SCALE provides a suite of computational tools for sensitivity and uncertainty analysis to (1) identify important processes in safety analysis and design, (2) provide a quantifiable basis for neutronics validation for criticality safety and reactor physics analysis based on similarity assessment, and (3) quantify the effects of uncertainties in nuclear data and physical parameters for safety analysis.
The TSUNAMI-1D, TSUNAMI-2D and TSUNAMI-3D analysis sequences compute the sensitivity of keff and reaction rates to energy-dependent cross section data for each reaction of each nuclide in a system model. The one-dimensional (1D) transport calculations are performed with XSDRNPM, the two-dimensional (2D) transport calculations are performed using NEWT, and the three-dimensional (3D) calculations are performed with KENO V.a or KENO-VI. The Monte Carlo capabilities of TSUNAMI-3D provide for S/U analysis from either continuous energy or multigroup neutron transport, where the deterministic capabilities of TSUNAMI-1D and TSUNAMI-2D only operate in multigroup mode. The Sensitivity Analysis Module for SCALE (SAMS) is applied within each analysis sequence to provide the requested S/U data. Whether performing a continuous-energy or multigroup calculation, energy-dependent sensitivity data are stored in group form in a sensitivity data file (SDF) for subsequent analysis. These sequences use the energy-dependent cross section covariance data to compute the uncertainty in the response value due to the cross section covariance data.
Tool for Sensitivity Analysis of Reactivity Responses (TSAR) computes the sensitivity of the reactivity change between two keff calculations using SDFs from TSUNAMI-1D, TSUNAMI-2D, and/or TSUNAMI-3D. TSAR also computes the uncertainty in the reactivity difference due to the cross section covariance data.
TSUNAMI Indices and Parameters (TSUNAMI-IP) computes correlation coefficients that determine the amount of shared uncertainty between each target application and each benchmark experiment considered in the analysis. TSUNAMI-IP offers a wide range of options for more detailed assessment of system-to-system similarity. Additionally, TSUNAMI-IP can generate input for the Upper Subcritical Limit Statistical Software (USLSTATS) trending analysis and compute a penalty or additional margin needed for the gap analysis.
Tool for S/U Analysis of Response Functions Using Experimental Results (TSURFER) is a bias and bias uncertainty prediction tool that implements the generalized linear least-squares (GLLS) approach to data assimilation and cross section data adjustment that also uses the SDFs generated from TSUNAMI-1D, ‑2D, -3D, or TSAR. The data adjustments produced by TSURFER are not used to produce adjusted cross section data libraries for subsequent use; rather, they are used only to predict biases in application systems.
The graphical user interface Extensible SCALE Intelligent Text Editor (ExSITE) facilitates analysis with TSUNAMI-IP, TSURFER, TSAR, and USLSTATS, and the Validation, Interpretation and Bias Estimation (VIBE) interface is applied to examine SDF files, create sets of benchmark experiments for subsequent analysis, and gather additional information about each benchmark experiment.
Sampler is a super-sequence that performs general uncertainty analysis by stochastically sampling uncertain parameters that can be applied to any type of SCALE calculation, propagating uncertainties throughout a computational sequence. Sampler treats uncertainties from two sources: (1) nuclear data and (2) input parameters. Sampler generates the uncertainty in any result generated by any computational sequence through stochastic means by repeating numerous passes through the computational sequence, each with a randomly perturbed sample of the requested uncertain quantities.