Uncertainty assessment for the thermal expansion of simulated fuel via the Monte Carlo method

The uncertainty of the thermal expansion of simulated fuel was evaluated based on the Monte Carlo method. The uncertainties of the thermal expansion were divided into three components: initial sample length, system calibration factor, and an iterative measurement. For each component, a normal probability distribution function was assumed and the extended uncertainty was evaluated for various samples and batches. The results were compared with an international standard guide. Furthermore, the Shapiro–Wilk test was performed to establish a normality of the estimated sample means.