Controlling nuclear plants with fuel efficiency

The concept of expending minimum control energy while stabilizing or maneuvering reactor power for a nuclear reactor is the key for a fuel efficient reactor control. This concept is got by treating the reactor close to its natural characteristics by a new Power and Period (P and P) control scheme, instead treating the reactor control as conventional PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) block. This is proven by spending only the required rate of reactivity and not more to govern the power by setting together a power error and period error. Thereby through the characteristic reactor equation (inverse-hour rule), defining the absolute step reactivity required at each power points. However the use of logarithmic logics in the new P and P method does add another concept of ratio control, where the effective power error is generated by ratio of demanded power exponential to the observed power exponential curves. This method indeed thus compares the shape (or the form factor) of the exponential curve demanded with the observed (jittered) trajectory, thereafter linearizing the same by taking logarithm of the ratio to give error function to actuate the final control element. Obviously the shape control of the natural neutronics at every power point does give a true fuel efficient reactor concept. The mechanism of P and P control is elaborated and it is shown that how the error rate is modulated at each power point, thereby asking lesser reactivity rate to do the governing as compared to classical PID method. The concepts described herein is general and is applicable for any type of nuclear reactor. (orig.)