Probabilistic analysis of nuclear fuel rod behavior using a quasi-Monte Carlo method

Distribution of some important fuel rod performance parameters, internal rod pressure, and fission gas release in a boiling water reactor are studied using the quasi-Monte Carlo (QMC) probabilistic method. Rod power histories and important fabrication parameters are considered. The deterministic fuel performance code STAV6 together with a QMC pre- and postprocessor are used in the analysis. The convergence rate of the QMC method is considerably higher than the standard Monte Carlo method, which saves a substantial amount of computer time. Asymptotically, the error for QMC is proportional to 1/N, and for Monte Carlo, it is essentially proportional to 1/√N, where N is the number of calculations (computer runs). Principles of the QMC method are discussed, and an algorithm to generate such data is outlined