A multicycle reload optimization method in once-through fuel cycles of light-water reactors

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:6286940

Kim, Hyongchol

The results of an increased discharged burnup scheme show a good potential for decreasing fuel costs in comparison with the maximum cycle energy design method. Cycle analyses are performed with a modified one-group and one-dimensional neutronic model. For the first step, a simple method for allocating fuel assemblies to maximize the cycle energy, or the end-of-cycle core reactivity, is developed. The method uses the Haling principle and the allocation is determined based on the predicted core state at the end of cycle. The reactivity of fuel assembly is used as the index variable of fuel state. Fuel assemblies are allocated by region, using the gradient projection method, to simulate the optimal target core. The target core is determined for a given set of reload fuel assemblies for each cycle, using the linear programming method. The use of linear programming is improved by incorporating goal programming so that the iteration process has a robust convergence characteristic. Once the optimal core (in the sense of maximum cycle energy) is obtained, the core is further modified to increase the discharged burnup. For this purpose, the sum of the discharged burnups is included as a part of the objective function of the optimization problem. In a multicycle test problem, the algorithm is successfully applied and the results are compared in terms of the fuel utilization, for which the total cycle length for several cycles is adopted. The cycle designs, both with maximum cycle energy and with increased discharged burnup, achieved gains in fuel utilization. The increased discharged burnup reload designs show a better potential for reducing fuel costs than the maximum cycle energy design in the test problem, and are strongly recommended for consideration when determining multicycle fuel configurations.

• Research Organization: Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6286940
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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ALGORITHMS
ALLOCATIONS
BURNUP
CALCULATION METHODS
CAPACITY
COST
DESIGN
ENERGY SOURCES
FUEL ASSEMBLIES
FUEL MANAGEMENT
FUELS
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICAL LOGIC
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NUCLEAR FUELS
ONE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
OPTIMIZATION
REACTIVITY
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTOR CORES
REACTOR FUELING
REACTOR MATERIALS
REACTORS
SPENT FUELS
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS