Document Type

Annual Report

Publication Date

2005

First page number:

28

Last page number:

29

Abstract

One of the most significant tools available for the design and analysis of accelerator-driven systems, such as the systems proposed for transmutation, is the high-energy particle transport code MCNPX. The MCNPX code suite, developed by the national laboratories, allows researchers and engineers to model the complex interactions of high-energy particles with the target and related systems, including the spallation reaction and subsequent neutron multiplication expected in the accelerator targets.

The next stage in the development of the MCNPX code suite is to validate the code by comparing the theoretical predictions from the models with experimental observations. Additionally, the nuclear database, particularly the cross sections (i.e., reaction probabilities) for high-energy particle interactions, needs to be revisited to reduce the uncertainties associated with key nuclear properties.

The Department of Energy, through its national laboratories, has initiated several experiments geared towards removing uncertainties in the MCNPX libraries, with more in the planning stages. These experiments utilize the proton and neutron beam lines at the LANSCE proton accelerator at the Los Alamos National Laboratory to irradiate a target, producing a pulse of neutrons which are observed by the experimenters. The results of these experiments are then compared against the predictions from the MCNPX models of the system. By comparing the predicted system behavior to the data acquired from the experiments, the experimenters will be able to validate the MCNPX code and its nuclear data libraries.

Keywords

Accelerator-driven systems; Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended (MCNPX); Nuclear reactions – Computer simulation; Radioactive wastes — Transmutation; Spallation (Nuclear physics)

Controlled Subject

Neutron flux; Particles (Nuclear physics); Radioactive wastes--Transmutation

Disciplines

Nuclear | Oil, Gas, and Energy

File Format

pdf

File Size

171 KB

Language

English

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