Engineering topics

Rearden, B.

Publications and source records attributed to Rearden, B..

3 records

DOE OSTI2012

Development of continuous-energy eigenvalue sensitivity coefficient calculation methods in the shift Monte Carlo Code

Three methods for calculating continuous-energy eigenvalue sensitivity coefficients were developed and implemented into the Shift Monte Carlo code within the SCALE code package. The methods were used for two small-scale test problems and were evaluated in terms of speed, accuracy, efficiency, and memory requirements. A promising new method for calculating eigenvalue sensitivity coefficients, known as the CLUTCH method, was developed and produced accurate sensitivity coefficients with figures of merit that were several orders of magnitude larger than those from existing methods. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2012

Determining importance weighting functions for Contributon theory eigenvalue sensitivity coefficient methodologies

This study introduced two new approaches for calculating the F*(r) importance weighting function for Contributon and CLUTCH eigenvalue sensitivity coefficient calculations, and compared them in terms of accuracy and applicability. The necessary levels of F*(r) mesh refinement and mesh convergence for obtaining accurate eigenvalue sensitivity coefficients were determined for two preliminary problems through two parametric studies, and the results of these studies suggest that a sufficiently accurate F*(r) mesh for calculating eigenvalue sensitivity coefficients can be obtained for these problems with only a small increase in problem runtime. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2012

OECD/NEA expert group on uncertainty analysis for criticality safety assessment: Results of benchmark on sensitivity calculation (phase III)

The sensitivities of the k{sub eff} eigenvalue to neutron cross sections have become commonly used in similarity studies and as part of the validation algorithm for criticality safety assessments. To test calculations of the sensitivity coefficients, a benchmark study (Phase III) has been established by the OECD-NEA/WPNCS/EG UACSA (Expert Group on Uncertainty Analysis for Criticality Safety Assessment). This paper presents some sensitivity results generated by the benchmark participants using various computational tools based upon different computational methods: SCALE/TSUNAMI-3D and -1D, MONK, APOLLO2-MORET 5, DRAGON-SUSD3D and MMKKENO. The study demonstrates the performance of the tools. It also illustrates how model simplifications impact the sensitivity results and demonstrates the importance of 'implicit' (self-shielding) sensitivities. This work has been a useful step towards verification of the existing and developed sensitivity analysis methods. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗