Simulation methods for nuclear production scheduling

This paper reviews some of the recent developments and applications of simulation methods for use in nuclear production scheduling and fuel management. A more detailed summary of the state of the art is contained in an Engineering Foundation Conference paper (1). Emphasis in this paper is placed on the various formulations and approaches to the mid-range planning problem, whose objective is the determination of an optimal (least cost) system operating strategy over a multi-year planning horizon. The decomposition of the mid-range problem into power system simulation, reactor core simulation and nuclear fuel management optimization, and system integration models is discussed.