Application of H_∞Control Theory to Power Control of a Nonlinear Reactor Model

The H_∞ control theory is applied to the compensator design of a nonlinear nuclear reactor model, and the results are compared with standard linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) control. The reactor model is assumed to be provided with a control rod drive system having the compensation of rod position feedback. The nonlinearity of the reactor model exerts a great influence on the stability of the control system, and hence, it is desirable for a power control system of a nuclear reactor to achieve robust stability and to improve the sensitivity of the feedback control system. A computer simulation based on a power control system synthesized by LQG control was performed revealing that the control system has some stationary offset and less stability. Therefore, here, attention is given to the development of a methodology for robust control that can withstand exogenous disturbances and nonlinearity in view of system parameter changes. The developed methodology adopts H_∞ control theory in the feedback system and shows interesting features of robustness. The results of the computer simulation indicate that the feedback control system constructed by the developed H_∞ compensator possesses sufficient robustness of control on the stability and disturbance attenuation, which are essential for the safe operation of a nuclear reactor.