Optimization of Fuel Rod Enrichment Distribution to Minimize Rod Power Peaking throughout Life within BWR Fuel Assembly

Abstract

A practical method was developed for determining the optimum fuel enrichment distribution within a boiling water reactor fuel assembly. The method deals with two different optimization problems, i.e. a combinatorial optimization problem grouping fuel rods into a given number of rod groups with the same enrichment, and a problem determining an optimal enrichment for each fuel rod under the resultant rod-grouping pattern. In solving these problems, the primary goal is to minimize a predefined objective function over a given exposure period. The objective function used here is defined by a linear combination: C₁X₂X_G , where X and X_G stand for a control variable to give the constraint respectively for a local power peaking factor and a gadolinium rod power, and C ₁ and C ₂ are a user-definable weighting factor to accommodate the design preference.

The algorithm of solving the combinatorial optimization problem starts with finding the optimal enrichment vector without any rod-grouping, and promising candidates of rod-grouping patterns are found by exhaustive enumeration based on the resulting fuel enrichment ordering, and then the latter problem is solved by using the method of approximation programming. The practical application of the present method is shown for a contemporary 8x8 Pu mixed-oxide fuel assembly with 10 gadolinium-poisoned rods.

KEYWORDS:

• algorithms
• optimization
• fuel enrichment distribution
• combinatorial optimization problem
• rod grouping pattern
• approximation programming
• linear programming
• exhaustive enumeration
• mixed oxide fuels
• fuel assemblies
• BWR type reactors