A two-step method for developing a control rod program for boiling water reactors

Journal Article · Tue Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1991 · Nuclear Technology; (United States)

OSTI ID:5860693

Taner, M S; Levine, S H ^[1]; Hsiao, M Y ^[2]

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1. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
2. Commonwealth Edison Co., Chicago, IL (United States)

This paper reports on a two-step method that is established for the generation of a long-term control rod program for boiling water reactors (BWRs). The new method assumes a time-variant target power distribution in core depletion. In the new method, the BWR control rod programming is divided into two steps. In step 1, a sequence of optimal, exposure-dependent Haling power distribution profiles is generated, utilizing the spectral shift concept. In step 2, a set of exposure-dependent control rod patterns is developed by using the Haling profiles generated at step 1 as a target. The new method is implemented in a computer program named OCTOPUS. The optimization procedure of OCTOPUS is based on the method of approximation programming, in which the SIMULATE-E code is used to determine the nucleonics characteristics of the reactor core state. In a test in cycle length over a time-invariant, target Haling power distribution case because of a moderate application of spectral shift. No thermal limits of the core were violated. The gain in cycle length could be increased further by broadening the extent of the spetral shift.

• OSTI ID: 5860693
• Journal Information: Nuclear Technology; (United States), Journal Name: Nuclear Technology; (United States) Vol. 97:1; ISSN NUTYB; ISSN 0029-5450
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
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99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990200 -- Mathematics & Computers
BWR TYPE REACTORS
COMPUTER CODES
CONTROL ROD WORTHS
DISTRIBUTION
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
O CODES
OPTIMIZATION
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POWER REACTORS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTOR CORES
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SPECTRAL SHIFT
THERMAL REACTORS
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS