Monte Carlo method for geometrical perturbation and its application to the pulsed fast reactor

The Monte Carlo method is applied to calculate the reactivity change due to a moving reflector block in the pulsed fast reactor system. This reactivity change is an important quantity in the determination of the power pulse width. In the important region of small displacements about the maximum reactivity point, the reactivity change is so small that the ordinary Monte Carlo methods, using the importance sampling, Russian roulette, or splitting techniques, require prohibitively long calculation times. To avoid this difficulty, a new Monte Carlo method, which directly calculates the geometry coefficient of reactivity due to a geometry perturbation, is developed by adopting the method used in the calculation for the Doppler coefficient by Olhoeft. The formulation of the new method is discussed. The GEMCM code for this geometry perturbation, which is made by modifying the 05R code, is described. Finally, an analysis of the critical experiment for the pulsed fast reactor is carried out using this method and the applicability of the method is discussed.