A comparative study of PSO and IGWO algorithms for optimizing gas centrifuge cascades

• Published in: Separation science and technology Vol. 60; no. 11; pp. 1436 - 1450
• Main Authors: Mansourzadeh, Fatemeh, Shadman, Mohammad Mahdi, Ghazanfari, Valiyollah
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis 24.07.2025
• Subjects: Cascade; gas centrifuge; IGWO; Optimization; PSO
• ISSN: 0149-6395; 1520-5754
• DOI: 10.1080/01496395.2025.2502752

The quantity of gas centrifuges within a cascade is contingent upon the feed flow rate across stages, which, in turn, is affected by the feed stage, gas centrifuges feed flows, and the stage cut. This study implemented a new code, UEC-IGWO, to optimize uranium enrichment cascade parameters and determine the gas centrifuges. Four test cases were compared against other established optimization algorithms. Moreover, the UEC-PSO has been developed, and the convergence time and results of the PSO algorithm have been meticulously examined and presented. The comparative analysis demonstrates the satisfactory performance of the IGWO algorithm, ensuring its suitability for obtaining optimal solutions. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the solutions obtained through the IGWO algorithm are more proximate to the optimal solution compared to PSO despite the slightly longer convergence time in the IGWO implementation. In the last test, the results of the optimal cascades have been compared with the ideal cascade. The conditions are satisfied for the three ideal IGWO and PSO cascades at 10 −5 , 10 −4 , and 10 −3 , respectively. The IGWO algorithm demonstrates a high capability in finding optimal cascade values.