A New Method of Startup Planning for Boiling Water Reactors

Based on a heuristic approach, a practically applicable startup process for BWR's that minimizes the xenon transient effects has been derived, which answers this highly nonlinear complex multi-stage optimization problem, while satisfying the current constraints imposed for fuel integrity. The resulting PCP (Pre-Conditioning with Peripheral Rod Operation) method features an intermediate control rod pattern, with central region identical with the rated control rod pattern and with certain control rods fully inserted in the peripheral region. This method has been successfully applied to the initial startup of a commercial BWR, and the expected performance was confirmed from operating data.