Fission Products that come from the MCNP output?

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around identifying significant fission products that should be considered when analyzing MCNP output. It touches on the relevance of various radionuclides in different reactor types and the implications for reactor operation and burnup calculations.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants emphasize the importance of Iodine-135 and its decay to Xenon-135 for reactor operation, noting that all fission products begin from a complex distribution.
  • Others mention Samarium-149 as a significant neutron poison, along with Promethium-147, and suggest looking at Rhodium isotopes and Cesium isotopes for verifying burnup calculations.
  • It is noted that the significance of fission products varies depending on the type of system being modeled, with Xe-135 being critical in thermal systems but less so in fast systems.
  • Participants suggest that the list of important fission products is often tailored to the specific reactor type being analyzed.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the importance of certain fission products like Iodine-135 and Xenon-135, but there is no consensus on a definitive list of fission products, as opinions vary based on reactor type and specific modeling questions.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights the dependence on reactor type and modeling objectives, indicating that assumptions about the system can significantly influence which fission products are deemed important.

Aly_19f
Messages
9
Reaction score
1
TL;DR
What are the most important fission products?
What are the most important fission products should I include/care about that comes out from the MCNP output?
 
Engineering news on Phys.org
This depends so much on what question you want to ask MCNP. X and 6 can calculate some forms of depletion but I don't know if they simulate poisoning and every fission product.

Iodine-135 and it's decay to Xenon-135 are especially relevant to reactor operation, but all fission products start as the double humped curve mess you see in textbooks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodine_pit

If this doesn't help, tell us more about what the problem is.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Astronuc and Aly_19f
Certainly, Iodine-135 and it's decay to Xenon-135 are two important radionuclides. Samarium-149 (σ = 74,500 b) is another important poison, and to a lesser extent Promethium-147.
See - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_poison#Transient_fission_product_poisons and following section.

For verifying burnup calculations, one would also look at Rh-103, -106; Cs-134/Cs-137; and Nd-143,145, and possibly Nd-146, -148.
 
  • Informative
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Aly_19f and Alex A
The answer is also going to depend strongly on what type of system you are modeling. The most important fission products for a thermal system are much different from the most important fission products in a fast system.

For example, Xe-135 is extremely critical in a thermal spectrum, but only modestly important in a fast spectrum.

In practice, the list of "important" fission products is usually tuned for each reactor type.
 
  • Like
  • Informative
Likes   Reactions: Alex A and Astronuc

Similar threads

Replies
5
Views
993
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
984
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Replies
1
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 0 ·
Replies
0
Views
1K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
Replies
2
Views
2K
Replies
1
Views
2K