RSICC CODE PACKAGE CCC-723
1. NAME AND TITLE
ALARA 2.7.8: Code System for Analytic and Laplacian Adaptive Radioactivity Analysis.
2. CONTRIBUTOR
Fusion Technology Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin.
3. CODING LANGUAGE AND COMPUTER
C++; Linux PC and Sun (C00723MNYCP00).
4. NATURE OF PROBLEM SOLVED
The primary purpose of ALARA is to calculate the induced activation caused by neutron irradiation throughout a nuclear system (primarily fusion reactors and accelerators). It is a next generation activation code designed for accuracy, speed and usability and has been validated for use in fusion and accelerator activation calculations. ALARA does not rely on a table of fixed reaction types and reaction channels. Instead, the reactions are defined entirely by the library, requiring only a list of resultant isotopes and cross-sections for the production of each. This makes the code ideal for use with cross section data with or without MT numbers for each reaction. ALARA includes the following features:
• multi-point (3-D) solutions in a variety of geometries
• accurate solution of loops in activation trees
• exact modeling of multi-level pulsing irradiation histories and hierarchical arbitrary irradiation schedules
• user-defined calculation precision/accuracy
• tracking the accumulation of light ions
• straightforward, user-friendly input file creation
• full, easy-to-read activation tree output (not just pathway analysis)
• flexible output options now including the direct calculation of waste disposal rating, clearance indices, contact dose and biological dose
• unlimited number of reaction channels
• reverse calculation mode
5. METHOD OF SOLUTION
By carefully analyzing the various ways to model the physical system, the methods to solve the mathematical problem and the interaction between these two issues, ALARA chooses an optimum combination to achieve high accuracy, fast computation, and enhanced versatility and ease of use.
The physical system is modeled using advanced linear chains, which include the contributions from straightened loops in the reaction scheme, while the truncation philosophy minimizes the discrepancies between the model and the real problem. The mathematical method is then adaptively chosen based on the characteristics of each linear chain to use analytically exact methods when possible and an accurate expansion technique otherwise.
6. RESTRICTIONS OR LIMITATIONS
None noted.
7. TYPICAL RUNNING TIME
Run times vary. Test cases complete in less than 2 minutes on an AMD Opteron 1 Ghz.
8. COMPUTER HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
ALARA has been run on Linux-based personal computers and on Sun workstations under Solaris.
9. COMPUTER SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
ALARA was developed on a Debian-derived linux system with gcc/g++ v 3.3.4. It is also routinely run on a Solaris system using gnu compilers (3.3.4). Some problems were noted using native Sun compilers (fairly recent versions: C++ v5.6). At RSICC, ALARA was tested on an AMD Opteron under Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 using g++ (GCC) 3.4.6, on an AMD Athlon running RedHat Linux 7.3 with GNU g++ 2.96, and on Sun Solaris with gmake 3.80 and g++ Version 2.95.3.
10. REFERENCES
10.a included in package in electronic files:
Paul P.H. Wilson, “ALARA Users’ Guide: Analytic and Laplacian Adaptive Radioactivity Analysis (online - January 2003).
10.b background reference:
P.P.H. Wilson, "ALARA: Analytic and Laplacian Adaptive Radioactivity Analysis," Ph.D. Thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison Fusion Technology Institute UWFDM-1098, (April 1999). (URL: http://fti.neep.wisc.edu/FTI/pdf/fdm1098.pdf).
11. CONTENTS OF CODE PACKAGE
The package is transmitted on a CD which contains an online user guide cited in 10.a, C++ source code, scripts, data files and test cases in a GNU compressed Unix tar file.
12. DATE OF ABSTRACT
February 2007.
KEYWORDS: FUSION; ENERGY DEPOSITION; FISSION PRODUCTS; GAMMA-RAY; ISOTOPE INVENTORY; MULTIGROUP; NEUTRON; RADIOACTIVITY