MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS OF THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL NEUTRON FLUX PROFILE INSIDE THE R.I.N.S.C. REACTOR

This study sought the neutron flux profile inside of the Rhode Island Nuclear Science Center (RINSC) reactor. A computer model was made of the three-dimensional reactor core and simulations were run utilizing the Monte Carlo method and actual data specific to this reactor. Heat map plots of the neutron flux show that the results for total fluence and thermal fluence are consistent with what the applicable physics would lead one to expect for the spatial profile of flux (or fluence) for either energy group. Moreover, the results for thermal fluence were parsed and rendered into 2D plots. This enabled comparison to the plots from the flux mapping measurements that followed the conversion to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel in 1992 at the RINSC research reactor. The model developed as part of this work will form a foundation for future studies on the effects of fuel aging and burnup on flux characteristics within the experimental neutron irradiation facilities in the RINSC reactor