Xenon worth calculations for plant operations

Estimates of xenon worth for nonequilibrium operating histories based on calculations using a point model can be inaccurate due to the spatial distributions of the xenon and neutron flux. The magnitude of the misprediction can be as high as 700 pcm. This misprediction can lead to incorrect reactivity balance calculations for SDM surveillance and ECP calculations. The PC1D program uses a one-dimensional, two-group neutron diffusion model with a variable radial buckling correlation to accurately calculate xenon worth. Accuracy within 10 ppm can be expected for xenon worth calculations using the PC1D program. This will result in improved ECP and SDM surveillance calculations and in most cases will translate into reduced boron processing costs for the utility