Noise Analysis Method for Monitoring the Moderator Temperature Coefficient of Pressurized Water Reactors: Neural Network Calibration

A neural network was trained with data for the frequency response function between in-core neutron noise and core-exit thermocouple noise in a pressurized water reactor, with the moderator temperature coefficient (MTC) as target. The trained network was subsequently used to predict the MTC at other points in the same fuel cycle. Results support use of the method for operating pressurized water reactors provided noise data can be accumulated for several fuel cycles to provide a training base.