Impact of physical model error on State Estimation for neutronics applications

Abstract: In this paper, we consider the inverse problem of state estimation of nuclear power fields in a power plant from a limited number of observations of the neutron flux. For this, we use the Parametrized Background Data Weak approach. The method combines the observations with a parametrized PDE model for the behavior of the neutron flux. Since, in general, even the most sophisticated models cannot perfectly capture reality, an inevitable model error is made. We investigate the impact of the model error in the power reconstruction when we use a diffusion model for the neutron flux, and assume that the true physics are governed by a neutron transport model.