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Fusion energy: Progress, partnerships, and the path to deployment
Over the past decade, fusion energy has moved decisively from scientific aspiration toward a credible pathway to a new energy technology. Thanks to long-term federal support, we have significantly advanced our fundamental understanding of plasma physics—the behavior of the superheated gases at the heart of fusion devices. This knowledge will enable the creation and control of fusion fuel under conditions required for future power plants. Our progress is exemplified by breakthroughs at the National Ignition Facility and the Joint European Torus.
HyeonTae Kim, YuGwon Jo, Yonghee Kim
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 194 | Number 4 | April 2020 | Pages 297-307
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2019.1698240
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Performance enhancement of the spectral analysis method (SAM) for evaluating the real variance of local tallies from the partial current–based coarse-mesh finite difference (p-CMFD) feedback is verified and explained. In the SAM, on successive Monte Carlo (MC) cycles, the real variance is obtained from the cyclewise samples instead of an explicit evaluation of covariance. However, if the cycle correlation is strong, there is a bias and variance trade-off in the evaluated true uncertainty. This study shows that the p-CMFD feedback reduces the cycle covariance and hence eliminates the trade-off. A one-dimensional slab reactor and a three-dimensional simplified BEAVRS benchmark problem are analyzed, and the real standard deviation of the local tally is estimated from the SAM and compared with that from the conventional multibatch method. It is shown that the SAM with p-CMFD feedback can accurately calculate the real uncertainty without changing the MC algorithm and incurring computation burden.