Fast Reactors and Accelerator Driven Systems Knowledge Base

Conference Article: A method of transmutations trajectories analysis in accelerator-driven systems

Abstract

The time evolution of the nuclide concentrations during the transmutation process can be obtained by solving the set of Bateman’s equations that describe the transmutation chain. The decay constants and branching ratios of the decays of over 2000 nuclides are taken from "The Table of Isotopes". The given transmutation chain, which is nonlinear, must be resolved into a set of linear chains. Although a rigid mathematical treatment requires the resolution of the nonlinear chain into an infinite series of linear chains, we can truncate this at the point where contributions to the final concentration are smaller than the required value of precision. As a result the set of linear chains that represents the initial nonlinear transmutation chain is obtained. Application of the described calculation system allows to calculate nuclide concentrations with the uncertainty control as well as to obtain an important quantitative information about the system behaviour.

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Reference:

Technical Committee Meeting, Madrid, Spain 17-19 September 1997

International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria)

IAEA-TC--903.3, pp:425-434