[Seminar] Safeguards of Molten Salt Reactors and Application of Fission Matrix Methods to Multiphysics problems - Department of Nuclear Engineering [Seminar] Safeguards of Molten Salt Reactors and Application of Fission Matrix Methods to Multiphysics problems - Department of Nuclear Engineering

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[Seminar] Safeguards of Molten Salt Reactors and Application of Fission Matrix Methods to Multiphysics problems

October 14, 2021 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

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Dr. William Walters
Assistant Professor
Department of Nuclear Engineering
Penn State University

 

Abstract

This seminar will cover two separate topics that are being pursued at Penn State. The first is on the topic of nuclear safeguards of molten salt reactors. This is challenging since we can’t simply account for discrete items such as fuel rods or assemblies in a traditional reactor. This is compounded by the significant uncertainties in nuclear data, which results in high uncertainty in the fissile content of the salt. This talk will discuss the predicted effects of fissile material diversion as well as some key signatures that would indicate diversion of material. The second topic is on the development of the fission matrix method for coupled, multiphysics problems in reactor analysis. This hybrid transport method can be used to solve problems with near Monte Carlo accuracy in a fraction of the time, including with thermal and control feedback. This makes it very well-suited for the solution of transient, multiphysics problems that require repeated neutronics calculations.

Biography

Dr. William Walters is an Assistant Professor at Penn State University in the Ken and Mary Alice Lindquist Department of Nuclear Engineering. His expertise and experience is in areas of reactor physics and computational radiation transport methods and modeling. He received his PhD in Nuclear Engineering from Virginia Tech, on the topic of adaptive angular quadrature techniques for discrete-ordinates transport methods. He has a wide variety of experience in Monte Carlo, deterministic, and hybrid modeling of nuclear systems including reactor physics, shielding, safeguards, and detector modeling. Current projects include development of low-order hybrid transport methods based on the fission-matrix for multiphysics reactor modeling; safeguards of molten salt reactors; improved modeling and calibration of the Penn State Breazeale Nuclear Reactor, and modeling of nuclear thermal propulsion systems.

 

Thursday, October 14. 2021
4:00 pm seminar

Hybrid Option (Speaker is remote)

Zoom (link upon request)
or
Room 1202 Burlington Labs
(Refreshments)

Details

Date:
October 14, 2021
Time:
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
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