Nonlinear dynamic output-feedback power-level control for PWRs: A shifted-ectropy based design approach

• A nonlinear dynamic output feedback power-level control is given for PWR-like reactors based on its natural dynamic features.
• This new control guarantees the globally asymptotic closed-loop stability.
• Simulation results show the high control performance of this controller.

Nuclear fission energy is currently the sole energy that can substitute fossil in a centralized way and great amount with commercial availability and economic competitiveness. Power-level control is one of the key techniques which provide safe, stable and efficient operation for nuclear power plants. The physically-based regulation theory is definitely a promising trend of modern control theory, which can provide a control design method that suppresses the unstable part of the system dynamics and remains the stable part. Usually, control laws designed by the physically-based control theory have a simple form and high performance. Stimulated by this, a novel nonlinear dynamic output feedback power-level control law is established in this paper for the pressurized water nuclear reactors (PWRs) based upon its natural dynamic features. This newly-developed controller guarantees not only the globally asymptotic closed-loop stability but also the satisfactory transient performance through properly adjusting the feedback gains. Furthermore, this controller has the L2 disturbance attenuation performance. Numerical simulation results not only verify the correctness of the theoretical results but also illustrate the high control performance.