Shielding Factor Method for Producing Effective Cross Sections: MINX/SPHINX And the CCCC Interface System

摘要

The Shielding Factor Method (SFM) is an economical designer-oriented method for producing the coarse-group space and energy self-shielded cross sections needed for reactor-core analysis. Extensive experience with the ETOX/1DX and ENDRUN/TDOWN systems has made the SFM the method of choice for most US fast-reactor design activities. The MINX/SPHINX system was designed to expand upon the capabilities of the older SFM codes and to incorporate the new standard interfaces for fast-reactor cross sections specified by the Committee for Computer Code Coordination (CCCC). MINX is the cross-section processor. It generates multigroup cross sections, shielding factors, and group-to-group transfer matrices from ENDF/B-IV and writes them out as CCCC ISOTXS and BRKOXS files. It features detailed pointwise resonance reconstruction, accurate Doppler broadening, and an efficient treatment of anisotropic scattering. SPHINX is the space-and-energy shielding code. It uses specific mixture and geometry information together with equivalence principles to construct shielded macroscopic multigroup cross sections in as many as 240 groups. It then makes a flux calculation by diffusion or transport methods and collapses to an appropriate set of cell-averaged coarse-group effective cross sections. The integration of MINX and SPHINX with the CCCC interface system provides an efficient, accurate, and convenient system for producing effective cross sections for use in fast-reactor problems. The system has also proved useful in shielding and CTR applications. 3 figures, 4 tables. (ERA citation 03:040284)