Multi-generation point kinetics for subcritical systems

This paper presents a novel approach for the modelling of the reactor kinetics of subcritical systems. The new model, named multi-generation point kinetics, shares some of the features of the classical point kinetics, such as the factorization of the solution in shape / amplitude and the projection of the reactor kinetic equations to derive a lumped parameter model. Unlike classical point kinetics, this approach introduces additional amplitudes to account for the independent evolution of the first few terms in the multi-collision series. After truncation of the series, the multiply-collided component (i.e. residue) is modelled using a separate amplitude. Results presented in this paper show that the additional degree of freedom offered by the multi generation point kinetics significantly increases its accuracy compared to point kinetics, with a limited additional computational effort.