Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Richard Vasques

Publications and source records attributed to Richard Vasques.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2021

On the Application of the Analytical Discrete Ordinates Method to the Solution of Nonclassical Transport Problems in Slab Geometry

In this work we investigate the use of the Analytical Discrete Ordinates (ADO) method when solving the spectral approximation of the nonclassical transport equation. The spectral approximation is a recently developed method based on the representation of the nonclassical angular flux as a series of Laguerre polynomials. This representation generates, as outcome, a system of equations that have the form of classical transport equations and can therefore be solved by current deterministic algorithms. Thus, the investigation of efficient approaches to solve the nonclassical transport equation is of interest and shall be pursued. This is the case of the ADO method which has been successfully used to solve a wide class of problems in the general area of particle transport. Numerical results are presented for two nonclassical test problems in slab geometry. These nonclassical transport problems are chosen in such way that their solution exactly reproduces the solution of the classical diffusion problem. Very accurate results are obtained for both test problems. However, the use of high precision arithmetic is sometimes required as illustrated in the second test problem. Limitations of the spectral approximation are also analyzed and discussed.

physics.comp-ph↗
arXiv2021

Transport Synthetic Acceleration for the Solution of the One-Speed Nonclassical Spectral S$_N$ Equations in Slab Geometry

The nonclassical transport equation models particle transport processes in which the particle flux does not decrease as an exponential function of the particle's free-path. Recently, a spectral approach was developed to generate nonclassical spectral S$_N$ equations, which can be numerically solved in a deterministic fashion using classical numerical techniques. This paper introduces a transport synthetic acceleration procedure to speed up the iteration scheme for the solution of the monoenergetic slab-geometry nonclassical spectral S$_N$ equations. We present numerical results that confirm the benefit of the acceleration procedure for this class of problems.

math-ph↗
arXiv2019

Towards a Multiphysics Model for Tumor Response to Combined-Hyperthermia-Radiotherapy Treatment

We develop a multiphysics-based model to predict the response of localized tumors to combined-hyperthermia-radiotherapy (CHR) treatment. This procedure combines hyperthermia (tumor heating) with standard radiotherapy to improve efficacy of the overall treatment. In addition to directly killing tumor cells, tumor heating amends several parameters within the tumor microenvironment. This leads to radiosensitization, which improves the performance of radiotherapy while reducing the side-effects of excess radiation in the surrounding normal tissue. Existing tools to model this kind of treatment consider each of the physics separately. The model presented in this paper accounts for the synergy between hyperthermia and radiotherapy providing a more realistic and holistic approach to simulate CHR treatment. Our model couples radiation transport and heat-transfer with cell population dynamics.

q-bio.TO↗
arXiv2019

One-Way Coupled Tumor Response Model for Combined-Hyperthermia-Radiotherapy Treatment with Anisotropic Scattering

Therapies such as combined-hyperthermia-radiotherapy (CHR) take advantage of excellent radiosensitization properties of hyperthermia and treat of tumors with both radiation and heat. To appropriately model a CHR treatment, features like tumor heating (heat transfer), dosimetry (radiation transport), and tumor dynamics (cell population dynamics) must be considered together. Our first paper on modeling such treatments introduced a one-way coupled model that could only account for isotropic scattering of radiation. In the present work, we extend our transport model to incorporate anisotropic scattering.

q-bio.TO↗
arXiv2019

Solver Recommendation For Transport Problems in Slabs Using Machine Learning

The use of machine learning algorithms to address classification problems is on the rise in many research areas. The current study is aimed at testing the potential of using such algorithms to auto-select the best solvers for transport problems in uniform slabs. Three solvers are used in this work: Richardson, diffusion synthetic acceleration, and nonlinear diffusion acceleration. Three parameters are manipulated to create different transport problem scenarios. Five machine learning algorithms are applied: linear discriminant analysis, K-nearest neighbors, support vector machine, random forest, and neural networks. We present and analyze the results of these algorithms for the test problems, showing that random forest and K-nearest neighbors are potentially the best suited candidates for this type of classification problem.

cs.LG↗
arXiv2016

A nonstiff solution for the stochastic neutron point kinetics equations

We propose an approach to solve the stochastic neutron point kinetics equations using an adaptation of the diagonalization-decomposition method (DDM). This new approach (Double-DDM) yields a nonstiff solution for the stochastic formulation, allowing the calculation of the neutron and precursor densities at any time of interest without the need of using progressive time steps. We use Double-DDM to compute results for stochastic problems with constant, linear, and sinusoidal reactivities. We show that these results strongly agree with those obtained by other approaches established in the literature. We also compute and analyze the first four statistical moments of the solutions.

nucl-th↗
arXiv2016

On the Accuracy of the Non-Classical Transport Equation in 1-D Random Periodic Media

We present a first numerical investigation of the accuracy of the recently proposed {\em non-classical transport equation}. This equation contains an extra independent variable (the path-length $s$), and models particle transport taking place in random media in which a particle's distance-to-collision is {\em not} exponentially distributed. To solve the non-classical equation, one needs to know the $s$-dependent ensemble-averaged total cross section $Σ_t(s)$, or its corresponding path-length distribution function $p(s)$. We consider a 1-D spatially periodic system consisting of alternating solid and void layers, randomly placed in the infinite line. In this preliminary work, we assume transport in rod geometry: particles can move only in the directions $μ=\pm 1$. We obtain an analytical expression for $p(s)$, and use this result to compute the corresponding $Σ_t(s)$. Then, we proceed to solve the non-classical equation for different test problems. To assess the accuracy of these solutions, we produce "benchmark" results obtained by (i) generating a large number of physical realizations of the system, (ii) numerically solving the transport equation in each realization, and (iii) ensemble-averaging the solutions over all physical realizations. We show that the results obtained with the non-classical equation accurately model the ensemble-averaged scalar flux in this 1-D random system, generally outperforming the widely-used atomic mix model. We conclude by discussing plans to extend the present work to slab geometry, as well as to more general random mixtures.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗
arXiv2016

Nonclassical Particle Transport in 1-D Random Periodic Media

We investigate the accuracy of the recently proposed nonclassical transport equation. This equation contains an extra independent variable compared to the classical transport equation (the path-length $s$), and models particle transport taking place in homogenized random media in which a particle's distance-to-collision is not exponentially distributed. To solve the nonclassical equation one needs to know the $s$-dependent ensemble-averaged total cross section, $Σ_t(μ,s)$, or its corresponding path-length distribution function, $p(μ,s)$. We consider a 1-D spatially periodic system consisting of alternating solid and void layers, randomly placed in the $x$-axis. We obtain an analytical expression for $p(μ,s)$ and use this result to compute the corresponding $Σ_t(μ,s)$. Then, we proceed to numerically solve the nonclassical equation for different test problems in rod geometry; that is, particles can move only in the directions $μ=\pm 1$. To assess the accuracy of these solutions, we produce "benchmark" results obtained by (i) generating a large number of physical realizations of the system, (ii) numerically solving the transport equation in each realization, and (iii) ensemble-averaging the solutions over all physical realizations. We show that the numerical results validate the nonclassical model; the solutions obtained with the nonclassical equation accurately estimate the ensemble-averaged scalar flux in this 1-D random periodic system, greatly outperforming the widely-used atomic mix model in most problems.

nucl-th↗
arXiv2016

Nonclassical Particle Transport in the 1-D Diffusive Limit

This paper provides numerical results that demonstrate the validity of the nonclassical diffusion approximation to the nonclassical transport equation in certain 1-D diffusive systems. This result provides a more solid foundation in which to improve this theory for relevant nuclear applications.

nucl-th↗
arXiv2015

The Nonclassical Diffusion Approximation to the Nonclassical Linear Boltzmann Equation

We show that, by correctly selecting the probability distribution function $p(s)$ for a particle's distance-to-collision, the nonclassical diffusion equation can be represented exactly by the nonclassical linear Boltzmann equation for an infinite homogeneous medium. This choice of $p(s)$ preserves the $true$ mean-squared free path of the system, which sheds new light on the results obtained in previous work.

math-ph↗
arXiv2014

Adjusted Levermore-Pomraning equations for diffusive random systems in slab geometry

This paper presents a multiple length-scale asymptotic analysis for transport problems in 1-D diffusive random media. This analysis shows that the Levermore-Pomraning (LP) equations can be adjusted in order to achieve the correct asymptotic behavior. This adjustment appears in the form of a rescaling of the Markov transition functions by a factor $η$, which can be chosen in a simple way. Numerical results are given that (i) validate the theoretical predictions; and (ii) show that the adjusted LP equations greatly outperform the standard LP model for this class of transport problems.

math.AP↗
arXiv2014

The Non-Classical Boltzmann Equation, and Diffusion-Based Approximations to the Boltzmann Equation

We show that several diffusion-based approximations (classical diffusion or SP1, SP2, SP3) to the linear Boltzmann equation can (for an infinite, homogeneous medium) be represented exactly by a non-classical transport equation. As a consequence, we indicate a method to solve diffusion-based approximations to the Boltzmann equation via Monte Carlo, with only statistical errors - no truncation errors.

math-ph↗
arXiv2013

Non-classical transport with angular-dependent path-length distributions. 2: Application to pebble bed reactor cores

We describe an analysis of neutron transport in the interior of model pebble bed reactor (PBR) cores, considering both crystal and random pebble arrangements. Monte Carlo codes were developed for (i) generating random realizations of the model PBR core, and (ii) performing neutron transport inside the crystal and random heterogeneous cores; numerical results are presented for two different choices of material parameters. These numerical results are used to investigate the anisotropic behavior of neutrons in each case and to assess the accuracy of estimates for the diffusion coefficients obtained with the diffusion approximations of different models: the atomic mix model, the Behrens correction, the Lieberoth correction, the generalized linear Boltzmann equation (GLBE), and the new GLBE with angular-dependent path-length distributions. This new theory utilizes a non-classical form of the Boltzmann equation in which the locations of the scattering centers in the system are correlated and the distance-to-collision is not exponentially distributed; this leads to an anisotropic diffusion equation. We show that the results predicted using the new GLBE theory are extremely accurate, correctly identifying the anisotropic diffusion in each case and greatly outperforming the other models for the case of random systems.

nucl-th↗
arXiv2013

Non-classical transport with angular-dependent path-length distributions. 1: Theory

This paper extends a recently introduced theory describing particle transport for random statistically homogeneous systems in which the distribution function p(s) for chord lengths between scattering centers is non-exponential. Here, we relax the previous assumption that p(s) does not depend on the direction of flight Ω; this leads to an extended generalized linear Boltzmann equation that includes angular-dependent cross sections, and to an extended generalized diffusion equation that accounts for anisotropic behavior resulting from the statistics of the system.

math-ph↗