A model for plant power maneuverability and its application to a limitation system

A conceptual model of plant power maneuverability is presented for a pressurized water reactor. In the model, the power maneuverability is quantified in terms of the performance of the power control system relative to the load demand. The model has been applied to the design of a new limitation system. The new system is devised for increasing the plant power maneuverability through automatic digital supervisory limitation. The improved maneuverability allows the plant to accommodate the electrical grid demands at capacity. The limitation system software consists of the feedback control algorithm for the turbine load and the feedforward for the reactor power. The algorithms were tested and verified using the proposed power maneuverability model. The findings of the research promise the usefulness for the model to the design and evaluation of the limitation system.