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Playing the “bad guy” to enhance next-generation safety
Sometimes, cops and robbers is more than just a kid’s game. At the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, researchers are channeling their inner saboteurs to discover vulnerabilities in next-generation nuclear reactors, making sure that they’re as safe as possible before they’re even constructed.
J. F. Latkowski, Ryan P. Abbott, Ray Laning, Steve Manson, Kevin Morris, Susana Reyes, Eric Williams
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 52 | Number 4 | November 2007 | Pages 807-811
Technical Paper | Nuclear Analysis and Experiments | doi.org/10.13182/FST07-A1590
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
During the past two years a team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has used Raytheon's TopAct code to convert a variety of CAD models into TART and MCNP Monte Carlo input files. TopAct offers the possibility of enormous savings by largely eliminating the need for manual generation of models via combinatorial geometry. Also, TopAct is expected to deliver improvements in quality assurance and configuration management. We detail our experiences with various test problems. The reader will see the steady improvements that have been made in the conversion process and understand our expectations for further progress. Finally, we explain how TopAct will become a cornerstone of our future neutronics efforts.