A sensitivity analysis of the modified embedded atom method (MEAM) potential for bodycentered-cubic uranium and zirconium was performed in order to examine and understand the uncertainty in the parameters and formalism of the interatomic potential. The sensitivity analysis was conducted using one-at-a-time (OAT) sampling of the parameters and how they affected the ground state, thermal, and alloy structural and thermodynamic properties. The performed analysis was able to uncover the properties that can be easily varied or adjusted like the lattice constant, and the properties that had little variance like the heat capacity. The observed analysis on the ground state properties was found to correspond well with previously published results, after which the thermal and alloy properties were examined. A new method of categorizing changes in the alloy properties was developed that allows for the discrimination of bonding behaviors, determining if the strength of the bonding between atoms changed or if the manner in which they were bonded together changed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.