Monte Carlo simulation of neutron transport in a homogeneous reactor with a partially inserted control rod

摘要

The neutron transport in a bare, cylindrical and homogeneous reactor, with and without the presence of a central partially inserted control rod, has been simulated by using a Monte Carlo transport code. The behaviour of both the flux and current in this system have been investigated. We have found that the flux and especially the current are strongly affected by the presence of the control rod in its close vicinity. The results indicate the feasibility to identify the position and especially the tip of the rod from the flux and current. Further, the direction to the rod can be found from the current vector. The information content regarding the position of the rod, in both the neutron flux and the current, decays strongly as a function of distance and it is dependent on the size of the rod. In our model, the practical range over which the flux or current can be a useful indicator of the position of the tip of the rod is about 10-15 cm for a rod with a diameter of 2 cm. The practical range for identification of the position of the rod is greater for a rod of larger diameter 8 refs, 10 figs