The GPT saga at École Polytechnique

Abstract

An important contribution of Prof. Daniel Rozon to research is related to the introduction and use of Generalized Perturbation Theory (GPT) in reactor physics. This approach was first reported in 1977, in the context of equilibrium refueling optimization for CANDU reactors. The combination of GPT and Mathematical Programming led to the OPTEX research project, still active thirty years later. Today, GPT is implemented in many important reactor physics codes still in development at École Polytechnique. It is available in DONJON for full-core analyses, mainly as a support for OPTEX. It is also available in DRAGON where it is currently used to evaluate the sensitivities of global or local system parameters to basic cross-section data or isotopic concentration that are required for uncertainty calculations.