Academic Journal
Validation of ENDF/B-VIII.0 and NCrystal thermal scattering laws for graphite in criticality safety analysis using OpenMC.
| Τίτλος: | Validation of ENDF/B-VIII.0 and NCrystal thermal scattering laws for graphite in criticality safety analysis using OpenMC. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Jalil, Abdelhamid, Abbassi, Houda, El oulki, Mohamed, Hassouni, Mohammed |
| Πηγή: | Nuclear Analysis; Jun2026, Vol. 5 Issue 2, p1-7, 7p |
| Θεματικοί όροι: | Graphite, Neutron scattering, Criticality (Nuclear engineering), Comparative studies, Software libraries (Computer programming), Neutron transport theory |
| Περίληψη: | Accurate prediction of criticality in nuclear systems relies on high-fidelity nuclear data, particularly for thermal neutron scattering in moderating and reflecting materials. This study presents a comprehensive benchmarking analysis of two distinct thermal scattering law (TSL) treatments for crystalline graphite: the standard evaluated data from the ENDF/B-VIII.0 library and a physics-based model provided by the NCrystal library. These models were implemented within the OpenMC Monte Carlo transport code to simulate five graphite-reflected critical benchmark experiments from the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) handbook. The benchmarks include highly enriched uranium (HEU), intermediate-enriched uranium (IEU), and plutonium metallic core. A detailed comparison of the macroscopic cross sections revealed that the primary difference between the two models lies in the treatment of coherent elastic scattering. The NCrystal model provides a more physically rigorous treatment by explicitly calculating the sharp Bragg edges characteristic of neutron diffraction, whereas the ENDF/B-VIII.0 TSL utilizes a simplified, smoothed approximation of these crystalline effects. The calculated effective multiplication factor (keff) from both models showed good agreement with the experimental values, generally within 1%. However, systematic discrepancies of up to ~38.10-3% were observed between the two models. These differences are most pronounced in benchmarks with intermediate neutron spectra, where the reactivity of the system is highly sensitive to the thermalization and reflection properties of graphite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Nuclear Analysis is the property of KeAi Communications Co. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | Complementary Index |
| FullText | Links: – Type: other Text: Availability: 0 CustomLinks: – Url: https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.nucana.2026.100219? Name: ScienceDirect (all content) (s7799221) Category: fullText Text: View record from ScienceDirect MouseOverText: View record from ScienceDirect |
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| Header | DbId: edb DbLabel: Complementary Index An: 195616659 RelevancyScore: 1082 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 1082.4189453125 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Validation of ENDF/B-VIII.0 and NCrystal thermal scattering laws for graphite in criticality safety analysis using OpenMC. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jalil%2C+Abdelhamid%22">Jalil, Abdelhamid</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Abbassi%2C+Houda%22">Abbassi, Houda</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22El+oulki%2C+Mohamed%22">El oulki, Mohamed</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hassouni%2C+Mohammed%22">Hassouni, Mohammed</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: Nuclear Analysis; Jun2026, Vol. 5 Issue 2, p1-7, 7p – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Graphite%22">Graphite</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Neutron+scattering%22">Neutron scattering</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Criticality+%28Nuclear+engineering%29%22">Criticality (Nuclear engineering)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Comparative+studies%22">Comparative studies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Software+libraries+%28Computer+programming%29%22">Software libraries (Computer programming)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Neutron+transport+theory%22">Neutron transport theory</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Accurate prediction of criticality in nuclear systems relies on high-fidelity nuclear data, particularly for thermal neutron scattering in moderating and reflecting materials. This study presents a comprehensive benchmarking analysis of two distinct thermal scattering law (TSL) treatments for crystalline graphite: the standard evaluated data from the ENDF/B-VIII.0 library and a physics-based model provided by the NCrystal library. These models were implemented within the OpenMC Monte Carlo transport code to simulate five graphite-reflected critical benchmark experiments from the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) handbook. The benchmarks include highly enriched uranium (HEU), intermediate-enriched uranium (IEU), and plutonium metallic core. A detailed comparison of the macroscopic cross sections revealed that the primary difference between the two models lies in the treatment of coherent elastic scattering. The NCrystal model provides a more physically rigorous treatment by explicitly calculating the sharp Bragg edges characteristic of neutron diffraction, whereas the ENDF/B-VIII.0 TSL utilizes a simplified, smoothed approximation of these crystalline effects. The calculated effective multiplication factor (keff) from both models showed good agreement with the experimental values, generally within 1%. However, systematic discrepancies of up to ~38.10<superscript>-3</superscript>% were observed between the two models. These differences are most pronounced in benchmarks with intermediate neutron spectra, where the reactivity of the system is highly sensitive to the thermalization and reflection properties of graphite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: Abstract Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Nuclear Analysis is the property of KeAi Communications Co. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1016/j.nucana.2026.100219 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 7 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Graphite Type: general – SubjectFull: Neutron scattering Type: general – SubjectFull: Criticality (Nuclear engineering) Type: general – SubjectFull: Comparative studies Type: general – SubjectFull: Software libraries (Computer programming) Type: general – SubjectFull: Neutron transport theory Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Validation of ENDF/B-VIII.0 and NCrystal thermal scattering laws for graphite in criticality safety analysis using OpenMC. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Jalil, Abdelhamid – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Abbassi, Houda – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: El oulki, Mohamed – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Hassouni, Mohammed IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 06 Text: Jun2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 27731839 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 5 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Nuclear Analysis Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |