Study on computational performance in generation of cross sections for nodal simulators using continuous-energy Monte Carlo calculations

Jaakko Leppänen (Corresponding Author), Riku Mattila

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    5 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This paper aims to evaluate the practical feasibility of using the continuous-energy Monte Carlo method for producing homogenized group constants for deterministic core simulators. The calculations are carried out using the Serpent 2 Monte Carlo code and ARES nodal diffusion fuel cycle simulator. A test case from a previous validation study is repeated with varying number of neutron histories in group constant generation. The impact of statistical variation in the results of ARES simulations is evaluated, and the corresponding calculation times used to provide an order-of-magnitude estimate for the overall computational cost for generating the full set of group constants covering all state points. It is concluded that, while computationally expensive, Monte Carlo-based spatial homogenization involving burnup and thousands of state points per assembly type is within the range of feasibility using modern computer clusters.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)945-952
    Number of pages8
    JournalJournal of Nuclear Science and Technology
    Volume52
    Issue number7-8
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2015
    MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed
    EventInternational Conference on the Physics of Reactors, PHYSOR 2014: The Role of Reactor Physics toward Sustainable Future - Kyoto, Japan
    Duration: 28 Sept 20143 Oct 2014

    Keywords

    • serpent
    • ARES core simulator
    • Monte Carlo
    • group constants
    • statistics
    • computational cost

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