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The Parallel Block Jacobi (PBJ) spatial domain decomposition is well suited for implementation on massively parallel computers to solve the neutron transport equation on unstructured grids due to t...

To determine the angular discretization error asymptotic convergence rate of the uncollided scalar flux computed with the discrete ordinates (S N) method, a comprehensive theory of the regularity o...

A comparison of the accuracy and computational efficiency of spatial discretization methods of the three-dimensional SN equations is conducted, including discontinuous Galerkin finite element metho...

We present a method to map the spectral and spatial distributions of radioactive sources using a limited number of detectors. Locating and identifying radioactive materials is important for border ...

For the sake of a high-fidelity representation of the curved surfaces characteristic of fuel pins, the standard reactor design process employs the method of collision probabilities (CP), the method of characteristics (MOC), or unstructured-grid discrete ordinates (SN) transport solvers for assembly-level calculations. In this work we provide a proof of principle using highly simplified assembly configurations that an approximate staircased representation of the fuel pin’s circumference via an orthogonal mesh is accurate enough for reactor physics computations. For the purpose of comparing the performance of these approaches, we employ the orthogonal-grid SN code DORT and the lattice code DRAGON (CP and MOC) to perform k-eigenvalue-type computations for both a boiling water reactor (BWR) and pressurized water reactor (PWR) test assembly. In the framework of a computational model refinement study, the multiplication factor and the fission source distribution are computed and compared to a high-fidel...

A reformulation of the arbitrarily high-order transport method of the characteristic type (AHOT-C) for unstructured grids (AHOT-C-UG) is presented in this work, which resolves the previous difficul...

Recently, Jacobian-Free Newton-Krylov (JFNK) methods have been used to solve the k-eigenvalue problem in diffusion and transport theories. We propose an improvement to Newton’s method (NM) for solv...

We present an approach to the k-eigenvalue problem in multigroup diffusion theory based on a nonlinear treatment of the generalized eigenvalue problem. A nonlinear function is posed whose roots are...

We investigate the degraded effectiveness of diffusion-based acceleration schemes in terms of the adjacent-cell preconditioner (AP) in a periodically heterogeneous limit devised for the two-dimensional (2-D) periodic horizontal interface (PHI) configuration. Specifically, we demonstrate that the diffusive low-order operator employed in the AP scheme lacks the structure of the integral transport operator in the above asymptotic limit since it (1) ignores cross-derivative coupling and (2) incorrectly estimates the strength of intra-layer coupling in the optically thin layers. In order to prove propositions 1 and 2, we derive expressions for the elements of the matrix representing a certain angular (S N ) and spatially discretized form of the 2-D neutron transport integral operator. This is the transport operator that produces the full scalar flux solution if it is directly inverted on the once-collided particle source. The properties of this operator elements are then investigated in the asymptotic limit for PHI. The results of the asymptotic analysis point to a sparse but nonlocal matrix structure due to long-range coupling of a cell's average flux with its neighboring cells, independent of the distance between the cells in the spatial mesh. In particular, for a cell in a thin layer, cross-derivative coupling of the cell's flux to its diagonal neighbors is of the same asymptotic order as self coupling and coupling with its north/south Cartesian neighbors. Similarly, its coupling with the fluxes in the same thin layer is of the same order, independent of the distance between the cells in the layer, as the coupling with the east/west Cartesian neighbors. We also show that modifying the standard diffusion-based AP can lead to effective acceleration in PHI. Specifically, we devise three novel acceleration schemes, named APB, Optimized-AP (OAP), and Hybrid-AP (HAP), obtained by modifying the original AP formalism in 2-D. In the APB the five-point AP operator is extended to a nine-point stencil that accounts for cross-derivative coupling by including the matrix elements of the integral transport operator B, which couple a cell-averaged scalar flux to its first diagonal neighbors. In the OAP the five-point stencil of the original AP operator is retained while optimizing the value of the elements in the preconditioner that affect the coupling of a cell with its east/west Cartesian neighbors. Specifically, the optimum elements are obtained by minimizing the iteration's spectral radius and offer a more correct estimate of the strength of intra-layer coupling in a thin layer. Finally, the nine-point HAP operator represents a "hybrid" of the APB and OAP approaches, in the sense that the spectral properties of the optimized five-point OAP are further improved via the inclusion of cross-derivative terms. Fourier analysis of the novel acceleration schemes indicates that robustness of the accelerated iterations can be recovered, in spite of sharp material discontinuities, by accounting for cross-derivative coupling and by optimizing the preconditioner elements. The new acceleration schemes have also been implemented in a 2-D transport code, and numerical tests successfully verify the predictions of the Fourier analysis. However, it is important to emphasize that the modifications attempted in this work are specific to the selected asymptotic limit for PHI and do not translate into new low-order operators for the general heterogeneous-material case. Rather, the above modified operators suggest that it may be possible to eventually derive such a general low-order unconditionally robust operator.

General expressions for the matrix elements of the discrete S N -equivalent integral transport operator are derived in slab geometry. Their asymptotic behavior versus cell optical thickness is investigated both for a homogeneous slab and for a heterogeneous slab characterized by a periodic material discontinuity wherein each optically thick cell is surrounded by two optically thin cells in a repeating pattern. In the case of a homogeneous slab, the asymptotic analysis conducted in the thick-cell limit for a highly scattering medium shows that the discretized integral transport operator approaches a tridiagonal matrix possessing a diffusion-like coupling stencil. It is further shown that this structure is approached at a fast exponential rate with increasing cell thickness when the arbitrarily high order transport method of the nodal type and zero-order spatial approximation (AHOT N0) formalism is employed to effect the spatial discretization of the discrete ordinates transport operator. In the case of periodically heteroge- neous slab configurations, the asymptotic behavior is realized by pushing apart the cells' optical thicknesses ; i.e., the thick cells are made thicker while the thin cells are made thinner at a prescribed rate. We show that in this limit the discretized integral transport operator is approximated by a pentadiagonal structure. Notwithstanding, the discrete operator is amenable to algebraic transformations leading to a matrix representation still asymptotically approaching a tridiagonal structure at a fast exponential rate bearing close resemblance to the diffusive operator. The results of the asymptotic analysis of the integral transport matrix are then used to gain insight into the excellent convergence properties of the adjacent-cell preconditioner (AP) acceleration scheme. Specifically, the AP operator exactly captures the asymptotic structure acquired by the integral transport matrix in the thick-cell limit for homogeneous slabs of pure-scatterer or partial-scatterer material, and for periodically heterogeneous slabs hosting purely scattering materials. In the above limits the integral transport matrix reduces to a diffusive structure consistent with the diffusive matrix template used to construct the AP. In the case of periodically heterogeneous slabs containing absorbing materials, the AP operator partially captures the asymptotic structure acquired by the integral transport matrix. The inexact agreement is due either to discrepancies in the equations for the boundary cells or to the nondiffusive structure acquired by the integral transport matrix. These findings shed light on the immediate convergence, i.e., convergence in two iterations, displayed by the AP acceleration scheme in the asymptotic limit for slabs hosting purely scattering materials, both in the homogeneous and periodically heterogeneous cases. For periodically heterogeneous slabs containing absorbing materials, immediate convergence is achieved by modifying the original recipe for constructing the AP so that the correct asymptotic structure of the integral transport matrix coincides with the AP operator in the asymptotic limit.

An error analysis is performed for the nodal integral method (NIM) applied to the one-speed, steady-state neutron diffusion equation in two-dimensional Cartesian geometry. The geometric configurati...

This paper analyzes the spatial discretization of the discrete ordinates (DO) approximation of the transport equation. A new method, the singular characteristics tracking algorithm, is developed to account for potential nonsmoothness across the singular characteristics in the exact solution of the DO approximation to the transport equation. Numerical results in two-dimensional problems show improved rate of convergence of the exact solution of the DO equations in nonscattering and isotropic scattering media. Unlike the standard weighted diamond difference scheme, the new algorithm achieves local convergence in the case of discontinuous angular flux across the singular characteristics. The method also significantly reduces the error for problems where the angular flux presents discontinuous spatial derivatives across these lines. For purposes of testing the performance of the new method, the method of manufactured solutions is used to generate analytical reference solutions that permit accurate estimation of the local error in case of discontinuous flux.

Error norms for three variants of Larsen’s benchmark problem are evaluated using three numerical methods for solving the discrete ordinates approximation of the neutron transport equation in multid...

The adjacent-cell preconditioner (AP) formalism originally derived in slab geometry is extended to multidimensional Cartesian geometry for generic fixed-weight, weighted diamond difference neutron transport methods. This is accomplished for the thick-cell regime (KAP) and thin-cell regime (NAP). A spectral analysis of the resulting acceleration schemes demonstrates their excellent spectral properties for model problem configurations, characterized by a uniform mesh of infinite extent and homogeneous material composition, each in its own cell-size regime. Thus, the spectral radius of KAP vanishes as the computational cell size approaches infinity, but it exceeds unity for very thin cells, thereby implying instability. In contrast, NAP is stable and robust for all cell sizes, but its spectral radius vanishes more slowly as the cell size increases. For this reason, and to avoid potential complication in the case of cells that are thin in one dimension and thick in another. NAP is adopted in the remainder of this work. The most important feature of AP for practical implementation in production level codes is that it is cell centered, reducing the size of the algebraic system comprising the acceleration stage compared to face-centered schemes. Boundary conditions for finite extent problems and a mixing formula across material and cell-size discontinuity are derived and used to implement NAP in a test code, AHOT, and a production code, TORT. Numerical testing for algebraically linear iterative schemes for the cases embodied in Burre's Suite of Test Problems demonstrates the high efficiency of the new method in reducing the number of iterations required to achieve convergence, especially for optically thick cells where acceleration is most needed. Also, for algebraically nonlinear (adaptive) methods, AP generally performs better than the partial current rebalance method in TORT and the diffusion synthetic acceleration method in TWODANT. Finally, application of the AP formalism to a simplified linear nodal (SLN) method similar, but not identical, to TORT's linear nodal option is shown to possess two eigenvalues that approach either one or infinity with increasing cell size regardless of the preconditioner parameters. This implies impossibility of unconditionally robust acceleration of SLN-type methods with cell-centered preconditioners that have a block-diffusion coupling stencil. Edge-centered acceleration methods, or methods that do not require the linear moments of the flux to converge, might have an advantage in this regard but at a significant penalty to computational efficiency due to the larger system solved or the inability to utilize the computed linear moments.

Modern nodal methods allow the solution of the few-group neutron diffusion equation in multidimensions to be computed efficiently with high fidelity. This has made possible the routine utilization of three-dimensional analysis for the eigenvalue calculations associated with reload core analysis of light water reactors. Here, an error analysis is presented of the quartic polynomial nodal expansion method for solving the one-dimensional, neutron diffusion equation that originates from employing the transverse integration technique. Error bound expressions are determined for the L{sub {infinity}} error norms associated with the nodal surface flux and various moments of the nodal flux. Employing several test problems, these global error bounds were found to be conservative, but not excessively, in bounding the true errors. Utilizing a functional form of the local error estimate for the node average flux, it is shown that a mesh-doubling technique can be effectively utilized to estimate the required cell size for uniform mesh refinement to achieve a specified global error fidelity. When employed in conjunction with a multigrid acceleration technique, this provides the foundations upon which to develop an adaptive spatial mesh algorithm.

A new approach for performing automatic differentiation (AD) of computer codes that embody an iterative procedure, based on differentiating a single additional iteration upon achieving convergence, is described and implemented. This post-convergence automatic differentiation (PAD) technique results in better accuracy of the computed derivatives, as it eliminates part of the derivatives convergence error, and a large reduction in execution time, especially when many iterations are required to achieve convergence. In addition, it provides a way to compute derivatives of the converged solution without having to repeat the entire iterative process every time new parameters are considered. These advantages are demonstrated and the PAD technique is validated via a set of three linear and nonlinear codes used to solve neutron transport and fluid flow problems. The PAD technique reduces the execution time over direct AD by a factor of up to 30 and improves the accuracy of the derivatives by up to two orders of magnitude. The PAD technique`s biggest disadvantage lies in the necessity to compute the iterative map`s Jacobian, which for large problems can be prohibitive. Methods are discussed to alleviate this difficulty.

Neutron diffusion calculations are the most common computational methods used in the design, analysis, and operation of nuclear reactors and related activities. Here, mathematical performance models are developed for the parallel algorithm used to solve the neutron diffusion equation on message passing and shared memory multiprocessors represented by the Intel iPSC/860 and the Sequent Balance 8000, respectively. The performance models are validated through several test problems, and these models are used to estimate the performance of each of the two considered architectures in situations typical of practical applications, such as fine meshes and a large number of participating processors. While message passing computers are capable of producing speedup, the parallel efficiency deteriorates rapidly as the number of processors increases. Furthermore, the speedup fails to improve appreciably for massively parallel computers so that only small- to medium-sized message passing multiprocessors offer a reasonable platform for this algorithm. In contrast, the performance model for the shared memory architecture predicts very high efficiency over a wide range of number of processors reasonable for this architecture. Furthermore, the model efficiency of the Sequent remains superior to that of the hypercube if its model parameters are adjusted to make its processors as fast as thosemore » of the iPSC/860. It is concluded that shared memory computers are better suited for this parallel algorithm than message passing computers.« less

We compute the spectral radius for Reed's cell-centered imposed diffusion synthetic acceleration (IDSA) method applied to a fixed-weights weighted diamond-difference (WDD) scheme. We show that Reed's conclusion that IDSA is conditionally stable is strictly true only for very small magnitude spatial weights. For the zeroth-order nodal integral method, the step method (unit weights), and WDD methods with large enough weights (say larger than 0.5), a simple choice of the diffusion coefficient results in unconditionally stable, rapidly converging iterations. Moreover, the IDSA's spectral radius vanishes in the limit of infinitely thick computational cells, thereby implying immediate convergence for sufficiently thick problems. We verify all these results via model and nonmodel test problems

In this paper the one-group, steady-state neutron diffusion equation in two-dimensional Cartesian geometry is solved using the nodal integral method. The discrete variable equations comprise loosely coupled sets of equations representing the nodal balance of neutrons, as well as neutron current continuity along rows or columns of computational cells. An iterative algorithm that is more suitable for solving large problems concurrently is derived based on the decomposition of the spatial domain and is accelerated using successive overrelaxation. This algorithm is very well suited for parallel computers, especially since the spatial domain decomposition occurs naturally, so that the number of iterations required for convergence does not depend on the number of processors participating in the calculation. Implementation of the authors' algorithm on the Intel iPSC/2 hypercube and Sequent Balance 8000 parallel computer is presented, and measured speedup and efficiency for test problems are reported. The results suggest that the efficiency of the hypercube quickly deteriorates when many processors are used, while the Sequent Balance retains very high efficiency for a comparable number of participating processors. This leads to the conjecture that message-passing parallel computers are not as well suited for this algorithm as shared-memory machines.

Two previously derived approximations to the linear-linear nodal transport method, the linear-nodal (LN) and the linear-linear (LL) methods, are reexamined, together with a new approximation, the bilinear (BL) method, that takes into account the bilinear nodal flux moment. The three methods differ in the degree of analyticity retained in the final discrete variable equations; however, they all possess the very high accuracy characteristic of nodal methods. Unlike previous work, the final equations are manipulated and cast in the form of the classical weighted diamond-difference (WDD) equations (not just a WDD algorithm). This makes them simple to implement in a computer code, especially for those users who have experience with WDD algorithms. Other algorithms, such as the nodal algorithm, also can be used to solve the WDD-form equations. A computer program that solves two-dimensional transport problems using the LN, LL, or the BL method is used to solve three test problems. The results are used to confirm our algebraic manipulations of the nodal equations and also to compare the performance of the three methods from the computational, as well as the theoretical, point of view. The three methods are found to have comparable accuracies for the problems studies, especially on meshesmore » that are sufficiently fine.« less

The diffusion synthetic acceleration (DSA) method is developed for arbitrary weighted diamond-differencing schemes in general rectangular-mesh Cartesian geometry problems and is Fourier analyzed to determine its stability and convergence properties. The spectral radius is computed to be --0.25 for all meshes, angular quadrature sets, and spatial weights, for one-, two-, and three-dimensional problems. The diffusion synthetic acceleration (DSA) method is an iterative procedure for solving discrete ordinates problems.