A hybrid method to generate few-group cross sections for fast reactor analysis

The accuracy of fast reactor core calculation is usually determined by the accuracy of self-shielded few-group cross sections. To further improve the accuracy of cross section generation, a hybrid method is proposed. In the hybrid method, the Monte-Carlo method is used to deal with the resonance effect in both the resolved and unresolved resonance range. The self-shielded ultrafine group total, fission and elastic scattering cross sections are tallied by the Monte-Carlo method. The scattering transfer matrices are then generated in a synthesis way by using the tallied elastic scattering cross sections and a problem-independent elastic scattering function. The angular flux moments for the group condensation are calculated in an explicit deterministic way. Several tests are done to verify the hybrid method. The results show that the hybrid method avoids the disadvantages of both the traditional deterministic method and the pure Monte-Carlo method. It is a more accurate method to generate the few-group cross sections for fast reactor cores. (author)