Control of small pressurized water reactors under single-loop operation based on MFAPC theory

Abstract

Small pressurized water reactors can supply power to ships, and single-loop operation is adopted to improve maneuverability under some abnormal conditions. Large key parameter fluctuations and the potential risk of human errors occur in conventional single-loop operation. Therefore, an automatic rapid power reduction method is proposed to improve the control performance of single-loop operation. An automatic rapid power-reduction method based on conventional control systems was tested. Poor power control performance and large fluctuations in steam generator water level were observed. Reactor power and steam generator water level control systems improved by the model-free adaptive predictive control (MFAPC) theory were developed, and the parameters of the MFAPC controller were optimized by the differential evolution method. The simulation results under single-loop operation show that the improved control systems reduce the overshoot of the reactor power and effectively suppress the water level fluctuation of the steam generator.