Benchmarking photoneutron production of Mcnpx simulations with experimental results

Accelerator driven subcritical systems (ADS) are one of the most viable methods for the transmutation and effective utilization of nuclear fuel. An important aspect of coupling the accelerator to a nuclear reactor is the generation of a high-energy neutron flux. The neutron flux can be generated by hitting a high-Z target composed of lead, tungsten, or other elements with a high-energy proton beam; To explore the control issues arising from coupling a proton accelerator to a subcritical reactor, an electron beam accelerator which produces a similar neutron flux can be used. The purpose of this study is to computationally predict the neutron production rate from a lead target that would couple an accelerator to a subcritical reactor assembly. MCNPX, a radiation transport code developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, was used in this study. The MCNPX predictions of photo-neutron production were compared with experimental results performed at Idaho Accelerator Centre (IAC), and showed good agreement.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Mechanical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Year

2002

Author dc:creator

• Sadineni, Suresh Babu

Contributors dc:contributor

• William Culbreth

Statement dc:rights

• IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

https://oasis.library.unlv.edu/rtds/1466

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:oasis.library.unlv.edu:rtds-2465