On the limitations of linear power reactor noise analysis: A point kinetics approach

A novel method is introduced which allows the higher order perturbative solution of a linear operator with a time variant coefficient. This method employs a form of raising and lowering operators which generate higher and lower order harmonics from a given harmonic. The analysis has been applied to the point kinetics equations with a monotone oscillatory reactivity to place bounds on the relative error of the linearization method frequently employed in the power reactor noise techniques. As a result, the maximum permissible reactivity amplitude for a given reactor as a function of frequency has been obtained such that regular power reactor noise methods remain accurate enough. Three benchmarks in subcritical and critical configurations show the accuracy of this method.