Applicability of a Multivariable Autoregressive Method to Boiling Water Reactor Core Stability Estimation

A multivariable autoregressive (MAR) method is applied to the core stability estimation of a boiling water feactor-5 operation. Noise data measured during steady-state operations at startup tests are used. In this method, the closed loop transfer function from reactor pressure to reactor power is identified from reactor noise data and transformed into an impulse response function. The decay ratio representing stability characteristics is evaluated from this function. The variation range of decay ratio estimates obtained by this method is sufficiently small, if the analyzing conditions are appropriately selected. The value of the decay ratio is 0.23 during natural circulation and decreases with core flow, reaching close to zero at the rated power. A similar power dependence for the decay ratio is seen in results from a core stability analysis code. The MAR method is a useful tool for stability estimation, even if no external disturbance tests are conducted.