Control of Advanced Reactor-Coupled Heat Exchanger System: Incorporation of Reactor Dynamics in System Response to Load Disturbances

Journal Article · 24 May 2016 · Nuclear Engineering and Technology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.net.2016.05.001 · OSTI ID:1256148

Skavdahl, Isaac ^[1]; Utgikar, Vivek ^[1]; Christensen, Richard ^[2]; Chen, Minghui ^[3]; Sun, Xiaodong ^[3]; Sabharwall, Piyush ^[4]

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1. Univ. of Idaho, Moscow, ID (United States). Dept. of Chemical and Materials Engineering
2. Univ. of Idaho, Moscow, ID (United States). Nuclear Engineering Program
3. The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States). Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
4. Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

We present an alternative control schemes for an Advanced High Temperature Reactor system consisting of a reactor, an intermediate heat exchanger, and a secondary heat exchanger (SHX) in this paper. One scheme is designed to control the cold outlet temperature of the SHX (T_co) and the hot outlet temperature of the intermediate heat exchanger (T_ho2) by manipulating the hot-side flow rates of the heat exchangers (F_h/F_h2) responding to the flow rate and temperature disturbances. The flow rate disturbances typically require a larger manipulation of the flow rates than temperature disturbances. An alternate strategy examines the control of the cold outlet temperature of the SHX (T_co) only, since this temperature provides the driving force for energy production in the power conversion unit or the process application. The control can be achieved by three options: (1) flow rate manipulation; (2) reactor power manipulation; or (3) a combination of the two. The first option has a quicker response but requires a large flow rate change. The second option is the slowest but does not involve any change in the flow rates of streams. The final option appears preferable as it has an intermediate response time and requires only a minimal flow rate change.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE); USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC07-05ID14517; #128504
• OSTI ID: 1256148
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1395025
• Journal Information: Nuclear Engineering and Technology, Vol. 48, Issue 6; ISSN 1738-5733
• Publisher: Korean Nuclear SocietyCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English