Uncertainty evaluation of the thermal expansion of simulated fuel

Thermal expansions of simulated fuel (SS1) are measured by using a dilatometer (DIL402C) from room temperature to 1900 K. The main procedure of an uncertainty evaluation was followed by the strategy of the UO₂ fuel. There exist uncertainties in the measurement, which should be quantified based on statistics. Referring to the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) guide, the uncertainties of the thermal expansion are quantified in three parts—the initial length, the length variation, and the system calibration factor. Each part is divided into two types. The A type uncertainty is derived from the statistical iterative measurement of an uncertainty and the B type uncertainty comes from a non-statistical uncertainty including a calibration and test reports. For the uncertainty evaluation, the digital calipers had been calibrated by the KOLAS (Korea Laboratory Accreditation Scheme) to obtain not only the calibration values but also the type B uncertainty. The whole system, the dilatometer (DIL402C), is composed of many complex sub-systems and in fact it is difficult to consider all the uncertainties of sub-systems. Thus, a calibration of the system was performed with a standard material (Al₂O₃), which is provided by NETZSCH. From the above standard uncertainties, the combined standard uncertainties were calculated by using the law of a propagation of an uncertainty. Finally, the expanded uncertainty was calculated by using the effective degree of freedom and the t-distribution for a given confidence level. The uncertainty of the thermal expansion for a simulated fuel was also compared with those of UO₂ fuel.