Nuclear Data Sensitivity Study for the EBR-II Fast Reactor Benchmark Using SCALE with ENDF/B-VII.1 and ENDF/B-VIII.0
The EBR-II benchmark, which was recently included in the International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments, served as a basis for assessing the performance of the SCALE code system for fast reactor analyses. A reference SCALE model was developed based on the benchmark specifi...
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Journal of Nuclear Engineering |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4362/2/4/28 |
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| author | Friederike Bostelmann Germina Ilas William A. Wieselquist |
| author_facet | Friederike Bostelmann Germina Ilas William A. Wieselquist |
| author_sort | Friederike Bostelmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The EBR-II benchmark, which was recently included in the International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments, served as a basis for assessing the performance of the SCALE code system for fast reactor analyses. A reference SCALE model was developed based on the benchmark specifications. Great agreement was observed between the eigenvalue calculated with this SCALE model and the benchmark eigenvalue. To identify potential gaps and uncertainties of nuclear data for the simulation of various quantities of interest in fast spectrum systems, sensitivity and uncertainty analyses were performed for the eigenvalue, reactivity effects, and the radial power profile of EBR-II using the two most recent ENDF/B nuclear data library releases. While the nominal results are consistent between the calculations with the different libraries, the uncertainties due to nuclear data vary significantly. The major driver of observed uncertainties is the uncertainty of the <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mn>235</mn></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula>U (n,<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>) reaction. Since the uncertainty of this reaction is significantly reduced in the ENDF/B-VIII.0 library compared to ENDF/B-VII.1, the obtained output uncertainties tend to be smaller in ENDF/B-VIII.0 calculations, although the decrease is partially compensated by increased uncertainties in <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mn>235</mn></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula>U fission and <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mover><mi>ν</mi><mo>¯</mo></mover></semantics></math></inline-formula>. |
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| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:47:53Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
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| series | Journal of Nuclear Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-70e1e0e277aa495482246bfb9c341f7f2023-11-23T09:04:12ZengMDPI AGJournal of Nuclear Engineering2673-43622021-09-012434536710.3390/jne2040028Nuclear Data Sensitivity Study for the EBR-II Fast Reactor Benchmark Using SCALE with ENDF/B-VII.1 and ENDF/B-VIII.0Friederike Bostelmann0Germina Ilas1William A. Wieselquist2Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008, Bldg. 5700, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6170, USAOak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008, Bldg. 5700, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6170, USAOak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008, Bldg. 5700, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6170, USAThe EBR-II benchmark, which was recently included in the International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments, served as a basis for assessing the performance of the SCALE code system for fast reactor analyses. A reference SCALE model was developed based on the benchmark specifications. Great agreement was observed between the eigenvalue calculated with this SCALE model and the benchmark eigenvalue. To identify potential gaps and uncertainties of nuclear data for the simulation of various quantities of interest in fast spectrum systems, sensitivity and uncertainty analyses were performed for the eigenvalue, reactivity effects, and the radial power profile of EBR-II using the two most recent ENDF/B nuclear data library releases. While the nominal results are consistent between the calculations with the different libraries, the uncertainties due to nuclear data vary significantly. The major driver of observed uncertainties is the uncertainty of the <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mn>235</mn></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula>U (n,<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi>γ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>) reaction. Since the uncertainty of this reaction is significantly reduced in the ENDF/B-VIII.0 library compared to ENDF/B-VII.1, the obtained output uncertainties tend to be smaller in ENDF/B-VIII.0 calculations, although the decrease is partially compensated by increased uncertainties in <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><msup><mrow></mrow><mn>235</mn></msup></semantics></math></inline-formula>U fission and <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mover><mi>ν</mi><mo>¯</mo></mover></semantics></math></inline-formula>.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4362/2/4/28EBR-IISCALEcriticalityuncertainty analysissensitivity analysis |
| spellingShingle | Friederike Bostelmann Germina Ilas William A. Wieselquist Nuclear Data Sensitivity Study for the EBR-II Fast Reactor Benchmark Using SCALE with ENDF/B-VII.1 and ENDF/B-VIII.0 Journal of Nuclear Engineering EBR-II SCALE criticality uncertainty analysis sensitivity analysis |
| title | Nuclear Data Sensitivity Study for the EBR-II Fast Reactor Benchmark Using SCALE with ENDF/B-VII.1 and ENDF/B-VIII.0 |
| title_full | Nuclear Data Sensitivity Study for the EBR-II Fast Reactor Benchmark Using SCALE with ENDF/B-VII.1 and ENDF/B-VIII.0 |
| title_fullStr | Nuclear Data Sensitivity Study for the EBR-II Fast Reactor Benchmark Using SCALE with ENDF/B-VII.1 and ENDF/B-VIII.0 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nuclear Data Sensitivity Study for the EBR-II Fast Reactor Benchmark Using SCALE with ENDF/B-VII.1 and ENDF/B-VIII.0 |
| title_short | Nuclear Data Sensitivity Study for the EBR-II Fast Reactor Benchmark Using SCALE with ENDF/B-VII.1 and ENDF/B-VIII.0 |
| title_sort | nuclear data sensitivity study for the ebr ii fast reactor benchmark using scale with endf b vii 1 and endf b viii 0 |
| topic | EBR-II SCALE criticality uncertainty analysis sensitivity analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4362/2/4/28 |
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