Load following control and global stability analysis for PWR core based on multi-model, LQG, IAGA and flexibility idea

• The nonlinear model and linear multi-model of a PWR core are presented.
• The combined control of LQG and PID is used to design local controllers of the core.
• Improved Adaptive Genetic Algorithm is proposed to optimize PID parameters.
• Flexibility idea is presented to design decent controllers of the nonlinear core.
• A theorem is deduced to analyze the global stability of the core load follow control.

The work is to design a nonlinear Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) core load following control system and analyze the global stability of this system. On the basis of modeling a nonlinear PWR core, linearized models of the core at five power levels are chosen as local models of the core to substitute the nonlinear core model in the global range of power level. The combination control strategy of the Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) control and the Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) control with an optimization process of Improved Adaptive Genetic Algorithm (IAGA) proposed is used to contrive a combined controller with the robustness of a core local model as a local controller of the nonlinear core. Based on the local models and local controllers, the flexibility idea of modeling and control is presented to design a decent controller of the nonlinear core at a random power level. A nonlinear core model and a flexibility controller at a random power level compose a core load following control subsystem. The combination of core load following control subsystems at all power levels is the core load following control system. The global stability theorem is deduced to define that the core load following control system is globally asymptotically stable within the whole range of power level. Finally, the core load following control system is simulated and the simulation results show that the control system is effective.