A_N Core Analysis

¹ Politecnico di Torino, Energy Department, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
² AREVA NP, Codes & Methods Department, Tour AREVA, 92084 Paris La Défense Cedex, France

Abstract

Several alternative approximations of neutron transport have been proposed in years to move around the known limitations imposed by neutron diffusion in the modeling of nuclear cores. However, only a few complied with the industrial requirements of fast numerical computation, concentrating more on physical accuracy. In this work, the A_N transport methodology is discussed with particular interest in core performance calculations. The implementation of the methodology in full core codes is discussed with particular attention to numerical issues and to the integration within the entire simulation process. Finally, first results from core studies in A_N transport are analyzed in detail and compared to standard results of neutron diffusion.