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Reactor Physics

2022 Publications:

Germina Ilas, Joseph R. Burns, Briana D. Hiscox, and Ugur Mertyurek, SCALE 6.2.4 Validation: Reactor Physics, ORNL/TM-2020/1500v3, UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (November 2022). Web, doi:10.2172/1902818.

Lo, Austin, Bostelmann, Rike, Hartanto, Donny, Betzler, Benjamin, and Wieselquist, William, Application of SCALE to Molten Salt Fueled Reactor Physics in Support of Severe Accident Analyses, ORNL/TM-2022/1844, UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (November 2022). Web. doi:10.2172/1897864.

 A. Shaw, F. Bostelmann, E. Walker, W. Wieselquist, ,D. Luxat, K. C. Wagner, and J. Schaperow, "SCALE/MELCOR Non-LWR Source Term Demonstration Project – Sodium Fast Reactor," Presented at NRC Public Workshop, Virtually from Oak Ridge, TN, September 20, 2022.

F. Bostelmann, D. Hartanto, A. Lo, B. Betzler, W. Wieselquist, D. Luxat, K. C. Wagner, and J. Schaperow, "SCALE/MELCOR Non-LWR Source Term Demonstration Project – Molten Salt Reactor," Presented at NRC Public Workshop, Virtually from Oak Ridge, TN, September 13, 2022. [supporting files]

Robert F. Kile, Friederike Bostelmann, Steven E. Skutnik, William A. Wieselquist, Nicholas  R. Brown, "Assessment of SCALE and MELCOR for a generic pebble bed fluoride high-temperature reactor," Annals of Nuclear Energy, 173 (August 2022).

J. Eysermans, M. Verwerft, K. Govers, R. Ichou, G. Ilas, U. Meryturek, N. Messaoudi, P. Romojaro and N. Slosse, “REGAL International Program: Analysis of Experimental Data for Depletion Code Validation,” Annals of Nuclear Energy, 172 (July 2022). 

Tara M. Pandya, Friederike Bostelmann, Matthew Jessee, Javier Ortensi, "Two-step neutronics calculations with Shift and Griffin for advanced reactor systems," Annals of Nuclear Energy, vol 173, Issue 1 (May 2022).

Friederike Bostelmann, Cihangir Celik, Robert F. Kile, William A. Wieselquist, SCALE Analysis of a Fluoride Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactor in Support of Severe Accident Analysis, ORNL/TM-2021/2273, UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (March 7, 2022). [supporting files]

Ugur Mertyurek, Germina Ilas, "Nuclide Inventory Benchmark for BWR Spent Nuclear Fuel: Challenges in Evaluation of Modeling Data Assumptions and Uncertainties," Journal of Nuclear Engineering, 3,1, 18-36, (February 2022).

2021 Publications:

Germina Ilas, Joseph R. Burns, "LWR Decay Heat Analysis with SCALE 6.3 and ENDF/B-VIII.0 Nuclear Data Libraries," Presented at TopFuel2021, Virtually from Oak Ridge, TN, October 2021.

F. Bostelmann, R. Kile, W. Wieselquist, D. Luxat, K. C. Wagner, and J. Schaperow, "SCALE/MELCOR Non-LWR Source Term Demonstration Project – Fluoride‐Salt‐Cooled High-Temperature Reactor (FHR),” Presented at NRC Public Workshop, Virtually from Oak Ridge, TN, September 14, 2021. [supporting files]

Kang-Seog Kim and William A. Wieselquist, "Neutronic Characteristics of ENDF/B-VIII.0 Compared to ENDF/B-VII.1 for Light-Water Reactor Analysis," Journal of Nuclear Energy, 2, 4, 318-335, September 2021.

Germina Ilas & Joseph R. Burns, "SCALE 6.2.4 Validation for Light Water Reactor Decay Heat Analysis", Nuclear Technology (August 2021).

S. Skutnik, W. Wieselquist, D. Luxat, K. C. Wagner, and J. Schaperow, "SCALE/MELCOR Non-LWR Source Term Demonstration Project – High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor," Presented at NRC Public Workshop, Virtually from Oak Ridge, TN, July 20, 2021. [supporting files]

E. Walker, W. Wieselquist, S. Skutnik, A. Shaw, D. Luxat, K. C. Wagner, and J. Schaperow, "SCALE/MELCOR Non-LWR Source Term Demonstration Project – Heat Pipe Reactor,Presented at NRC Public Workshop, Virtually from Oak Ridge, TN, June 29, 2021. [supporting files]

G. Ilas and B. Hiscox, "Validation of SCALE 6.2.4 and ENDF/B-VII.1 Data Libraries for Nuclide Inventory Analysis in PWR Used Fuel"Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, vol. 124, p.552-554 (June 2021).

Robert Hall, Ryan Sweet, Randy Belles, and William A. Wieselquist, Extended-Enrichment Accident-Tolerant LWR Fuel Isotopic and Lattice Parameter Trends, ORNL/TM-2021/1961, UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (March 2021). [supporting files]

Riley Cumberland, Ryan Sweet, Ugur Mertyurek, Robert Hall, and William A. Wieselquist, Isotopic and Fuel Lattice Parameter Trends in Extended Enrichment and Higher Burnup LWR Fuel Vol. II: BWR FuelORNL/TM-2020/1835, UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (March 2021). [supporting files]

Robert Hall, Riley Cumberland, Ryan Sweet, and William A. Wieselquist, Isotopic and Fuel Lattice Parameter Trends in Extended Enrichment and Higher Burnup LWR Fuel Vol. I: PWR FuelORNL/TM-2020/1833, UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (February 2021). [supporting files]

Ugur Mertyurek, Matthew Jessee, Benjamin Betzler, "Lattice physics calculations using the embedded self-shielding method in Polaris, Part II: Benchmark assessment," Annals of Nuclear Energy, vol. 150, 107829, (January 2021).

Matthew Jessee, William Wieselquist, Ugur Mertyurek, Kang Seog Kim, Thomas Evans, Steven Hamilton, Cole Gentry, "Lattice physics calculations using the embedded self-shielding method in Polaris, Part I: Methods and implementation," Annals of Nuclear Energy, vol. 150, 107830, (January 2021).

2020 Publications:

A. Rivas, J. Hou, G. Ilas, “Preliminary Benchmark Calculations of Spent Nuclear Fuel Isotopic Compositions Using BWR Assay Data,” Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, vol. 123, p. 1365 (November 2020). 

J. R. Burns, R. Hernandez, K. A. Terrani, A. T. Nelson, N. R. Brown, “Reactor and Fuel Cycle Performance of Light Water Reactor Fuel with 235U Enrichments above 5%,” Annals of Nuclear Energy, 142, 107423 (July 2020). 

B. R. Betzler, D. Chandler, T. M. Evans, G. G. Davidson, C. R. Daily, S. C. Wilson, and S. W. Mosher, “As-Built Simulation of the High Flux Isotope Reactor,” Proceedings of PHYSOR 2020 – Transition to a Scalable Nuclear Future, Cambridge, United Kingdom, March 29–April 2, 2020.

D. Chandler, D. H. Cook, and B. R. Betzler, “Reactor Performance Improvement Options to Sustain High Flux Isotope Reactor Leadership into the Future,” Proceedings of PHYSOR 2020 – Transition to a Scalable Nuclear Future, Cambridge, United Kingdom, March 29–April 2, 2020.

D. Chandler, B. R. Betzler, J. W. Bae, D. H. Cook, and G. Ilas, “Conceptual Fuel Element Design Candidates for Conversion of High Flux Isotope Reactor with Low-Enriched Uranium Silicide Dispersion Fuel,” Proceedings of  PHYSOR 2020 – Transition to a Scalable Nuclear Future, Cambridge, United Kingdom, March 29–April 2, 2020.

Briana Hiscox, Benjamin Betzler, Vladimir Sobes, William J. Marshall, "Neutronic Benchmarking of Small Gas-Cooled Systems, " Proceedings of PHYSOR 2020 – Transition to a Scalable Nuclear Future, Cambridge, United Kingdom, March 29–April 2, 2020. 

Brian J. Ade, et al, "Development of MPACT for Full-Core Simulations of MAGNOX Gas-Cooled Nuclear Reactors," Proceedings of PHYSOR 2020 – Transition to a Scalable Nuclear Future, Cambridge, United Kingdom, March 29–April 2, 2020.

I. Variansyah, J. W. Bae, B. R. Betzler, and G. Ilas, Metaheuristic Optimization Tool, ORNL/TM-2019/1443, UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (March 2020). 

P. J. Vicente Valdez, B. R. Betzler, W. A. Wieselquist, and M. Fratoni, Modeling Molten Salt Reactor Fission Product Removal with SCALE, ORNL/TM-2019/1418, UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Report (March 2020). 

M.A. Jessee, J. Yang, U. Mertyurek, William (B.J.) Marshall, A. Holcomb, SCALE Lattice Physics Code Assessments of Accident-Tolerant Fuel, ORNL/TM-2019/1400, UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (February 2020). 

F. Bostelmann, C. Celik, M. L. Williams, R. J. Ellis, G. Ilas, W. A. Wieselquist, “SCALE capabilities for high temperature gas-cooled reactor analysis,” Annals of Nuclear Energy, Vol. 147, 107673, 2020. 

Prior Year Publications:

J. W. Bae, B. R. Betzler, and A. Worrall, “Neural Network Approach to Model Mixed Oxide Fuel Cycles in Cyclus, a Nuclear Fuel Cycle Simulator,”  Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, 121, 378–382 (November 2019). [pdf]

K. S. Kim, M. L. Williams, A. M. Holcomb, D. Wiarda, B. K. Jeon, W. S. Yang, “The AMPX/SCALE Multigroup Cross Section Processing for Fast Reactor Analysis,” Annals of Nuclear Energy, 132, 161–171 (October 2019). 

B. R. Betzler, D. Chandler, D. H. Cook, E. E. Davidson, and G. Ilas, “Design Optimization Methods for High-Performance Research Reactor Core Design,” Nuclear Engineering and Design, 352, 110167 (October 2019). 

K. S. Kim, F. Bostelmann, A. M. Holcomb, G. Ilas, and W. A. Wieselquist, “Verification of the ENDF/B-VII.1 and VIII.0 AMPX 1597-Group Libraries for Advanced Reactor Analysis,” Proceedings of International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering,  Portland, OR, USA, pp. 2836–2845, August 25–29, 2019. 

I. Variansyah, B. R. Betzler, D. Chandler, G. Ilas, and W. R. Martin, “A Metaheuristic Optimization Tool for High Flux Isotope Reactor Low-Enriched Uranium Core Design,”  Proceedings of International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering, Portland, OR, USA, August 25–29, 2019. 

D. Chandler, B. Betzler, D. Cook, G. Ilas, and D. Renfro, “Neutronic and Thermal-Hydraulic Feasibility Studies for High Flux Isotope Reactor Conversion to Low-Enriched Uranium Silicide Dispersion Fuel,” Annals of Nuclear Energy, 130, 277–292 (August 2019). 

M. B. R. Smith, D. E. Peplow, R. A. Lefebvre, and W. Wieselquist, Radioisotope Power System Dose Estimation Tool (RPS-DET) User Manual, ORNL TM-2019/1249, UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (August 2019).

K. Zeng, J. Hou, K. Ivanov, and M. Jessee, “Uncertainty Quantification on Pressurized Water Reactor Coupled Core Simulation Using Stochastic Sampling Method,” Proceedings of ANS Best Estimate Plus Uncertainty International Conference (BEPU 2018), Real Collegio, Lucca, Italy, May 13–19, 2019. 

Majdi I. Radaideh, William A. Wieselquist, Tomasz Kozlowski, "A new framework for sampling-based uncertainty quantification of the six-group reactor kinetic parameters," Annals of Nuclear Energy, 127, 1-11 (May 2019)

I.C. Gauld, U. Mertyurek, "Validation of BWR Spent Nuclear Fuel Isotopic Predictions with Applications to Burnup Credit," Nuclear Engineering and Design, vol. 345, p. 110-124 (April 2019).

M. B. R. Smith, C. Whiting and C. Barklay, “Nuclear Considerations for the Application of Lanthanum Telluride in Future Radioisotope Power Systems,” Proceedings of 2019 IEEE Aerospace Conference, pp. 1-11, Big Sky, MT, USA, March 2–9, 2019.

Majdi I. Radaideh, Tomasz Kozlowski, William A. Wieselquist, Matthew A. Jessee, "Data-Driven and Precursor-Group Uncertainty Propagation of Lattice Kinetic Parameters in UAM Benchmark," Hindawi, 2019, 3702014. 

W. Wieselquist, M. Williams, D. Wiarda, M. Pigni, and U. Mertyurek, Overview of Nuclear Data Uncertainty in Scale and Application to Light Water Reactor Uncertainty Analysis, NUREG/CR-7249, ORNL/TM-2017/706, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, December 2018. 

C. A. Gentry, M. A. Jessee, and K. S. Kim, “Improvements in the Polaris Implementation of the Embedded Self-Shielding Method,” Proceedings of PHYSOR 2018 - Reactor Physics Paving the Way Toward More Efficient Systems, Cancun, Mexico,  p. 1503–1513, April 22–26, 2018.

D. Chandler, B. Betzler, D. Cook, G. Ilas, and D. Renfro, “Neutronic and Thermal-Hydraulic Feasibility Studies for High Flux Isotope Reactor Conversion to Low-Enriched Uranium U3SI2-AL Fuel,” Proceedings of PHYSOR 2018 - Physics Paving the Way Toward More Efficient Systems, Cancun, Mexico, p. 2406–2417, April 22–26, 2018. 

G. G. Davidson, T. M. Pandya, S. R. Johnson, T. M. Evans, A. E. Isotalo, C. A. Gentry, and W. A. Wieselquist, “Nuclide Depletion Capabilities in the Shift Monte Carlo Code,” Annals of Nuclear Energy, 114, 259–276 (April 2018). 

B. R. Betzler, D. Chandler, D. H. Cook, E. E. Davidson, and G. Ilas, “High Flux Isotope Reactor Low-Enriched Uranium Core Design Optimization Studies,” Proceedings of PHYSOR 2018 -  Reactor Physics Paving the Way Toward More Efficient Systems, Cancun, Mexico, April 22–26, 2018. 

W. J. Marshall and E. M. Saylor, “Enhanced Engineering Analyses with Visualization of Geometry and Mesh-Based Data in Fulcrum,”  Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, 118, 987-990 (2018).

Matthew A. Jessee, William A. Wieselquist, Cole A. Gentry, Ugur Mertyurek, "BWR Geometry Enhancements for the Polaris Lattice Physics Code," Transactions of the American Nuclear Society 117, 1301-1305 (November 2017).

D. Shen, M. Fratoni, M. Aufiere, A. Bidaud, J. Powers, and G. Ilas, “Progress towards a Molten Salt Reactor Experiment Benchmark Evaluation," Transactions of the American Nuclear Society ,117, 1359-1361,  (November 2017).

Brian J. Ade, William (B.J.) Marshall,  Stephen M. Bowman, Impact of Assembly-Specific Conditions on BWR Burnup Credit, ANS 2017 Nuclear Criticality Safety Division Topical Meeting, Carlsbad, NM, USA (September 2017).

Brian J. Ade, William (B.J.) Marshall, Germina Ilas, Benjamin R. Betzler, Stephen M. Bowman, Impact of Operating Parameters on Extended BWR Burnup Credit, NUREG/CR-7240, ORNL/TM-2017/46, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (June 2017).

Ryan N. Bratton, Matt A. Jessee, William A. Wieselquist, Kostadin N. Ivanov, "Rod Internal Pressure Distribution and Uncertainty Analysis Using FRAPCON," Nuclear Technology, 47-63 (February 2017).

K. S. Kim, M. L. Williams, D. Wiarda, U. Mertyurek, "Automatic Coarse Energy Group Structure Optimization by Minimizing Reaction Rate Differences for the SCALE and CASL Code Systems," M&C 2017, Jeju, South Korea (2017). 

A.E. Isotalo, G.G. Davidson, T.M. Pandya, W.A. Wieselquist, S.R. Johnson, "Flux Renormalization in Contant Power Burnup Calculations," Annals of Nuclear Energy, 96, 148-157 (October 2016).

G. Ilas, B. Betzler, B. Ade, “Impact of Reactor Operating Parameters on Cask Reactivity in BWR Burnup Credit”, CD Proceedings, Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Materials, PATRAM 2016, Kobe, Japan, (September 18-22, 2016). [pdf]

William (B.J.) Marshall, Brian J. Ade, Stephen Bowman, Jesus S. Martinez-Gonzalez, 
Axial Moderator Density Distributions, Control Blade Usage, and Axial Burnup Distributions for Extended BWR Burnup Credit, NUREG/CR-7224, ORNL/TM-2015/544, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (August 2016).

K. S. Kim et al., SUBGR: A Program to Generate Subgroup Data for the Subgroup Resonance Self-Shielding Calculation, ORNL/TM-2016/154, UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (June 2016). 

K. S. Kim, J. Hu, C. A. Gentry, "Embedded Self-Shielding Method Applied To Doubly Heterogeneous Fully Ceramic Micro-Encapsulated Fuels," PHYSOR 2016, Sun Valley, ID, USA, May 1-5, 2016.[pdf]

M. L. Williams, D. Wiarda, K. S. Kim, M. A. Jessee, "Multigroup Data Processing for the Embedded Self-Shielding Method in SCALE," PHYSOR 2016, Sun Valley, ID, USA, May 1-5, 2016.[pdf]

Brian J. Ade, William J. Marshall, Jesus S. Martinez, "Effect of Control Blade History, and Axial Coolant Density and Burnup Profiles on BWR Burnup Credit," PHYSOR 2016, Sun Valley, ID, USA, May 1 - 5, 2016. 

Brian J. Ade, William J. Marshall, Stephen Bowman, Jesus S. Martinez, "Effects of Control Blade History, Axial Coolant Density Profiles, and Axial Burnup Profiles on BWR Burnup Credit," PHYSOR 2016, Sun Valley, ID, USA, May 1 - 5, 2016. [pdf]

Brian J. Ade, "Radial Variation of Burnup and Source Terms in High Burnup LWR Fuel," PHYSOR 2016 , Sun Valley, ID, USA, May 1 - 5, 2016. 

Brian Ade, Andrew Worrall, Jeffrey Powers, Steve Bowman, "Analysis of Key Safety Metrics of Thorium Utilization in LWRs," Nuclear Technology, 194, 162-177, May 2016.

Ugur Mertyurek, Ian C. Guald, "Development of ORIGEN Libraries for Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Assembly Designs," Nuclear Engineering and Design, vol 297, p. 220-230 (February 2016).

B. T. Rearden, L. M. Petrie, D. E. Peplow, K. B. Bekar, D. Wiarda, C. Celik, C. M. Perfetti, A. M. Ibrahim, S. W. D. Hart, M. E. Dunn, and W. J. Marshall, “Monte Carlo Capabilities of the SCALE Code System,” Annals of Nuclear Energy 82, 130-141 (2015). 

B.J. Ade, W.J. Marshall, S.M. Bowman, I.C. Gauld, G. Ilas, J.S. Martinez, "Coolant Density and Control Blade History Effects in Extended BWR Burnup Credit", ICNC 2015, Charlotte, NC, USA, September 2015.

Brian Ade, Andrew Worrall, Jeffrey Powers, Steve Bowman, "Safety Issues of Thorium Utilization in Commercial LWRs," 2014 ANS Winter Meeting and Nuclear Technology Expo, Anaheim, California, November 2014.

Matthew A. Jessee, William A. Wieselquist, Thomas M. Evans, Steven P. Hamilton, Joshua A. Jarrell, Kang Seog Kim, Jordan P. Lefebvre, Robert A. Lefebvre, Ugur Mertyurek, Adam B. Thompson, Mark L. Williams, "POLARIS: A New Two-Dimensional Lattice Physics Analysis Capability for the SCALE Code System," Proceedings of PHYSOR 2014 - The Role of Reactor Physics toward a Sustainable Future, Kyoto, Japan, Sept 28 - Oct 3, 2014.

Brian Ade, et al, Safety and Regulatory Issues of the Thorium Fuel Cycle, NUREG/CR-7176, ORNL/TM-2013/543, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (February 2014).

Dean Wang, Brian Ade, Andrew Ward, Cross Section Generation Guidelines for TRACE-PARCS, NUREG/CR-7164, ORNL/TM-2012/518, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (May 2013).

Germina Ilas, Dan Ilas, Ryan Kelly, Eva Sunny,Validation of SCALE for High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Analysis, NUREG/CR-7107, ORNL/TM-2011/161, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, UT-Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (July 2012).

M. L. Williams, K. S. Kim, "The Embedded Self-Shielding Method," PHYSOR 2012, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, April 15-20, 2012. [pdf]

K. S. Kim, M. L. Williams, "The Method of Characteristics For 2-D Multigroup and Pointwise Transport Calculation in SCALE/CENTRM," PHYSOR 2012, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, April 15-20, 2012. [pdf]

K. S. Kim, M. L. Williams, "Preliminary Assessment of Resonance Interference Treatment by Using 0-D Slowing Down Calculation in the Embedded Self-Shielding Method,"  Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, 107, 1128-1131 (2012). [pdf]

J. Gehin, M. Jessee, M. Williams, D. Lee, S. Goluoglu, G. Ilas, D. Ilas and S. Bowman, "Development and validation of SCALE nuclear analysis methods for high temperature gas-cooled reactors,” CD Proceedings, 5th International Topical Meeting on High Temperature Reactor Technology, Prague, Czech Republic (October 2010) [pdf]

E. E. Sunny and G. Ilas, "SCALE 6 analysis of HTR-10 pebble-bed reactor for initial critical configuration," CD Proceedings, International Conference on Reactor Physics PHYSOR 2010, Pittsburgh, PA (2010).

G. Ilas, "On SCALE validation for PBR analysis," CD Proceedings, International Conference on Reactor Physics PHYSOR 2010, Pittsburgh, PA (2010). [pdf]