The Solitary Wave in Advanced Nuclear Energy System

The solitary wave naturally arises in many areas of mathematical physics, including in nonlinear optics, plasma physics, quantum field theory, and fluid mechanics. In the past few years, for an advanced nuclear energy system, a particular class of traveling wave reactor called the Constant Axial shape of Neutron flux, nuclide number densities and power shape During Life of Energy production (CANDLE) reactor has been proposed, and an analytical solution has been desired since it could reveal the global characters of the solution. In this study, from the perspective of the solitary wave, the analytical solution of this advanced nuclear energy system is demonstrated through coupling the one-group neutron diffusion equation with the burnup equation. The tanh-function method is applied to solve that nonlinear partial differential equation. The relationship between the velocity of the solitary wave, wave amplitude, or neutron flux and the evolution of the nuclide is revealed by the analytical method. The results demonstrate that the neutron flux is proportional to the wave velocity. The results also imply that the amplitude of the neutron flux is proportional to the square root of the diffusion coefficient but is inversely proportional to the initial ²³⁸U density.