COMBINE/PC - a portable neutron spectrum and cross-section generation program

Use of personal computers and engineering workstations for complex scientific computations has expanded rapidly in the past few years. This trend is expected to continue in the future with the introduction of increasingly sophisticated microprocessors and microcomputer systems. In response to this, an integrated system of neutronics and radiation transport software suitable for operation in an IBM personal computer (PC)-class environment has been under development at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) for the past 3 years. A key component of this system will be module to produce application-specific multigroup cross-section libraries that can be used in various neutron transport and diffusion theory code modules. This software module, referred to as COMBINE/PC, was recently completed at INEL and is the subject of this paper. COMBINE/PC was developed to provide an ENDF/B-based neutron cross-section generation capability of sufficient sophistication to handle a wide variety of practical fission and fusion-related applications while maintaining a compact machine-independent structure