Automated startup of the MIT research reactor

Conference · Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States)

OSTI ID:7232028

Kwok, K S ^[1]

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1. Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge (United States)

This summary describes the development, implementation, and testing of a generic method for performing automated startups of nuclear reactors described by space-independent kinetics under conditions of closed-loop digital control. The technique entails first obtaining a reliable estimate of the reactor's initial degree of subcriticality and then substituting that estimate into a model-based control law so as to permit a power increase from subcritical on a demanded trajectory. The estimation of subcriticality is accomplished by application of the perturbed reactivity method. The shutdown reactor is perturbed by the insertion of reactivity at a known rate. Observation of the resulting period permits determination of the initial degree of subcriticality. A major advantage to this method is that repeated estimates are obtained of the same quantity. Hence, statistical methods can be applied to improve the quality of the calculation.

• OSTI ID: 7232028
• Report Number(s): CONF-920606-; CODEN: TANSA
• Journal Information: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States), Vol. 65; Conference: American Nuclear Society annual meeting, Boston, MA (United States), 7-12 Jun 1992; ISSN 0003-018X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
MITR REACTOR
REACTOR CONTROL SYSTEMS
REACTOR START-UP
AUTOMATION
ACCURACY
DIGITAL SYSTEMS
EFFICIENCY
IMPLEMENTATION
PERFORMANCE TESTING
PERTURBATION THEORY
REACTIVITY
REACTOR KINETICS
RELIABILITY
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
SANDIA LABORATORIES
SPACE DEPENDENCE
SUBCRITICALITY
CONTROL SYSTEMS
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
HEAVY WATER COOLED REACTORS
HEAVY WATER MODERATED REACTORS
KINETICS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
OPERATION
REACTOR OPERATION
REACTORS
RESEARCH AND TEST REACTORS
RESEARCH REACTORS
START-UP
TANK TYPE REACTORS
TESTING
THERMAL REACTORS
TRAINING REACTORS
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
220400* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Control Systems
220600 - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Research
Test & Experimental Reactors