HTGR Knowledge Base
Conference Article: Design of Pebble-Bed Reactors Using Genetic Algorithms
Hans D. Gougar, William K. Terry, Abderrafi M. Ougouag, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Idaho, USA; Kostadin N. Ivanov, The Pennsylvania State University, Dept. of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, PA, USAAbstract
We present a conceptual design approach for high-temperature gas-cooled reactors using recirculating pebble-bed cores. The --design approach uses PEBBED, a reactor physics code specifically designed for equilibrium cycle analysis of pebble-bed reactors (PBRs), in conjunction with a genetic algorithm to obtain a core that maximizes a fitness value that is a function of user-specified parameters. The uniqueness of the asymptotic pattern and the small number of independent parameters that define it suggest that a PBR core and fuel cycle can be efficiently optimized given a specified objective. In this paper, candidate core geometries are evaluated primarily on the basis of core multiplication factor and peak fuel temperatures, but core radius and pumping power can be considered as well. A design that achieves the criticality and passive safety objectives can be analyzed and further optimized with more detailed and sophisticated models. Fuel management schemes involving multiple pebble types and flow zones were optimized as part of this study. The method has been successfully employed to design a Very High Temperature Reactor as part of the US Department of Energy’s Next Generation Nuclear Plant program. A 600 MWt pebble bed VHTR was designed with passive safety characteristics, superior fuel economy, and resistance to steam ingress. Passive safety (peak accident temperatures < 1600 oC) was confirmed with the safety analysis code MELCOR. The INEEL’s PEBBED code is the first pebble bed analysis and design tool to employ advanced optimization techniques.
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key words: Gas Cooled Reactor, Nuclear Technology
- Reference:
- Proceedings of the Conference on High Temperature Reactors, Beijing, China, September, 22-24, 2004
- International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria)
- HTR-2004, pp:1-11
- International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria)