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Title: Some comments on cold hydrogenous moderators, simple synthetic kernels and benchmark calculations

Conference ·
OSTI ID:1164679

The author comments on three general subjects which are not directly related, but which in his opinion are very relevant to the objectives of the workshop. The first of these is parahydrogen moderators, about which recurring questions have been raised during the Workshop. The second topic is related to the use of simple synthetic scattering kernels in conjunction with the neutron transport equation to carry out elementary mathematical analyses and simple computational analyses in order to understand the gross physics of time-dependent neutron transport initiated by pulsed sources in cold moderators. The third subject is that of 'simple' benchmark calculations by which is meant calculations that are simple compared to the very large scale combined spallation, slowing-down, thermalization calculations using MCNP and other large Monte Carlo codes. Such benchmark problems can be created so that they are closely related to both the geometric configuration and material composition of cold moderators of interest and still can be solved using steady-state deterministic transport codes to calculate the asymptotic time-decay constant, and the time-asymptotic energy spectrum of neutrons in the cold moderator and the spectrum of the cold neutrons leaking from it (neither of which should be expected to be Maxwellian in these small leakage-dominated systems). These would provide rather precise benchmark solutions against which the results of the large scale calculations carried out for the whole spallation, slowing-down, thermalization system -- for the same decoupled cold moderator -- could be compared.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA (United States)
OSTI ID:
1164679
Report Number(s):
IWCMPNS-1997; CONF-9709132-; TRN: US1500281
Resource Relation:
Conference: International Workshop on Cold Moderators for Pulsed Neutron Sources, Argonne, IL (United States), 29 Sep - 2 Oct 1997; Related Information: In: Proceedings of the International Workshop on Cold Moderators for Pulsed Neutron Sources, Iverson, E.B and Carpenter, J.M. (eds.), 1997, sponsored by OECD, under the MegaScience Forum
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English