Simulation of a Full PWR Core with MCNP6

The advantages for using Monte Carlo method to analyze full-core reactor configuration include exact representation of geometry and physical phenomena that are important for reactor analysis. The accuracy of the simulation will depend on the degree of details considered in the model. In this work, the Monte Carlo code MCNP6 is used to simulate two full PWR cores with detailed geometry at hot zero power. The simulated models are verified against actual reactor measurements provided in a published benchmark. Measurements include control banks worth and effective multiplication factor at different control banks insertions and boron concentrations. The isothermal temperature coefficient is also evaluated. Integrated thermal flux at detector positions is evaluated and compared to the actual data provided by the benchmark. Axial thermal flux calculated for selected assemblies was compared to the results produced by detector signals. The accuracy of thermal flux calculations were evaluated using two methods; the absolute relative difference and the root mean square deviation.