Novel Methods for Generalizing Nuclear Fuel Cycle Design, and Fuel Burnup Modeling

Novel Methods for Generalizing Nuclear Fuel Cycle Design, and Fuel Burnup Modeling PDF Author: Robert Ryan Flanagan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
The large number of reactor designs and concepts in existence open up a vast array of nuclear fuel cycle strategies. u. These different reactor types require unique supporting systems from raw material extraction and handling to waste management. Any system designed to model nuclear energy should therefore have methods that are capability of representing a large number of unique fuel cycles. This work examines a user interface designed to generalize the design of nuclear fuel cycles. This software, known as CycIC, allows users to interact graphically with a fuel cycle simulator (Cyclus). In this work, the capabilities of CycIC were improved through two rounds of rigorous user experience testing. These tests were used as a basis for implementing improvements to the software. Two views inside the software were improved to allow for users to interact with the software more intuitively, and features that provide help to the users were added to improve understanding of fuel cycles and Cyclus. Additionally, this work expands the capabilities of a reactor modeling software (known as Bright-lite) which uses the fluence based neutron balance approach to determine burnup, criticality, and transmutation matrixes for nuclear reactors to augment its modeling of the broadest range of fuel cycle strategies. Specifically, a multi-dimensional interpolation method was implemented to enable reactors to be characterized by sets of cross section libraries which potentially depend on a large number of reactor characteristics. The accuracy of this interpolation method is demonstrated for a number of parameters for light water reactors, and techniques for using this interpolation method to automatically generate reactor libraries for Bright-lite are demonstrated. This research also generalizes the ability of the Bright-lite to blend multiple streams of nuclear fuel while still maintaining constraints. This system is demonstrated for continuous recycle nuclear fuel cycles utilizing light water and fast spectrum reactors. The results show that Bright-lite is capable of blending fuel to reach several targets using up to three different input streams.

Novel Methods for Generalizing Nuclear Fuel Cycle Design, and Fuel Burnup Modeling

Novel Methods for Generalizing Nuclear Fuel Cycle Design, and Fuel Burnup Modeling PDF Author: Robert Ryan Flanagan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
The large number of reactor designs and concepts in existence open up a vast array of nuclear fuel cycle strategies. u. These different reactor types require unique supporting systems from raw material extraction and handling to waste management. Any system designed to model nuclear energy should therefore have methods that are capability of representing a large number of unique fuel cycles. This work examines a user interface designed to generalize the design of nuclear fuel cycles. This software, known as CycIC, allows users to interact graphically with a fuel cycle simulator (Cyclus). In this work, the capabilities of CycIC were improved through two rounds of rigorous user experience testing. These tests were used as a basis for implementing improvements to the software. Two views inside the software were improved to allow for users to interact with the software more intuitively, and features that provide help to the users were added to improve understanding of fuel cycles and Cyclus. Additionally, this work expands the capabilities of a reactor modeling software (known as Bright-lite) which uses the fluence based neutron balance approach to determine burnup, criticality, and transmutation matrixes for nuclear reactors to augment its modeling of the broadest range of fuel cycle strategies. Specifically, a multi-dimensional interpolation method was implemented to enable reactors to be characterized by sets of cross section libraries which potentially depend on a large number of reactor characteristics. The accuracy of this interpolation method is demonstrated for a number of parameters for light water reactors, and techniques for using this interpolation method to automatically generate reactor libraries for Bright-lite are demonstrated. This research also generalizes the ability of the Bright-lite to blend multiple streams of nuclear fuel while still maintaining constraints. This system is demonstrated for continuous recycle nuclear fuel cycles utilizing light water and fast spectrum reactors. The results show that Bright-lite is capable of blending fuel to reach several targets using up to three different input streams.

Nuclear Fuel Cycle Optimization

Nuclear Fuel Cycle Optimization PDF Author: P. Silvennoinen
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 1483145549
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 139

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Book Description
Nuclear Fuel Cycle Optimization: Methods and Modelling Techniques discusses applicable methods for analysis of fuel cycle logistics and optimization and evaluation of the economics of various reactor strategies. The opening chapter covers the nuclear fuel cycle, while the next chapter tackles uranium supply and demand. Chapter 3 discusses basic model of the light water reactor (LWR). The fourth chapter talks about the resolution of uncertainties, and the fifth chapter discusses the assessment of proliferation risks. Chapter 6 covers multigoal optimization, while Chapter 7 deals with the generalized fuel cycle models. The eighth chapter covers reactor strategy calculations, whereas the last chapter discusses interface with energy strategy. The book will appeal to students of energy economics or of nuclear engineering.

Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Nuclear Fuel Cycle PDF Author: Cochran
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780000123442
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Modeling the Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Modeling the Nuclear Fuel Cycle PDF Author: Jacob J. Jacobson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
The Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative is developing a system dynamics model as part of their broad systems analysis of future nuclear energy in the United States. The model will be used to analyze and compare various proposed technology deployment scenarios. The model will also give a better understanding of the linkages between the various components of the nuclear fuel cycle that includes uranium resources, reactor number and mix, nuclear fuel type and waste management. Each of these components is tightly connected to the nuclear fuel cycle but usually analyzed in isolation of the other parts. This model will attempt to bridge these components into a single model for analysis. This work is part of a multi-national laboratory effort between Argonne National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory and United States Department of Energy. This paper summarizes the basics of the system dynamics model and looks at some results from the model.

Essential Physics for Fuel Cycle Modeling

Essential Physics for Fuel Cycle Modeling PDF Author: Anthony Michael Scopatz
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 504

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Book Description
Nuclear fuel cycles (NFC) are the collection of interconnected processes which generate electricity through nuclear power. Due to the high degree of coupling between components even in the simplest cycles, the need for a dynamic fuel cycle simulator and analysis framework arises. The work presented herein develops essential physics models of nuclear power reactors and incorporate them into a NFC simulation framework. First, a one-energy group reactor model is demonstrated. This essential physics model is then to simulate a sampling fuel cycles which are perturbations of well known base-case cycles. Because the NFC may now be simulated quickly, stochastically modeling many fuel cycle realizations dramatically expands the parameter space which may be analyzed. Finally, a multigroup reactor model which incorporates spectral changes as a function of burnup is presented to increase the fidelity of the original one-group reactor. These methods form a suite of modeling technologies which reach from the lowest levels (individual components) to the highest (inter-cycle comparisons). Prior to the development of this model suite, such broad-ranging analysis had been unrealistic to perform. The work here thus presents a new, multi-scale approach to fuel cycle system design.

Nuclear Reactor Fuel Cycle Analysis by Use of Burnup Functions

Nuclear Reactor Fuel Cycle Analysis by Use of Burnup Functions PDF Author: Hassan Marzouk
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycle Transitions

Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycle Transitions PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
Many nuclear fuel cycle simulators have evolved over time to help understan the nuclear industry/ecosystem at a macroscopic level. Cyclus is one of th first fuel cycle simulators to accommodate larger-scale analysis with it liberal open-source licensing and first-class Linux support. Cyclus also ha features that uniquely enable investigating the effects of modeling choices o fuel cycle simulators and scenarios. This work is divided into thre experiments focusing on optimization, effects of modeling choices, and fue cycle uncertainty Effective optimization techniques are developed for automatically determinin desirable facility deployment schedules with Cyclus. A novel method fo mapping optimization variables to deployment schedules is developed. Thi allows relationships between reactor types and scenario constraints to b represented implicitly in the variable definitions enabling the usage o optimizers lacking constraint support. It also prevents wasting computationa resources evaluating infeasible deployment schedules. Deployed power capacit over time and deployment of non-reactor facilities are also included a optimization variables There are many fuel cycle simulators built with different combinations o modeling choices. Comparing results between them is often difficult. Cyclus flexibility allows comparing effects of many such modeling choices. Reacto refueling cycle synchronization and inter-facility competition among othe effects are compared in four cases each using combinations of fleet o individually modeled reactors with 1-month or 3-month time steps. There ar noticeable differences in results for the different cases. The larges differences occur during periods of constrained reactor fuel availability This and similar work can help improve the quality of fuel cycle analysi generally There is significant uncertainty associated deploying new nuclear technologie such as time-frames for technology availability and the cost of buildin advanced reactors. Historically, fuel cycle analysis has focused on answerin questions of fuel cycle feasibility and optimality. However, there has no been much work done to address uncertainty in fuel cycle analysis helpin answer questions of fuel cycle robustness. This work develops an demonstrates a methodology for evaluating deployment strategies whil accounting for uncertainty. Techniques are developed for measuring th hedging properties of deployment strategies under uncertainty. Additionally methods for using optimization to automatically find good hedging strategie are demonstrated

Improved Building Methodology and Analysis of Delay Scenarios of Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycles with the Verifiable Fuel Cycle Simulation Model (VISION)

Improved Building Methodology and Analysis of Delay Scenarios of Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycles with the Verifiable Fuel Cycle Simulation Model (VISION) PDF Author: Tyler Martin Schweitzer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
Keywords: Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycles.

An Agent-based Modeling Framework and Application for the Generic Nuclear Fuel Cycle

An Agent-based Modeling Framework and Application for the Generic Nuclear Fuel Cycle PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
Key components of a novel methodology and implementation of an agent-based, dynamic nuclear fuel cycle simulator, Cyclus , are presented. The nuclear fuel cycle is a complex, physics-dependent supply chain. To date, existing dynamic simulators have not treated constrained fuel supply, time-dependent, isotopic-quality based demand, or fuel fungibility particularly well. Utilizing an agent-based methodology that incorporates sophisticated graph theory and operations research techniques can overcome these deficiencies. This work describes a simulation kernel and agents that interact with it, highlighting the Dynamic Resource Exchange (DRE), the supply-demand framework at the heart of the kernel. The key agent-DRE interaction mechanisms are described, which enable complex entity interaction through the use of physics and socio-economic models. The translation of an exchange instance to a variant of the Multicommodity Transportation Problem, which can be solved feasibly or optimally, follows. An extensive investigation of solution performance and fidelity is then presented. Finally, recommendations for future users of Cyclus and the DRE are provided.

Numerical Methods for Nuclear Fuel Burnup Calculations

Numerical Methods for Nuclear Fuel Burnup Calculations PDF Author: Maria Pusa
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 65

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Book Description