Title: Criticality safety analysis using continuous energy libraries of MCNP code

Authors: Jean A.D. Salomé; Claubia Pereira; Jonathan B.A. Assunção

Addresses: Departamento de Engenharia Nuclear, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, Belo Horizonte, Brazil ' Departamento de Engenharia Nuclear, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, Belo Horizonte, Brazil ' Departamento de Engenharia Nuclear, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Abstract: The study of subcritical and critical systems is useful to guide decisions about design, installation and operation of some devices, mainly nuclear reactors and power plants. The information generated by these systems guides the best decisions to be made in executive project, economic viability and the safety measures to be employed in a nuclear facility. Simulating some experiments from the International Handbook of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments, the MCNP5 code has been validated as an important tool to make an analysis about nuclear criticality safety. Its continuous libraries have been used. The average values and the standard deviation (SD) are evaluated. The results are very close to the values obtained by the benchmark experiments and in agreement with the criticality safety limits required by the Brazilian authorities.

Keywords: nuclear criticality; multiplication factor; continuous energy libraries; safety evaluation; MCNP code; nuclear energy; nuclear power; nuclear safety; simulation; Brazil; MCNP5; nuclear reactors; nuclear power plants; NPPs.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNEST.2015.075486

International Journal of Nuclear Energy Science and Technology, 2015 Vol.9 No.4, pp.333 - 364

Received: 07 Feb 2015
Accepted: 17 Dec 2015
Published online: 24 Mar 2016 *

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