Robust-optimal integrated control design technique for a pressurized water-type nuclear power plant

• Published in: Progress in nuclear energy (New series) Vol. 131; p. 103575
• Main Authors: Vajpayee, Vineet, Becerra, Victor, Bausch, Nils, Deng, Jiamei, Shimjith, S.R., Arul, A. John
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2021; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Control systems design; Controllers; Feedback control systems; Hybrid control; Linear programming; Linear quadratic Gaussian control; Loop transfer recovery; Normal distribution; Nuclear energy; Nuclear power plant; Nuclear power plants; Nuclear reactors; Optimal control; Pressurized water; Pressurized water reactor; Robust control; Sliding mode; Sliding mode control; Subsystems; Robust control; Sliding mode; Nuclear power plant; Optimal control; Pressurized water reactor
• ISSN: 0149-1970; 1878-4224
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pnucene.2020.103575

A control design scheme is formulated for a pressurized water type nuclear power plant by integrating the optimal linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) control with the robust integral sliding mode (ISM) technique. A novel robust-optimal hybrid control scheme is further proposed by integrating the LQG-ISM technique with the loop transfer recovery approach to enhance the effectiveness and robustness capability. The control architecture offers robust performance with minimum control efforts and tracks the reference set-point effectively in the presence of disturbances and parametric uncertainties. The multi-input-multi-output nuclear power plant model adopted in this work is characterized by 38 state variables. The nonlinear plant model is linearized around steady-state operating conditions to obtain a linear model for the controller design. The efficacy of the proposed controllers is demonstrated by nuclear power plant subsystem simulations. The control performance of the proposed technique is also compared with other classical control design schemes. Numerical measures are employed to quantitatively analyse and compare the performance of the different controllers that are studied in the work. [Display omitted] •Robust-optimal controllers are proposed to improve performance with fewer control efforts.•Design, validation, and testing of various control loops of a PWR-type NPP.•Control of power, temperature, SG pressure, turbine speed, pressurizer pressure and level.•Robust performance in the presence of parametric uncertainties and disturbances.