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Monte Carlo Criticality Calculation of Random Media Formed by Multimaterials Mixture Under Extreme Disorder

Taro Ueki

Nuclear Science and Engineering / Volume 195 / Number 2 / February 2021 / Pages 214-226

Technical Paper / dx.doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2020.1801000

Received:March 12, 2020
Accepted:July 21, 2020
Published:January 12, 2021

A dynamical system under extreme physical disorder has the tendency to evolve toward the equilibrium state characterized by an inverse power law power spectrum. In this paper, a practical, implementable, three-dimensional model is proposed for the random media formed by a multimaterials mixture under such a power spectrum using a randomized form of the Weierstrass function, its extension covering the white noise, and partial volume pairings of constituent materials. The proposed model is implemented in the SOLOMON Monte Carlo solver with delta tracking. Two sets of numerical results are shown using the JENDL-4 nuclear data libraries. First, the uncertainty of the neutron effective multiplication factor (keff) due to the inherent uncertainty in the formation of random media is shown for a randomized version of the Bigten core in the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP). Second, the influence of the exponent of the power spectrum on the uncertainty of keff is evaluated for a randomized version of the Topsy core in the ICSBEP.