Calculation of prompt neutron decay constant with Monte Carlo differential operator sampling

Nagaya, Yasunobu  

A new method to calculate the prompt neutron decay constant () with the Monte Carlo method is proposed. It is based on the conventional - search algorithm but no iteration is required for the value search. The eigenvalue is expressed in the truncated Taylor series with regard to ; the differential coefficients are calculated with the differential operator sampling, which is one of the Monte Carlo perturbation techniques. In order to examine the applicability of the proposed method, verification has been performed for simple geometries of a bare fast system (Godiva) and an unreflected thermal system (STACY). Comparisons has been done with the pulsed neutron source (PNS) simulation and the direct calculation from the definition of the value. The results with the proposed method show good agreement with the reference PNS simulation.