Progress of Covariance Evaluation at the China Nuclear Data Center

Covariance evaluations at the China Nuclear Data Center focus on the cross sections of structural materials and actinides in the fast neutron energy range. In addition to the well-known Least-squares approach, a method based on the analysis of the sources of experimental uncertainties is especially introduced to generate a covariance matrix for a particular reaction for which multiple measurements are available. The scheme of the covariance evaluation flow is presented, and an example of n+90Zr is given to illuminate the whole procedure. It is proven that the accuracy of measurements can be properly incorporated into the covariance and the long-standing small uncertainty problem can be avoided.