Pillager is a tool for coupling regressive and generalized regressive secant search methods with Serpent 2 transport code burnup calculations. These search methods are detailed in Price and Roskoff (2023). Since the burnup of materials in a nuclear reactor is a function of the neutron flux, and flux is dependent upon material composition and geometry, it is important to conduct burnup calculations with a critical geometry. Criticality, in turn, changes with burnup, necessitating the use of such search methods. Pillager contains the aforementioned search methods, and the capability to automate the coupled process for a realistic Heat-Pipe Microreactor (rHPMR) design.
By providing a base Serpent input file for the reactor and a separate file containing the necessary geometry for the control surfaces, annotated with a variable 'x', Pillager will write the necessary additions for each burnup and search step. Inputs and results from each critical configuration are stored in a folder corresponding to the associated burnup step, and wholistic results are stored in a csv file.
Note the user must obtain access to Serpent 2 independently, it is not included in this package.