Kinetics Parameters Estimation for the Coupled Neutron-Photon Point Kinetics Model in Monte Carlo Eigenvalue Calculations

Abstract

The delayed photoneutron effect should be considered in the point kinetics equation (PKE) applied to D₂O and beryllium-moderated or -reflected systems because of its importance on reactor kinetics. This paper proposes neutron-photon-coupled PKE with a clear definition of adjoint-weighted kinetics parameters after providing the mathematical derivation from the neutron and photon transport and precursor equations. The Monte Carlo algorithms to estimate the kinetics parameters are induced from their definition and implemented in the eigenvalue calculation module of McCARD. They are verified through homogeneous infinite-medium problems with few-group neutron and photon cross sections by comparing with analytic solutions.

The proposed PKE and kinetics parameters estimation methods are applied for the kinetics analyses of the artificial control rod drop transient problem in the RB reactor. Photonuclear physics is also implemented in a time-dependent Monte Carlo simulation to calculate the reference data of neutron amplitude in the core to be compared with the PKE results. As good agreement is shown in the neutron amplitude, it is validated that the developed PKE is capable of predicting the reactor kinetics considering photoneutrons.

Keywords:

• Photoneutron
• point kinetics equation
• kinetics parameter
• transient analysis
• McCARD

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (No. 2022M2D2A1A02063865).