ISSN: 1546-962X
CODEN: JAIOAD
Published Online: 1 May 2012
Page Count: 10

Development and Testing of the VITAMIN-B7/BUGLE-B7 Coupled Neutron-Gamma Multigroup Cross-Section Libraries

Risner, J. M.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN

Wiarda, D.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN

Miller, T. M.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN

Peplow, D. E.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN

Patton, B. W.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN

Dunn, M. E.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN

Parks, B. T.
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Rockville, MD

(Received 10 June 2011; accepted 6 February 2012)

Abstract

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Regulatory Guide 1.190 states that calculational methods used to estimate reactor pressure vessel (RPV) fluence should use the latest version of the evaluated nuclear data file (ENDF). The VITAMIN-B6 fine-group library and BUGLE-96 broad-group library, which are widely used for RPV fluence calculations, were generated using ENDF/B-VI.3 data, which was the most current data when Regulatory Guide 1.190 was issued. We have developed new fine-group (VITAMIN-B7) and broad-group (BUGLE-B7) libraries based on ENDF/B-VII.0. These new libraries, which were processed using the AMPX code system, maintain the same group structures as the VITAMIN-B6 and BUGLE-96 libraries. Verification and validation of the new libraries were accomplished using diagnostic checks in AMPX, “unit tests” for each element in VITAMIN-B7, and a diverse set of benchmark experiments including critical evaluations for fast and thermal systems, a set of experimental benchmarks that are used for SCALE regression tests, and three RPV fluence benchmarks. The benchmark evaluation results demonstrate that VITAMIN-B7 and BUGLE-B7 are appropriate for use in RPV fluence calculations and meet the calculational uncertainty criterion in Regulatory Guide 1.190.

Keywords:
multigroup cross sections, reactor pressure vessel fluence, light water reactor shielding

Paper ID: JAI104130
DOI: 10.1520/JAI104130
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