• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.11
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• pp.3665-3674
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• 2021

One of the important parts of the in-core fuel management is loading pattern optimization (LPO). The loading pattern optimization as a reasonable design of the in-core fuel management can improve both economic and safe aspects of the nuclear reactor. This work proposes the hybrid of fuzzy logic controller with harmony search algorithm (HS) for loading pattern optimization in a pressurized water reactor. The music improvisation process to find a pleasing harmony is inspiring the harmony search algorithm. In this work, the adjustment of the harmony search algorithm parameters such as the bandwidth and the pitch adjustment rate are increasing performance of the proposed algorithm which is done through a fuzzy logic controller. Hence, membership functions and fuzzy rules are designed to improve the performance of the HS algorithm and achieve optimal results. The objective of the method is finding an optimum core arrangement according to safety and economic aspects such as reduction of power peaking factor (PPF) and increase of effective multiplication factor (Keff). The proposed approach effectiveness has been tried in two cases, Michalewicz's bivariate function problem and NEACRP LWR core. The results show that by using fuzzy harmony search algorithm the value of the fitness function is improved by 15.35%. Finally, with regard to the new solutions proposed in this research it could be used as a trustworthy method for other optimization issues of engineering field.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.43-53
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• 2017

Increasing the operation cycle length can be an important goal in the fuel reload design of a nuclear reactor core. In this research paper, a new optimization approach, electromagnetism mechanism (EM), is applied to the fuel arrangement design of the Bushehr WWER-1000 core. For this purpose, a neutronic solver has been developed for calculating the required parameters during the reload cycle of the reactor. In this package, two modules have been linked, including PARCS v2.7 and WIMS-5B codes, integrated in a solver for using in the fuel arrangement optimization operation. The first results of the prepared package, along with the cycle for the original pattern of Bushehr WWER-1000, are compared and verified according to the Final Safety Analysis Report and then the results of exploited EM linked with Purdue Advanced Reactor Core Simulator (PARCS) and Winfrith Improved Multigroup Scheme (WIMS) codes are reported for the loading pattern optimization. Totally, the numerical results of our loading pattern optimization indicate the power of the EM for this problem and also show the effective improvement of desired parameters for the gained semi-optimized core pattern in comparison to the designer scheme.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.357-374
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• 2014

The design basis is being shifted from strength to deformation in modern performance-based design codes. This paper presents a practical method for optimization of eccentrically braced steel frames, based on the concept of uniform deformation theory (UDT). This is done by gradually shifting inefficient material from strong parts of the structure to the weak areas until a state of uniform deformation is achieved. In the first part of this paper, UDT is implemented on 3, 5 and 10 story eccentrically braced frames (EBF) subjected to 12 earthquake records representing the design spectrum of ASCE/SEI 7-10. Subsequently, the optimum strength-distribution patterns corresponding to these excitations are determined, and compared with four other loading patterns. Since the optimized frames have uniform distribution of deformation, they undergo less damage in comparison with code-based designed structures while having minimum structural weight. For further investigation, the 10 story EBF is redesigned using four different loading patterns and subjected to 12 earthquake excitations. Then a comparison is made between link rotations of each model and those belonging to the optimized one which revealed that the optimized EBF behaves generally better than those designed by other loading patterns. Finally, efficiency of each loading pattern is evaluated and the best one is determined.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1999.05a
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• pp.25-25
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• 1999

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.1126-1139
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• 2016

In this research, for the first time, a new optimization method, i.e., strength Pareto evolutionary algorithm II (SPEA-II), is developed for the burnable poison placement (BPP) optimization of a nuclear reactor core. In the BPP problem, an optimized placement map of fuel assemblies with burnable poison is searched for a given core loading pattern according to defined objectives. In this work, SPEA-II coupled with a nodal expansion code is used for solving the BPP problem of Kraftwerk Union AG (KWU) pressurized water reactor. Our optimization goal for the BPP is to achieve a greater multiplication factor ($K_{eff}$) for gaining possible longer operation cycles along with more flattening of fuel assembly relative power distribution, considering a safety constraint on the radial power peaking factor. For appraising the proposed methodology, the basic approach, i.e., SPEA, is also developed in order to compare obtained results. In general, results reveal the acceptance performance and high strength of SPEA, particularly its new version, i.e., SPEA-II, in achieving a semioptimized loading pattern for the BPP optimization of KWU pressurized water reactor.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.13 no.7
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• pp.41-51
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• 2015

Purpose - This study analyzes loading efficiency by loading pattern for package standardization and reduction of logistics costs, along with the creation of revenue for the revenue review panel (RRP) of Membership Wholesale Clubs (MWC). The study aims to identify standard dimensions that can help improve the compatibility of the pallets related to display patterns preferred by the MWC and thereby explore ways to enhance logistics efficiency between manufacturers and retailers through standardization. Research design, data, and methodology - The study investigates and analyzes the current status based on actual case examples, i.e., manufacturer A and Korea's MWC (A company, B company, and C company), and thus devises improvement measures. To achieve this, the case of manufacturer A delivering to MWC was examined, and the actual pallet display patterns for each MWC were investigated by visiting each distribution site. In this study, TOPS (Total Optimization Packaging Software, USA) was used as the tool for pallet loading efficiency simulations the maximum allowable dimension was set to 0.0mm to prevent the pallet from falling outside the parameters, and the loading efficiency was analyzed with the pallet area. In other words, the study focused on dimensions (length x width x height) according to the research purpose and thereby deduced results. Results - The analysis of pallet loading patterns showed that the most preferred loading patterns for loading efficiency according to product specification, such as pinwheel, brick, and block patterns, were used in the case of the general distribution products, but the products were configured with block patterns in most cases when delivered to MWCs. The loading efficiency by loading pattern was analyzed with respect to 104 nationally listed standard dimensions. Meanwhile, No.51 (330 × 220mm) of KS T 1002 (1,100 × 1,100mm) was found to be the dimension that could bring about an improved loading efficiency, over 90.0% simultaneously in both the T-11 and T-12 pallet systems in a loading pattern configuration with the block pattern only, and the loading efficiency simulation results also confirmed this as the standard dimension that can be commonly applied to both the T-11 pallet (90.0%) and the T-12 pallet (90.7%) systems. Conclusions - The loading efficiency simulation results by loading pattern were analyzed: For the T-11 pallet system, 17 standard dimension sizes displayed the loading efficiency of 90.0% or more as block patterns, and the loading capacity was an average of 99.0%. For the T-12 pallet system, 35 standard dimension sizes displayed the loading efficiency of more than 90% as block patterns (the average loading efficiency of 98.6%). Accordingly, this study proposes that the standard dimensions of 17 sizes with the average loading efficiency of 99.0% should be applied in the use of the T-11 pallet system, and those of 35 sizes with the average loading efficiency of 98.6% should be reviewed and applied in the use of the T-12 pallet system.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.143-144
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• 2005

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.119-129
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• 2013

Nonlinear Static Procedures (NSPs) have been developed as a practical tool to estimate the seismic demand of structures. Several researches have accomplished to minimize errors of NSPs, namely pushover procedures, in the Nonlinear Time History Analysis (NTHA), as the most exact method. The most important issue in a typical pushover procedure is the pattern and technique of loading which are extracted based on structural dynamic fundamentals. In this paper, the coefficients of modal force combination is focused involving a meta-heuristic optimization algorithm to find the optimum load pattern which results in a response with minimum amount of errors in comparison to the NTHA counterpart. Other parameters of the problem are based on the FEMA recommendations for pushover analysis of building structures. The proposed approach is implemented on a high-rise 20 storey concrete moment resisting frame under three earthquake records. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the studied procedure the results are presented beside other well-known pushover methods such as MPA and the FEMA procedures, and the results show the efficiency of the proposed load patterns.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.54-63
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• 2023

High and intermittent loading cycles induce fatigue damage to transmission components, resulting in premature gearbox failure. To identify gearbox defects, numerous vibration-based diagnostics techniques, using several artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, have recently been presented. In this paper, an optimized deep belief network (DBN) model for gearbox problem diagnosis was designed based on time-frequency visual pattern identification. To optimize the hyperparameters of the model, a particle swarm optimization (PSO) approach was integrated into the DBN. The proposed model was tested on two gearbox datasets: a wind turbine gearbox and an experimental gearbox. The optimized DBN model demonstrated strong and robust performance in classification accuracy. In addition, the accuracy of the generated datasets was compared using traditional ML and DL algorithms. Furthermore, the proposed model was evaluated on different partitions of the dataset. The results showed that, even with a small amount of sample data, the optimized DBN model achieved high accuracy in diagnosis.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.377-388
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• 2021

Thin perforated Steel Plate Shear Walls (SPSWs) are among the most common types of seismic energy dissipation systems to protect the main boundary components of SPSWs from fatal fractures in the high-risk zones. In this paper, the cyclic behavior of the different circular hole patterns under cyclic loading is reported. Based on the experimental results, it can be concluded that a change in the perforation pattern of the circular holes leads to a change in the locations of the fracture tendency over the web plate, especially at the plate-frame interactions. Accordingly, the cyclic responses of the tested specimens were simulated by finite element method using the ABAQUS package. Likewise, perforated shear panels with a new perforation pattern obtained by implementing Topology Optimization (TO) were proposed. It was found that the ultimate shear strength of the specimen with the proposed TO perforation pattern was higher than that of the other specimens. In addition, theoretical equations using the Plate-Frame Interaction (PFI) method were used to predict the shear strength and initial stiffness of the considered specimens. The theoretical results showed that the proposed reduced coefficients relationships cannot accurately predict the shear strength and initial stiffness of the considered perforated shear panels. Therefore, the reduced coefficients should be adopted in the theoretical equations based on the obtained experimental and numerical results. Finally, with the results of this study, the shear strength and initial stiffness of these types of perforated shear panels can be predicted by PFI method.