Weight optimal design of the primary coolant system for a pressurized water reactor

In order to reduce the component sizes for high power reactors, optimization methodology is employed in the preliminary design of a nuclear power plant, by which one can find the best combination of the operation and the structural parameters. This not only meets design requirements, but also satisfies safety regulations. In this work, a thermal hydraulic model for the reactor core was developed to improve the optimization process, and to provide parameters for the weight estimation of the reactor vessel. Meanwhile, functional relationships involving component weights and the operation as well as the structural parameters of the reactor coolant system were established and verified. Parameters, having a great impact on the net weight of reactor coolant system, were picked out as the design variables by the sensitivity analyses, and were optimized by means of genetic algorithm. An optimal scheme was obtained, by which 13.15% of the net weight of the reactor coolant system is reduced.