Sharif Digital Repository

A novel method is introduced which allows the higher order perturbative solution of a linear operator with a time variant coefficient. This method employs a form of raising and lowering operators which generate higher and lower order harmonics from a given harmonic. The analysis has been applied to the point kinetics equations with a monotone oscillatory reactivity to place bounds on the relative error of the linearization method frequently employed in the power reactor noise techniques. As a result, the maximum permissible reactivity amplitude for a given reactor as a function of frequency has been obtained such that regular power reactor noise methods remain accurate enough. Three... 

The telegrapher's theory was used to develop a new formulation for the neutron noise equation. Telegrapher's equation is supposed to demonstrate a more realistic approximation for neutron transport phenomena, especially in comparison to the diffusion theory. The physics behind such equation implies that the signal propagation speed is finite, instead of the infinite as in the case of ordinary diffusion. This paper presents the theory and results of the development of a new method for calculation of the neutron noise using the telegrapher's equation as its basis. In order to investigate the differences and strengths of the new method against the diffusion based neutron noise, a comparison was... 

An embedded time interval data acquisition system (DAS) is developed for zero power reactor (ZPR) noise experiments. The system is capable of measuring the correlation or probability distribution of a random process. The design is totally implemented on a single Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The architecture is tested on different FPGA platforms with different speed grades and hardware resources. Generic experimental values for time resolution and inter-event dead time of the system are 2.22 ns and 6.67 ns respectively. The DAS can record around 48-bit × 790 kS/s utilizing its built-in fast memory. The system can measure very long time intervals due to its 48-bit timing structure... 

In this paper, the neutron noise based on transport theory and diffusion noise theory using Green's function technique is calculated. As the neutron noise is used for core diagnostic, surveillance and monitoring, calculation of neutron noise precisely can play an important role in monitoring and safety. We compare the accuracy of Green's function based on transport and diffusion theory in order to survey the differences between these theories. In this study some deviation between results obtained two theories are observed, and the impact of dimensions, cross sections and frequency on the results investigated. © 2017  

Most of the strategies yet implemented to optimal fuel loading pattern design in nuclear power reactors, are based on maximizing the core effective multiplication factor (Keff) to extract maximum energy and lowering the local power peaking factor (Pq) from a predetermined value. However, a new optimization criterion could be of interest, aiming at maximum burn-up of the plutonium content in fuel assemblies, i.e., minimization of remaining plutonium in spent fuel at the end of cycle (EOC). In this research, we developed a new strategy for optimal fuel core loading pattern of a VVER-1000 reactor, based on multi-objective optimization: lowering the Pq, maximization of the Keff and minimization... 

A correlation measuring tool for an endogenous pulsed neutron source experiment is developed in this work. Paroxysmal pulses generated by a bursts of neutron chains are detected by a 10-kbit embedded shift register with a time resolution of 100 ns. The system is implemented on a single reprogrammable device making it a compact, cost-effective instrument, easily adaptable for any case study. The system was verified experimentally in the Esfahan heavy-water zero power reactor (EHWZPR). The results obtained by the measuring tool are validated by the Feynman-α experiment, and a good agreement is seen within the boundaries of statistical uncertainties. The theory of the methods is briefly... 

Power reactor noise analysis is one of the most powerful tools in online monitoring and diagnostics of nuclear power reactors. Unfortunately, since such an analysis belongs to the non-linear “parametric excitation” realm, its theoretical aspects and relations have been mostly carried out after linearization. In this paper a general framework, i.e. the Ladder Expansion Method, is developed to convert such equations to a series of coupled linear equations, up to any desired accuracy. This method is then applied to the single mode random fluctuations of the absorption cross sections in a power reactor which is modelled by the multigroup diffusion equation with multiple delayed neutron groups. A... 

In this paper, evaluation of the kinetic parameters (effective delayed neutron fraction and prompt neutron lifetime) in PWRs, using static cell and core calculation codes, is reported. A new software has been developed to link the WIMS, BORGES and CITATION codes in Visual C# computer programming language. Using the WIMS cell calculation code, multigroup microscopic cross-sections and number densities of different materials can be generated in a binary file. By the use of BORGES code, these binary-form cross-sections and number densities are converted to a format readable by the CITATION core calculation code, by which the kinetic parameters can be finally obtained. This software is used for... 

A two-channel time analyser data acquisition system is developed for analysis of stochastic processes of random time interval pulses. The system is implemented on a typical low cost FPGA device. Two stochastic processes of nuclear interactions can be recorded by the system independently without any inter-channel dead time behaviour. The experimental results without any hardware based data reduction are transferred to the computer to perform arbitrary post analysis of the data using powerful software engineering tools to estimate the statistical properties of the processes. The performance of the system is verified experimentally. The maximum time digitization period and the minimum channel... 

The two main goals in core fuel loading pattern design optimization are maximizing the core effective multiplication factor (Keff) in order to extract the maximum energy, and keeping the local power peaking factor (Pq) lower than a predetermined value to maintain fuel integrity. In this research, a new strategy based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm has been developed to optimize the fuel core loading pattern in a typical VVER. The PSO algorithm presents a simple social model by inspiration from bird collective behavior in finding food. A modified version of PSO algorithm for discrete variables has been developed and implemented successfully for the multi-objective optimization...