A Simulation Model for Capacity Planning of Nuclear Fuel Plants for Research Reactors

The demand for nuclear fuel for research reactors is increasing worldwide. However, some nuclear fuel factories have small production volumes. There is a gap in the literature regarding how to expand capacity of those facilities in a safe and reliable way. Thus, the purpose of this work is to propos...

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Main Authors: Miguel Negro, Michelangelo Durazzo, Marco Mesquita, Nikolas Scuro, Elita Carvalho, Delvonei Andrade
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Brazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR) 2021-03-01
Series:Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/1588
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author Miguel Negro
Michelangelo Durazzo
Marco Mesquita
Nikolas Scuro
Elita Carvalho
Delvonei Andrade
author_facet Miguel Negro
Michelangelo Durazzo
Marco Mesquita
Nikolas Scuro
Elita Carvalho
Delvonei Andrade
author_sort Miguel Negro
collection DOAJ
description The demand for nuclear fuel for research reactors is increasing worldwide. However, some nuclear fuel factories have small production volumes. There is a gap in the literature regarding how to expand capacity of those facilities in a safe and reliable way. Thus, the purpose of this work is to propose and validate a conceptual model to increase the production capacity of these factories. We addressed factories that produce plate-type fuel elements loaded with LEU U3Si2-Al, which are typically used in nuclear research reactors. We collected data from a real nuclear fuel plant and applied the model to that data, i.e., we set up a case study. We developed two different strategies for the use of the model, thus generating several production scenarios. Each scenario is an experiment of the different possibilities to enlarge the capacity. We applied discrete events simulation in order to cover all production scenarios. Our tests indicated significant increases in productive capacity, thus showing that the model has fully achieved its proposed objective. One of the main conclusions that we point out is the model’s effectiveness. That effectiveness was demonstrated by using the model in two different strategies and obtaining increases in capacity with both of them.
format Article
id doaj-art-6cfc5b76a07b451085b30dbb2c16d9d6
institution DOAJ
issn 2319-0612
language English
publishDate 2021-03-01
publisher Brazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR)
record_format Article
series Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
spelling doaj-art-6cfc5b76a07b451085b30dbb2c16d9d62025-08-20T02:39:14ZengBrazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR)Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences2319-06122021-03-019110.15392/bjrs.v9i1.15881241A Simulation Model for Capacity Planning of Nuclear Fuel Plants for Research ReactorsMiguel Negro0Michelangelo DurazzoMarco MesquitaNikolas ScuroElita CarvalhoDelvonei AndradeNuclear and Energy Research Institute IPEN - CNEN/SPThe demand for nuclear fuel for research reactors is increasing worldwide. However, some nuclear fuel factories have small production volumes. There is a gap in the literature regarding how to expand capacity of those facilities in a safe and reliable way. Thus, the purpose of this work is to propose and validate a conceptual model to increase the production capacity of these factories. We addressed factories that produce plate-type fuel elements loaded with LEU U3Si2-Al, which are typically used in nuclear research reactors. We collected data from a real nuclear fuel plant and applied the model to that data, i.e., we set up a case study. We developed two different strategies for the use of the model, thus generating several production scenarios. Each scenario is an experiment of the different possibilities to enlarge the capacity. We applied discrete events simulation in order to cover all production scenarios. Our tests indicated significant increases in productive capacity, thus showing that the model has fully achieved its proposed objective. One of the main conclusions that we point out is the model’s effectiveness. That effectiveness was demonstrated by using the model in two different strategies and obtaining increases in capacity with both of them.https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/1588keywordsfactories of nuclear fuelnuclear research reactorsproductive capacity management.
spellingShingle Miguel Negro
Michelangelo Durazzo
Marco Mesquita
Nikolas Scuro
Elita Carvalho
Delvonei Andrade
A Simulation Model for Capacity Planning of Nuclear Fuel Plants for Research Reactors
Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
keywords
factories of nuclear fuel
nuclear research reactors
productive capacity management.
title A Simulation Model for Capacity Planning of Nuclear Fuel Plants for Research Reactors
title_full A Simulation Model for Capacity Planning of Nuclear Fuel Plants for Research Reactors
title_fullStr A Simulation Model for Capacity Planning of Nuclear Fuel Plants for Research Reactors
title_full_unstemmed A Simulation Model for Capacity Planning of Nuclear Fuel Plants for Research Reactors
title_short A Simulation Model for Capacity Planning of Nuclear Fuel Plants for Research Reactors
title_sort simulation model for capacity planning of nuclear fuel plants for research reactors
topic keywords
factories of nuclear fuel
nuclear research reactors
productive capacity management.
url https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/1588
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