Introduction to NUCLEAR REACTOR THEORY John R. Lamarsh NEW YORK UNIVERSITY ADDISON-WESLEY PUBLISHING COMPANYContents Chapter 1 Review of Nuclear Physics 1-1 The Constituents of Nuclei. 2. 1 eee ee ee 1-2 Particle Wavelengths . 2. 2... 2 ee we OD 1-3 NuclearRadi - - . 2 ee ee 1-4 NuclearMass . . 1 1 ee ee ee ee 8 1-5 BindingEnergy. . 2 2 2. 2. ee ee ee 8 1-6 Excited Statesin Nuclei. . 2 2... ee eS 1-7 Radioactivity. Sou bb oo de os oY 1-8 The Decay of Excited States | 1). 8 1-9 NuclearReactioss . . 2... ee ee ee Chapter 2 Interaction of Neutrons with Matter 2-1 Cross Sections . Bee iy 2-2 Neutron Interactions and Macroscopic Cross Sections. | | | 20 2-3. Cross Sections of Mixtures and Molecules . . . 2... 22 2-4 Angular Distributions and Differential Cross Sections . | | 22 2-5 Center-of-Mass Coordinates . . . . . 1. - se. 24 2-6 Mechanisms of Neutron Interactions. . . . . . . . . 31 2-7 TheTotalCrossSection . . 2... . 1-2 1. 4 2-8 Elastic Scattering . ©. 2... ee ee ee 2 2-9 Transport CrossSection - ©... - 7) 1 ee SM DAG # = Nonelastic Cross Sectlou| ss eter eee ree S7, 2M Inelastic Scattering... 6 ee ee 2-12 Absorption Reactions . 6... ee ee ee ee OL 2-13 Neutron Producing Reactions. . . 2 1... 1 1. 66 2-14 The Doppler Effect... 2. ee ee 2415 On Cross-Section Compilations |. 2. 2 1... 4 Chapter 3 Nuclear Fission 341 The Mechanics of Fission... 2 1 ee ee ee 82 3-2 Practical Fission Fuels. . 2...) . 1 ee ss 86 3-3. Cross Sections of Fissionable Nuclei. ©... . . . . 89 3-4 The Products of Fission . . . . - . . + + es. 92 3-5 Energy Release from Fission. . . . ree C) 3-6 Reactor Power, Fuel Burnup, and Fuel Consumption | | |. 105 viiChapter 4 Neutron Chain-Reacting Systems 4-1 Multiplication Factor. foe ee 109 4-2 Neutron Balance and Conditions for Criticality§ < . 1. . 109 43 Conversion and Breeding . . . . . . + + ss + 110 4-4 Types of Nuclear Reactors... ee is) 4-5 General Considerations of Reactor Design | |. 5. (116 Chapter 5 The Diffusion of Neutrons 5-1 Interaction Rates and Neutron Flux... . . - + + + 18 5-2 Neutron Current Density. . . . . se + ee + + 122 5-3 The Equation of Continuity . . 2 2 2 1 1 + eee 123 54 Fick’sLaw . . . ee e 5-5 Physical Interpretation of Fick’sLaw 9... 5. 1s. 128 5-6 Validity of Fick’sLaw. . 6. 2 2 ee ee ee + 129 5-7 The Diffusion Equation... 6 60 ooo fee 5-8 Boundary Conditions for the Steady-State Diffusion Equation 133 5-9 Elementary Solutions of the Steady-State Diffusion Equation. . 137 5-10 General Diffusion Problems . . . - . + s+ s+ + 144 S11 The Diffusion Length . 2 2. 6 ee ee ee ee 188 5-12 The Reciprocity Theorem. . . . - + + s+ + es 155 Chapter 6 Neutron Moderation without Absorption 61 Energy Loss in Elastic Collisions. . . . . . - «+. 167 62 Collision and Slowing-Down Densities . . . . - . - . 171 63 Moderation of Neutrons in Hydrogen... . - . ~~ 171 64 Lethargyandg ee ee ee ee ee IH 6-5 Moderation of Neutrons for A> 1... 1. 2. os 116 6-6 Nonmonoenergetic Sources. . - - +. + + + + + ~ 182 67 Slowing Down in Mixtures of Nuclides | 2). 2). 1 183 6-8 Multiscattered Neutrons... 66006 5 6-9 Space-Dependent Slowing Down—Fermi Age Theory. |. . 187 6-10 Boundary Conditions for the Age Equation. . . . . . . 190 6-11 Solutions to the Age Equation . . . . - . + «~~ 192 6-12 Physical Significance of Fermi Age. . soe ee 196 613 Validity of Age Theory—Slowing Down in Hydrogen | | | | 199 6-14 Measurement of Neutron Age. oe 20 6-15 Inelastic Scattering in the Slowing Down of Neutrons. |. . 204 6-16 Methods of Calculating Age... - ee + ee + 207 viiiChapter 7 tT rryI bugdddal Pepe yee =f & Chapter 8 &1 82 8-3 a5 86 87 88 Chapter 9 7 92 93 a4 9-5 +6 7 8 99 Elastic Moderation Time... 1 1 ee 1 ee 207 Slowing-Down Kernels... . - . ee we ees 208 Neutron Moderation with Absorption and Fission Hydrogen and an Infinite Mass Absorber. . 216 Moderators with A > 1; The NR and NRIM Approximations | 222 Temperature Dependence of Resonance Escape. . . . . 229 Widely Spaced and Narrow Resonances. . . . . . . . 230 Slowing Down with Weak Absorption . . . . . . . . 232 Numerical Computations of Resonance Escape... . . .- 233 Measurements of Resonance Escape. . . . . . . «235 Space-Dependent Moderation with Absorption. . . . . . 236 Fast Fision. 2. . 1. ee ee ee ee 2B Low-Energy Neutrons Thermal Neutron Spectra. 2. - ee ee ee 2B Interaction Rates for Thermal Neutrons. . . . . . . «251 Reactor Power . ee 257, Average ina Thermal Flux | |). . 1 1 ss 288 Diffusion of Thermal Neutrons. . . . «1. + + + 260 ‘Thermalization Time... . 66 ou ooo Age from Indium Resonance to Thermal) | | |)... 266 Slowing Down and Diffusion. . sees 268 Measurements of the Thermal Diffusion Parameters |... 270 Fermi Theory of the Bare Thermal Reactor Criticality of an Infinite Homogeneous Reactor... . «282 The One-Region Finite Thermal Reactor . . . . . . . 285 Criticality for Other Reactor Geometries . . . . . . . 292 ‘The Critical Equation... 2. ye ee ee 299 Large Reactors . : sone ee 301 Practical Applications of the Critical Equation | | |... 302 Dependence of Critical Mass on Size and Composition . . . 307 Optimum Reactor Shapes... ee ee ee + 309 Quasi-Homogeneous Reactors. 2. - 2. se + + 310 ixChapter 10 10-1 10-2 10-3 10-4 10-5 10-6 10-7 Chapter 11 1-1 11-2 11-3 114 11-5 11-6 Chapter 12 12-1 12-2 12-3 12-4 12-5 12-6 12-7 12-8 12-9 12-10 12-41 Chapter 13 13-1 13-2 13-3 13-4 Multiregion Reactors—The Group Diffusion Method One Group of Neutrons. 2 2 ew ee Two-Group Method... ee ee ee Two-Group Calculations of Nonuniform Reactors |. ‘The Multigroup Method. - 2 2 ee ee Reflector Savings. 2. ee ee ee ee Totally Reflected Reactors. Experimental Determination of Critical Reactor Parameters Heterogeneous Reactors Thermal Utilization © 2... ee Resonance Escape Probability . . 2... 2. The Fast Effect 2 2... 1 eee ee ee The Valueofke 2 2 0 eo ee Other Reactor Parameters. - - - e e ee ee Reactor Kinetics Infinite Reactor with No Delayed Neutrons... Mean Generation Time with Delayed Neutrons . . . . Infinite Reactor with Delayed Neutrons. . . Response of a Bare Reactor to a Step-Change Reactivity. . file Value of Beeeee eee ee TheStablePeriod. 2 2. The PromptJump. . 2 2 ee ee ee ee The Prompt Critical Condition . . . 2... eee Small Reactivities . . . sone Large Negative Reactivities; Scram and Shutdown |. Linear Change in Reactivity... 2 6. ee ee Changes in Reactivity ‘Changes in Temperature—Temperature Coefficients... Fission-Product Poisoning... . 2. 1 eee Burnup and Conversion... 6 1 ee we Reactor Properties Over Life—Estimating Core Life. . x 319 323, 342 346 354 355 359 311 37 390 401 407 408 418 420 421 428 436 437 439 441 441 4a2 443 448 467 479 480Chapter 14 141 14-2 14-3 14-4 14-5 14-6 147 Chapter 15 15-1 15-2 15-3 15-4 15-5 15-6 15-7 Appendix I Appendix IT Index . Tel 0-2 13 1-4 m5 Control Rods Contro-Rod Worth... ee ee One Central Rod—Modified One-Group Theory . Two-Group Theory of ControlRod . . - - The Eccentric ControlRod . . ss ingot Rod) Noncylindrical Rods... eee 7 ee ManyRods . 2 - ee 7 7 et Perturbation Theory Reactivity and Perturbations. . . . . + + Some Mathematical Preliminaries . . . . « One-Group Perturbation Theory... + Two-Group Perturbation Theory . - - - = Physical Interpretation of the Adjoint Flux. . . Some Applications of Perturbation Theory . - - Orthogonality and Adjointness . - . - - + = Miscellaneous Constants and Data. - Special Functions . . . . . . - ‘The Delta Function—Singular Source Distributions ‘The Exponential Integral Function. . . - . - ‘The Functions Ex(@) 6 + ee ee ‘The Error Function =.) se ee ee Bessel Functions... - - + ee ee xi 499 503 506 509 512 3i7 si7 524 525 530 534 S41 543 547 555 562 562 564 564 565 566 573To Barbara, Michele, and LouiePreface This book is based on a one-year course in nuclear reactor theory which I have given over a number of years at Cornell and New York Universities. The major objective of this course is to provide the student with an understanding of the fundamental physical principles underlying the operation of a nuclear reactor. At the same time, it is expected that by the end of the course the student will be able to perform some of the more elementary calculations necessary in reactor design. ‘The prerequisites for this course, and hence for this book, are an undergraduate course in atomic and nuclear physics and a study of mathematics through advanced calculus. A knowledge of quantum mechanics is not assumed. The selection and processing of nuclear data, especially cross-section data, is the starting point for many reactor calculations, and it is important for the nuclear engineer to be able to interpret and use such data correctly. These data and the physical processes from which they stem are discussed in the first portion of this book. It would not be necessary to include these chapters were it not for the fact that this material is not ordinarily covered in sufficient detail in prerequisite courses in nuclear physics. Physicists understandably are no longer so concerned with these matters as they once were. Where adequate prerequisite courses exist, the first three chapters can be omitted. Most of the phenomena involving the transport of neutrons in a reactor can be understood within the framework of diffusion theory, and this model of neutron transport is used throughout much of this book. The cumbersome mathematical machinery of space-dependent transport theory is not included, because these tech- niques do not contribute substantially to an understanding of the basic physical principles. At the same time, a discussion of such techniques in a textbook of finite size requires the exclusion of other matters of greater importance. In certain important situations, however, where diffusion theory gives especially poor re- sults, namely, in calculations of heterogeneous reactors, more accurate methods based on escape probabilities are introduced. The notation used in this book is that recommended by the Commission on Symbols, Units, and Nomenclature (SUN Commission) of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics; the physical constants are those recommended by the Committee on Fundamental Constants of the National Academy of Sciences— National Research Council (1963); and the cross-section data have been updated to include the second supplement to the second edition of BNL-325 [1964, 1965 and 1966 (to appear)}. ‘The problems are arranged, in so far as possible, in the order of presentation of the material and not according to their difficulty. Some of the problems are pa- vtently trivial but are included because they demonstrate important physical prin- ciples. On the other hand, some problems are long and tedious and lend themselves well to machine computations. However, no problem specifically requires the use of a computer. have been aided by many personsin the preparation of this book. I especially wish to thank J. Chernick, N. R. Corngold, S. Glasstone, H. Goldstein, C. C. Graves, H. Hurwitz, Jr., I. Kaplan, M. S. Nelkin, L. W. Nordheim, D. S. St. John, and E. P. Wigner for comments on specific questions and/or reviews of portions of the manuscript, I am also indebted to B. A. Magurno and J. R. Stehn for sending me cross-section data prior to publication in the current supplement of BNL-325. My colleagues at New York University, R. Aronson, J, J. Herbst, R. W. Kupp, and E, Starr, have been most helpful in their comments on the evolving manuscript. 1 also wish to acknowledge the assistance of many present and former students, especially S. J. Fierberg, J. S. Ingley, C. R. MacVean, J. R. Roth and R. A. Shaw, whose comments and suggestions over the years have helped to shape the final product. Mr. Joel Adir performed most of the calculations and provided many of the curves used in the figures, and I am pleased to acknowledge his vital assistance, The manuscript was prepared for publication by my wife, and it is doubtful that this work would have reached completion were it not for her untiring efforts in this project. IRL Larchmont, New York vi1 Review of Nuclear Physics Those portions of nuclear physics that are particularly important in reactor theory will be reviewed briefly in this chapter and in Chapter 2. It is presumed that the reader has already become acquainted with much of the subject matter of these chapters through prerequisite courses in atomic and nuclear physics. 1-1 The Constituents of Nuclei The atomic nucleus consists of Z protons and N neutrons, where Z and N are the atomic number and neutron number, respectively. The total number of nucleons in the nucleus, that.is, neutrons and protons, is equal to Z + N = 4, where A is the atomic mass number. Nuclei having the same atomic numbers but different neutron numbers are known as isotopes. Oxygen, for instance, has three stable isotopes, 07°, O17, and O'S, and three unstable isotopes, O'*, O'®, and O'. A table of some of the more important isotopes encountered in nuclear engineering appears in Appendix I. More complete tabulations are given in the references at the end of this chapter. The mass of the proton is 1.67252 X 10-*4 gram (gm). It carries a positive charge of 1.60210 X 10~19 coulombs (coul), equal in magnitude to the charge of the electron, and is a stable particle. ‘The mass of the neutron, for reasons which until recently were not entirely under- stood,* is slightly larger than the mass of the proton, namely, 1.67482 X 10-24 gm, and it is electrically neutral. The neutron is not stable, however, unless it is bound in a nucleus. A free neutron decays to a proton with the emission of a é-ray and an antineutrino, a process which occurs on the average in about 12 min. It will be shown later in this book that the average lifetime of neutrons in a nuclear reactor before they are absorbed or leak from the system is only about 10~* sec. The instability of the neutron is therefore of no importance in reactor theory. 1-2 Particle Wavelengths All particles in nature have a split personality, behaving sometimes like individual particles and sometimes like waves. ‘The wavelength d associated with a particle having momentum p is given by * This question evidently has been settled at last; the neutron-proton mass difference can now be calculated from first principles. Cf. R. F. Dashen, Phys. Rev. 135B, 1196 (1964). 12. REVIEW OF NUCLEAR PHYSICS [cnar. 1 where / is Planck’s constant." It is now customary to speak of a particle’s reduced wavelength, denoted by 4, which is simply its wavelength divided by 2x. Thus X can be written as a-1l) where ft is Planck’s constant divided by 2m. For neutrons, Eq. (1-1) gives 4.55 X 107° A= cm, ay VE where Eis the neutron energy in electron volts. + 1-3 Nuclear Radii To a first approximation, the atomic nucleus can be considered to be a sphere of radius R given by the expression R= 1.25 X 10-184" 3 cm, (3) where A is the atomic mass number. The constant 1.25 is derived from neutron scattering experiments, and since other types of measurements give somewhat different values, radii computed from Eq. (1-3) should not be taken too seriously. It should also be noted that this equation is not valid for the very light nuclei. It is often convenient to express the nuclear radius in terms of the classical radius of the electron, re, which is defined by the formula 2 mc? re= (4) where e and m, are the electronic charge and mass, respectively, and c is the velocity of light. The numerical value of r, is 2.82 X 10~!* cm, so that R can be written roughly as R= 3a. (1-5) Although Eq. (1-5) is not numerically exact, it is sufficiently accurate for many computational purposes. . The volume V of a nucleus is proportional to R¥, and, in view of Eq. (1-3), Vis proportional to A. Thus the average number of nucleons per unit volume in a nucleus, that is, 4/V, is constant for all nuclei. Such a uniform density of nuclear matter suggests that nuclei are similar to little liquid drops, which, it will be recalled, have the same density whether they are large or small. This liguid-drop model of the nucleus has been widely used in nuclear physics and accounts for many properties of nuclei. It will be discussed further in Chapter 2. * A table of physical constants is given in Appendix I. f Lelectron volt = 1 eV is the unit of energy equal to 1.60 X 10-1® joule.1-3) BINDING ENERGY 3 1-4 Nuclear Mass The masses of atoms are expressed in terms of the atomic mass unit, or amu, Until comparatively recently the amu was defined as one-sixteenth of the mass of the neutral O'® atom. For a number of reasons, chiefly to bring the atomic mass unit closer to the chemical scale of atomic weights, nuclear masses are now measured relative to the mass of C!? rather than O'®, The amu is therefore currently defined as one-twelfth the mass of the neutral C? atom, and is equal to 1.660438 x 10-2+ gm. Inenergy units the amu (using the C'? standard) is equivalent to 931.478 MeV. In terms of this unit the proton and neutron have the following masses: M, = 1.007277 amu, M, = 1.008665 amu. Compilations of nuclear masses are noted in the references at the end of this chapter. Before using any compilation of data, however, the reader is cautioned to. determine whether the values of mass are based on O!® or C1, 1-5 Binding Energy The masses of all nuclei are slightly less than the sum of the masses of the individual neutrons and protons contained in them. This difference in mass is called the mass defect, and is given by A = 2M, + NM, Ma, (1-6) where M, is the mass of the nucleus. Equation (1-6) can also be written as A = Z(M, + m,) + NM, — (Ma + Zm.), a7 where ma is the mass of an electron. The quantity M, + m, is approximately equal to the mass Mzz of neutral hydrogen, while M4 + Zm, is approximately equal to the mass M of the neutral atom in question. The mass defect of the nucleus is therefore A = ZMy + NM, — M. (1-8) Equations (1-6) and (1-8) are not precisely equivalent owing to differences in electronic binding energies, but this is not important for most purposes. When A is expressed in energy units, it is equal to the energy which is necessary to break the nucleus into its constituent nucleons. This energy is known as the binding energy of the system, since it represents the energy with which the nucleus is held together. On the other hand, when a nucleus is produced from 4 nucleons, A is equal to the energy released in the process. For example, when a neutron and proton combine to form a deuteron, the nucleus of H?, a 2.23-MeV Y-ray is emitted. Since this energy escapes as the deuteron is formed, the mass of the deuteron in energy units is 2.23 MeV less than the sum of the masses of neutron and proton. The neutron and proton can later be separated again, provided the binding energy