HTGR Knowledge Base

Conference Article: Automated differentiation of computer models for sensitivity analysis.

Worley, B.A. (Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA))

Abstract

Sensitivity analysis of reactor physics computer models is an established discipline after more than twenty years of active development of generalized perturbations theory based on direct and adjoint methods. Many reactor physics models have been enhanced to solve for sensitivities of model results to model data. The calculated sensitivities are usually normalized first derivatives, although some codes are capable of solving for higher-order sensitivities. The purpose of this paper is to report on the development and application of the GRESS system for automating the implementation of the direct and adjoint techniques into existing FORTRAN computer codes. The GRESS system was developed at ORNL to eliminate the costly man-power intensive effort required to implement the direct and adjoint techniques into already-existing FORTRAN codes. GRESS has been successfully tested for a number of codes over a wide range of applications and presently operates on VAX machines under both VMS and UNIX operating systems.

view the full text of this article (7 pages, format: PDF, size= 465kB)

key words: Gas Cooled Reactor, Nuclear Technology
Reference:
Uncertainties in physics calculations for gas cooled reactor cores. Proceedings of a specialist's meeting held in Villigen, Switzerland, 9-11 May 1990
International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria). International Working Group on Gas-Cooled Reactors
IWGGCR--24, pp:86-92