Validation of SCALE 6.2 criticality calculations using KENO Va and KENO-VI

W. J. Marshall, B. T. Rearden, Elizabeth L. Jones

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

SCALE 6.2 provides enhancements for criticality calculations relative to SCALE 6.1, especially with updated nuclear data libraries, resonance self-shielding options for multigroup (MG) calculations, and problem-dependent temperature treatments for continuous-energy (CE) calculations. Benchmark experiments from the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project that are available in the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Verified, Archived, Library of Inputs and Data (VALID) were applied in this validation effort to examine the impact of the SCALE 6.2 enhancements. Over 300 cases are drawn from the VALID library for testing KENO V.a, and a more limited set of approximately 50 configurations is used for validation of KENO-VI. A total of 401 unique critical experiments are used in this validation effort. In some cases, the KENO V.a models were converted to KENO-VI models so that the performance of both codes could be assessed for the same systems. Validation results for the SCALE 6.2 ENDF/B-VII.1 nuclear data libraries are presented, including MG neutron data in 56- and 252-group structures as well as CE data. The performance of all three multipurpose neutron libraries in calculating keff is examined with critical experiment models covering a wide range of fuels, moderators, reflectors, absorbers, and neutron spectra. The SCALE 6.2 ENDF/B-VII.1 coupled neutron-photon library, primarily developed for shielding applications with 200 neutron groups and 47 gamma groups, provides additional energy resolution for fast systems relative to the MG neutron libraries which were developed to produce low biases for thermal neutron systems. The applicability of this library to criticality calculations for fast neutron spectrum systems is not investigated here but will be addressed in the final SCALE 6.2 validation report. The results of these calculations demonstrate that SCALE 6.2 generally provides lower biases than SCALE 6.1 and that the two versions of KENO provide equivalent results on the same suite of problems. SCALE 6.2 also includes an updated neutron cross-section covariance library based on the ENDF/B-VII.1 covariance data. The effect of these updated covariances on the uncertainty in keff due to cross section uncertainties is also presented for some cases. A more thorough investigation of the updated covariance data is presented in a companion paper.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationICNC 2015 - International Conference on Nuclear Criticality Safety
PublisherAmerican Nuclear Society
Pages1200-1212
Number of pages13
ISBN (Electronic)9780894487231
StatePublished - 2015
Event2015 International Conference on Nuclear Criticality Safety, ICNC 2015 - Charlotte, United States
Duration: Sep 13 2015Sep 17 2015

Publication series

NameICNC 2015 - International Conference on Nuclear Criticality Safety

Conference

Conference2015 International Conference on Nuclear Criticality Safety, ICNC 2015
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityCharlotte
Period09/13/1509/17/15

Keywords

  • KENO
  • SCALE 6.2
  • Validation

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