Applications de MATLAB PDE Toolbox pour la Simulation de Diffusion de Neutrons
[Thesis]
Ajirotutu, Abiodun D.
Yang, Xue
Texas A&M University - Kingsville
2020
104
M.S.
Texas A&M University - Kingsville
2020
In this research study, MATLAB PDE Toolbox is investigated for modeling a two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) pressurized water reactor (PWR) core. MATLAB PDE Toolbox is a partial differential equation (PDE) solver for finite element method (FEM) analysis. The PDE that mathematically models a reactor core is the neutron diffusion equation, and MATLAB PDE Toolbox is used to solve this system of PDEs. The example problems tested with MATLAB PDE Toolbox are the 2-D and 3-D International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) PWR core benchmarks. First, the geometry of the IAEA core was built. The 2-D core was built in MATLAB PDE Toolbox, while the 3-D one was made with computer-aided design (CAD) software and imported to MATLAB in a stereolithography (SLT) file. Secondly, a set of MATLAB programs was developed to solve this two-group neutron diffusion equations that mathematically model the reactor core. With the MATLAB program, the multiplication factor (keff), neutron flux profiles, and normalized assembly power were determined. Lastly, the results for the 2-D and 3-D cores were compared with their respective references. The accuracy of the results and the computation efficiency are the bases for justifying MATLAB PDE Toolbox as a valid solver.