Application of an advanced shielding analysis system to gas-cooled fast reactor designs

Conference · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1977

OSTI ID:7211046

Bartine, D E; Williams, L R

In its shielding program for General Atomic's Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (GCFR), Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed an advanced shielding analysis system that incorporates the latest analysis techniques for converging to a shield design compatible with other design parameters. Basically the system consists in applying the various techniques in a logical sequence to a given design, thereby generating a large body of data to serve as an information base for subsequent redesigns by General Atomic. The first step is a discrete ordinates radiation transport calculation for a two-dimensional model of the reactor system. The resulting neutron and gamma-ray fluxes are then converted to isoplots of the responses of concern, and these are used to locate regions in the system at which those responses are higher than allowed by predetermined constraints. Next, adjoint calculations are performed for the regions of concern, and the resulting adjoint fluxes, together with the forward fluxes, are used in channel-theory calculations to determine the physical paths followed by the particles traveling from the core to those regions. In addition, the adjoint and forward fluxes are used in sensitivity calculations to determine the importance of the cross sections used in the transport calculations as functions of the shield materials and particles energies. Finally, the sensitivity results are utilized in the form of linear perturbation theory to predict the effect of changes in the shield composition and position on the various responses. This system is being applied to successive reference models for the GCFR and on the basis of the data obtained thus far the thickness of the radial shield has been significantly reduced and the lower shield region has undergone extensive redesign.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., Tenn. (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• OSTI ID: 7211046
• Report Number(s): CONF-770401-30
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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