Computational Experimentation on the Finite Element Method in Bare Slab Criticality Calculations

Based on a self-adjoint form of the one-group neutron transport equation, the finite element method is applied to the computation of the critical halfthickness of a bare slab. Different optional schemes are compared numerically. For a given order of approximation it is shown that accuracy can be improved appreciably by a proper implementation of the nonreentrant boundary condition and by using a varying element size.