ORIGAMI: A New Interface for Fuel Assembly Characterization with ORIGEN

Abstract

<p>ORIGAMI (ORIGen Assembly Isotopics) is a new interface to the well-established ORIGEN code<br>designed to enable simplified, 3-D depletion and decay calculations for used nuclear fuel (UNF) assemblies.</p> <p><br>ORIGAMI calculates assembly characteristics through the use of individual discrete depletion nodes, corresponding to axial zones and pin locations. Using a nominal irradiation history, ORIGAMI individually calculates each node’s<br>isotopic composition using axial and radial relative power distribution maps to create a zone-specific burnup, enabling users to easily specify assembly-wide power distributions for modeling.<br>ORIGAMI includes several useful capabilities for UNF assembly analyses, including visualization of key parameters by generating MeshView-compatible output files, generation of materials cards for MCNP and KENO for further source term analysis (for example, cask loading and dose studies for dry<br>storage and transport and simulation of full assemblies for NDA instrumentation studies).</p> <p>Additionally, ORIGAMI offers the ability to store individual depletion zone concentrations in an ORIGEN-compatible binary file for later re-evaluation (such as decay analysis of previously-depleted assemblies).</p> <p><em>Paper presented at the 2015 International High-Level Radioactive Waste Management Conference in Charleston, SC.</em></p