PISTIL, a reactivity modulation device to probe the transfer function of the nuclear reactor CROCUS

The present article summarizes the development and testing of a reactivity modulation device developed by the French Atomic and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA). It was installed in the CROCUS reactor of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). Experimental tests were performed in the framework of a collaboration between CEA and EPFL. The so-called PISTIL device aims at measuring the nuclear reactor transfer function in the frequency range of interest between 1 mHz and 200 Hz, in order to probe the in-core kinetic behavior of prompt and delayed neutrons. The reactivity modulation is obtained from the rotation of cadmium foils. The design of the system was driven with the objective of installing PISTIL at the center of the CROCUS reactor. Neutronic simulations with TRIPOLI-4 Monte Carlo code were performed to select the suitable design parameters and meet the safety requirements of the reactor operation. The total reactivity worth of the device, as estimated by TRIPOLI-4 Monte Carlo calculation, was approximately 0.16 $ and the maximum amplitude of the reactivity modulation was about 0.013 $. In-core reactivity calibration was then performed and were consistent as compared to TRIPOLI-4 estimations.

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Advances in Monte-Carlo code TRIPOLI-4®’s treatment of the electromagnetic cascade

EPJ Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/epjconf/201817001008 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 170 ◽

pp. 01008

Author(s):

Davide Mancusi ◽

Alice Bonin ◽

François-Xavier Hugot ◽

Fadhel Malouch

Keyword(s):

Monte Carlo ◽

Nuclear Reactor ◽

Thick Target ◽

Monte Carlo Code ◽

Reactor Physics ◽

Validation And Verification ◽

Electron Positron ◽

A Charge ◽

Charge Deposition ◽

Nuclear Instrumentation

TRIPOLI-4® is a Monte-Carlo particle-transport code developed at CEA-Saclay (France) that is employed in the domains of nuclear-reactor physics, criticality-safety, shielding/radiation protection and nuclear instrumentation. The goal of this paper is to report on current developments, validation and verification made in TRIPOLI-4 in the electron/positron/photon sector. The new capabilities and improvements concern refinements to the electron transport algorithm, the introduction of a charge-deposition score, the new thick-target bremsstrahlung option, the upgrade of the bremsstrahlung model and the improvement of electron angular straggling at low energy. The importance of each of the developments above is illustrated by comparisons with calculations performed with other codes and with experimental data.

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A Monte Carlo Code for the Evaluation of the Thermal Design of a Nuclear Reactor Core

Nuclear Science and Engineering ◽

10.13182/nse76-a15686 ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 59 (2) ◽

pp. 161-169 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Kazuyoshi Miki ◽

Kotaro Inoue

Keyword(s):

Monte Carlo ◽

Nuclear Reactor ◽

Reactor Core ◽

Thermal Design ◽

Monte Carlo Code ◽

Nuclear Reactor Core

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Advances in the treatment of the electromagnetic cascade in the TRIPOLI-4® Monte-Carlo code

10.31224/osf.io/b36xz ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Davide Mancusi

Keyword(s):

Monte Carlo ◽

Nuclear Reactor ◽

Thick Target ◽

Monte Carlo Code ◽

Reactor Physics ◽

Validation And Verification ◽

Electron Positron ◽

A Charge ◽

Charge Deposition ◽

Nuclear Instrumentation

TRIPOLI-4® is a Monte-Carlo particle-transport code developed at CEA-Saclay (France) that is employed in the domains of nuclear-reactor physics, criticality-safety, shielding/radiation protection and nuclear instrumentation. The goal of this paper is to report on current developments, validation and verification made in TRIPOLI-4® in the treatment of electron/positron/photon transport. The new capabilities and improvements concern refinements to the electron transport algorithm, the introduction of a charge-deposition score, the new thick-target bremsstrahlung option, the upgrade of the bremsstrahlung model and the improvement of electron angular straggling at low energy. The importance of each of the developments above is illustrated by comparisons with calculations performed with other codes and with experimental data.

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Restoration of a historic reinforced concrete structure with Ultra-High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete

IABSE Congress, New York, New York 2019: The Evolving Metropolis ◽

10.2749/newyork.2019.2500 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Borja Herraiz ◽

Henar Martin-Sanz ◽

Nadja Wolfisberg

Keyword(s):

Reinforced Concrete ◽

High Performance ◽

Experimental Tests ◽

Fiber Reinforced Concrete ◽

Fiber Reinforced ◽

Reinforced Concrete Structure ◽

Art Deco ◽

Federal Institute ◽

High Performance Fiber ◽

Institute Of Technology

<p>The historic building "Du Pont" in Zurich, Switzerland, was constructed between 1912 and 1913 by the Swiss architects Haller & Schindler and it is listed as a cultural heritage object, including not only the Art Deco façade, but also the ground-breaking structure of reinforced concrete. The building includes several structural particularities, such as the slender, reinforced concrete, one-way ribbed slabs, a reinforced concrete truss structure in the roof hanging four floors and three transfer beams on the ground floor diverting the loads from the seven upper floors. This paper presents a detailed description of the different strengthening measures required to allow a more flexible use of the existing floors with larger live and dead loads, and to fulfil the current provisions of the Swiss Standards (SIA). The main objective of the proposed restoration and strengthening measures is to minimize the interventions as much as possible and preserve the original structural system. Of particular interest is the innovative solution adopted for the existing ribbed slabs. The required increase of resistance is obtained through a thin 40 mm overlay of Ultra-High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) above the carefully prepared existing slab. Due to the significance of the building and the particular characteristics of the existing concrete, experimental tests were conducted. Four specimens of the ribbed slabs were extracted from the building, strengthened on site with UHPFRC and transported to the structural laboratory of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETHZ), where the tests were conducted. The excellent results confirmed the suitability of the proposed strengthening solution through UHPFRC, setting a milestone for future restorations of these particular structures.</p>

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Effect of ultra high temperature ceramics as fuel cladding materials on the nuclear reactor performance by SERPENT Monte Carlo code

Kerntechnik ◽

10.3139/124.110580 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 81 (6) ◽

pp. 599-608

Author(s):

T. Korkut ◽

A. Kara ◽

H. Korkut

Keyword(s):

Monte Carlo ◽

High Temperature ◽

Nuclear Reactor ◽

Monte Carlo Code ◽

Fuel Cladding ◽

Reactor Performance ◽

Ultra High Temperature Ceramics ◽

Ultra High Temperature

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Newly Developed Coupling Scheme in RMC With Internal Thermal Feedback and OTF Doppler-Broadening Method

Volume 3: Nuclear Fuel and Material, Reactor Physics and Transport Theory; Innovative Nuclear Power Plant Design and New Technology Application ◽

10.1115/icone25-66519 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ouwen Yexin ◽

Shanfang Huang ◽

Kan Wang

Keyword(s):

Monte Carlo ◽

Steady State ◽

Cross Section ◽

Large Scale ◽

Nuclear Reactor ◽

Simulation Analysis ◽

Coupling Scheme ◽

Monte Carlo Code ◽

Doppler Broadening ◽

Thermal Hydraulics

RMC (Reactor Monte Carlo)[1] is a self-developed Monte Carlo code for nuclear reactor analysis by Reactor Engineering Analysis Lab (REAL), Tsinghua University. On the basis of the self-developed subchannel module (RMC-TH) and Monte Carlo Cell Tally, the internal coupling interface is developed, which combines both input files to one and realizes the fast mesh correspondence process using the cell expansion technology for repeated structure with thermal-hydraulics feedback. It breaks through the bottleneck of geometrical extensibility for coupled code. On-the-fly Doppler broadening method is adopted as the way to consider the temperature effect on microscopic cross section, which only needs the 0 K cross section library so that the memory cost can be apparently reduced. Steady state simulation analysis are performed on PWR fuel pin and 17×17 assembly model, and the results show the feasibility, accuracy and efficiency of the coupling methodology. Therefore, a promising technology roadmap for the large-scale and geometrically universal nuclear reactor in both steady-state and transient conditions with thermal-hydraulic feedback are established. The roadmap can be further applied to neutronics-thermal-hydraulics-depletion coupling in multi-physics simulation process.

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