Command validation of secondary EM pump system in the EBR-II

The objective of command validation is to determine the relevance and accuracy of the command strategy (or control signals) generated by the control system and to validate the resulting output of the actuator system. Actuators include pumps, valves, control rod drive mechanisms, heaters, sprays, and other direct operations in the process. Overall command validation requires the verification of control signal input to the actuator and actuator system's design output. Accurate control strategy does not always guarantee the desired actuator output and plant response. One reason for this may be the inability of the actuator to respond to the control signals. In this study, the secondary sodium electromagnetic pump (EM pump) system in the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) is selected for developing the command validation methodology. The objective is to validate the voltage input to the EM pump (control signal) and the pump flow rate (actuator signal). Neural network models of the desired variables are developed using EBR-II start-up data. The described approach of dual redundancy for command signal validation can be extended to multiple redundancy