Consistency Check Approach to Quantitative Verificatio

The mean for some given quality characteristic of a population of N items is to be estimated by selecting n items at random and measuring these items with measurement device #1, a nondestructive assay (NDA) device. This NDA device is then calibrated by randomly selecting the n items and measuring them by measurement device #2, a destructive assay method. The problem is to estimate the population mean using the (n+k) measurement results and to find the variance of the estimate. As a specific example, the population may be N sintered fuel pellets of nominally the same enrichment. The quality characteristic may be the enrichment (% U-235). Measurement device #1 may be a SAM-2, and measurement device #2 a mass spectrometer . a subset k<n of