Calculation of RABBIT and Simulator Worth in the HFIR Hydraulic Tube and Comparison with Measured Values

To aid in the determinations of reactivity worths for target materials in a proposed High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) target configuration containing two additional hydraulic tubes, the worths of cadmium rabbits within the current hydraulic tube were calculated using a reference model of the HFIR and the MCNP5 computer code. The worths were compared to measured worths for both static and ejection experiments. After accounting for uncertainties in the calculations and the measurements, excellent agreement between the two was obtained. Computational and measurement limitations indicate that accurate estimation of worth is only possible when the worth exceeds 10 cents. Results indicate that MCNP5 and the reactor model can be used to predict reactivity worths of various samples when the expected perturbations are greater than 10 cents. The level of agreement between calculation and experiment indicates that the accuracy of such predictions would be dependent solely on the quality of the nuclear data for the materials to be irradiated. Transients that are approximated by ''piecewise static'' computational models should likewise have an accuracy that is dependent solely on the quality of the nuclear data