Nuclear criticality benchmark analyses on TRIGA-type reactor systems by using continuous-energy Monte Carlo code MVP with JENDL-5

Yanagisawa, Hiroshi; Umeda, Miki; Motome, Yuiko; Murao, Hiroyuki

JAEA-Technology 2022-030, 80 Pages, 2023/02

JAEA-Technology-2022-030.pdf:2.57MB
JAEA-Technology-2022-030(errata).pdf:0.11MB

Nuclear criticality benchmark analyses were carried out for TRIGA-type reactor systems in which uranium-zirconium hydride fuel rods are loaded by using the continuous-energy Monte Carlo code MVP with the evaluated nuclear data library JENDL-5. The analyses cover two sorts of benchmark data, the IEU-COMP-THERM-003 and IEU-COMP-THERM-013 in the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) Handbook, and effective neutron multiplication factors, reactivity worths for control rods etc. were calculated by JENDL-5 in comparison with those by the previous version of JENDL. As the results, it was confirmed that the effective neutron multiplication factors obtained by JENDL-5 were 0.4 to 0.6% greater than those by JENDL-4.0, and that there were no significant differences in the calculated reactivity worths by between JENDL-5 and JENDL-4.0. Those results are considered to be helpful for the confirmation of calculation accuracy in the analyses on NSRR control rod worths, which are planned in the future.

Calculations for radioactivity evaluation of research reactors for near surface disposal and their application methods

Kochiyama, Mami

Kaku Deta Nyusu (Internet), (133), p.76 - 81, 2022/10

http://www.aesj.or.jp/~ndd/ndnews/No133.html

The outline of the presentation at the joint session of Research Committee for Nuclear Data and Subcommittee on Nuclear Data in the Atomic Energy Society of Japan 2022 Autumn Meeting was contributed to Nuclear Data News. As part of the study on the near surface disposal of waste from research facilities, we are studying a method for evaluating the radioactivity inventory of waste generated by the dismantling of research reactors. In the radioactivity evaluation of the research reactor, we have investigated the method of calculating the neutron transport in the reactor and using the obtained neutron spectrum to calculate the activation of the internal structure by the ORIGEN-S code. In recent years, we have introduced and evaluated libraries created based on JENDL-4.0 and JENDL/AD-2017, and we will introduce the status of their examination. And we will introduce how to apply the results obtained by the radioactivity evaluation calculation to burial disposal.

Study on radioactivity evaluation method of research reactors using DORT and MCNP codes

Kochiyama, Mami; Sakai, Akihiro

JAEA-Technology 2022-009, 56 Pages, 2022/06

JAEA-Technology-2022-009.pdf:4.15MB

It is necessary to evaluate radioactivity inventory in wastes before disposal of low-level radioactive wastes generated from dismantling research reactors. It is efficient for owners of each research reactor to use a common radioactive evaluation method in order to comply with the license application for disposal facility. In this report, neutron transport and activation calculations were carried out for the Rikkyo University research reactor in order to examine a common radioactivity evaluation method for burial disposal of radioactive wastes generated by dismantling. We adopted the neutron transport codes DORT and MCNP and the activation code ORIGEN-S with cross-section libraries based on JENDL-4.0 and JENDL/AD-2017. The radioactivity concentrations obtained by the radiochemical analysis and both calculation codes were in agreement by 0.4 to 3 times. Therefore, by appropriately considering this difference, the radioactivity evaluation method by DORT, MCNP and ORIGEN-S can be applied to the radioactivity evaluation for buried disposal. In order to classify wastes from dismantling by clearance or buried disposal method according to their radioactivity levels, we also created radioactivity concentration distributions in the concrete area and graphite thermal column area.

Evaluation of the minimum critical amount for heterogeneous lattice systems composed of fuel rods utilized in low-power water-moderated research and test reactors by using continuous-energy Monte Carlo code MVP with JENDL-4.0

Yanagisawa, Hiroshi

JAEA-Technology 2021-023, 190 Pages, 2021/11

JAEA-Technology-2021-023.pdf:5.25MB

Computational analyses on nuclear criticality characteristics were carried out for heterogeneous lattice systems composed of water moderator and fuel rods utilized in low-power research and test reactors, in which the depletion of fuel due to burnup is relatively small, by using the continuous-energy Monte Carlo code MVP Version 2 with the evaluated nuclear data library JENDL-4.0. In the analyses, the minimum critical number of fuel rods was evaluated using calculated neutron multiplication factors for the heterogeneous systems of the uranium dioxide fuel rod in the Static Experiments Critical Facility (STACY) and the Tank-type Critical Assembly (TCA), and the uranium-zirconium hydride fuel rod in the Nuclear Safety Research Reactor (NSRR). In addition, six sorts of the ratio of reaction rates, which are components of neutron multiplication factors, were calculated in the analyses to explain the variation of neutron multiplication factors with the ratio of water moderator to fuel volume in a unit fuel rod cell. Those results of analyses are considered to be useful for the confirmation of reasonableness and validity of criticality safety measures as data showing criticality characteristics for water-moderated heterogeneous lattice systems composed of the existing fuel rods in research and test reactors, of which criticality data are not sufficiently provided by the Criticality Safety Handbook.

Development of the Unified Cross-section Set ADJ2017

Yokoyama, Kenji; Sugino, Kazuteru; Ishikawa, Makoto; Maruyama, Shuhei; Nagaya, Yasunobu; Numata, Kazuyuki*; Jin, Tomoyuki*

JAEA-Research 2018-011, 556 Pages, 2019/03

JAEA-Research-2018-011.pdf:19.53MB
JAEA-Research-2018-011-appendix1(DVD-ROM).zip:433.07MB
JAEA-Research-2018-011-appendix2(DVD-ROM).zip:580.12MB
JAEA-Research-2018-011-appendix3(DVD-ROM).zip:9.17MB

We have developed a new unified cross-section set ADJ2017, which is an improved version of the unified cross-section set ADJ2010 for fast reactors. The unified cross-section set is used for reflecting information of C/E values (analysis / experiment values) obtained by integral experiment analyses; the values are stored in the standard database for FBR core design via the cross-section adjustment methodology, which integrates with the information such as uncertainty (covariance) of nuclear data, uncertainty of integral experiment / analysis, sensitivity of integral experiment with respect to nuclear data. The ADJ2017 is based on Japan's latest nuclear data library JENDL-4.0 as in the previous version of ADJ2010, and it incorporates more information on integral experimental data sets related to minor actinides (MAs) and degraded plutonium (Pu). In the creation of ADJ2010, a total of 643 integral experimental data sets were analyzed and evaluated, and 488 of the integral experimental data sets were finally selected to be used for the cross-section adjustment. In contrast, we have evaluated a total of 719 data sets, and eventually adopted 620 integral experimental data sets to create ADJ2017. ADJ2017 shows almost the same performance as ADJ2010 for the main neutronic characteristics of conventional sodium-cooled MOX-fuel fast reactors. In addition, for the neutronic characteristics related to MA and degraded Pu, ADJ2017 improves the C/E values of the integral experimental data sets, and reduces the uncertainty induced by the nuclear data. ADJ2017 is expected to be widely used in the analysis and design research of fast reactors. Moreover, it is expected that the integral experimental data sets used for ADJ2017 can be utilized as a standard database of FBR core design.

Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of for MYRRHA using a Monte Carlo technique

Iwamoto, Hiroki; Stankovskiy, A.*; Fiorito, L.*; Van den Eynde, G.*

EPJ Nuclear Sciences & Technologies (Internet), 4, p.42_1 - 42_7, 2018/11

https://doi.org/10.1051/epjn/2018023

This paper presents a nuclear data sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of the effective delayed neutron fraction for critical and subcritical cores of the MYRRHA reactor using the continuous-energy Monte Carlo transport code MCNP. The sensitivities are calculated by the modified -ratio method proposed by Chiba. Comparing the sensitivities obtained with different scaling factors introduced by Chiba shows that a value of is the most suitable for the uncertainty quantification of . Using the calculated sensitivities and the JENDL-4.0u covariance data, the uncertainties for the critical and subcritical cores are determined to be 2.2 0.2% and 2.0 0.2%, respectively, which are dominated by delayed neutron yield of Pu and U.

Lead void reactivity worth in two critical assembly cores with differing uranium enrichments

Fukushima, Masahiro; Goda, J.*; Bounds, J.*; Cutler, T.*; Grove, T.*; Hutchinson, J.*; James, M.*; McKenzie, G.*; Sanchez, R.*; Oizumi, Akito; et al.

Nuclear Science and Engineering, 189, p.93 - 99, 2018/01

https://doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2017.1373520

To validate lead (Pb) nuclear cross sections, a series of integral experiments to measure lead void reactivity worths was conducted in a high-enriched uranium (HEU)/Pb system and a low enriched uranium (LEU)/Pb system using the Comet Critical Assembly at NCERC. The critical experiments were designed to provide complementary data sets having different sensitivities to scattering cross sections of lead. The larger amount of the U present in the LEU/Pb core increases the neutron importance above 1 MeV compared with the HEU/Pb core. Since removal of lead from the core shifts the neutron spectrum to the higher energy region, positive lead void reactivity worths were observed in the LEU/Pb core while negative values were observed in the HEU/Pb core. Experimental analyses for the lead void reactivity worths were performed with the Monte Carlo calculation code MCNP6.1 together with nuclear data libraries, JENDL 4.0 and ENDF/B VII.1. The calculation values were found to overestimate the experimental ones for the HEU/Pb core while being consistent for the LEU/Pb core.

Integral benchmark test of JENDL-4.0 for U-233 systems with ICSBEP Handbook

Kuwagaki, Kazuki*; Nagaya, Yasunobu

JAEA-Data/Code 2017-007, 27 Pages, 2017/03

JAEA-Data-Code-2017-007.pdf:4.77MB
JAEA-Data-Code-2017-007-appendix(CD-ROM).zip:0.37MB

The integral benchmark test of JENDL-4.0 for U-233 systems using the continuous-energy Monte Carlo code MVP was conducted. The previous benchmark test was performed only for U-233 thermal solution and fast metallic systems in the ICSBEP handbook. In this study, MVP input files were prepared for uninvestigated benchmark problems in the handbook including compound thermal systems (mainly lattice systems) and integral benchmark test was performed. The prediction accuracy of JENDL-4.0 was evaluated for effective multiplication factors ('s) of the U-233 systems. As a result, a trend of underestimation was observed for all the categories of U-233 systems. In the benchmark test of ENDF/B-VII.1 for U-233 systems with the ICSBEP handbook, it is reported that a decreasing trend of calculated values in association with a parameter ATFF (Above-Thermal Fission Fraction) is observed. The ATFF values were also calculated in this benchmark test of JENDL-4.0 and the same trend as ENDF/B-VII.1 was observed.

Validation of decay heat evaluation method based on FPGS cord for fast reactor spent MOX fuels

Usami, Shin; Kishimoto, Yasufumi; Taninaka, Hiroshi; Maeda, Shigetaka

Proceedings of International Conference on the Physics of Reactors; Unifying Theory and Experiments in the 21st Century (PHYSOR 2016) (USB Flash Drive), p.3263 - 3274, 2016/05

The present paper describes the validation of the new decay heat evaluation method using FPGS90 code with both the updated nuclear data library and the rational extent of uncertainty, by comparing the results of the decay heat measurement of the spent fuel subassemblies in Joyo MK-II core and by comparing with the calculation results of ORIGEN2.2 code. The calculated values of decay heat (C) by FPGS90 based on the JENDL-4.0 library were coincident with the measured ones (E) within the calculation uncertainties, and the C/E ranged from 1.01 to 0.93. FPGS90 evaluated the decay heat almost 3% larger than ORIGEN2.2, and it improved the C/E in comparison with the ORIGEN2.2 code. Furthermore, The C/E by FPGS90 based on the JENDL-4.0 library was improved than that based on the JENDL-3.2 library, and the contribution of the revision of reaction cross section library to the improvement was dominant rather than that of the decay data and fission yield data libraries.

Effect of experiments using Transmutation Physics Experimental Facility on the reduction of uncertainties in reactor physics parameters of an accelerator-driven system

Iwamoto, Hiroki; Nishihara, Kenji; Katano, Ryota*; Fukushima, Masahiro; Tsujimoto, Kazufumi

JAEA-Research 2014-033, 82 Pages, 2015/03

JAEA-Research-2014-033.pdf:6.53MB

The effect of experiments using Transmutation Physics Experimental Facility (TEF-P) is analysed from the viewpoint of the reduction of uncertainties in reactor physics parameters (criticality and coolant void reactivity) of an accelerator-driven system (ADS). The analysis is conducted by the nuclear-data adjustment method using JENDL-4.0 on the assumption that ve types of reactor physics experiments (a total of 44 experiments) are performed in TEF-P: (1) criticality experiment, (2) lead void reactivity experiment, (3) reaction rate ratio experiment, (4) sample reactivity experiment, and (5) fuel replacement reactivity experiment. As the result, 1.0% of uncertainty in criticality is found to be reduced to approximately 0.4%, and effective experiments for the reduction of uncertainty in criticality and coolant void reactivity are shown to be fuel replacement reactivity experiments and lead void reactivity experiments, respectively. Although these effects depend largely on the composition and amount of minor-actinide (MA) fuels, it is found that a combination of different types of experiments and database of existing experiments is effective in reducing the uncertainties.