Efficient numerical solution of the point kinetics equations in nuclear reactor dynamics

A numerical procedure to efficiently calculate the solution to the point kinetics equation in nuclear reactor dynamics is described and investigated. Piecewise constant approximations of the reactivity and source functions are made. The resulting system of linear differential equations is solved exactly over each time step. The method is proved to converge with order h(2) where h is the time step. The procedure is tested using a variety of initial conditions, data, and reactivity functions. The computational results indicate that the method is efficient and accurate. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.