Sharif Digital Repository

This paper investigates anti-Fourier heat transfer phenomenon in a rarefied gas confined within a lid-driven cavity using a novel flow decomposition technique in the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method proposed by Stefanov and co-workers. An isothermal cavity with different degrees of flow rarefaction from near continuum to mid transition regimes was considered to investigate cold-to-hot heat transfer from ballistic/collision flow decomposition viewpoint. A new cold-to-hot heat transfer indicator in the form of a scalar product of normalized heat flow vector and normalized temperature gradient vector has been introduced for the overall, ballistic and collision parts of these vectors.... 

This paper deals with the simulation-based design optimization and experimental validation of the characteristics of an in-core silver Self-Powered Neutron Detector (SPND). Optimized dimensions of the SPND are determined by combining Monte Carlo simulations and analytical methods. As a first step, the Monte Carlo transport code MCNPX is used to follow the trajectory and fate of the neutrons emitted from an external source. This simulation is able to seamlessly integrate various phenomena, including neutron slowing-down and shielding effects. Then, the expected number of beta particles and their energy spectrum following a neutron capture reaction in the silver emitter are fetched from the... 

The evaluation of multigroup constants in reactor calculations depends on several parameters. One of these parameters is the Dancoff factor which is used for calculating the resonance integral and flux depression in the resonance region in heterogeneous systems. In the current paper, a computer program (MCDAN-3D) is developed for calculating three dimensional black and gray Dancoff coefficients, based on Monte Carlo, escape probability and neutron free flight methods. The developed program is capable to calculate the Dancoff factor for an arbitrary arrangement of fuel and moderator pebbles. Moreover this program can simulate fuels with homogeneous and heterogeneous compositions. It might... 

This work investigates the species separation in the rarefied flow of the argon-helium mixture through convergent-divergent micronozzles. Imposing a molecular mass ratio in the order of 10, the flow of this mixture can lead to the formation of serious nonhomogeneous phenomena such as the species separation. This study is performed in the ranges of 2.0-4.0 for the geometrical expansion ratio, 200-400 K for the wall temperature, and 0.003-1.454 for the inlet Knudsen number. The effects of these parameters are examined on the separative performances of micronozzle. The direct simulation Monte Carlo method is selected as the solution method because it can provide reliable solutions in the... 

The second virial coefficients of Exp-6 chains are calculated using the Monte Carlo method. The results are presented as the scaled second virial coefficient B 2/(m 2σ 3) for various chain lengths m and repulsive-wall steepness parameters α at different scaled temperatures T *. The scaled coefficient reduces and converges to a constant value as m → ∞. Interestingly, the scaled coefficient scales as B 2/(m 2σ 3) ∝ -α -1, where the dependence reduces for larger m. The gyration radius increases with α, and in good solvent regime, scales like a self-avoiding chain when m → ∞. The interaction energy between two chains depends on m, T *, and α. With increasing m, the interaction becomes less... 

We present an effective algorithm for minimization of locally nonconvex Lipschitz functions based on mollifier functions approximating the Clarke generalized gradient. To this aim, first we approximate the Clarke generalized gradient by mollifier subgradients. To construct this approximation, we use a set of averaged functions gradients. Then, we show that the convex hull of this set serves as a good approximation for the Clarke generalized gradient. Using this approximation of the Clarke generalized gradient, we establish an algorithm for minimization of locally Lipschitz functions. Based on mollifier subgradient approximation, we propose a dynamic algorithm for finding a direction... 

A Monte Carlo model on the basis of hardness input is developed to predict the annealing microstructure of deformed specimens in tensile, compression, and tensile + compression tests. From experimental value of hardness, the stored energy of the deformed specimens is calculated and entered into the Monte Carlo model. The consistency between the simulation results and experimental data shows that the developed model based on hardness input can be more practical since the effect of different deformation states is considered for estimating of stored energy. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved  

The prediction of material microstructure is of great interest to the material designers since the property and performance of materials depend strongly on their microstructures. In this work, a Monte Carlo approach is used to investigate the normal grain growth of aluminum and pure copper. The grain growth was calculated at certain temperatures using the grain growth law and compared with the simulation results by varying the Q as a parameter of simulation lattice orientation for pure aluminum. Also the results predicted by the Monte Carlo method showed a good agreement with the experimental results of grain growth of pure cooper. It was found that increase in Q increases the accuracy of... 

In this work, we study the gas mixing behavior in a micro T-mixer using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. The gas mixing process is monitored through a T-mixer, which is fed by two different CO and N2 gases; flowing into the T-mixer through the upper and lower inlets. We investigate the effects of axial and lateral wall temperature gradients on the mixing evolution at different rarefaction levels. The achieved results show that any temperature difference between the channel walls would result in an increase in mixing length for the chosen wall temperature gradient ranges and the studies pressure cases. Our observations show that a positive temperature gradient toward the... 

Evaluation of multigroup constants in reactor calculations depends on several parameters, the Dancoff factor amid them is used for calculation of the resonance integral as well as flux depression in the resonance region in the heterogeneous systems. This paper focuses on the computer program (MCDAN-3D) developed for calculation of the multigroup black and gray Dancoff factor in three dimensional geometry based on Monte Carlo and escape probability methods. The developed program is capable to calculate the Dancoff factor for an arbitrary arrangement of fuel rods with different cylindrical fuel dimensions and control rods with various lengths inserted in the reactor core. The initiative... 

Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is applied to evaluate the performance of a new micro gas sensor (MIKRA) for mass analysis of ammonia in the rarefied gas. In order to simulate a rarefied gas inside the micro gas detector, Boltzmann equation is applied to obtain high precision results. This study performed comprehensive studies to reveal the main mechanism of force generation and applied this for the analysis of the gas mixture. Our findings show that value of generated Knudsen force significantly varies when the percentage of the NH3 varies in the mixture. According to obtained results, the maximum Knudsen force increases when the fraction of the ammonia decreases. Our findings... 

This paper proposes a new method for solving the time-dependent neutron transport equation based on nodal discretization using the MCNPX code. Most valid nodal codes are based on the diffusion theory with differences in approximating the leakage term until now. However, the Monte Carlo (MC) method is able to estimate transport parameters without approximations usual in diffusion method. Therefore, improving the nodal approach via the MC techniques can substantially reduce the errors caused by diffusion approximations. In the proposed method, the reactor core is divided into nodes of arbitrary dimensions, and all terms of the transport equation e.g. interaction rates and leakage ratio are... 

A highly reliable tool for transient simulation is vital in the safety analysis of a nuclear reactor. Despite this fact most tools still use diffusion theory and point-kinetics that involve many approximation such as discretization in space, energy, angle and time. However, Monte Carlo method inherently overcomes these restrictions and provides an appropriate foundation to accurately calculate the parameters of a reactor. In this paper fundamental parameters like multiplication factor (K eff ) and mean generation time (t G ) are calculated using Monte Carlo method and then employed in transient analysis for computing the neutron population, proportional to K eff , during a generation time... 

Transient analysis which is vital in safety analysis requires a reliable calculation method. Most valid tools use diffusion theory with many approximations by now. However, the Monte Carlo method inherently overcomes these approximations and accurately calculates the parameters of a reactor. In this paper, a new time-dependent transport approach is described to simulate the nuclear reactor dynamic correctly using the MCNPX code. In this approach the fundamental parameters of a nuclear reactor like multiplication factor (K eff ) and mean generation time (t G ) are calculated using MCNPX code. They are then employed in the formulas to compute neutron population, proportional to K eff , during... 

In this paper a probabilistic methodology based on core nodalization is proposed to estimate the core power in the presence of xenon oscillation. A time-dependent Monte Carlo neutron transport code named MCSP-NOD is developed for dynamic analysis in arbitrary 3D geometries to simulate xenon oscillations as well as sub-critical condition with feedbacks. The new code is based on the approach adopted in MCNP-NOD which was previously introduced as a tool for core transient analysis using the MCNPX platform. As before, the core is divided into nodes of arbitrary dimensions, and all terms of the transport equation e.g. interaction rates, leakage ratio are estimated using the MC techniques.... 

In this paper, a simpler approach compared to the existing approaches is developed to analyze nuclear reactor dynamics based on the explicit Monte Carlo method. A new population control method is also introduced to prevent neutron population growth and consequent computer memory shortages, which also increases simulation speed. The scheme is applied for time-dependent particle tracking in three-dimensional arbitrary geometries in the presence of feedbacks through a code named MCSP-Explicit. Changes in material density, as well as geometry dimensions, are also considered during simulation. MCSP-Explicit can be run with either continuous or multigroup data libraries, and it is further boosted...