A new simulation method called eTLE enhances the accuracy of a primary tool for evaluating neutron behaviors in 3D space.
This study analyzes the approach elaborately, confirming its reliability in anticipating the scattering of neutrons in the crystalline media.
The so-called Tripoli-4® is a tool scientists have utilized to simulate the behaviors of interacting neutrons in 3D space. In recent times, a new “next-event estimator” (NEE) for Tripoli-4® was developed by scientists.
This method aims to increase the accuracy of Tripoli-4® with the help of Monte Carlo simulations—a class of algorithms that resolve issues by repeatedly evaluating the characteristics of an entire population of neutrons by choosing random groups of individuals.
Through a new study reported in the journal EPJ Plus, a research group headed by Henri Hutinet at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission implement and confirm eTLE’s dependability for the first time.
Because the production of neutrons is a key element of nuclear fission reactions, this improved accuracy could eventually help enhance the safety of nuclear reactors. The success of eTLE joints on the principle that the attenuation and transport of neutrons via a medium has been predictable in a mathematical manner.
Until now, the use of NEEs to forecast this transport has been impeded by their treatment of neutrons as simple gases of interacting particles. As far as the crystalline media is concerned, this results in the angles they follow as they tend to scatter from each other to take on separate values. This bans a few angles, which might be essential to comprehend the overall behavior of the neutrons.
In their study, Hutinet’s team analyzed the results of eTLE’s Monte Carlo-based method to evaluate the behavior of neutrons. To validate their findings, they used a classical and unbiased NEE as a benchmark for learning about numerous scattering neutrons inside crystalline media—such as beryllium and graphite.
Their outcomes disclosed a robust agreement between such classical estimators and eTLE—displaying a massive enhancement over earlier NEE approaches for Tripoli-4®. By eliminating the need for discrete scattering angles, the team’s work could currently set the stage for nuclear reactor operators to forecast neutron behaviors very precisely in the future.
Journal Reference
Hutinet, H., et al. (2023) Neutron elastic scattering kernel for Monte Carlo next-event estimators in Tripoli-4®. The European Physical Journal Plus. doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-023-03787-8.