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Humberto E. Garcia, Richard B. Vilim, Eric M. Dean
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 125 | Number 3 | March 1997 | Pages 337-347
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE97-A24279
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The implementation of a computer-based controller for regulating reactor inlet temperature (RIT) in a pool-type power plant is described. The mathematical description of the controller is given in a companion paper. The elements of the control system are organized in a master-follower hierarchical architecture that takes advantage of existing in-plant hardware and software to minimize the need for plant modifications. Low-level control algorithms are executed on existing local digital controllers (followers) with the high-level algorithms executed on a new plant supervisory computer (master). A distributed computing strategy provides integration of the existing and additional computer platforms. The control system operates by having the master controller first estimate the secondary sodium flow needed to achieve a given RIT. The estimated flow is then used as a setpoint by the follower controller to regulate sodium flow using a motor-generator pump set. The control system has been implemented in a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) setup and qualified for operation in the Experimental Breeder Reactor II at Argonne National Laboratory. The HIL results are provided.