Temperature-Dependent Neutron Moderation Model Including Inelastic Scattering in Reactor Media

TL;DR

This paper presents a new temperature-dependent neutron moderation model that incorporates inelastic scattering on uranium 238, providing analytical formulas for neutron flux and spectra that enhance reactor physics understanding.

Contribution

The study introduces the first analytical inelastic neutron scattering law including temperature effects within the gas model framework for reactor media.

Findings

Derived analytical inelastic scattering law incorporating temperature.

Obtained neutron flux density and spectrum formulas dependent on temperature.

Validated the model with deceleration spectra showing two energy maxima.

Abstract

In this study, a mathematical model of neutron moderation is developed that accounts for the temperature of the fissile medium and the contribution of inelastic neutron scattering on heavy nuclei of uranium 238 in reactor cores. Within the gas model framework, an analytical expression for the inelastic neutron scattering law for an isotropic neutron source is derived for the first time, incorporating the temperature of the moderating medium as a parameter. The scattering law is obtained from the general kinematic solution of inelastic neutron nucleus interactions in the laboratory system, where both particles possess arbitrary velocity vectors. Based on the newly derived inelastic and previously obtained elastic scattering laws, analytical formulas for the neutron flux density and moderation spectrum are presented, both of them dependents on the medium temperature. The calculated deceleration spectra exhibit two distinct maxima (a high energy and a low energy peaks). The low energy maximum is consistent with the analytical solution of the neutron balance equation, confirming the validity of the proposed model. The developed approach provides a deeper understanding of neutron energy distribution in temperature dependent reactor media and can be applied to improve the accuracy of neutron kinetic calculations in thermal and fast reactor systems.