Abstract
We present four different shape optimization problems based on the existing beam port facility of the Penn State Breazeale Reactor and their results obtained by the modular optimization code package, MOZAIK. Each model problem has a different beam tube configuration with the same optimization goal: to determine an optimal D2O moderator tank shape for the given beam tube arrangement that maximizes the thermal neutron beam intensity at the beam tube exit end. In this study, the power of the automated search process was demonstrated and its capabilities were tested. In addition, the performance of the beam port was analyzed using alternative beam tube arrangements.
All alternative arrangements indicate that higher thermal neutron beam intensity can be obtained at the beam tube exit end using a smaller volume of D2O in the system than is used in the existing beam port configuration. Moreover, the results show that MOZAIK is ready for deployment to address shape optimization problems involving radiation transport in nuclear engineering applications.
