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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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Powering the future: How the DOE is fueling nuclear fuel cycle research and development
As global interest in nuclear energy surges, the United States must remain at the forefront of research and development to ensure national energy security, advance nuclear technologies, and promote international cooperation on safety and nonproliferation. A crucial step in achieving this is analyzing how funding and resources are allocated to better understand how to direct future research and development. The Department of Energy has spearheaded this effort by funding hundreds of research projects across the country through the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP). This initiative has empowered dozens of universities to collaborate toward a nuclear-friendly future.
D. G. Cacuci, E. Wacholder
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 82 | Number 4 | December 1982 | Pages 461-468
Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/NSE82-A21460
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A rigorous formalism is presented for sensitivity analysis of functional-type responses associated with the well-posed system of quasi-linear partial differential equations (PDEs) of hyperbolic type that describe one-dimensional, two-phase flows. The rigor and generality of this formalism stem from the use of G differentials. In particular, it is possible to treat discontinuities and parameters that are functions rather than scalars. This formalism uses adjoint functions to determine efficiently sensitivities to many parameter variations. The adjoint system satisfied by these adjoint functions is explicitly determined and shown to be solvable as a well-posed system of linear first-order PDEs possessing the same characteristics as the original quasi-linear PDEs. For completeness, a general solution of this adjoint system is obtained by using the method of characteristics. The physical meaning of this sensitivity analysis formalism is illustrated by an application to the homogeneous equilibrium model for two-phase flow. Although this formalism does not address transition phenomena between single- and two-phase flow regimes and ignores higher order effects of parameter variations, it provides a complete theoretical framework for implementing an efficient sensitivity analysis capability into one-dimensional, two-phase flow models.