3: Flux and Current

B. Rouben
McMaster University
Course EP 4D03/6D03
Nuclear Reactor Analysis
(Reactor Physics)
2021 Sept.-Dec.
1

2021 September
 What Do We Do in This Module?
➢ We review concepts:
➢ Angular flux, angle-integrated flux, total flux

➢ Angular current, angle-integrated current

➢ We work out how to calculate numbers of

neutrons crossing a plane.
➢ From there we determine the leakage “from a
point”, and from a finite volume.
➢ We introduce and prove Gauss’ Theorem and
understand the meaning of divergence.

2021 September 2
 Remember: Polar Co-Ordinate System
(I have taken z-axis as polar axis) z
Any direction  is given by only 2
angles,  and .
  Polar angle (0- radians)
  cos  (+1 to -1)
̂
  azimuthal angle (0-2 rad) y

The x, y, z
components of  x Projection of  on x-y plane
are:
sincos,
sinsin, cos

2021 September 3
 Spherical Co-Ordinates: Review
➢ r is the distance of the
point from the origin;
➢  is the polar angle (“co-
latitude”) of point from
z-axis, ranging from 0 to
 (180o);
•  is the azimuthal angle
(of rotation from the x-
axis to the point’s
projection on the x-y
plane), ranging from 0 to
2 (similar to  in
cylindrical co-ordinates)

2021 September 4
 Neutron Density
➢ Imagine neutrons in a unit volume at a given instant t.
➢ The neutron density n is a function of time t, position r ,
energy E, and direction of motion  ,
i.e. n (r, E , , t ) - units are, e.g., neutrons/cm3 ( n.cm-3),
or simply cm-3.
➢ Note: We will deal at first with time-independent, or quasi-
time-independent, situations, so drop the t variable for now:
➢ Then neutron density  n(r, E ,  )
➢ Remember also that we could use neutron speed  in place
of energy E.

2021 September 5
 Neutron Flux(es)
➢ The most basic neutron-flux quantity is the angular flux,
( ) (
ˆ = n r , E, 
 r , E,  )
ˆ  (1)
i.e., the product of neutron density n and speed υ.
➢ The angular flux can be thought of as the intensity of a “beam” in 1
direction and energy!
➢ By summing the angular flux over all angles (directions), we get:
Angle-integrated flux for one energy E

( 
 (r , E ) =   r , E , ) ˆ (2) (this can be thought of as summing
ˆ d
neutron beams over all directions)


➢ Starting from the angular flux, [Eq.(1)], we could also if we wish do

other:
➢ Integrate the angular flux over a range of energies

➢ Integrate over all angles and all energies: this is the Total Flux.

2021 September 6
 Integrating Over Solid Angle
➢Integrating over a solid angle is essentially
equivalent to integrating over the surface of a
unit sphere.
➢We must be aware of the range of solid angle
needed for the integral desired (i.e., ranges of
 and of ).

range of 
f ()d = 
range of 
 f ()sin dd
range of
[We must not forget the sin  !!]

=   f ()dd
range of  range of

2021 September 7
 Units of Neutron Flux
➢ Fluxes  have units of:
(neutrons.cm-3*cm.s-1) = (n.cm-2.s-1) or (cm-2.s-1)
➢ Discussion: Prove to yourself that the total neutron
flux at a point, integrated over direction only, can
be visualised as the total length of paths traversed
per unit time by neutrons at the point. [Strengthen
your understanding 3 slides ahead.]
➢ Note: Neutron flux can of course depend on time,
but for now we drop the label t in most cases.
2021 September 8
 Neutron Current(s)
➢ The angular neutron current is the vector quantity made
from the angular flux by multiplying it by the unit vector
in the direction of motion ():

( ˆ ) (
 ˆ 
J r , E,  =  r , E,  ˆ ) (3)
➢ Just as we did for flux, we can define the angle-integrated
current for one energy:

( ) ˆ 
J (r , E ) =   r , E ,  ˆ d
ˆ (4)
➢ This is a vector summation, so there is a priori no simple
relationship between the angle-integrated current and the
angle-integrated flux! Can you think of an example?
➢ We could also integrate current over a range of energies.
2021 September 9
 Components of Current
➢ Because the current is a vector, we can also
consider its components in any direction, for
instance the components Jx, Jy, Jz of the total
current J along the x, y, and z axes.

2021 September 10
 Neutron Flux: Graphical View
➢ An equivalent way to define the neutron flux is to
visualize an arrow associated with each neutron in
a unit volume. The arrow shows the direction of
motion of the neutron, and its length denotes the
neutron’s speed (see figure in next slide).
➢ The sum of all the arrow lengths of given
magnitude and direction is the angular flux for the
corresponding neutron energy.
➢ The sum of all the arrow lengths of given
magnitude is the angle-integrated flux.
➢ Summing all arrows gives the total flux,
integrated over all angles and energies.
2021 September 11
 Neutron Flux

Unit
Volume

Total flux  = sum

of all arrow
lengths in unit
volume
= total path length
traversed by all
neutrons in unit
volume per unit
time
2021 September 12
 Relationship Between Current & Flux
◼ For the angular quantities, the relationship is
very simple :
𝜙 𝑟, ෡ is the magnitude of 𝐽Ԧ 𝑟,
Ԧ 𝐸, Ω ෡
Ԧ 𝐸, Ω
◼ But this is not the case for the angle-integrated
quantities:
𝜙 𝑟,Ԧ 𝐸 is NOT the magnitude of 𝐽Ԧ 𝑟, Ԧ𝐸
This is clear from the fact that adding arrows
Ԧ cannot give the
in various directions (for 𝐽)
same result as adding the arrow lengths (for )!

2021 September 13
 Calculating Reaction Rates
➢ Since angular flux is similar to a beam intensity, then
we can calculate the reaction rate for neutrons at point
r, energy E and direction of motion  as (r , E ) (r , E, ˆ )
 

➢ Now, when neutrons react with nuclei, the nuclei do not

“care” from which direction the neutrons came.
➢  In calculating reaction rates for neutrons of a given
energy, we can simply work with the angle-integrated
 
flux: (r , E ) (r , E ) (5)
➢ The total reaction rate over a range of neutron energies
can then be obtained by integrating over energy E.
Note that the
2021 September
cross section Σ usually does depend on
14
E!
 Now About Leakage
➢ Leakage is very important to calculate, as the
quantity which measures how neutrons move
into or out of a region, or out of the whole
reactor.
➢ But there is no “cross section” for leakage, so
leakage cannot be calculated in the same way
as other reaction rates, i.e., as cross section
times flux!
➢ So now we must learn how to calculate leakage.
➢ The first step is to calculate the number of
neutrons crossing a plane.
2021 September 15
 Number of Neutrons Crossing a Plane

➢ ( )  ( r , E ,  )]
ˆ [i.e.,
Clearly, the magnitude of J r , E , 
gives the number of neutrons of speed  crossing a
unit area perpendicular to direction of motion Ω ෡.
➢ But if one wants to calculate the number of neutrons
moving in direction Ω෡ which cross any other plane,
at some angle  to Ω෡ , then an additional factor
needs to be applied.
➢  is the angle between Ω ෡ and the unit vector 𝑘෠
perpendicular to the plane, and the factor required is
cos   Ω ෠ See next slide.
෡ ∙ 𝑘.
2021 September 16
 Number of Neutrons Crossing a Plane (cont’d)
Neutrons crossing
a unit area on the
plane are those
which cross a
smaller area, cos
, perpendicular to
their direction of
motion.
Number
crossing unit area
on plane =
ԦΩ
𝐽( ෡ ) 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
= 𝐽Ԧ Ω෡ ∙ 𝑘෠
2021 September 17
 Neutron Leakage from a Region
Now that we know how to calculate
numbers crossing a plane, we can
calculate the leakage out of a region
(of any shape) by integrating over
differential surface areas ds on the
boundary around the region.

Leakage of 𝐽Ԧ Ω ෡ out of region = ‫׬‬ ෡ ∙ 𝑘෠ 𝑑𝑠

𝐽Ԧ Ω
𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒
where of course 𝑘෠ is always the outgoing normal at each point.
There is a theorem (Gauss’s Theorem) with which we can rewrite
෡ 𝑑𝑉
the integral as a volume integral of the divergence: ‫𝐽 ∙ 𝛻 𝑉 ׬‬Ԧ Ω
So there are 2 different ways we can calculate the leakage; and the
equations are good for any direction Ω ෡ or for all directions.
2021 September 18
 Physical Meaning of Divergence
➢ We shall prove Gauss’s theorem in the next slides.
➢ But for now we can use the equality of the 2
equations to elucidate the physical meaning of
divergence.
➢ Since we can apply the equations over any region,
even one of infinitesimal volume (a “point”) we
can write 𝛻 ∙ 𝐽Ԧ 𝑑𝑉 = Leakage out of "point"
➢ i.e., the divergence of a vector is the “leakage per
unit volume” of the vector out of an infinitesimal
volume (point) where the divergence is evaluated.
2021 September 19
 Gauss’s Theorem
➢ In the next slide, the proof of Gauss’s Theorem
is given for a parallelepiped region, but the
theorem holds for any shape of the volume.
➢ Note: Gauss’s Theorem is true for any vector,
e.g., in magnetism 𝛻 ∙ 𝐵 = 0, which means that
there is no leakage of magnetic lines out of or
into any region, i.e., magnetic lines are endless
loops, any magnetic line which enters a region
also exits it.

2021 September 20
 Divergence Theorem for Neutron Current
x x+dx

J (x + dx)

J (x ) Infinitesimal volume;
sides perpendicular to
paper are dy and dz

Net leakage in x direction = J x ( x + dx) − J x ( x )* dy * dz

Leakage in x direction J x ( x + dx) − J x ( x )* dy * dz
 =
Volume dx * dy * dz
J
= x
x
+ a similar exp ression for leakage in y and z.
Leakage out of Volume J x J y J z  
 = + + =  J
2021 September Volume x y z 21
 Leakage out of a Finite Volume
➢ Imagine a finite volume subdivided into a very large
number of infinitesimal subvolumes; apply the
divergence theorem in each subvolume, and “add”
(i.e., integrate) the divergences over all the volumes.
➢ The “internal” leakages (across internal surfaces out
of one subvolume and into a neighbouring
subvolume) obviously cancel out, leaving only the
leakage out of the external surface.
➢ Therefore the net leakage out of the finite volume =
the volume integral of the divergence of the current.

2021 September 22
 Leakage out of a Finite Volume
We have just proved Gauss’s famous Theorem:
Leakage out of volume 𝑉 = ‫𝐽 𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑓𝑟𝑢𝑠 ׬‬Ԧ ∙ 𝑘෠ 𝑑𝑠
= ‫𝐽 ∙ 𝛻 𝑒𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑣 ׬‬Ԧ 𝑑𝑉

2021 September 23
 Introduction of Fick’s “Law”
➢ The Laplacian of the flux  will be useful in
reactor physics, because of the Divergence
Theorem and an approximation (Fick’s Law):
𝐽Ԧ 𝐸 ∝ −𝛻𝜙 𝐸 = −𝐷𝛻𝜙 𝐸 with D a constant
(which can depend on location).
➢ This says that the net angle-integrated current is

proportional to the negative gradient of the flux

, i.e., the net neutron current flows from areas
of high flux to areas of low flux.
[Note that Fick’s approximation applies to the
total (net)
2021 September
current, NOT the angular current!] 24
 Relationship Between Leakage and Laplacian
➢ The Fick’s Law approximation

allows us to
simplify the divergence   J if the medium is
uniform, i.e., D, the constant of proportionality
between the flux gradient and the current, does not
depend on location.
➢ In only that case 𝛻 ∙ 𝐽Ԧ = 𝛻 ∙ −𝐷𝛻𝜙 = −𝐷𝛻 𝜙
2

i.e., the leakage is proportional to the Laplacian of .

➢ Since the overall leakage from a reactor is positive,

the overall 2 must be negative, i.e., the flux has

overall negative curvature (called the buckling).
[This may not be true at every point.]
2021 September 25
 END

2021 September 26