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Digital control of power transients in a nuclear reactor

Conference · · IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.; (United States)
OSTI ID:6947964

An integrated, closed-loop, control system for on-line operations in nuclear power plants has been developed and demonstrated with an LSI-11/23 micro-processor on the 5 MWt fission reactor (MITR-II) that is operated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This control system has inherent capabilities to perform on-line fault diagnosis, information display, sensor calibration, and measurement estimation. Recently, its scope has been extended to include the direct digital control of power changes ranging from 20-80% of the reactor's licensed limit. This controller differs from most of those discussed in theoretical and simulation studies by recognizing the non-linearity of reactor dynamics, calculating reactivity on-line, and controlling the rate of change of power by restricting both period and reactivity. The controller functions accurately using rods of non-linear worth in the presence of nonlinear feedback effects.

Research Organization:
Nuclear Reactor Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology 138 Albany Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
OSTI ID:
6947964
Report Number(s):
CONF-831015-
Journal Information:
IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.; (United States), Journal Name: IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.; (United States) Vol. 31:1; ISSN IETNA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English