Abstract
In this paper, a gain-scheduled equivalent-cascade internal-model-control (IMC) tuning method for water level control system of nuclear steam generator is presented. First, a water level control system for a steam generator is transferred into an equivalent cascade-feedforward control system. Second, analytical tuning rules for the equivalent cascade control system are derived based on the IMC-(proportional-integral-derivative) PID method, which can simultaneously tune the primary/secondary loops and avoid the re-identification step. Finally, gain scheduling is performed to eliminate the influence of process nonlinearity. The experimental results of nuclear simulation platform have demonstrated the superiority of the proposed tuning method.
Highlights
Nuclear energy is regarded as a more superior energy source
It is estimated that around 25% of emergency shutdowns in nuclear power plants based on pressurized water reactor (PWR) are owed to the poor control of the steam generator (SG) water level at low powers [3]
Behavior and nonlinear dynamic characteristic water level are more obvious at low operating power, which greatly complicates the design of an effective water level control system
Summary
Nuclear energy is regarded as a more superior energy source. In terms of energy density and the impact on the environment, nuclear energy surpasses both renewable resources and fossil. Liu et al [13] proposed a quasi-min-max fuzzy model predictive control method to regulate the water level of the U-tube steam generator (UTSG) system. An effective tuning method for a steam generator water level system based on the three-element control strategy needs to be developed. We develop an equivalent-cascade IMC tuning method for the water level control system of the nuclear steam generator. Gain scheduling of controller parameters is performed to deal with the nonlinear characteristics The advantages of this proposed method are as follows: (1) it is easy to implement in DCS and (2) it has achieved good performance at both low and high power levels.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call