DEVELOPMENT OF NEURAL THERMAL SCATTERING (NeTS) MODULES FOR REACTOR MULTI-PHYSICS SIMULATIONS

Modern multi-physics codes, often employed in the simulation and development of thermal nuclear systems, depend heavily on thermal neutron interaction data to determine the space-time distribution of fission events. Therefore, the computationally expensive analysis of such systems motivates the adva...

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Main Authors: Manring C. A., Hawari A. I.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: EDP Sciences 2021-01-01
Series:EPJ Web of Conferences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.epj-conferences.org/articles/epjconf/pdf/2021/01/epjconf_physor2020_20004.pdf
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author Manring C. A.
Hawari A. I.
author_facet Manring C. A.
Hawari A. I.
author_sort Manring C. A.
collection DOAJ
description Modern multi-physics codes, often employed in the simulation and development of thermal nuclear systems, depend heavily on thermal neutron interaction data to determine the space-time distribution of fission events. Therefore, the computationally expensive analysis of such systems motivates the advancement of thermal scattering law (TSL) data delivery methods. Despite considerable improvements on past strategies, current implementations are limited by trade-offs between speed, accuracy, and memory allocation. Furthermore, many of these implementations are not easily adaptable to additional input parameters (e.g., temperature), relying instead on various interpolation schemes. In this work, a novel approach to this problem is demonstrated with a neural network trained on beryllium oxide thermal scattering data generated by the FLASSH nuclear data code of the Low Energy Interaction Physics (LEIP) group at North Carolina State University. Using open-source deep learning libraries, this approach maps a unique functional form to the S(α,β,T) probability distribution function, providing a continuous representation of the TSL across the input phase space. For a given material, the result is a highly accurate, neural thermal scattering (NeTS) module that enables rapid sampling and execution with minimal memory requirements. Moreover, extension of the NeTS phase space to other parameters of interest (e.g., pressure, radiation damage) is highly possible. Consequently, NeTS modules for different materials under various conditions can be stored together in material “lockers” and accessed on-the-fly to generate problem specific cross-sections.
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spelling doaj.art-dbe1243e652d4ed18687cc03c90882162022-12-21T18:22:29ZengEDP SciencesEPJ Web of Conferences2100-014X2021-01-012472000410.1051/epjconf/202124720004epjconf_physor2020_20004DEVELOPMENT OF NEURAL THERMAL SCATTERING (NeTS) MODULES FOR REACTOR MULTI-PHYSICS SIMULATIONSManring C. A.Hawari A. I.Modern multi-physics codes, often employed in the simulation and development of thermal nuclear systems, depend heavily on thermal neutron interaction data to determine the space-time distribution of fission events. Therefore, the computationally expensive analysis of such systems motivates the advancement of thermal scattering law (TSL) data delivery methods. Despite considerable improvements on past strategies, current implementations are limited by trade-offs between speed, accuracy, and memory allocation. Furthermore, many of these implementations are not easily adaptable to additional input parameters (e.g., temperature), relying instead on various interpolation schemes. In this work, a novel approach to this problem is demonstrated with a neural network trained on beryllium oxide thermal scattering data generated by the FLASSH nuclear data code of the Low Energy Interaction Physics (LEIP) group at North Carolina State University. Using open-source deep learning libraries, this approach maps a unique functional form to the S(α,β,T) probability distribution function, providing a continuous representation of the TSL across the input phase space. For a given material, the result is a highly accurate, neural thermal scattering (NeTS) module that enables rapid sampling and execution with minimal memory requirements. Moreover, extension of the NeTS phase space to other parameters of interest (e.g., pressure, radiation damage) is highly possible. Consequently, NeTS modules for different materials under various conditions can be stored together in material “lockers” and accessed on-the-fly to generate problem specific cross-sections.https://www.epj-conferences.org/articles/epjconf/pdf/2021/01/epjconf_physor2020_20004.pdfneutronthermal scattering lawflasshdeep learningnets
spellingShingle Manring C. A.
Hawari A. I.
DEVELOPMENT OF NEURAL THERMAL SCATTERING (NeTS) MODULES FOR REACTOR MULTI-PHYSICS SIMULATIONS
EPJ Web of Conferences
neutron
thermal scattering law
flassh
deep learning
nets
title DEVELOPMENT OF NEURAL THERMAL SCATTERING (NeTS) MODULES FOR REACTOR MULTI-PHYSICS SIMULATIONS
title_full DEVELOPMENT OF NEURAL THERMAL SCATTERING (NeTS) MODULES FOR REACTOR MULTI-PHYSICS SIMULATIONS
title_fullStr DEVELOPMENT OF NEURAL THERMAL SCATTERING (NeTS) MODULES FOR REACTOR MULTI-PHYSICS SIMULATIONS
title_full_unstemmed DEVELOPMENT OF NEURAL THERMAL SCATTERING (NeTS) MODULES FOR REACTOR MULTI-PHYSICS SIMULATIONS
title_short DEVELOPMENT OF NEURAL THERMAL SCATTERING (NeTS) MODULES FOR REACTOR MULTI-PHYSICS SIMULATIONS
title_sort development of neural thermal scattering nets modules for reactor multi physics simulations
topic neutron
thermal scattering law
flassh
deep learning
nets
url https://www.epj-conferences.org/articles/epjconf/pdf/2021/01/epjconf_physor2020_20004.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT manringca developmentofneuralthermalscatteringnetsmodulesforreactormultiphysicssimulations
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