Linear source approximation in CASMO5

A Linear Source (LS) approximation has been implemented in the two-dimensional Method of Characteristics (MOC) transport solver in a prototype version of CASMO5. The LS approximation, which relies on the computation of trajectory-based spatial moments over source regions to obtain the linear source expansion coefficients, improves the solution accuracy relative to the 'flat' or constant source approximation. In addition, the LS formulation is capable of treating arbitrarily-shaped source regions and is compatible with standard Coarse-Mesh Finite Difference (CMFD) acceleration. Numerical tests presented in this paper for the C5G7 MOX benchmark show that, for comparable accuracy with respect to the reference solution, the LS approximation can reduce the run time by a factor of four and the memory requirements by a factor often relative to the FS scheme. (authors)