Isogeometric analysis for the multigroup neutron diffusion equation with applications in reactor physics

•An application of Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) to the neutron diffusion equation.•Utilisation of NURBS as the geometric representation.•A comparison of Isogeometric Analysis and Finite Element Analysis. Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) has been applied to heterogeneous reactor physics problems using the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of nuclear energy 2017-03, Vol.101, p.465-480
Main Authors: Welch, J.A., Kópházi, J., Owens, A.R., Eaton, M.D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bubnov-Galerkin
Computer aided design
Design analysis
Diffusion
Finite element method
Finite elements
Isogeometric analysis
Mathematical analysis
Neutron diffusion
Nuclear reactor components
NURBS
Reactor design
Reactor physics
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Summary:•An application of Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) to the neutron diffusion equation.•Utilisation of NURBS as the geometric representation.•A comparison of Isogeometric Analysis and Finite Element Analysis. Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) has been applied to heterogeneous reactor physics problems using the multigroup neutron diffusion equation. IGA uses a computer-aided design (CAD) description of the geometry commonly built from Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS), which can exactly represent complicated curved shapes such as circles and cylinders, common features in reactor design. This work has focused on comparing IGA to finite element analysis (FEA) for heterogeneous reactor physics problems, including the OECD/NEA C5G7 LWR benchmark. The exact geometry and increased basis function continuity contribute to the accuracy of IGA and an improvement over comparable FEA calculations has been observed.
ISSN:0306-4549
1873-2100
DOI:10.1016/j.anucene.2016.11.015