Progress in Research on Stochastic Neutron Dynamics and Its Numerical Simulation

Abstract

Abstract: Stochastic neutron dynamics is important task in nuclear power plant design and nuclear reactor safety. In this paper, basic concepts and research methods for stochastic neutron kinetics are introduced and historical development and research status in the field are sketched out. Multiplicities of fission neutrons and photons are main sources of zero power reactor noise. Based on description equation of neutron fluctuation and its solution, stochastic theory of zero power and power reactor noise is evolved. Stochastic neutron dynamics are applied in important areas such as reactivity microscopic measurement, power reactor noise measurement and analysis, nuclear criticality excursion analysis, nuclear material detection and identification and so on. In the past half century, however, it lacks available method and tool to implement quantitative analysis of problems such as probability distribution of burst waiting time of neutron initiation in pulse reactor. In recent years, important progress is made in generalized semi-Markov process simulation method, which is applied to stochastic neutron kinetic process simulation. It reveals inherent law of neutron initiation experiments conducted in pulse reactor. At last, research topics to be solved in stochastic neutron dynamics are discussed.

Key words: neutron dynamics, reactor noise, stochastic process

CLC Number:

O571.33

YANG Junyun, YING Yangjun, XIAO Gang. Progress in Research on Stochastic Neutron Dynamics and Its Numerical Simulation[J]. CHINESE JOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL PHYSICS, 2017, 34(2): 127-141.

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