US 12,254,996 B2
Method of determination of a nuclear core loading pattern
Thibaut Clouteau, Lyons (FR); and Markus Wicklein, Bubenreuth (DE)
Assigned to FRAMATOME, Courbevoie (FR)
Appl. No. 17/786,516
Filed by FRAMATOME, Courbevoie (FR)
PCT Filed Dec. 16, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/086501
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 16, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/122802, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 24, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 19306672 (EP), filed on Dec. 17, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0035729 A1, Feb. 2, 2023
Int. Cl. G21D 3/00 (2006.01); G21C 19/20 (2006.01)
CPC G21D 3/002 (2019.01) [G21D 3/004 (2019.01); G21C 19/205 (2013.01)] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of determination of a nuclear core loading pattern defining a disposition of fuel assemblies in the nuclear core for an operation cycle of a nuclear plant, the method comprising at least the following steps:
defining at least one potential core loading pattern;
calculating predictive bowing of the fuel assemblies at an end of the operation cycle for each potential core loading pattern, the calculation being carried out by an automatic learning algorithm trained on a training data set comprising a plurality of other core loading patterns and, for each of the other core loading patterns, measurements of bowing of fuel assemblies at the end of cycle;
evaluating the at least one potential core loading pattern based on the predictive bowing calculations and at least one predetermined criteria; and
selecting one of the potential core loading patterns based at least in part on the evaluating of the at least one potential core loading pattern.