Analysis and interpretation of the first CROCUS reactor neutron noise experiments using an improved point-kinetics model

In the framework of the European project CORTEX, included in the H2020 program, a new Improved Point-Kinetics (IPK) model has been developed and validated on the neutron noise measurements recorded during the experimental campaigns carried out with the CROCUS reactor, at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland. In the first part of this paper, the methodology for the experimental data analysis developed by CEA is presented and its outcomes are compared to those obtained by the EPFL team. In the second part, taking as reference the first CROCUS experimental campaign, the present work presents a series of interpretive exercises performed with the IPK noise model aiming at showing its simulation capabilities and at trying to address some of the discrepancies observed during the validation exercise. With a deeper understanding of the phenomena inside CROCUS, the following step foresees the application of the code to full reactor studies.