Calculated in-air leakage spectra and power levels for the ANSI standard minimum accident of concern. Final report

Abstract

This document represents Phase I of a two-phase project. The entire project consists of determining a series of minimum accidents of concern and their associated neutron and photon leakage spectra that may be used to determine Criticality Accident Alarm compliance with ANSI/ANS-8.3. The inadvertent assembly of a critical mass of material presents a multitude of unknown quantities. Depending on the particular process, one can make an educated guess as to fissile material. In a gaseous diffusion cascade, this material is assumed to be uranyl fluoride. However, educated assumptions cannot be readily made for the other variables. Phase I of this project is determining a bounding minimum accident of concern and its associated neutron and photon leakage spectra. To determine the composition of the bounding minimum accident of concern, work was done to determine the effects of geometry, moderation level, and enrichment on the leakage spectra of a critical assembly. The minimum accident of concern is defined as the accident that may be assumed to deliver the equivalent of an absorbed dose in free air of 20 rad at a distance of 2 meters from the reacting material within 60 seconds. To determine this dose, an analyst makes an assumption and choose an appropriate flux to dose response function. The power level required of a critical assembly to constitute a minimum accident of concern depends heavily on the response function chosen. The first step in determining the leakage spectra was to attempt to isolate the effects of geometry, after which all calculations were conducted on critical spheres. The moderation level and enrichment of the spheres were varied and their leakage spectra calculated. These spectra were then multiplied by three different response functions: the Henderson Flux to Dose conversion factors, the ICRU 44 Kerma in Air, and the MCNP Heating Detector. The power level required to produce a minimum accident of concern was then calculated for each combination.