Updated Guidance on Sensitivity/Uncertainty Methods Use for Nuclear Criticality Safety Validation

Abstract

The use of sensitivity/uncertainty (S/U) methods in nuclear criticality safety (NCS) was established more than 25 years ago and has been increasing ever since. Recent interest in commercial applications involving uranium enrichments above 5 wt% 235 U has increased focus on demonstrating the applicability of existing critical experiments to this enrichment range. S/U techniques can also be particularly useful in assessing the similarity of new fuel forms in relation to those documented in existing published evaluations of benchmark critical experiments. Publishing updated recommendations for the use of these methods is thus important to ensure that new S/U practitioners can benefit from the years of development and application invested in generating a set of best practices to maximize the utility of these tools.