Development and validation of ALEPH2 Monte Carlo burn-up code

The ALEPH2 Monte Carlo depletion code has two principal features that make it a flexible and powerful tool for reactor analysis. First of all, its comprehensive nuclear data library ensures the consistency between steady-state Monte Carlo and deterministic depletion modules. It covers neutron and proton induced reactions, neutron and proton fission product yields, spontaneous fission product yields, radioactive decay data and total recoverable energies per fission. Secondly, ALEPH2 uses an advanced numerical solver for the first order ordinary differential equations describing the isotope balances, namely a Radau IIA implicit Runge-Kutta method. The versatility of the code allows using it for time behavior simulation of various systems ranging from single pin model to full-scale reactor model. The code is extensively used for the neutronics design of the MYRRHA research fast spectrum facility which will operate in both critical and sub-critical modes. The code has been validated on the decay heat data from JOYO experimental fast reactor.