Development of an automated system for fuel reload patterns design

In this paper an automated system to generate fuel reload patterns for a bo iling water reactor (BWR), based on heuristic search methods using engineer s expertise is presented. The main components of the system are the knowled ge base, the inference engine, the 3D BWR simulator PRESTO-H and the user i nterface. The knowledge base includes a generation knowledge base and a mod ification knowledge base, which are concerned with the way human experts ge nerate reload patterns. The system has been developed and applied to the La guna Verde Nuclear Power Plant, achieving similar patterns to those used in the operation. No optimization algorithm has been incorporated in this sys tem, therefore the generated reload patterns are the best estimate accordin g the knowledge and experience of the nuclear engineers. Future works are b eing developed in this area using evolutionary optimization techniques as a complement of this system. Published by Elsevier Science S.A.