arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 21

Assessment of Machine Learning-Based Critical Heat Flux Models in the CTF Subchannel Code for Square Rod Bundle Prediction

The paper evaluates machine learning (ML) models for predicting critical heat flux (CHF) in square rod bundles using the CTF subchannel code and the EPRI rod bundle CHF database. It compares pure and hybrid residual correction models in local and semilocal forms, finding that tube-trained ML models transfer well to rod bundle geometries and outperform traditional empirical correlations and lookup tables. The local hybrid LUT model shows the best overall performance, while the semilocal pure ML model remains highly competitive, indicating that significant improvements in rod bundle CHF prediction are achievable even with tube-only training data.

By Aidan Furlong, Vinicius de Melo Monteiro, Robert Salko, Juliana Pacheco Duarte, Xu Wu
arXiv Machine Learning
Oct 23

Aggregation of Published Non-Uniform Axial Power Data for Phase II of the OECD/NEA AI/ML Critical Heat Flux Benchmark

The paper compiles and digitizes a comprehensive dataset of critical heat flux (CHF) measurements for both uniform and non‑uniform axial heating conditions, preparing it for Phase II of the OECD/NEA AI/ML CHF benchmark. Heating profiles were extracted from technical reports, interpolated onto a consistent axial mesh, validated with energy‑balance checks, and encoded in machine‑readable formats. Baseline modeling results show that classical CHF correlations perform poorly, especially for non‑uniform profiles, and that neural networks trained only on uniform data fail to generalize to spatially varying scenarios, highlighting the need for models that explicitly incorporate axial power distributions.

By Reece Bourisaw, Reid McCants, Jean-Marie Le Corre, Anna Iskhakova, Arsen S. Iskhakov
arXiv AI
Aug 26

A tale of perfect fit and phantom optima: how data-driven models can fail in real-time optimization

The paper examines the reliability of data‑driven models for real‑time optimization (RTO) using a vinyl acetate monomer benchmark. Two models—a structured hybrid model and a fully data‑driven neural ODE—accurately reproduce plant measurements but yield economic optima that differ markedly from the plant’s true optimum, producing multiple phantom optima. The study shows that even with noise‑free data and correct initialization, stochastic gradient training can drift to weights that degrade RTO performance, indicating that predictive accuracy alone does not ensure reliable economic outcomes.

By Prithvi Dake, Rahul Bindlish, James B. Rawlings