Jeremy Lloyd Conlin

Uncertainty Quantification for New Approaches to Spent Fuel Assay

Abstract Estimating plutonium (Pu) mass in spent nuclear fuel assemblies (SFAs) helps inspectors ensure that no Pu is diverted. Therefore, nondestructive assay (NDA) methods are being developed to assay Pu mass in SFAs. Uncertainty quantification is an important task in most assay methods, and particularly for SFA assay. A computer model (MCNPX) is being used to predict isotope masses and the spatial distribution of masses in virtual SFAs for 64 combinations of initial fuel enrichment (IE), fuel utilization [burnup (BU)], and cooling time (CT) values. Additional MCNPX modeling for the same 64 virtual SFAs provided the expected detector responses (DRs) for several NDA techniques such as the passive neutron albedo reactivity method and the 252Cf interrogation with prompt neutrons method. A previous paper describes one uncertainty quantification approach involving Monte Carlo (MC) simulation using individually any of six new NDA options together with IE, BU, and CT. This paper provides an interpretation of the MC approach that is suited for a numerical Bayesian alternative, separately assesses the impact of MCNPX interpolation error, and compares several options to use subsets of IE, BU, CT, and one DR.

Continuous-Energy Data Checks

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of all Quality Assurance tests that have to be performed on a nuclear data set to be transformed into an ACE formatted nuclear data file. The ACE file is capable of containing different types of data such as continuous energy neutron data, thermal scattering data, etc. Within this report, we will limit ourselves to continuous energy neutron data.

MT71x: Multi-Temperature Library Based on ENDF/B-VII.1

The Nuclear Data Team has released a multitemperature transport library, MT71x, based upon ENDF/B-VII.1 with a few modifications as well as additional evaluations for a total of 427 isotope tables. The library was processed using NJOY2012.39 into 23 temperatures. MT71x consists of two sub-libraries; MT71xMG for multigroup energy representation data and MT71xCE for continuous energy representation data. These sub-libraries are suitable for deterministic transport and Monte Carlo transport applications, respectively. The SZAs used are the same for the two sub-libraries; that is, the same SZA can be used for both libraries. This makes comparisons between the two libraries and between deterministic and Monte Carlo codes straightforward. Both the multigroup energy and continuous energy libraries were verified and validated with our checking codes checkmg and checkace (multigroup and continuous energy, respectively) Then an expanded suite of tests was used for additional verification and, finally, verified using an extensive suite of critical benchmark models. We feel that this library is suitable for all calculations and is particularly useful for calculations sensitive to temperature effects.

MENDF71x. Multigroup Neutron Cross Section Data Tables Based upon ENDF/B-VII.1

A new multi-group neutron cross section library has been released along with the release of NDI version 2.0.20. The library is named MENDF71x and is based upon the evaluations released in ENDF/B-VII.1 which was made publicly available in December 2011. ENDF/B-VII.1 consists of 423 evaluations of which ten are excited states evaluations and 413 are ground state evaluations. MENDF71x was created by processing the 423 evaluations into 618-group, downscatter only NDI data tables. The ENDF/B evaluation files were processed using NJOY version 99.393 with the exception of 35Cl and 233U. Those two isotopes had unique properties that required that we process the evaluation using NJOY version 2012. The MENDF71x library was only processed to room temperature, i.e., 293.6 K. In the future, we plan on producing a multi-temperature library based on ENDF/B-VII.1 and compatible with MENDF71x.

Validation of MCNP6.1 for Criticality Safety of Pu-Metal, -Solution, and -Oxide Systems

Guidance is offered to the Los Alamos National Laboratory Nuclear Criticality Safety division towards developing an Upper Subcritical Limit (USL) for MCNP6.1 calculations with ENDF/B-VII.1 nuclear data for three classes of problems: Pu-metal, -solution, and -oxide systems. A benchmark suite containing 1,086 benchmarks is prepared, and a sensitivity/uncertainty (S/U) method with a generalized linear least squares (GLLS) data adjustment is used to reject outliers, bringing the total to 959 usable benchmarks. For each class of problem, S/U methods are used to select relevant experimental benchmarks, and the calculational margin is computed using extreme value theory. A portion of the margin of sub criticality is defined considering both a detection limit for errors in codes and data and uncertainty/variability in the nuclear data library. The latter employs S/U methods with a GLLS data adjustment to find representative nuclear data covariances constrained by integral experiments, which are then used to compute uncertainties in keff from nuclear data. The USLs for the classes of problems are as follows: Pu metal, 0.980; Pu solutions, 0.973; dry Pu oxides, 0.978; dilute Pu oxide-water mixes, 0.970; and intermediate-spectrum Pu oxide-water mixes, 0.953.