Automated design optimisation of nuclear reactor cores

反应堆物理学家的关键职能之一是优化燃料和毒药的设计，使功率形状尽可能平坦和恒定。这确保了功率峰值尽可能小，反应堆的功率能力尽可能大。挑战在于既要在空间上做到这一点，又要将其作为所有不同核心条件下核心寿命（即耗尽）的函数。这需要在确保反应堆满足所有其他设计目标和要求的同时完成，例如最大化其堆芯寿命并确保其满足其反应性关闭裕度。该博士将着眼于开发一种自动化设计优化方法，以最大限度地提高核心的功率和寿命能力。这将涉及自动改变关键设计选项，例如：燃料的浓度和位置；毒物的浓度和位置；燃料元件和流道的尺寸；等。

One of the key functions of a Reactor Physicist is to optimise the fuel and poison design to make the power-shape as flat and constant as possible. This ensures that the power peaks are as small as possible and the power capability of the reactor is as large as possible. The challenge is to do this both spatially and as a function of core lifetime (i.e. depletion) for all of the different core conditions. This needs to be done whilst ensuring that the reactor meets all of the other design objectives and requirements, such as maximising its core lifetime and ensuring it meets its reactivity shutdown margins.This PhD will look to developing an automated design optimisation approach to maximise the power and lifetime capability of the core. This will involve automatically varying key design options such as: the concentration and location of the fuel; the concentration and location of poison; the dimensions of the fuel elements and flow paths; etc.