An improved Monte Carlo method applied to the heat conduction analysis of a pebble with dispersed fuel particles

Abstract

Improving over a previous study [1], this paper provides a Monte Carlo method for the heat conduction analysis of problems with complicated geometry (such as a pebble with dispersed fuel particles). The method is based on the theoretical results of asymptotic analysis of neutron transport equation. The improved method uses an appropriate boundary layer correction (with extrapolation thickness) and a scaling factor, rendering the problem more diffusive and thus obtaining a heat conduction solution. Monte Carlo results are obtained for the randomly distributed fuel particles of a pebble, providing realistic temperature distributions (showing the kernel and graphite-matrix temperatures distinctly). The volumetric analytic solution commonly used in the literature is shown to predict lower temperatures than those of the Monte Carlo results provided in this paper.