Document Type
Article
Abstract
The application of the recently developed “nth-order comprehensive sensitivity analysis methodology for nonlinear systems” (abbreviated as “nth-CASAM-N”) has been previously illustrated on paradigm nonlinear space-dependent problems. To complement these illustrative applications, this work illustrates the application of the nth-CASAM-N to a paradigm nonlinear time-dependent model chosen from the field of reactor dynamics/safety, namely the well-known Nordheim–Fuchs model. This phenomenological model describes a short-time self-limiting power transient in a nuclear reactor system having a negative temperature coefficient in which a large amount of reactivity is suddenly inserted, either intentionally or by accident. This model is sufficiently complex to demonstrate all the important features of applying the nth-CASAM-N methodology yet admits exact closed-form solutions for the energy released in the transient, which is the most important system response. All of the expressions of the first- and second-level adjoint functions and, subsequently, the first- and second-order sensitivities of the released energy to the model’s parameters are obtained analytically in closed form. The principles underlying the application of the 3rd-CASAM-N methodology for the computation of the third-order sensitivities are demonstrated for both mixed and unmixed second-order sensitivities. For the Nordheim–Fuchs model, a single adjoint computation suffices to obtain the six 1st-order sensitivities, while two adjoint computations suffice to obtain all of the 36 second-order sensitivities (of which 21 are distinct). This illustrative example demonstrates that the number of (large-scale) adjoint computations increases at most linearly within the nth-CASAM-N methodology, as opposed to the exponential increase in the parameter-dimensional space which occurs when applying conventional statistical and/or finite difference schemes to compute higher-order sensitivities. For very large and complex models, the nth-CASAM-N is the only practical methodology for computing response sensitivities comprehensively and accurately, overcoming the curse of dimensionality in sensitivity analysis of nonlinear systems.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Publication Info
Journal of Nuclear Enginnering, Volume 3, Issue 3, 2022, pages 191-221.
Rights
© 2022 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).
APA Citation
Cacuci, D. (2022). Illustrative Application of the nth-Order Comprehensive Adjoint Sensitivity Analysis Methodology for Nonlinear Systems to the Nordheim–Fuchs Reactor Dynamics/Safety Model. Journal Of Nuclear Engineering, 3(3), 191-221. https://doi.org/10.3390/jne3030011