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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Deep Space: The new frontier of radiation controls
In commercial nuclear power, there has always been a deliberate tension between the regulator and the utility owner. The regulator fundamentally exists to protect the worker, and the utility, to make a profit. It is a win-win balance.
From the U.S. nuclear industry has emerged a brilliantly successful occupational nuclear safety record—largely the result of an ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) process that has driven exposure rates down to what only a decade ago would have been considered unthinkable. In the U.S. nuclear industry, the system has accomplished an excellent, nearly seamless process that succeeds to the benefit of both employee and utility owner.
Juan José Ortiz, Alejandro Castillo, José Luis Montes, Raúl Perusquía
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 157 | Number 2 | October 2007 | Pages 236-244
Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/NSE07-A2725
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A new system to optimize both control rod pattern and fuel-loading design in boiling water reactors is shown. The system is named OCOTH, and it is based on heuristic techniques such as genetic algorithms, neural networks, and ant colonies. Each heuristic technique is used to design a part of the optimization process. So, the neural network finds an initial fuel loading with a Haling burnup calculation. The ant colony system optimizes full-power control rod pattern of the initial fuel loading. Finally, the genetic algorithm optimizes fuel loading with the optimized control rod patterns. The ant colony system and the genetic algorithm perform an iterative loop until a stop criterion is fulfilled; for example, control rod pattern and fuel-loading convergence. The OCOTH system was tested in an equilibrium cycle of Mexico's Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant. We found very good results in control rod pattern and fuel-loading coupled optimization.
