equations and then obtained the solution by symbolic computation. We include the LTS{sub N} method by diagonalization to solve the nodal neutron transport equation and then we outline the convergence of these nodal-LTS{sub N} approximations with the help of a norm associated to the quadrature formula used to approximate the integral term of the neutron transport equation. (author)

Topics in the theory of neutron star cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duncan, R.C. Jr.

1986-01-01

The author calculates the neutrino emissivity of interacting, degenerate quark matter, which may make up the dense cores of neutron stars. QCD interactions between quarks are included to first order. The author shows that when massive s-quarks are present in cold quark matter, electrons are not present in equilibrium at densities above a threshold electron extinction density n/sub ex/. This results in a much lower neutrino emissivity epsilon/sub nu/ at high densities than has been previously calculated. Dependences of epsilon/sub nu/ on the strange quark mass m/sub s/ and the QCD coupling constant a/sub c/ are determined for a quark liquid in β-equilibrium. Implications of these calculations for neutron-star cooling are briefly discussed. Eventually, it is shown that neutrino momentum effects may be ignored in neutron star cooling calculations without significant error, even when high-density quark-matter cores are present. Finally considered is the very early cooling epoch, lasting up to ∼1 minutes after formation, when a neutron star is optically thick to neutrinos. It is shown that the coupled equations of neutrino and photon transport in the atmosphere of a sufficiently hot, nascent neutron star do not admit hydrostatic solutions

Asymptotic equivalence of neutron diffusion and transport in time-independent reactor systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borysiewicz, M.; Mika, J.; Spiga, G.

1982-01-01

Presented in this paper is the asymptotic analysis of the time-independent neutron transport equation in the second-order variational formulation. The small parameter introduced into the equation is an estimate of the ratio of absorption and leakage to scattering in the system considered. When the ratio tends to zero, the weak solution to the transport problem tends to the weak solution of the diffusion problem, including properly defined boundary conditions. A formula for the diffusion coefficient different from that based on averaging the transport mean-free-path is derived

Stability and accuracy of 3D neutron transport simulations using the 2D/1D method in MPACT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collins, Benjamin; Stimpson, Shane; Kelley, Blake W.; Young, Mitchell T.H.; Kochunas, Brendan; Graham, Aaron; Larsen, Edward W.; Downar, Thomas; Godfrey, Andrew

2016-01-01

A consistent “2D/1D” neutron transport method is derived from the 3D Boltzmann transport equation, to calculate fuel-pin-resolved neutron fluxes for realistic full-core Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) problems. The 2D/1D method employs the Method of Characteristics to discretize the radial variables and a lower order transport solution to discretize the axial variable. This paper describes the theory of the 2D/1D method and its implementation in the MPACT code, which has become the whole-core deterministic neutron transport solver for the Consortium for Advanced Simulations of Light Water Reactors (CASL) core simulator VERA-CS. Several applications have been performed on both leadership-class and industry-class computing clusters. Results are presented for whole-core solutions of the Watts Bar Nuclear Power Station Unit 1 and compared to both continuous-energy Monte Carlo results and plant data.

Stability and accuracy of 3D neutron transport simulations using the 2D/1D method in MPACT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Collins, Benjamin, E-mail: collinsbs@ornl.gov [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, One Bethel Valley Rd., Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (United States); Stimpson, Shane, E-mail: stimpsonsg@ornl.gov [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, One Bethel Valley Rd., Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (United States); Kelley, Blake W., E-mail: kelleybl@umich.edu [Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Young, Mitchell T.H., E-mail: youngmit@umich.edu [Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Kochunas, Brendan, E-mail: bkochuna@umich.edu [Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Graham, Aaron, E-mail: aarograh@umich.edu [Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Larsen, Edward W., E-mail: edlarsen@umich.edu [Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Downar, Thomas, E-mail: downar@umich.edu [Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Godfrey, Andrew, E-mail: godfreyat@ornl.gov [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, One Bethel Valley Rd., Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (United States)

2016-12-01

A consistent “2D/1D” neutron transport method is derived from the 3D Boltzmann transport equation, to calculate fuel-pin-resolved neutron fluxes for realistic full-core Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) problems. The 2D/1D method employs the Method of Characteristics to discretize the radial variables and a lower order transport solution to discretize the axial variable. This paper describes the theory of the 2D/1D method and its implementation in the MPACT code, which has become the whole-core deterministic neutron transport solver for the Consortium for Advanced Simulations of Light Water Reactors (CASL) core simulator VERA-CS. Several applications have been performed on both leadership-class and industry-class computing clusters. Results are presented for whole-core solutions of the Watts Bar Nuclear Power Station Unit 1 and compared to both continuous-energy Monte Carlo results and plant data.

Effects of coupled thermal, hydrological and chemical processes on nuclide transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carnahan, C.L.

1987-03-01

Coupled thermal, hydrological and chemical processes can be classified in two categories. One category consists of the ''Onsager'' type of processes driven by gradients of thermodynamic state variables. These processes occur simultaneously with the direct transport processes. In particular, thermal osmosis, chemical osmosis and ultrafiltration may be prominent in semipermeable materials such as clays. The other category consists of processes affected indirectly by magnitudes of thermodynamic state variables. An important example of this category is the effect of temperature on rates of chemical reactions and chemical equilibria. Coupled processes in both categories may affect transport of radionuclides. Although computational models of limited extent have been constructed, there exists no model that accounts for the full set of THC-coupled processes. In the category of Onsager coupled processes, further model development and testing is severely constrained by a deficient data base of phenomenological coefficients. In the second category, the lack of a general description of effects of heterogeneous chemical reactions on permeability of porous media inhibits progress in quantitative modeling of hydrochemically coupled transport processes. Until fundamental data necessary for further model development have been acquired, validation efforts will be limited necessarily to testing of incomplete models of nuclide transport under closely controlled experimental conditions. 34 refs., 2 tabs

Post-merger evolution of a neutron star-black hole binary with neutrino transport

Science.gov (United States)

Foucart, Francois; O'Connor, Evan; Roberts, Luke; Duez, Matthew D.; Haas, Roland; Kidder, Lawrence E.; Ott, Christian D.; Pfeiffer, Harald P.; Scheel, Mark A.; Szilagyi, Bela

2015-06-01

We present a first simulation of the post-merger evolution of a black hole-neutron star binary in full general relativity using an energy-integrated general-relativistic truncated moment formalism for neutrino transport. We describe our implementation of the moment formalism and important tests of our code, before studying the formation phase of an accretion disk after a black hole-neutron star merger. We use as initial data an existing general-relativistic simulation of the merger of a neutron star of mass 1.4 M⊙ with a black hole of mass 7 M⊙ and dimensionless spin χBH=0.8 . Comparing with a simpler leakage scheme for the treatment of the neutrinos, we find noticeable differences in the neutron-to-proton ratio in and around the disk, and in the neutrino luminosity. We find that the electron neutrino luminosity is much lower in the transport simulations, and that both the disk and the disk outflows are less neutron rich. The spatial distribution of the neutrinos is significantly affected by relativistic effects, due to large velocities and curvature in the regions of strongest emission. Over the short time scale evolved, we do not observe purely neutrino-driven outflows. However, a small amount of material (3 ×10-4M⊙ ) is ejected in the polar region during the circularization of the disk. Most of that material is ejected early in the formation of the disk, and is fairly neutron rich (electron fraction Ye˜0.15 - 0.25 ). Through r-process nucleosynthesis, that material should produce high-opacity lanthanides in the polar region, and could thus affect the light curve of radioactively powered electromagnetic transients. We also show that by the end of the simulation, while the bulk of the disk remains neutron rich (Ye˜0.15 - 0.2 and decreasing), its outer layers have a higher electron fraction: 10% of the remaining mass has Ye>0.3 . As that material would be the first to be unbound by disk outflows on longer time scales, and as composition evolution is

Numerical research on the neutronic/thermal-hydraulic/mechanical coupling characteristics of the optimized helium cooled solid breeder blanket for CFETR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cui, Shijie; Zhang, Dalin; Cheng, Jie; Tian, Wenxi; Su, G.H.

2017-01-01

As one of the candidate tritium breeding blankets for Chinese Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR), a conceptual structure of the helium cooled solid breeder blanket has recently been proposed. The neutronic, thermal-hydraulic and mechanical characteristics of the blanket directly affect its tritium breeding and safety performance. Therefore, neutronic/thermal-hydraulic/mechanical coupling analyses are of vital importance for a reliable blanket design. In this work, first, three-dimensional neutronics analysis and optimization of the typical outboard equatorial blanket module (No. 12) were performed for the comprehensive optimal scheme. Then, thermal and fluid dynamic analyses of the scheme under both normal and critical conditions were performed and coupled with the previous neutronic calculation results. With thermal-hydraulic boundaries, thermo-mechanical analyses of the structure materials under normal, critical and blanket over-pressurization conditions were carried out. In addition, several parametric sensitivity studies were also conducted to investigate the influences of the main parameters on the blanket temperature distributions. In this paper, the coupled analyses verify the reasonability of the optimized conceptual design preliminarily and can provide an important reference for the further analysis and optimization design of the CFETR helium cooled solid breeder blanket.

Numerical research on the neutronic/thermal-hydraulic/mechanical coupling characteristics of the optimized helium cooled solid breeder blanket for CFETR

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cui, Shijie; Zhang, Dalin, E-mail: dlzhang@mail.xjtu.edu.cn; Cheng, Jie; Tian, Wenxi; Su, G.H.

2017-01-15

As one of the candidate tritium breeding blankets for Chinese Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR), a conceptual structure of the helium cooled solid breeder blanket has recently been proposed. The neutronic, thermal-hydraulic and mechanical characteristics of the blanket directly affect its tritium breeding and safety performance. Therefore, neutronic/thermal-hydraulic/mechanical coupling analyses are of vital importance for a reliable blanket design. In this work, first, three-dimensional neutronics analysis and optimization of the typical outboard equatorial blanket module (No. 12) were performed for the comprehensive optimal scheme. Then, thermal and fluid dynamic analyses of the scheme under both normal and critical conditions were performed and coupled with the previous neutronic calculation results. With thermal-hydraulic boundaries, thermo-mechanical analyses of the structure materials under normal, critical and blanket over-pressurization conditions were carried out. In addition, several parametric sensitivity studies were also conducted to investigate the influences of the main parameters on the blanket temperature distributions. In this paper, the coupled analyses verify the reasonability of the optimized conceptual design preliminarily and can provide an important reference for the further analysis and optimization design of the CFETR helium cooled solid breeder blanket.

Synergism of the method of characteristics and CAD technology for neutron transport calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Z.; Wang, D.; He, T.; Wang, G.; Zheng, H.

2013-01-01

The method of characteristics (MOC) is a very popular methodology in neutron transport calculation and numerical simulation in recent decades for its unique advantages. One of the key problems determining whether the MOC can be applied in complicated and highly heterogeneous geometry is how to combine an effective geometry processing method with MOC. Most of the existing MOC codes describe the geometry by lines and arcs with extensive input data, such as circles, ellipses, regular polygons and combination of them. Thus they have difficulty in geometry modeling, background meshing and ray tracing for complicated geometry domains. In this study, a new idea making use of a CAD solid modeler MCAM which is a CAD/Image-based Automatic Modeling Program for Neutronics and Radiation Transport developed by FDS Team in China was introduced for geometry modeling and ray tracing of particle transport to remove these geometrical limitations mentioned above. The diamond-difference scheme was applied to MOC to reduce the spatial discretization error of the flat flux approximation in theory. Based on MCAM and MOC, a new MOC code was developed and integrated into SuperMC system, which is a Super Multi-function Computational system for neutronics and radiation simulation. The numerical testing results demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the new idea for geometry treatment in SuperMC. (authors)

Reaction channel coupling effects for nucleons on 16O: Induced undularity and proton-neutron potential differences

Science.gov (United States)

Keeley, N.; Mackintosh, R. S.

2018-01-01

Background: Precise fitting of scattering observables suggests that the nucleon-nucleus interaction is l dependent. Such l dependence has been shown to be S -matrix equivalent to an undulatory l -independent potential. The undulations include radial regions where the imaginary term is emissive. Purpose: To study the dynamical polarization potential (DPP) generated in proton-16O and neutron-16O interaction potentials by coupling to pickup channels. Undulatory features occurring in these DPPs can be compared with corresponding features of empirical optical model potentials (OMPs). Furthermore, the additional inclusion of coupling to vibrational states of the target will provide evidence for dynamically generated nonlocality. Methods: The fresco code provides the elastic channel S -matrix Sl j for chosen channel couplings. Inversion, Sl j→V (r ) +l .s VSO(r ) , followed by subtraction of the bare potential, yields an l -independent and local representation of the DPP due to the chosen couplings. Results: The DPPs have strongly undulatory features, including radial regions of emissivity. Certain features of empirical DPPs appear, e.g., the full inverted potential has emissive regions. The DPPs for different collective states are additive except near the nuclear center, whereas the collective and reaction channel DPPs are distinctly nonadditive over a considerable radial range, indicating dynamical nonlocality. Substantial differences between the DPPs due to pickup coupling for protons and neutrons occur; these imply a greater difference between proton and neutron OMPs than the standard phenomenological prescription. Conclusions: The onus is on those who object to undularity in the local and l -independent representation of nucleon elastic scattering to show why such undulations do not occur. This work suggests that it is not legitimate to halt model-independent fits to high-quality data at the appearance of undularity.

Coupled Model of channels in parallel and neutron kinetics in two dimensions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cecenas F, M.; Campos G, R.M.; Valle G, E. del

2004-01-01

In this work an arrangement of thermohydraulic channels is presented that represent those four quadrants of a nucleus of reactor type BWR. The channels are coupled to a model of neutronic in two dimensions that allow to generate the radial profile of power of the reactor. Nevertheless that the neutronic pattern is of two dimensions, it is supplemented with axial additional information when considering the axial profiles of power for each thermo hydraulic channel. The stationary state is obtained the one it imposes as frontier condition the same pressure drop for all the channels. This condition is satisfied to iterating on the flow of coolant in each channel to equal the pressure drop in all the channels. This stationary state is perturbed later on when modifying the values for the effective sections corresponding to an it assembles. The calculation in parallel of the neutronic and the thermo hydraulic is carried out with Vpm (Virtual parallel machine) by means of an outline teacher-slave in a local net of computers. (Author)

Vibrationally coupled electron transport through single-molecule junctions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haertle, Rainer

2012-04-26

vibrational effects have a profound influence on the transport characteristics of a single-molecule contact and play therefore a fundamental role in this transport problem. Our findings demonstrate that vibrationally coupled electron transport through a molecular junction involves two types of processes: (i) transport processes, where an electron tunnels through the molecular bridge from one lead to the other, and (ii) electron-hole pair creation processes, where an electron tunnels from one of the leads onto the molecular bridge and back to the same lead again. Transport processes directly contribute to the electrical current flowing through a molecular contact and involve both excitation and deexcitation processes of the vibrational modes of the junction. Electron-hole pair creation processes do not directly contribute to the electrical current and typically involve only deexcitation processes. Nevertheless, they constitute a cooling mechanism for the vibrational modes of a single-molecule junction that is as important as cooling by transport processes. As the level of vibrational excitation determines the efficiency of electron transport processes, they have an indirect influence on the electrical current flowing through the junction. As we show, however, this influence can be substantial, in particular, if the molecule is coupled asymmetrically to the leads. Accounting for all these processes and their complex interrelationship, we analyze a number of intriguing transport phenomena, including rectification, negative differential resistance, anomalous peak broadening, mode-selective vibrational excitation and vibrationally induced decoherence. Moreover, we show that higher levels of vibrational excitation are obtained for weaker electronic-vibrational coupling. Thus, based on physical grounds, we establish a relation between the weak electronic-vibrational coupling limit and the limit of large bias voltages, where the level of vibrational excitation in a molecular junction

MC++: A parallel, portable, Monte Carlo neutron transport code in C++

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, S.R.; Cummings, J.C.; Nolen, S.D.

1997-01-01

MC++ is an implicit multi-group Monte Carlo neutron transport code written in C++ and based on the Parallel Object-Oriented Methods and Applications (POOMA) class library. MC++ runs in parallel on and is portable to a wide variety of platforms, including MPPs, SMPs, and clusters of UNIX workstations. MC++ is being developed to provide transport capabilities to the Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI). It is also intended to form the basis of the first transport physics framework (TPF), which is a C++ class library containing appropriate abstractions, objects, and methods for the particle transport problem. The transport problem is briefly described, as well as the current status and algorithms in MC++ for solving the transport equation. The alpha version of the POOMA class library is also discussed, along with the implementation of the transport solution algorithms using POOMA. Finally, a simple test problem is defined and performance and physics results from this problem are discussed on a variety of platforms

Spallation neutron production and the current intra-nuclear cascade and transport codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Filges, D.; Goldenbaum, F.

2001-01-01

A recent renascent interest in energetic proton-induced production of neutrons originates largely from the inception of projects for target stations of intense spallation neutron sources, like the planned European Spallation Source (ESS), accelerator-driven nuclear reactors, nuclear waste transmutation, and also from the application for radioactive beams. In the framework of such a neutron production, of major importance is the search for ways for the most efficient conversion of the primary beam energy into neutron production. Although the issue has been quite successfully addressed experimentally by varying the incident proton energy for various target materials and by covering a huge collection of different target geometries --providing an exhaustive matrix of benchmark data-- the ultimate challenge is to increase the predictive power of transport codes currently on the market. To scrutinize these codes, calculations of reaction cross-sections, hadronic interaction lengths, average neutron multiplicities, neutron multiplicity and energy distributions, and the development of hadronic showers are confronted with recent experimental data of the NESSI collaboration. Program packages like HERMES, LCS or MCNPX master the prevision of reaction cross-sections, hadronic interaction lengths, averaged neutron multiplicities and neutron multiplicity distributions in thick and thin targets for a wide spectrum of incident proton energies, geometrical shapes and materials of the target generally within less than 10% deviation, while production cross-section measurements for light charged particles on thin targets point out that appreciable distinctions exist within these models. (orig.)

Spallation neutron production and the current intra-nuclear cascade and transport codes

Science.gov (United States)

Filges, D.; Goldenbaum, F.; Enke, M.; Galin, J.; Herbach, C.-M.; Hilscher, D.; Jahnke, U.; Letourneau, A.; Lott, B.; Neef, R.-D.; Nünighoff, K.; Paul, N.; Péghaire, A.; Pienkowski, L.; Schaal, H.; Schröder, U.; Sterzenbach, G.; Tietze, A.; Tishchenko, V.; Toke, J.; Wohlmuther, M.

A recent renascent interest in energetic proton-induced production of neutrons originates largely from the inception of projects for target stations of intense spallation neutron sources, like the planned European Spallation Source (ESS), accelerator-driven nuclear reactors, nuclear waste transmutation, and also from the application for radioactive beams. In the framework of such a neutron production, of major importance is the search for ways for the most efficient conversion of the primary beam energy into neutron production. Although the issue has been quite successfully addressed experimentally by varying the incident proton energy for various target materials and by covering a huge collection of different target geometries --providing an exhaustive matrix of benchmark data-- the ultimate challenge is to increase the predictive power of transport codes currently on the market. To scrutinize these codes, calculations of reaction cross-sections, hadronic interaction lengths, average neutron multiplicities, neutron multiplicity and energy distributions, and the development of hadronic showers are confronted with recent experimental data of the NESSI collaboration. Program packages like HERMES, LCS or MCNPX master the prevision of reaction cross-sections, hadronic interaction lengths, averaged neutron multiplicities and neutron multiplicity distributions in thick and thin targets for a wide spectrum of incident proton energies, geometrical shapes and materials of the target generally within less than 10% deviation, while production cross-section measurements for light charged particles on thin targets point out that appreciable distinctions exist within these models.

Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis in the neutronic parameters generation for BWR and PWR coupled thermal-hydraulic–neutronic simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ánchel, F.; Barrachina, T.; Miró, R.; Verdú, G.; Juanas, J.; Macián-Juan, R.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Best-estimate codes are affected by the uncertainty in the methods and the models. ► Influence of the uncertainty in the macroscopic cross-sections in a BWR and PWR RIA accidents analysis. ► The fast diffusion coefficient, the scattering cross section and both fission cross sections are the most influential factors. ► The absorption cross sections very little influence. ► Using a normal pdf the results are more “conservative” comparing the power peak reached with uncertainty quantified with a uniform pdf. - Abstract: The Best Estimate analysis consists of a coupled thermal-hydraulic and neutronic description of the nuclear system's behavior; uncertainties from both aspects should be included and jointly propagated. This paper presents a study of the influence of the uncertainty in the macroscopic neutronic information that describes a three-dimensional core model on the most relevant results of the simulation of a Reactivity Induced Accident (RIA). The analyses of a BWR-RIA and a PWR-RIA have been carried out with a three-dimensional thermal-hydraulic and neutronic model for the coupled system TRACE-PARCS and RELAP-PARCS. The cross section information has been generated by the SIMTAB methodology based on the joint use of CASMO-SIMULATE. The statistically based methodology performs a Monte-Carlo kind of sampling of the uncertainty in the macroscopic cross sections. The size of the sampling is determined by the characteristics of the tolerance intervals by applying the Noether–Wilks formulas. A number of simulations equal to the sample size have been carried out in which the cross sections used by PARCS are directly modified with uncertainty, and non-parametric statistical methods are applied to the resulting sample of the values of the output variables to determine their intervals of tolerance.

Resolution of the neutron transport equation by massively parallel computer in the Cronos code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zardini, D.M.

1996-01-01

The feasibility of neutron transport problems parallel resolution by CRONOS code's SN module is here studied. In this report we give the first data about the parallel resolution by angular variable decomposition of the transport equation. Problems about parallel resolution by spatial variable decomposition and memory stage limits are also explained here. (author)

Coupled neutronic core and subchannel analysis of nanofluids in VVER-1000 type reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zarifi, Ehsan; Sepanloo, Kamran [Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute (NSTRI), Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Reactor and Nuclear Safety School; Jahanfarnia, Golamreza [Islamic Azad Univ., Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, Science and Research Branch

2017-05-15

This study is aimed to perform the coupled thermal-hydraulic/neutronic analysis of nanofluids as the coolant in the hot fuel assembly of VVER-1000 reactor core. Water-based nanofluid containing various volume fractions of Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanoparticle is analyzed. WIMS and CITATION codes are used for neutronic simulation of the reactor core, calculating neutron flux and thermal power distribution. In the thermal-hydraulic modeling, the porous media approach is used to analyze the thermal behavior of the reactor core and the subchannel analysis is used to calculate the hottest fuel assembly thermal-hydraulic parameters. The derived conservation equations for coolant and conduction heat transfer equation for fuel and clad are discretized by Finite volume method and solved numerically using visual FORTRAN program. Finally the analysis results for nanofluids and pure water are compared together. The achieved results show that at low concentration (0.1 percent volume fraction) alumina is the optimum nanoparticles for normal reactor operation.

Development of modern methods with respect to neutron transport and uncertainty analyses for reactor core calculations. Interim report; Weiterentwicklung moderner Verfahren zu Neutronentransport und Unsicherheitsanalysen fuer Kernberechnungen. Zwischenbericht

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zwermann, Winfried; Aures, Alexander; Bostelmann, Friederike; Pasichnyk, Ihor; Perin, Yann; Velkov, Kiril; Zilly, Matias

2016-12-15

This report documents the status of the research and development goals reached within the reactor safety research project RS1536 ''Development of modern methods with respect to neutron transport and uncertainty analyses for reactor core calculations'' as of the 3{sup rd} quarter of 2016. The superordinate goal of the project is the development, validation, and application of neutron transport methods and uncertainty analyses for reactor core calculations. These calculation methods will mainly be applied to problems related to the core behaviour of light water reactors and innovative reactor concepts, in particular fast reactors cooled by liquid metal. The contributing individual goals are the further optimization and validation of deterministic calculation methods with high spatial and energy resolution, the development of a coupled calculation system using the Monte Carlo method for the neutron transport to describe time-dependent reactor core states, the processing and validation of nuclear data, particularly with regard to covariance data, the development, validation, and application of sampling-based methods for uncertainty and sensitivity analyses, the creation of a platform for performing systematic uncertainty analyses for fast reactor systems, as well as the description of states of severe core damage with the Monte Carlo method. Moreover, work regarding the European NURESAFE project, started in the preceding project RS1503, are being continued and completed.

Transport calculation of thermal and cold neutrons using NMTC/JAERI-MCNP4A code system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iga, Kiminori; Takada, Hiroshi; Nagao, Tadashi.

1998-01-01

In order to investigate the applicability of the NMTC/JAERI-MCNP4A code system to the neutronics design study in the neutron science research project of JAERI, transport calculations of thermal and cold neutrons are performed with the code system on a spallation neutron source composed of light water cooled tantalum target with a moderator and a reflector system. The following neutronic characteristics are studied in the calculation : the variation of the intensity of neutrons emitted from a light water moderator or a liquid hydrogen with/without the B 4 C decoupler, which are installed to produce sharp pulse, and that dependent on the position of external source neutrons in the tantalum target. The calculated neutron energy spectra are reproduced well by the semi-empirical formula with the parameter values reliable in physical meanings. It is found to be necessary to employ proper importance sampling technique in the statistics. It is confirmed from this work that the NMTC/JAERI-MCNP4A code system is applicable to the neutronics design study of spallation neutron sources proposed for the neutron science research project. (author)

Transport calculation of thermal and cold neutrons using NMTC/JAERI-MCNP4A code system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iga, Kiminori [Kyushu Univ., Fukuoka (Japan); Takada, Hiroshi; Nagao, Tadashi

1998-01-01

In order to investigate the applicability of the NMTC/JAERI-MCNP4A code system to the neutronics design study in the neutron science research project of JAERI, transport calculations of thermal and cold neutrons are performed with the code system on a spallation neutron source composed of light water cooled tantalum target with a moderator and a reflector system. The following neutronic characteristics are studied in the calculation : the variation of the intensity of neutrons emitted from a light water moderator or a liquid hydrogen with/without the B{sub 4}C decoupler, which are installed to produce sharp pulse, and that dependent on the position of external source neutrons in the tantalum target. The calculated neutron energy spectra are reproduced well by the semi-empirical formula with the parameter values reliable in physical meanings. It is found to be necessary to employ proper importance sampling technique in the statistics. It is confirmed from this work that the NMTC/JAERI-MCNP4A code system is applicable to the neutronics design study of spallation neutron sources proposed for the neutron science research project. (author)

Optimization of spring exchange coupled ferrites, studied by in situ neutron diffraction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahlburg, Jakob; Christensen, Mogens; Granados-Miralles, Cecilia

Strong permanent magnets with a high energy-product are vital for a great number of electronic devices, these can be found in transformers, loudspeakers, windmills etc. Normally the preferred type of magnets are Rare Earth Metals (REM) containing magnets. REM excels since the magnetic contributio...... with varying temperature (fixed flow) or varying flow (fixed temperature) has been performed. To optimize the exchange-coupling several experiments with fixed temperature and flow, have been performed where the conversion from spinel to metal has been varied....... reduced. These metal oxides are antiferromagnetically ordered an is therefore considered a parasitic phase. However by fine-tuning the reaction temperature and hydrogen flow rate the occurrence of the phase can be minimized. In order to distinguish between Co and Fe Neutrons are chosen. Since neutrons...

TMCC: a transient three-dimensional neutron transport code by the direct simulation method - 222

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, H.; Li, Z.; Wang, K.; Yu, G.

2010-01-01

A direct simulation method (DSM) is applied to solve the transient three-dimensional neutron transport problems. DSM is based on the Monte Carlo method, and can be considered as an application of the Monte Carlo method in the specific type of problems. In this work, the transient neutronics problem is solved by simulating the dynamic behaviors of neutrons and precursors of delayed neutrons during the transient process. DSM gets rid of various approximations which are always necessary to other methods, so it is precise and flexible in the requirement of geometric configurations, material compositions and energy spectrum. In this paper, the theory of DSM is introduced first, and the numerical results obtained with the new transient analysis code, named TMCC (Transient Monte Carlo Code), are presented. (authors)

Modeling of coupled geochemical and transport processes: An overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carnahan, C.L.

1989-10-01

Early coupled models associated with fluid flow and solute transport have been limited by assumed conditions of constant temperature, fully saturated fluid flow, and constant pore fluid velocity. Developments including coupling of chemical reactions to variable fields of temperature and fluid flow have generated new requirements for experimental data. As the capabilities of coupled models expand, needs are created for experimental data to be used for both input and validation. 25 refs

Numerical solution of the time dependent neutron transport equation by the method of the characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Talamo, Alberto

2013-01-01

This study presents three numerical algorithms to solve the time dependent neutron transport equation by the method of the characteristics. The algorithms have been developed taking into account delayed neutrons and they have been implemented into the novel MCART code, which solves the neutron transport equation for two-dimensional geometry and an arbitrary number of energy groups. The MCART code uses regular mesh for the representation of the spatial domain, it models up-scattering, and takes advantage of OPENMP and OPENGL algorithms for parallel computing and plotting, respectively. The code has been benchmarked with the multiplication factor results of a Boiling Water Reactor, with the analytical results for a prompt jump transient in an infinite medium, and with PARTISN and TDTORT results for cross section and source transients. The numerical simulations have shown that only two numerical algorithms are stable for small time steps

Numerical solution of the time dependent neutron transport equation by the method of the characteristics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Talamo, Alberto, E-mail: alby@anl.gov [Nuclear Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439 (United States)

2013-05-01

This study presents three numerical algorithms to solve the time dependent neutron transport equation by the method of the characteristics. The algorithms have been developed taking into account delayed neutrons and they have been implemented into the novel MCART code, which solves the neutron transport equation for two-dimensional geometry and an arbitrary number of energy groups. The MCART code uses regular mesh for the representation of the spatial domain, it models up-scattering, and takes advantage of OPENMP and OPENGL algorithms for parallel computing and plotting, respectively. The code has been benchmarked with the multiplication factor results of a Boiling Water Reactor, with the analytical results for a prompt jump transient in an infinite medium, and with PARTISN and TDTORT results for cross section and source transients. The numerical simulations have shown that only two numerical algorithms are stable for small time steps.

Modeling of neutron and photon transport in iron and concrete radiation shields by using Monte Carlo method

CERN Document Server

Žukauskaitėa, A; Plukienė, R; Ridikas, D

2007-01-01

Particle accelerators and other high energy facilities produce penetrating ionizing radiation (neutrons and γ-rays) that must be shielded. The objective of this work was to model photon and neutron transport in various materials, usually used as shielding, such as concrete, iron or graphite. Monte Carlo method allows obtaining answers by simulating individual particles and recording some aspects of their average behavior. In this work several nuclear experiments were modeled: AVF 65 (AVF cyclotron of Research Center of Nuclear Physics, Osaka University, Japan) – γ-ray beams (1-10 MeV), HIMAC (heavy-ion synchrotron of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Chiba, Japan) and ISIS-800 (ISIS intensive spallation neutron source facility of the Rutherford Appleton laboratory, UK) – high energy neutron (20-800 MeV) transport in iron and concrete. The calculation results were then compared with experimental data.compared with experimental data.

The lateral intercellular space as osmotic coupling compartment in isotonic transport

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, E.H.; Willumsen, N.J.; Mobjerg, N.

2009-01-01

coupling of water absorption to ion flow is energized by lateral Na+/K+ pumps. We show that the theory accounts quantitatively for steady- and time dependent states of solute-coupled fluid uptake by toad skin epithelium. Our experimental results exclude definitively three alternative theories of epithelial......Solute-coupled water transport and isotonic transport are basic functions of low- and high-resistance epithelia. These functions are studied with the epithelium bathed on the two sides with physiological saline of similar composition. Hence, at transepithelial equilibrium water enters...... the epithelial cells from both sides, and with the reflection coefficient of tight junction being larger than that of the interspace basement membrane, all of the water leaves the epithelium through the interspace basement membrane. The common design of transporting epithelia leads to the theory that an osmotic...

UN Method For The Critical Slab Problem In One-Speed Neutron Transport Theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oeztuerk, Hakan; Guengoer, Sueleyman

2008-01-01

The Chebyshev polynomial approximation (U N method) is used to solve the critical slab problem in one-speed neutron transport theory using Marshak boundary condition. The isotropic scattering kernel with the combination of forward and backward scattering is chosen for the neutrons in a uniform finite slab. Numerical results obtained by the U N method are presented in the tables together with the results obtained by the well-known P N method for comparison. It is shown that the method converges rapidly with its easily executable equations.

Numerical simulation for fractional order stationary neutron transport equation using Haar wavelet collocation method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saha Ray, S., E-mail: santanusaharay@yahoo.com; Patra, A.

2014-10-15

Highlights: • A stationary transport equation has been solved using the technique of Haar wavelet collocation method. • This paper intends to provide the great utility of Haar wavelets to nuclear science problem. • In the present paper, two-dimensional Haar wavelets are applied. • The proposed method is mathematically very simple, easy and fast. - Abstract: In this paper the numerical solution for the fractional order stationary neutron transport equation is presented using Haar wavelet Collocation Method (HWCM). Haar wavelet collocation method is efficient and powerful in solving wide class of linear and nonlinear differential equations. This paper intends to provide an application of Haar wavelets to nuclear science problems. This paper describes the application of Haar wavelets for the numerical solution of fractional order stationary neutron transport equation in homogeneous medium with isotropic scattering. The proposed method is mathematically very simple, easy and fast. To demonstrate about the efficiency and applicability of the method, two test problems are discussed.

Three Mile Island Unit 1 Main Steam Line Break Three-Dimensional Neutronics/Thermal-Hydraulics Analysis: Application of Different Coupled Codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Auria, Francesco; Moreno, Jose Luis Gago; Galassi, Giorgio Maria; Grgic, Davor; Spadoni, Antonino

2003-01-01

A comprehensive analysis of the double ended main steam line break (MSLB) accident assumed to occur in the Babcock and Wilcox Three Mile Island Unit 1 (TMI-1) has been carried out at the Dipartimento di Ingegneria Meccanica, Nucleare e della Produzione of the University of Pisa, Italy, in cooperation with the University of Zagreb, Croatia. The overall activity has been completed within the framework of the participation in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations-Nuclear Science Committee pressurized water reactor MSLB benchmark.Thermal-hydraulic system codes (various versions of Relap5), three-dimensional (3-D) neutronics codes (Parcs, Quabbox, and Nestle), and one subchannel code (Cobra) have been adopted for the analysis. Results from the following codes (or code versions) are assumed as reference:1. Relap5/mod3.2.2, beta version, coupled with the 3-D neutron kinetics Parcs code parallel virtual machine (PVM) coupling2. Relap5/mod3.2.2, gamma version, coupled with the 3-D neutron kinetics Quabbox code (direct coupling)3. Relap5/3D code coupled with the 3-D neutron kinetics Nestle code.The influence of PVM and of direct coupling is also discussed.Boundary and initial conditions of the system, including those relevant to the fuel status, have been supplied by Pennsylvania State University in cooperation with GPU Nuclear Corporation (the utility, owner of TMI) and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The comparison among the results obtained by adopting the same thermal-hydraulic nodalization and the coupled code version is discussed in this paper.The capability of the control rods to recover the accident has been demonstrated in all the cases as well as the capability of all the codes to predict the time evolution of the assigned transient. However, one stuck control rod caused some 'recriticality' or 'return to power' whose magnitude is largely affected by boundary and initial conditions

Criticality problems for slabs and spheres in energy dependent neutron transport theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Victory, H.D. Jr.

1980-01-01

The steady-state equation for energy-dependent neutron transport in isotropically scattering slabs and spheres is formulated as an integral equation. The Perron-Frobenius-Jentzsch theory of positive operators is used to analyze criticality problems for transport in slab and spherical media consisting of core and reflector. In addition, with an adroit selection of diffusion-like solutions, this theory is used to obtain an expression relating the critical radius of a homogeneous sphere to a parameter characterizing fission production. 21 refs

Quadrature with arbitrary weight for the numerical solution of the critical slab Neutron Transport Equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanchez G, J.

2007-01-01

A standard procedure for the solution of singular integral equations is applied to the one-dimensional transport equation for monoenergetic neutrons. The results obtained with two versions of the procedure, differing only in the extent of the basic region to which they are applied, are compared with analytically derived results available for benchmarking. The procedures considered yield consistent results for the calculated neutron densities and eigenvalues. Several approximate expressions of the neutron density are used to render closed-form formulas for the densities which can then be analytically operated on to obtain expressions for extrapolation distances or angular densities or serve other purposes that require an analytical expression of the neutron density. (Author)

Validation of coupled neutronic / thermal-hydraulic codes for VVER reactors. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mittag, S.; Grundmann, U.; Kliem, S.; Kozmenkov, Y.; Rindelhardt, U.; Rohde, U.; Weiss, F.-P.; Langenbuch, S.; Krzykacz-Hausmann, B.; Schmidt, K.-D.; Vanttola, T.; Haemaelaeinen, A.; Kaloinen, E.; Kereszturi, A.; Hegyi, G.; Panka, I.; Hadek, J.; Strmensky, C.; Darilek, P.; Petkov, P.; Stefanova, S.; Kuchin, A.; Khalimonchuk, V.; Hlbocky, P.; Sico, D.; Danilin, S.; Ionov, V.; Nikonov, S.; Powney, D.

2004-08-01

In recent years, the simulation methods for the safety analysis of nuclear power plants have been continuously improved to perform realistic calculations. Therefore in VALCO work package 2 (WP 2), the usual application of coupled neutron-kinetic / thermal-hydraulic codes to VVER has been supplemented by systematic uncertainty and sensitivity analyses. A comprehensive uncertainty analysis has been carried out. The GRS uncertainty and sensitivity method based on the statistical code package SUSA was applied to the two transients studied earlier in SRR-1/95: A load drop of one turbo-generator in Loviisa-1 (VVER-440), and a switch-off of one feed water pump in Balakovo-4 (VVER-1000). The main steps of these analyses and the results obtained by applying different coupled code systems (SMABRE - HEXTRAN, ATHLET - DYN3D, ATHLET - KIKO3D, ATHLET - BIPR-8) are described in this report. The application of this method is only based on variations of input parameter values. No internal code adjustments are needed. An essential result of the analysis using the GRS SUSA methodology is the identification of the input parameters, such as the secondary-circuit pressure, the control-assembly position (as a function of time), and the control-assembly efficiency, that most sensitively affect safety-relevant output parameters, like reactor power, coolant heat-up, and primary pressure. Uncertainty bands for these output parameters have been derived. The variation of potentially uncertain input parameter values as a consequence of uncertain knowledge can activate system actions causing quite different transient evolutions. This gives indications about possible plant conditions that might be reached from the initiating event assuming only small disturbances. In this way, the uncertainty and sensitivity analysis reveals the spectrum of possible transient evolutions. Deviations of SRR-1/95 coupled code calculations from measurements also led to the objective to separate neutron kinetics from

Complex eigenvalues for neutron transport equation with quadratically anisotropic scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sjoestrand, N.G.

1981-01-01

Complex eigenvalues for the monoenergetic neutron transport equation in the buckling approximation have been calculated for various combinations of linearly and quadratically anisotropic scattering. The results are discussed in terms of the time-dependent case. Tables are given of complex bucklings for real decay constants and of complex decay constants for real bucklings. The results fit nicely into the pattern of real and purely imaginary eigenvalues obtained earlier. (author)

Criticality problems in energy dependent neutron transport theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Victory, H.D. Jr.

1979-01-01

The criticality problem is considered for energy dependent neutron transport in an isotropically scattering, homogeneous slab. Under a positivity assumption on the scattering kernel, an expression can be found relating the thickness of the slab to a parameter characterizing production by fission. This is accomplished by exploiting the Perron-Frobenius-Jentsch characterization of positive operators (i.e. those leaving invariant a normal, reproducing cone in a Banach space). It is pointed out that those techniques work for classes of multigroup problems were the Case singular eigenfunction approach is not as feasible as in the one-group theory, which is also analyzed

Neutronics-processing interface analyses for the Accelerator Transmutation of Waste (ATW) aqueous-based blanket system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davidson, J.W.; Battat, M.E.

1993-01-01

Neutronics-processing interface parameters have large impacts on the neutron economy and transmutation performance of an aqueous-based Accelerator Transmutation of Waste (ATW) system. A detailed assessment of the interdependence of these blanket neutronic and chemical processing parameters has been performed. Neutronic performance analyses require that neutron transport calculations for the ATW blanket systems be fully coupled with the blanket processing and include all neutron absorptions in candidate waste nuclides as well as in fission and transmutation products. The effects of processing rates, flux levels, flux spectra, and external-to-blanket inventories on blanket neutronic performance were determined. In addition, the inventories and isotopics in the various subsystems were also calculated for various actinide and long-lived fission product transmutation strategies

Analysis of a HP-refinement method for solving the neutron transport equation using two error estimators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fournier, D.; Le Tellier, R.; Suteau, C.; Herbin, R.

2011-01-01

The solution of the time-independent neutron transport equation in a deterministic way invariably consists in the successive discretization of the three variables: energy, angle and space. In the SNATCH solver used in this study, the energy and the angle are respectively discretized with a multigroup approach and the discrete ordinate method. A set of spatial coupled transport equations is obtained and solved using the Discontinuous Galerkin Finite Element Method (DGFEM). Within this method, the spatial domain is decomposed into elements and the solution is approximated by a hierarchical polynomial basis in each one. This approach is time and memory consuming when the mesh becomes fine or the basis order high. To improve the computational time and the memory footprint, adaptive algorithms are proposed. These algorithms are based on an error estimation in each cell. If the error is important in a given region, the mesh has to be refined (h−refinement) or the polynomial basis order increased (p−refinement). This paper is related to the choice between the two types of refinement. Two ways to estimate the error are compared on different benchmarks. Analyzing the differences, a hp−refinement method is proposed and tested. (author)

Analytical synthetic methods of solution of neutron transport equation with diffusion theory approaches energy multigroup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moraes, Pedro Gabriel B.; Leite, Michel C.A.; Barros, Ricardo C.

2013-01-01

In this work we developed a software to model and generate results in tables and graphs of one-dimensional neutron transport problems in multi-group formulation of energy. The numerical method we use to solve the problem of neutron diffusion is analytic, thus eliminating the truncation errors that appear in classical numerical methods, e.g., the method of finite differences. This numerical analytical method increases the computational efficiency, since they are not refined spatial discretization necessary because for any spatial discretization grids used, the numerical result generated for the same point of the domain remains unchanged unless the rounding errors of computational finite arithmetic. We chose to develop a computational application in MatLab platform for numerical computation and program interface is simple and easy with knobs. We consider important to model this neutron transport problem with a fixed source in the context of shielding calculations of radiation that protects the biosphere, and could be sensitive to ionizing radiation

Coupling of the computational fluid dynamics code ANSYS CFX with the 3D neutron kinetic core model DYN3D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kliem, S.; Grahn, A.; Rohde, U.; Schuetze, J.; Frank, Th.

2010-01-01

The computational fluid dynamics code ANSYS CFX has been coupled with the neutron-kinetic core model DYN3D. ANSYS CFX calculates the fluid dynamics and related transport phenomena in the reactors coolant and provides the corresponding data to DYN3D. In the fluid flow simulation of the coolant, the core itself is modeled within the porous body approach. DYN3D calculates the neutron kinetics and the fuel behavior including the heat transfer to the coolant. The physical data interface between the codes is the volumetric heat release rate into the coolant. In the prototype that is currently available, the coupling is restricted to single-phase flow problems. In the time domain an explicit coupling of the codes has been implemented so far. Steady-state and transient verification calculations for two small-size test problems confirm the correctness of the implementation of the prototype coupling. The first test problem was a mini-core consisting of nine real-size fuel assemblies with quadratic cross section. Comparison was performed with the DYN3D stand-alone code. In the steady state, the effective multiplication factor obtained by the DYN3D/ANSYS CFX codes hows a deviation of 9.8 pcm from the DYN3D stand-alone solution. This difference can be attributed to the use of different water property packages in the two codes. The transient test case simulated the withdrawal of the control rod from the central fuel assembly at hot zero power in the same mini-core. Power increase during the introduction of positive reactivity and power reduction due to fuel temperature increase are calculated in the same manner by the coupled and the stand-alone codes. The maximum values reached during the power rise differ by about 1 MW at a power level of 50 MW. Beside the different water property packages, these differences are caused by the use of different flow solvers. The same calculations were carried for a mini-core with seven real-size fuel assemblies with hexagonal cross section in

Design study of a medical reactor for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasaki, M.; Hirota, J.; Tamao, S.; Kanda, K.; Mishima, Y.

1992-01-01

A new design study of a medical reactor for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) has been carried out. The reactor is to be used exclusively for the treatment of malignant melanoma and other cancers as well as for the further biomedical research. Main specifications of the reactor are as follows; thermal power of 2 MW, water cooling by natural convection, semitight core of triangular lattice, UO 2 fuel rod of 9.5 mm diameter and no refueling in the reactor-life. Three horizontal and one vertical neutron beam hole are to be provided to deliver thermal and epithermal neutrons. N-γ coupling Sn transport calculations indicate that the patient treatment period will be about 30 minutes with minimal fast neutron and gamma contaminants. (author)

Energy Coupling Factor-Type ABC Transporters for Vitamin Uptake in Prokaryotes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Erkens, Guus B.; Dosz-Majsnerowska, Maria; ter Beek, Josy; Slotboom, Dirk Jan

2012-01-01

Energy coupling factor (ECF) transporters are a subgroup of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters involved in the uptake of vitamins and micronutrients in prokaryotes. In contrast to classical ABC importers, ECF transporters do not make use of water-soluble substrate binding proteins or domains

Neutronics of pulsed spallation neutron sources

CERN Document Server

Watanabe, N

2003-01-01

Various topics and issues on the neutronics of pulsed spallation neutron sources, mainly for neutron scattering experiments, are reviewed to give a wide circle of readers a better understanding of these sources in order to achieve a high neutronic performance. Starting from what neutrons are needed, what the spallation reaction is and how to produce slow-neutrons more efficiently, the outline of the target and moderator neutronics are explained. Various efforts with some new concepts or ideas have already been devoted to obtaining the highest possible slow-neutron intensity with desired pulse characteristics. This paper also reviews the recent progress of such efforts, mainly focused on moderator neutronics, since moderators are the final devices of a neutron source, which determine the source performance. Various governing parameters for neutron-pulse characteristics such as material issues, geometrical parameters (shape and dimensions), the target-moderator coupling scheme, the ortho-para-hydrogen ratio, po...

Space dependent neutron slowing and thermalization in monatomic hydrogen gas in the P-1 approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Musazay, M.S.

1981-01-01

A solution to the space and energy dependent neutron transport equation in the framework of the consistent P-1 approximation is sought. The transport equation for thermal neutrons in a moderator of 1/v absorption and constant scattering cross section is changed into a set of coupled partial differential equations. The space dependent part is removed by assuming a cosine shaped flux due to a cosine shaped source at a very high energy. The resulting set of strongly coupled ordinary differential equations is decoupled by assuming expansion of collision density in the powers of a leakage parameter whose coefficients are energy and absorption dependent. These energy dependent coefficients are solutions of a set of weakly coupled differential equations. Series solutions to these differential equations in powers of epsilon and 1/epsilon, where epsilon = E/kT, E being the neutron energy and kT the moderator temperature in units of energy, are found. The properties of these solutions are studied extensively. Absorption appears as a parameter in the coefficients of the series. The difficulties arising in choosing the correct form of the asymptotic solutions are resolved by comparing slowing and thermalization. The limitations on the size of the slab and on the range of absorption are included in the analysis

Evaluation of scattering laws and cross sections for calculation of production and transport of cold and ultracold neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernnat, W.; Keinert, J.; Mattes, M.

2004-01-01

For the calculation of neutron spectra in cold and super thermal sources scattering laws for a variety of liquid and solid cyrogenic materials were evaluated and prepared for use in deterministic and Monte Carlo transport calculations. For moderator materials like liquid and solid H 2 O, liquid He, liquid D 2 O, liquid and solid H 2 and D 2 , solid CH 4 and structure materials such as Al, Bi, Pb, ZrHx, and graphite scattering law data and cross sections are available. The evaluated data were validated by comparison with measured cross sections and comparison of measured and calculated neutron spectra as far as available. Further applications are the calculation of production and transport and storing of ultra cold neutrons (UCN) in different UCN sources. The data structures of the evaluated data are prepared for the common S N -transport codes and the Monte Carlo Code MCNP. (orig.)

Two-dimensional time dependent Riemann solvers for neutron transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brunner, Thomas A.; Holloway, James Paul

2005-01-01

A two-dimensional Riemann solver is developed for the spherical harmonics approximation to the time dependent neutron transport equation. The eigenstructure of the resulting equations is explored, giving insight into both the spherical harmonics approximation and the Riemann solver. The classic Roe-type Riemann solver used here was developed for one-dimensional problems, but can be used in multidimensional problems by treating each face of a two-dimensional computation cell in a locally one-dimensional way. Several test problems are used to explore the capabilities of both the Riemann solver and the spherical harmonics approximation. The numerical solution for a simple line source problem is compared to the analytic solution to both the P 1 equation and the full transport solution. A lattice problem is used to test the method on a more challenging problem

Neutron transport on the connection machine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robin, F.

1991-12-01

Monte Carlo methods are heavily used at CEA and account for a a large part of the total CPU time of industrial codes. In the present work (done in the frame of the Parallel Computing Project of the CEL-V Applied Mathematics Department) we study and implement on the Connection Machine an optimised Monte Carlo algorithm for solving the neutron transport equation. This allows us to investigate the suitability of such an architecture for this kind of problem. This report describes the chosen methodology, the algorithm and its performances. We found that programming the CM-2 in CM Fortran is relatively easy and we got interesting performances as, on a 16 k, CM-2 they are the same level as those obtained on one processor of a CRAY X-MP with a well optimized vector code

Computational complexity in multidimensional neutron transport theory calculations. Progress report, September 1, 1974--August 31, 1975

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bareiss, E.H.

1975-01-01

The objectives of the research remain the same as outlined in the original proposal. They are in short as follows: Develop mathematically and computationally founded criteria for the design of highly efficient and reliable multi-dimensional neutron transport codes to solve a variety of neutron migration and radiation problems and analyze existing and new methods for performance. (U.S.)

Neutron transport study based on assembly modular ray tracing MOC method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tian Chao; Zheng Youqi; Li Yunzhao; Li Shuo; Chai Xiaoming

2015-01-01

It is difficulty for the MOC method based on Cell Modular Ray Tracing to deal with the irregular geometry such as the water gap between the PWR lattices. Hence, the neutron transport code NECP-Medlar based on Assembly Modular Ray Tracing is developed. CMFD method is used to accelerate the transport calculation. The numerical results of the 2D C5G7 benchmark and typical PWR lattice prove that NECP-Medlar has an excellent performance in terms of accuracy and efficiency. Besides, NECP-Medlar can describe clearly the flux distribution of the lattice with water gap. (authors)

A method for solving the spherical harmonics equations applied for space-energy transport of fast and resonance neutrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matausek, M.

1972-01-01

A new proposed method for solving the space-energy dependent spherical harmonics equations represents a methodological contribution to neutron transport theory. The proposed method was applied for solving the problem of spec-energy transport of fast and resonance neutrons in multi-zone, cylindrical y symmetric infinite reactor cell and is related to previously developed procedure for treating the thermal energy region. The advantages of this method are as follows: a unique algorithm was obtained for detailed determination of spatial and energy distribution of neutrons (from thermal to fast) in the reactor cell; these detailed distributions enable more precise calculations of criticality conditions, obtaining adequate multigroup data and better interpretation of experimental data; computing time is rather short

A practical neutron shielding design based on data-base interpolation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, S.H.; Sheu, R.J.

1993-01-01

Neutron shielding design is an important part of the construction of nuclear reactors and high-energy accelerators. Neutron shielding design is also indispensable in the packaging and storage of isotopic neutron sources. Most efforts in the development of neutron shielding design have been concentrated on nuclear reactor shielding because of its huge mass and strict requirement of accuracy. Sophisticated computational tools, such as transport and Monte Carlo codes and detailed data libraries have been developed. In principle, now, neutron shielding, in spite of its complexity, can be designed in any detail and with fine accuracy. However, in most practical cases, neutron shielding design is accomplished with simplified methods. Unlike practical gamma-ray shielding design, where exponential attenuation coupled with buildup factors has been applied effectively and accurately, simplified neutron shielding design, either by using removal cross sections or by applying charts or tables of transmission factors such as the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) 38 (Ref. 1) for general neutron protection or to NCRP 51 (Ref. 2) for accelerator neutron shielding, is still very primitive and not well established. The available data are limited in energy range, materials, and thicknesses, and the estimated results are only roughly accurate. It is the purpose of this work to establish a simple, convenient, and user-friendly general-purpose computational tool for practical preliminary neutron shielding design that is reasonably accurate. A wide-range (energy, material, and thickness) data base of dose transmission factors has been generated by applying one-dimensional transport calculations in slab geometry

SUSD, Sensitivity and Uncertainty in Neutron Transport and Detector Response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furuta, Lazuo; Kondo, Shunsuke; Oka, Yoshika

1991-01-01

1 - Description of program or function: SUSD calculates sensitivity coefficients for one and two-dimensional transport problems. Variance and standard deviation of detector responses or design parameters can be obtained using cross-section covariance matrices. In neutron transport problems, this code is able to perform sensitivity-uncertainty analysis for secondary angular distribution (SAD) or secondary energy distribution (SED). 2 - Method of solution: The first-order perturbation theory is used to obtain sensitivity coefficients. The method described in the distributed report is employed to consider SAD/SED effect. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: Variable dimension is used so that there is no limitation in each array size but the total core size

MINARET: Towards a time-dependent neutron transport parallel solver

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baudron, A.M.; Lautard, J.J.; Maday, Y.; Mula, O.

2013-01-01

We present the newly developed time-dependent 3D multigroup discrete ordinates neutron transport solver that has recently been implemented in the MINARET code. The solver is the support for a study about computing acceleration techniques that involve parallel architectures. In this work, we will focus on the parallelization of two of the variables involved in our equation: the angular directions and the time. This last variable has been parallelized by a (time) domain decomposition method called the para-real in time algorithm. (authors)

TISKTH-3: a couple neutronics/thermal-hydraulics code for the transient analysis of light water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peng Muzhang; Zhang Quan; Wang Guoli; Zhang Yuman

1988-01-01

TISKTH-3 is a coupled neutronics/thermal-hydraulics code for the transient analysis. A 3-dimensional neutron kinetics equation solved by the Nodal Green's Function Method is used for the neutronics model of the code. A homogeneous equilibrium model with a complete boiling curve and two numerical solutions of the implicit and explicit scheme is used for the thermal-hydraulics model of the code. A 2-dimensional heat conduction equation with variable conductivity solved by the method of weighted residuals is used for the fuel rod heat transfer model of the code. TISKTH-3 is able to analyze the fast transient process and complicate accident situations in the core. The initative applications have shown that the stability and convergency in the calculations with the code are satisfactory

TISKTH-3: a couple neutronics/thermal-hydraulics code for the transient analysis of light water reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muzhang, Peng; Quan, Zhang; Guoli, Wang; Yuman, Zhang

1988-03-01

TISKTH-3 is a coupled neutronics/thermal-hydraulics code for the transient analysis. A 3-dimensional neutron kinetics equation solved by the Nodal Green's Function Method is used for the neutronics model of the code. A homogeneous equilibrium model with a complete boiling curve and two numerical solutions of the implicit and explicit scheme is used for the thermal-hydraulics model of the code. A 2-dimensional heat conduction equation with variable conductivity solved by the method of weighted residuals is used for the fuel rod heat transfer model of the code. TISKTH-3 is able to analyze the fast transient process and complicate accident situations in the core. The initative applications have shown that the stability and convergency in the calculations with the code are satisfactory.

Sensitive and transportable gadolinium-core plastic scintillator sphere for neutron detection and counting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dumazert, Jonathan; Coulon, Romain; Carrel, Frédérick; Corre, Gwenolé; Normand, Stéphane [CEA, LIST, Laboratoire Capteurs Architectures Electroniques, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Méchin, Laurence [CNRS, UCBN, Groupe de Recherche en Informatique, Image, Automatique et Instrumentation de Caen, 14050 Caen (France); Hamel, Matthieu [CEA, LIST, Laboratoire Capteurs Architectures Electroniques, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

2016-08-21

Neutron detection forms a critical branch of nuclear-related issues, currently driven by the search for competitive alternative technologies to neutron counters based on the helium-3 isotope. The deployment of plastic scintillators shows a high potential for efficient detectors, safer and more reliable than liquids, more easily scalable and cost-effective than inorganic. In the meantime, natural gadolinium, through its 155 and mostly 157 isotopes, presents an exceptionally high interaction probability with thermal neutrons. This paper introduces a dual system including a metal gadolinium core inserted at the center of a high-scale plastic scintillator sphere. Incident fast neutrons are thermalized by the scintillator shell and then may be captured with a significant probability by gadolinium 155 and 157 nuclei in the core. The deposition of a sufficient fraction of the capture high-energy prompt gamma signature inside the scintillator shell will then allow discrimination from background radiations by energy threshold, and therefore neutron detection. The scaling of the system with the Monte Carlo MCNPX2.7 code was carried out according to a tradeoff between the moderation of incident fast neutrons and the probability of slow neutron capture by a moderate-cost metal gadolinium core. Based on the parameters extracted from simulation, a first laboratory prototype for the assessment of the detection method principle has been synthetized. The robustness and sensitivity of the neutron detection principle are then assessed by counting measurement experiments. Experimental results confirm the potential for a stable, highly sensitive, transportable and cost-efficient neutron detector and orientate future investigation toward promising axes.

Sensitive and transportable gadolinium-core plastic scintillator sphere for neutron detection and counting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dumazert, Jonathan; Coulon, Romain; Carrel, Frédérick; Corre, Gwenolé; Normand, Stéphane; Méchin, Laurence; Hamel, Matthieu

2016-01-01

Neutron detection forms a critical branch of nuclear-related issues, currently driven by the search for competitive alternative technologies to neutron counters based on the helium-3 isotope. The deployment of plastic scintillators shows a high potential for efficient detectors, safer and more reliable than liquids, more easily scalable and cost-effective than inorganic. In the meantime, natural gadolinium, through its 155 and mostly 157 isotopes, presents an exceptionally high interaction probability with thermal neutrons. This paper introduces a dual system including a metal gadolinium core inserted at the center of a high-scale plastic scintillator sphere. Incident fast neutrons are thermalized by the scintillator shell and then may be captured with a significant probability by gadolinium 155 and 157 nuclei in the core. The deposition of a sufficient fraction of the capture high-energy prompt gamma signature inside the scintillator shell will then allow discrimination from background radiations by energy threshold, and therefore neutron detection. The scaling of the system with the Monte Carlo MCNPX2.7 code was carried out according to a tradeoff between the moderation of incident fast neutrons and the probability of slow neutron capture by a moderate-cost metal gadolinium core. Based on the parameters extracted from simulation, a first laboratory prototype for the assessment of the detection method principle has been synthetized. The robustness and sensitivity of the neutron detection principle are then assessed by counting measurement experiments. Experimental results confirm the potential for a stable, highly sensitive, transportable and cost-efficient neutron detector and orientate future investigation toward promising axes.

Symmetrized neutron transport equation and the fast Fourier transform method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinh, N.Q.; Kisynski, J.; Mika, J.

1978-01-01

The differential equation obtained from the neutron transport equation by the application of the source iteration method in two-dimensional rectangular geometry is transformed into a symmetrized form with respect to one of the angular variables. The discretization of the symmetrized equation leads to finite difference equations based on the five-point scheme and solved by use of the fast Fourier transform method. Possible advantages of the approach are shown on test calculations

Neutronics of pulsed spallation neutron sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, Noboru

2003-01-01

Various topics and issues on the neutronics of pulsed spallation neutron sources, mainly for neutron scattering experiments, are reviewed to give a wide circle of readers a better understanding of these sources in order to achieve a high neutronic performance. Starting from what neutrons are needed, what the spallation reaction is and how to produce slow-neutrons more efficiently, the outline of the target and moderator neutronics are explained. Various efforts with some new concepts or ideas have already been devoted to obtaining the highest possible slow-neutron intensity with desired pulse characteristics. This paper also reviews the recent progress of such efforts, mainly focused on moderator neutronics, since moderators are the final devices of a neutron source, which determine the source performance. Various governing parameters for neutron-pulse characteristics such as material issues, geometrical parameters (shape and dimensions), the target-moderator coupling scheme, the ortho-para-hydrogen ratio, poisoning, etc are discussed, aiming at a high performance pulsed spallation source

Modelling of neutron and photon transport in iron and concrete radiation shieldings by the Monte Carlo method - Version 2

CERN Document Server

Žukauskaite, A; Plukiene, R; Plukis, A

2007-01-01

Particle accelerators and other high energy facilities produce penetrating ionizing radiation (neutrons and γ-rays) that must be shielded. The objective of this work was to model photon and neutron transport in various materials, usually used as shielding, such as concrete, iron or graphite. Monte Carlo method allows obtaining answers by simulating individual particles and recording some aspects of their average behavior. In this work several nuclear experiments were modeled: AVF 65 – γ-ray beams (1-10 MeV), HIMAC and ISIS-800 – high energy neutrons (20-800 MeV) transport in iron and concrete. The results were then compared with experimental data.

Analysis of the coupling coordination between transportation infrastructure investment and economic development in Hubei province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenxia Zhai

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The relationship between transportation infrastructure investment and regional economic growth has been the focus of domestic and foreign academic research. Using the models of coupling degree and coupling coordination degree, this paper calculated the coupling degree and coupling coordination degree between the comprehensive level of transportation infrastructure investment and economic development in Hubei province and its 17 cities, and analyzed its temporal and spatial characteristics. The result showed that, from 2001 to 2013, the coupling and coupling coordination between transportation infrastructure investment and economic development in Hubei province were on a steady rise in the time sequence characteristics. It experienced the upgrade from the uncoordinated – nearly uncoordinated – barely coordinated – intermediately coordinated stages. In the year of 2013, the coupling and coupling coordination of transportation infrastructure investment and economic development in the 17 prefecture-level cities of Hubei Province showed a very uneven spatial difference. Good coordination, primary coordination, barely coordinate, and barely in-coordination are distributed in the province. The average coordination degree of the 17 prefecture-level cities in Hubei is relatively low, and there is a negative tend to expand the difference. This study has confirmed the relationship between transportation infrastructure investment and the economic development to be in an interactive coupling and coordination, but in different regions and different stages, the degree of coordination has obvious spatial and temporal differences.

Coupled neutronics/thermal-hydraulics and safety characteristics of liquid-fueled molten salt reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiu, Suizheng; Zhang, Dalin; Liu, Minghao; Liu, Limin; Xu, Rongshuan; Gong, Cheng; Su, Guanghui

2016-01-01

Molten salt reactor (MSR) as one candidate of the Generation IV advanced nuclear power systems is attracted more attention in China due to its top ranked fuel cycle and thorium utilization. The MSRs are characterized by using liquid-fuel, which offers complicated coupling problem of neutronics and thermal hydraulics. In this paper, the fundamental model and numerical method are established to calculate and analyze the safety characteristics for liquid-fuel MSRs. The theories and methodologies are applied to the MOSART concept. The liquid-fuel flow effects on neutronics, reactivity coefficients and three operation parameters' influences at steady state are obtained, which provide the basic information for safety analysis. The unprotected loss of flow transient is calculated, the results of which shows the inherent safety characteristics of MOSART due to its strong negative reactivity feedbacks.

Coupled neutronics/thermal-hydraulics and safety characteristics of liquid-fueled molten salt reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qiu, Suizheng; Zhang, Dalin; Liu, Minghao; Liu, Limin; Xu, Rongshuan; Gong, Cheng; Su, Guanghui [Xi' an Jiaotong Univ. (China). State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering

2016-05-15

Molten salt reactor (MSR) as one candidate of the Generation IV advanced nuclear power systems is attracted more attention in China due to its top ranked fuel cycle and thorium utilization. The MSRs are characterized by using liquid-fuel, which offers complicated coupling problem of neutronics and thermal hydraulics. In this paper, the fundamental model and numerical method are established to calculate and analyze the safety characteristics for liquid-fuel MSRs. The theories and methodologies are applied to the MOSART concept. The liquid-fuel flow effects on neutronics, reactivity coefficients and three operation parameters' influences at steady state are obtained, which provide the basic information for safety analysis. The unprotected loss of flow transient is calculated, the results of which shows the inherent safety characteristics of MOSART due to its strong negative reactivity feedbacks.

Evaluation of scattering laws and cross sections for calculation of production and transport of cold and ultracold neutrons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernnat, W.; Keinert, J.; Mattes, M. [Inst. for Nuclear Energy and Energy Systems, Univ. of Stuttgart, Stuttgart (Germany)

2004-03-01

For the calculation of neutron spectra in cold and super thermal sources scattering laws for a variety of liquid and solid cyrogenic materials were evaluated and prepared for use in deterministic and Monte Carlo transport calculations. For moderator materials like liquid and solid H{sub 2}O, liquid He, liquid D{sub 2}O, liquid and solid H{sub 2} and D{sub 2}, solid CH{sub 4} and structure materials such as Al, Bi, Pb, ZrHx, and graphite scattering law data and cross sections are available. The evaluated data were validated by comparison with measured cross sections and comparison of measured and calculated neutron spectra as far as available. Further applications are the calculation of production and transport and storing of ultra cold neutrons (UCN) in different UCN sources. The data structures of the evaluated data are prepared for the common S{sub N}-transport codes and the Monte Carlo Code MCNP. (orig.)

Generalized diffusion theory for calculating the neutron transport scalar flux

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alcouffe, R.E.

1975-01-01

A generalization of the neutron diffusion equation is introduced, the solution of which is an accurate approximation to the transport scalar flux. In this generalization the auxiliary transport calculations of the system of interest are utilized to compute an accurate, pointwise diffusion coefficient. A procedure is specified to generate and improve this auxiliary information in a systematic way, leading to improvement in the calculated diffusion scalar flux. This improvement is shown to be contingent upon satisfying the condition of positive calculated-diffusion coefficients, and an algorithm that ensures this positivity is presented. The generalized diffusion theory is also shown to be compatible with conventional diffusion theory in the sense that the same methods and codes can be used to calculate a solution for both. The accuracy of the method compared to reference S/sub N/ transport calculations is demonstrated for a wide variety of examples. (U.S.)

TRACE/VALKIN: a neutronics-thermohydraulics coupled code to analyze strong 3D transients

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rafael Miro; Gumersindo Verdu; Ana Maria Sanchez [Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Department. Polytechnic University of Valencia. Cami de Vera s/n. 46022 Valencia (Spain); Damian Ginestar [Applied Mathematics Department. Polytechnic University of Valencia. Cami de Vera s/n. 46022 Valencia (Spain)

2005-07-01

Full text of publication follows: A nuclear reactor simulator consists mainly of two different blocks, which solve the models used for the basic physical phenomena taking place in the reactor. In this way, there is a neutronic module which simulates the neutron balance in the reactor core, and a thermal-hydraulics module, which simulates the heat transfer in the fuel, the heat transfer from the fuel to the water, and the different condensation and evaporation processes taking place in the reactor core and in the condenser systems. TRACE is a two-phase, two-fluid thermal-hydraulic reactor systems analysis code. The TRACE acronym stands for TRAC/RELAP Advanced Computational Engine, reflecting its ability to run both RELAP5 and TRAC legacy input models. It includes a three-dimensional kinetics module called PARCS for performing advanced analysis of coupled core thermal-hydraulic/kinetics problems. TRACE-VALKIN code is a new time domain analysis code to study transients in LWR reactors. This code uses the best estimate code TRACE to give account of the heat transfer and thermal-hydraulic processes, and a 3D neutronics module. This module has two options, the MODKIN option that makes use of a modal method based on the assumption that the neutronic flux can be approximately expanded in terms of the dominant lambda modes associated with a static configuration of the reactor core, and the NOKIN option that uses a one-step backward discretization of the neutron diffusion equation. The lambda modes are obtained using the Implicit Restarted Arnoldi approach or the Jacob-Davidson algorithm. To check the performance of the coupled code TRACE-VALKIN against complex 3D neutronic transients, using the cross-sections tables generated with the translator SIMTAB from SIMULATE to TRACE/VALKIN, the Cofrentes NPP SCRAM-61 transient is simulated. Cofrentes NPP is a General Electric BWR-6 design located in Valencia-land (Spain). It is in operation since 1985 and currently in its fifteenth

An experience in the use the Sn method for 1D/2D/3D spallation target neutronics and shielding calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kryuchkov, V.P.; Chang, J.; Young-Sik, Cho; Voloschenko, A.M.; Sumaneev, O.V.

2005-01-01

A discrete ordinate algorithm for coupled charged/neutral particle transport calculations of the pencil beam problems in 3-dimensional r, θ, z and x,y,z geometries is developed. It is based on the use of the second order of accuracy adaptive WDD (AWDD) scheme for approximation both the continuous slowing down and streaming terms of the charged particle transport equation, and a suitable algorithm for treatment of the extended un collided flux from an initially mono directional beam of charged particles with given spatial distribution in the perpendicular section of the beam. The developed algorithm is an extension to the 3D geometry case of a similar approach, previously implemented for plane mono directional beam in 1D transport code ROZ-6 and for pencil beam r,z geometry problems in 2D transport code KASKAD-S. It is implemented in the 3D transport code KATRIN-2.0 and is applied to the high-energy coupled proton-pion-neutron-photon transport calculations. The updated version of multigroup cross section library SADCO-2.4 for nucleon-meson cascade calculations, coupled with standard neutron and gamma-ray cross-section libraries (CONSYST/ABBN-93 and BUGLE96, for example) below 20 MeV, is used. Some numerical examples are given. (authors)

A Loose Relationship: Incomplete H+/Sugar Coupling in the MFS Sugar Transporter GlcP.

Science.gov (United States)

Bazzone, Andre; Zabadne, Annas J; Salisowski, Anastasia; Madej, M Gregor; Fendler, Klaus

2017-12-19

The glucose transporter from Staphylococcus epidermidis, GlcP Se , is a homolog of the human GLUT sugar transporters of the major facilitator superfamily. Together with the xylose transporter from Escherichia coli, XylE Ec , the other prominent prokaryotic GLUT homolog, GlcP Se , is equipped with a conserved proton-binding site arguing for an electrogenic transport mode. However, the electrophysiological analysis of GlcP Se presented here reveals important differences between the two GLUT homologs. GlcP Se , unlike XylE Ec , does not perform steady-state electrogenic transport at symmetrical pH conditions. Furthermore, when a pH gradient is applied, partially uncoupled transport modes can be generated. In contrast to other bacterial sugar transporters analyzed so far, in GlcP Se sugar binding, translocation and release are also accomplished by the deprotonated transporter. Based on these experimental results, we conclude that coupling of sugar and H + transport is incomplete in GlcP Se . To verify the viability of the observed partially coupled GlcP Se transport modes, we propose a universal eight-state kinetic model in which any degree of coupling is realized and H + /sugar symport represents only a specific instance. Furthermore, using sequence comparison with strictly coupled XylE Ec and similar sugar transporters, we identify an additional charged residue that may be essential for effective H + /sugar symport. Copyright © 2017 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Discrete nodal integral transport-theory method for multidimensional reactor physics and shielding calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lawrence, R.D.; Dorning, J.J.

1980-01-01

A coarse-mesh discrete nodal integral transport theory method has been developed for the efficient numerical solution of multidimensional transport problems of interest in reactor physics and shielding applications. The method, which is the discrete transport theory analogue and logical extension of the nodal Green's function method previously developed for multidimensional neutron diffusion problems, utilizes the same transverse integration procedure to reduce the multidimensional equations to coupled one-dimensional equations. This is followed by the conversion of the differential equations to local, one-dimensional, in-node integral equations by integrating back along neutron flight paths. One-dimensional and two-dimensional transport theory test problems have been systematically studied to verify the superior computational efficiency of the new method

Generation and performance of a multigroup coupled neutron-gamma cross-section library for deterministic and Monte Carlo borehole logging analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kodeli, I.; Aldama, D. L.; De Leege, P. F. A.; Legrady, D.; Hoogenboom, J. E.; Cowan, P.

2004-01-01

As part of the IRTMBA (Improved Radiation Transport Modelling for Borehole Applications) project of the EU community's 5. framework program a special purpose multigroup cross-section library was prepared for use in deterministic and Monte Carlo oil well logging particle transport calculations. This library is expected to improve the prediction of the neutron and gamma spectra at the detector positions of the logging tool, and their use for the interpretation of the neutron logging measurements was studied. Preparation and testing of this library is described. (authors)

SITHA program for simulating hadron transport in the 100-1010eV energy range. Simulation of neutron transport with E6 eV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daniehl', A.V.; Dushin, V.N.

1987-01-01

The methods for simulation of neutron transport with Z<20 MeV used in the SITHA (simulation transport hadron) program, the original library of group microconstants (175 groups) with subgroup description of resonance range and a set of programs for its creation are described. The results of a number of integral experiments are discussed

A portable, parallel, object-oriented Monte Carlo neutron transport code in C++

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, S.R.; Cummings, J.C.; Nolen, S.D.

1997-01-01

We have developed a multi-group Monte Carlo neutron transport code using C++ and the Parallel Object-Oriented Methods and Applications (POOMA) class library. This transport code, called MC++, currently computes k and α-eigenvalues and is portable to and runs parallel on a wide variety of platforms, including MPPs, clustered SMPs, and individual workstations. It contains appropriate classes and abstractions for particle transport and, through the use of POOMA, for portable parallelism. Current capabilities of MC++ are discussed, along with physics and performance results on a variety of hardware, including all Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI) hardware. Current parallel performance indicates the ability to compute α-eigenvalues in seconds to minutes rather than hours to days. Future plans and the implementation of a general transport physics framework are also discussed