Title:
A coarse mesh radiation transport method for prismatic block thermal reactors in two dimensions

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dc.contributor.advisor Rahnema, Farzad
dc.contributor.author Connolly, Kevin John en_US
dc.contributor.committeeMember Petrovic, Bojan
dc.contributor.committeeMember Zhang, Dingkang
dc.contributor.department Nuclear and Radiological Engineering en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2012-09-20T18:20:33Z
dc.date.available 2012-09-20T18:20:33Z
dc.date.issued 2011-07-07 en_US
dc.description.abstract In this paper, the coarse mesh transport method is extended to hexagonal geometry. This stochastic-deterministic hybrid transport method calculates the eigenvalue and explicit pin fission density profile of hexagonal reactor cores. It models the exact detail within complex heterogeneous cores without homogenizing regions or materials, and neither block-level nor core-level asymmetry poses any limitations to the method. It solves eigenvalue problems by first splitting the core into a set of coarse meshes, and then using Monte Carlo methods to create a library of response expansion coefficients, found by expanding the angular current in phase-space distribution using a set of polynomials orthogonal on the angular half-space defined by mesh boundaries. The coarse meshes are coupled by the angular current at their interfaces. A deterministic sweeping procedure is then used to iteratively construct the solution. The method is evaluated using benchmark problems based on a gas-cooled, graphite-moderated high temperature reactor. The method quickly solves problems to any level of detail desired by the user. In this paper, it is used to explicitly calculate the fission density of individual fuel pins and determine the reactivity worth of individual control rods. In every case, results for the core multiplication factor and pin fission density distribution are found within several minutes. Results are highly accurate when compared to direct Monte Carlo reference solutions; errors in the eigenvalue calculations are on the order of 0.02%, and errors in the pin fission density average less than 0.1%. en_US
dc.description.degree MS en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/1853/44823
dc.publisher Georgia Institute of Technology en_US
dc.subject COMET en_US
dc.subject Hexagonal geometry en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Radiative transfer
dc.subject.lcsh Nuclear reactors
dc.subject.lcsh Monte Carlo method
dc.subject.lcsh Eigenvalues
dc.subject.lcsh Hexagons
dc.title A coarse mesh radiation transport method for prismatic block thermal reactors in two dimensions en_US
dc.type Text
dc.type.genre Thesis
dspace.entity.type Publication
local.contributor.advisor Rahnema, Farzad
local.contributor.corporatename George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
local.contributor.corporatename College of Engineering
relation.isAdvisorOfPublication 1d96b222-d2f0-46d1-a0c7-4d1f9254dfab
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication c01ff908-c25f-439b-bf10-a074ed886bb7
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication 7c022d60-21d5-497c-b552-95e489a06569
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