Nonlinear H-infinity control of nuclear steam generators.

Abstract

Motivated by the fact that problems related to the control of steam generators are responsible for a significant amount of downtime in nuclear power plants, this thesis investigates the applicability of linear and nonlinear <italic>H</italic>_infinity theory to the control of nuclear steam generators. A nonlinear model based on mass, energy, and momentum balances was developed for a U-tube steam generator, with the water level and steam quality at the exit of the riser considered as state variables. In this model the steam flow to the turbines and the heat flow from the primary to the secondary side are represented as disturbances affecting the system, while the feedwater flow is used to compensate for changes in the water level. The performance specifications for the feedback loop are encoded using weight functions incorporated into an augmented plant, and the control problem is formulated to minimize the effects of disturbances on the controlled variables. The solution of the optimization problem is reduced to the solution of a set of differential equations, which, in the linear case, is equivalent to the solution of Riccati equations. The linear <italic>H</italic>_infinity controller and filter were obtained for the U-tube steam generator with and without weight functions, and simulations for a 50 s ramp transient resulting in 50% decrease in the heat and steam flows were performed over 300 s. The use of weights provided less variation in the water level, and an excellent noise rejection capability was observed. For the nonlinear <italic>H</italic>_infinity formulation a finite-difference method was used to solve the state and costate equations numerically for optimal feedwater flow minimizing water level variations. The combined solution of the state equation in the forward direction and the costate equations in the backward direction converged in 10 iteractions. The nonlinear controller results in less variation in the water level than the corresponding linear <italic>H</italic>_infinity controller, demonstrating the feasibility of applying nonlinear <italic>H</italic>_infinity control theory directly to highly nonlinear steam generator dynamics.