Control rod drives

Purpose: To enable fine positioning by using an induction motor of a simple structure as a driving source and thereby improve the reliability of control rod drives. Constitution: A step actuator is directly coupled with an induction motor, in which the induction motor is connected by way of a pulse driving control circuit to an AC power source, while the step actuator is connected to a DC power source. When a thyristor is turned ON, the motor outputs a positive torque and rotates and starts to rotate in the forward direction. When the other thyristor is turned ON, the motor is applied with braking by a reverse excitation in a manner equivalent to the change for the exciting phase sequence. When the speed is lowered to a predetermined value, braking is actuated by the torque of the step actuator and the motor stops at a zero position or balanced position. In this way, braking is actuated from the decelerating step to the stopping with no abrasion and a highly accurate positioning is possible due to the characteristics of the step actuator. (Horiuchi, T.)