Development of Strategy Generator for PWRs Core Maneuver

Generally, nuclear power plants are utilized for base-load operation. However, if the nuclear capacity constitutes a large fraction of the total electric capacity in a country, the ability of nuclear power plants to perform load following operation is inevitable. In the load following operation, the reactor power is adjusted based on the fluctuation of electric power demand in the grid. That changes of power level can cause unbalance in the reactor, therefore, the control actions should be done during the power maneuvering. In order that the control actions could be effective and efficient, guidance for the reactor operators is needed. Strategy generator refers to a tool which provides guidance for operators as to control actions to be taken. This work developed the strategy generator based on the three concepts of control strategy. By numerical simulation, performance of these three strategies was tested and compared. The simulation result shows the unique characteristic for each strategy and discussion was provided to evaluate the abilities of each strategy in achieving the control targets. (author)