Patent ID: 7337099
Filing Date: 2008-02-26
Classification: G21C,G21D,Y02E

Abstract:
1. A method of generating a database of selectable fresh fuel bundle designs usable in one or more nuclear reactors, comprising: generating an initial population of candidate fresh fuel bundle designs to be evaluated in a virtual core from stored historical fresh fuel bundle designs; establishing a set of rod-type changes to make to a given candidate in the initial population so as to create a modified candidate fresh fuel bundle design; modifying the given candidate fresh fuel bundle design by making at least one rod-type change from the set of rod-type changes; simulating reactor operation of the virtual core loaded with the modified fresh fuel bundle design so as to generate a plurality of simulation results, the simulation results including bundle performance outputs representative of the modified fresh fuel bundle design; ranking the bundle performance outputs based on a plurality of user-input limits; and storing in the database, at least for concurrent or subsequent display to a user, the modified candidate fresh fuel bundle design if the bundle performance outputs meet, or are within an accepted margin to, the user-input limits.