Global Nuclear Fuel - Americas, LLC

Global Nuclear Fuels-americas, LLC

Atul Arun Karve

Angelo Chopelas

Gregory J Pearson

David Joseph Kropaczek

Gerald A Potts

Mark Andrew Dubecky

James Brian Smith

James Fawks

John R Burr

Brian Moore

Ugur Mertyurek

Angelo Peter Chopelas

Cores include different types of control cells in different numbers and positions. A periphery of the core just inside the perimeter may have higher reactivity fuel in outer control cells, and lower reactivity cells may be placed in an inner core inside the inner ring. Cores can include about half fresh fuel positioned in higher proportions in the inner ring and away from inner control cells. Cores are compatible with multiple core control cell setups, including BWRs, ESBWRs, ABWRs, etc. Cores can be loaded during conventional outages. Cores can be operated with control elements in only the inner ring control cells for reactivity adjustment. Control elements in outer control cells need be moved only at sequence exchanges. Near end of cycle, reactivity in the core may be controlled with inner control cells alone, and control elements in outer control cells can be fully withdrawn.

Nuclear reactor core loading and operation strategies

An apparatus generating a graphical image of a core of a boiling water reactor (BWR) using at least one data set of channel deformation data including: a computer system including a display device for presenting the graphical image and a processor generating the graphical image using the at least one data set; the graphical image of the core includes symbolic representations of control blades arranged in the core, indicia identify each control blade, and indicia regarding deformation of channels adjacent each control blade, and a viewer software tool executed by the processor which accesses the at least one data set and determines a location in the core of the control blades and channels, and correlates the deformation data with the channels for display on the graphical image.

Display, visualization, and processing tool for channel distortion and cell friction mitigation

A method of and a system for evaluating constraint functions for improving nuclear reactor performance involve generating an operational solution for a nuclear reactor using a constraint to account for a problem with the operation of the nuclear reactor. The problem is based at least in part on channel deformation criteria.

Method and apparatus for evaluating a proposed solution to a constraint problem for a nuclear reactor involving channel deformation

A method of calculating and using a constraint for fuel rods is provided. The method may utilize pin nodal exposures and pin nodal powers to obtain the constraint, calculate rod average exposures and rod average powers (kW/ft) in each fuel assembly, and develop maps from the calculated rod average exposures and powers (kW/ft) to operate design, optimization, licensing, and/or monitoring applications.

Method and system for calculating rod average criteria

Systems and methods for a method for determining a critical effective k at an off-rated core state of a nuclear power plant includes determining, for the off-rated core state a control rod density, a percent core power, a gadolinium reactivity worth, a doppler reactivity worth, and a xenon reactivity worth responsive to a control rod pattern, a reactor power plan including the off-rated core state, and a reference effective k, calculating a change in an effective k from the reference effective k at the off-rated core state responsive to two or more parameters selected from the group consisting of the control rod density, the percent core power, the gadolinium reactivity worth, the doppler reactivity worth, and the xenon reactivity worth, and generating the critical effective k for the off-rated core state responsive to the change in the effective k from the reference effective k.

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Wilmington, NC, United States of America

Atul Arun Karve