Generalized energy efficiency of a nuclear power station derived from the reactor fuel reproduction ratio and the overall efficiency

Abstract

The authors construct algorithms for calculating and optimizing the overall energy efficiency of nuclear power plants which are based on hydraulic and heat transfer considerations and reactor lattice parameters as well as fuel management and cycle and reactor fueling options including spent fuels reprocessing. They generalize their algorithms to a number of reactor efficiency scenarios including thermal neutron, LMFBR, fast, and WWER type reactors. The algorithms, for the case of breeder reactors, also incorporate breeding ratio parameters.