Giovanni Pastore

Rethinking sensitivity analysis of nuclear simulations with topology

In nuclear engineering, understanding the safety margins of the nuclear reactor via simulations is arguably of paramount importance in predicting and preventing nuclear accidents. It is therefore crucial to perform sensitivity analysis to understand how changes in the model inputs affect the outputs. Modern nuclear simulation tools rely on numerical representations of the sensitivity information - inherently lacking in visual encodings - offering limited effectiveness in communicating and exploring the generated data. In this paper, we design a framework for sensitivity analysis and visualization of multidimensional nuclear simulation data using partition-based, topology-inspired regression models and report on its efficacy. We rely on the established Morse-Smale regression technique, which allows us to partition the domain into monotonic regions where easily interpretable linear models can be used to assess the influence of inputs on the output variability. The underlying computation is augmented with an intuitive and interactive visual design to effectively communicate sensitivity information to nuclear scientists. Our framework is being deployed into the multipurpose probabilistic risk assessment and uncertainty quantification framework RAVEN (Reactor Analysis and Virtual Control Environment). We evaluate our framework using a simulation dataset studying nuclear fuel performance.

Behavior of U3Si2 Fuel and FeCrAl Cladding under Normal Operating and Accident Reactor Conditions

As part of the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation program, an Accident Tolerant Fuel High Impact Problem was initiated at the beginning of fiscal year 2015 to investigate the behavior of U3Si2 fuel and iron-chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) cladding under normal operating and accident reactor conditions. The High Impact Problem was created in response to the United States Department of Energy’s renewed interest in accident tolerant materials after the events that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011. The High Impact Problem is a multinational laboratory and university collaborative research effort between Idaho National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. This report primarily focuses on the engineering scale research in fiscal year 2016 with brief summaries of the lower length scale developments in the areas of density functional theory, cluster dynamics, rate theory, and phase field being presented.

Sensitivity analysis of the fission gas behavior model in BISON.

This report summarizes the result of a NEAMS project focused on sensitivity analysis of a new model for the fission gas behavior (release and swelling) in the BISON fuel performance code of Idaho National Laboratory. Using the new model in BISON, the sensitivity of the calculated fission gas release and swelling to the involved parameters and the associated uncertainties is investigated. The study results in a quantitative assessment of the role of intrinsic uncertainties in the analysis of fission gas behavior in nuclear fuel.

Derivation of effective fission gas diffusivities in UO2 from lower length scale simulations and implementation of fission gas diffusion models in BISON

This report summarizes the development of new fission gas diffusion models from lower length scale simulations and assessment of these models in terms of annealing experiments and fission gas release simulations using the BISON fuel performance code. Based on the mechanisms established from density functional theory (DFT) and empirical potential calculations, continuum models for diffusion of xenon (Xe) in UO2 were derived for both intrinsic conditions and under irradiation. The importance of the large XeU3O cluster (a Xe atom in a uranium + oxygen vacancy trap site with two bound uranium vacancies) is emphasized, which is a consequence of its high mobility and stability. These models were implemented in the MARMOT phase field code, which is used to calculate effective Xe diffusivities for various irradiation conditions. The effective diffusivities were used in BISON to calculate fission gas release for a number of test cases. The results are assessed against experimental data and future directions for research are outlined based on the conclusions.