The Discrete Cones Methods for Two-Dimensional Neutral Particle Transport Problems with Voids

Abstract

One of the most widely applied deterministic methods for time-independent, two-dimensional neutron transport calculations is the discrete ordinates method (DSN). The DSN solution, however, fails to be accurate in a void due to the ray effect. In order to circumvent this drawback, we have been developing a novel approximation: the discrete cones method (DCN), where a group of particles in a cone are simultaneously traced instead of particles in discrete directions for the DSN method. Programs, which apply to the DSN method in a non-vacuum region and the DCN method in a void, have been written for transport calculations in X-Y coordinates. The solutions for test problems demonstrate mitigation of the ray effect in voids without loosing the computational efficiency of the DSN method.