Plant control of a fast breeder reactor cooled by supercritical light water
- Univ. of Tokyo, Ibaraki (Japan)
Supercritical water does not exhibit a change of phase. The plant system of the supercritical water cooled reactor is the once-through, direct-cycle where the steam-water separator and coolant recirculation systems are eliminated. It is different from those of BWR and PWR. The reactor is sensitive to the perturbations of the feedwater flow rate, since the whole core coolant driven by the feedwater pumps flows to the turbines. The axial coolant density change is larger than that of a BWR. Pressure control by the feedwater like the supercritical fossil-fired power plant (FPP) is not appropriate because the change of feedwater flow rate largely affects the core power through the coolant density feedback. It is necessary to analyze the controllability of the plant against coolant flow and pressure perturbations for assessing the technical feasibility of the reactor. The plant behaviors of a fast breeder reactor cooled by supercritical water (SCFBR) are analyzed for three principal perturbations: the change of the control rod position, the feedwater flow rate and the turbine control valve opening. Based on the step responses to the perturbations, the plant control system is designed: the pressure is controlled by the turbine control valves, the main steam temperature is controlled by the feedwater flow rate and the core power is controlled by the control rods. Parameters of the control system are selected by the test calculations to satisfy both fast convergence and stability criteria. The plant behaviors with the designed plant control system are stable against the perturbations. The reactor cooled by supercritical light water is controllable with the plant control system designed here. 7 refs., 11 figs., 6 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- American Nuclear Society (ANS), La Grange Park, IL (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 552152
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-970607-Vol.2; TRN: 98:001559
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: ARS `97: American Nuclear Society (ANS) international meeting on advanced reactors safety, Orlando, FL (United States), 1-5 Jun 1997; Other Information: PBD: 1997; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of the international topical meeting on advanced reactors safety: Volume 2; PB: 715 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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