Mikołaj Oettingen

Comparative analysis between measured and calculated concentrations of major actinides using destructive assay data from Ohi-2 PWR

Abstract In the paper, we assess the accuracy of the Monte Carlo continuous energy burnup code (MCB) in predicting final concentrations of major actinides in the spent nuclear fuel from commercial PWR. The Ohi-2 PWR irradiation experiment was chosen for the numerical reconstruction due to the availability of the final concentrations for eleven major actinides including five uranium isotopes (U-232, U-234, U-235, U-236, U-238) and six plutonium isotopes (Pu-236, Pu-238, Pu-239, Pu-240, Pu-241, Pu-242). The main results were presented as a calculated-to-experimental ratio (C/E) for measured and calculated final actinide concentrations. The good agreement in the range of ±5% was obtained for 78% C/E factors (43 out of 55). The MCB modeling shows significant improvement compared with the results of previous studies conducted on the Ohi-2 experiment, which proves the reliability and accuracy of the developed methodology.

The MCB code for numerical modeling of Fourth Generation nuclear reactors

R&D in the nuclear reactor physics demands state-of-the-art numerical tools that are able to characterize investigated nuclear systems with high accuracy. In this paper, we present the Monte Carlo Continuous Energy Burnup Code (MCB) developed at AGH University’s Department of Nuclear Energy. The code is a versatile numerical tool dedicated to simulations of radiation transport and radiation-induced changes in matter in advanced nuclear systems like Fourth Generation nuclear reactors.We present the general characteristics of the code and its application for modeling of Very-High-Temperature Reactors and Lead-Cooled Fast Rectors. Currently, the code is being implemented on the supercomputers of the Academic Computer Center (CYFRONET) of AGH University and will soon be available to the international scientific community.