Packing placement method using hybrid genetic algorithm for segments of waste components in nuclear reactor decommissioning

As Kori unit 1 is undergoing the decommissioning process, estimating the disposal amount of waste from the decommissioned nuclear reactor has become one of the challenging issues. Since the waste disposal amount estimation depends on the packing of the waste, it is highly desirable to optimize the waste packing plan. In this study, we developed an efficient scheme for packing waste component segments. The scheme consists of 1) preparing three-dimensional models of segments, 2) orienting each segment in such a way to minimize the bounding box volume, and 3) applying hybrid genetic algorithm to pack the segments in the disposal containers. When the packing solution converges in the algorithm, it comes up with the number of containers used and the placement of segments in each container. The scheme was applied to Kori-1 reactor pressure vessel. The required number of containers calculated by the developed scheme was 24 compared to 42 that was the estimation of the prior packing plan, resulting in disposal volume savings by more than 40%. The developed method is flexible for applications to various packing problems with waste segments from different cutting options and different sizes of containers.