Generation of critical buckling and estimation of their uncertainties by the B₁ theory-augmented monte carlo method

In this study, the procedures for axial critical buckling generation based on the B₁ theory-augmented MC method and the estimation of their uncertainties were presented. To examine and verify the newly-generated axial critical buckling, the TCA critical experiment benchmark calculations were performed using an axial leakage data by McCARD. From the results of TCA benchmark, it was observed that DeCART2D 2-dimensional lattice code with the newly-generated critical buckling predicts the criticality very well. Meanwhile, the critical buckling by the new method would be bound to the uncertainties. Therefore, utilizing basic equations linking input uncertainties to output uncertainties, a new formulation to estimate the uncertainties of the newly generated critical buckling was derived. It was then used to compute the uncertainties of the critical buckling for a TCA critical experiment under the assumption that nuclear cross-section data have uncertainties.