Applications of optimisation methods to nuclear power system design

A study is made of the overall optimisation of nuclear power systems; the basic criterion employed is the unit cost of electrical power output. The complexity of the problem leads to consideration of formal non-linear constrained optimisation methods and the use of high speed computers. It is shown that, despite the complex nature of nuclear power systems, realistic models can be constructed to represent the systems, that are solvable by the latest numerical optimisation techniques. (author)