Engineering topics

Amundson, Kelsey

Publications and source records attributed to Amundson, Kelsey.

4 records

DOE OSTI2024

Impact of Higher Fidelity Design Iterations on Critical System Criteria

Nuclear criticality experiments are effective at informing the performance of nuclear data libraries across many applications. This work explores the implications of refining critical experiment MCNP models from their low fidelity optimization phase to penultimate neutronic models. Specifically, this work is focused on two series of plutonium fueled experiments funded through internal programs at Los Alamos National Laboratory building off previous efforts under the EUCLID (Experiments Underpinned by Computational Learning for Improvements in Nuclear Data) collaboration. Thales, the first of the two collaborations, is a fast spectrum Ta-reflected plutonium experiment to support operations at PF-4. The second experiment are twin configurations designed to target the intermediate energy cross sections in 239 Pu. Motivation for this experiment stems from the PARallel Approach of Differential and InteGral Measurements (PARADIGM) collaboration which hopes to achieve a significant reduction in 239 Pu cross section uncertainties in the intermediate region.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2024

Importance of Hands-on Training within the Nuclear Industry

Almost all work performed within the nuclear industry requires some form of training, regardless of an individual’s education. While many of the hazards that exist in nuclear operations are present in other industries (e.g., industrial safety), nuclear operations have the unique hazards of radiation and inadvertent criticality. Therefore, these topics require additional training for individuals performing hands-on work or accessing those work areas. Many methods are available to train people including lectures (either with an instructor or automated video), reading procedures/policies, hands-on demonstrations, and on-the-job training.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Status of the CERBERUS Evaluation for the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) Handbook

Modeling & Simulation (M&S) tools are used to analyze advanced reactor designs and the safety of current nuclear operations. As computers continue to improve, we are able to enhance resolution in our calculations. Therefore, the limitations of simulation capability are in the quality of data that is being used, including our ability to quantify the uncertainty and sensitivity of that data. In order to model systems of interest with increasing accuracy, the industry must improve key nuclear data measurements. The International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) compiles and evaluates experiment data in a handbook that can be used by criticality safety engineers and others to validate computer codes and cross section libraries at nuclear facilities. Both critical and subcritical experiments are included in the handbook. These experiments, along with differential measurements, can help improve the quality of nuclear data. Concerns regarding the accuracy of Cu nuclear data have been published. The large values and trend of C-E for the Zeus intermediate energy benchmark, being one of the primary examples. Furthermore, very few experiments have been designed to be sensitive to Cu (as shown in Figure 1), so an integral, critical experiment is needed to help resolve these differences.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2024

Chlorine Worth Study Nuclear Data

The Chlorine Worth Study (CWS) was a series of experiments that took place at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC), operated by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The focus of the experiments was to develop new integral benchmarks for the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) Handbook with high sensitivity to chlorine in the thermal neutron energy region and which match sensitivities of aqueous chloride operations at LANL. This work discusses the experiment and how the experimental and simulated results using different nuclear data libraries compare to each other.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗