Modeling and control of a nuclear power plant's fuel transport system

This paper addresses the vibration control problem of a fuel transport system (FTS) in a nuclear power plant. The FTS transports the fuel rods in the nuclear reactor to desired locations in the fuel building or vice versa. The fuel rods must be transported under water to avoid radiation leaks to the environment. It has been observed that a quick maneuver of the trolley can cause vibrations that can damage the structure of the fuel rods, due to the hydrodynamic force exerted by the surrounding fluid. In the present study, a distributed parameter model of the FTS, using the Hamilton's principle, is developed. The developed model is verified with experiments. A velocity command is designed, as an open-loop control, to transport the fuel rods in quick time to the target locations with minimum vibrations. The residual vibrations of the fuel rod are controlled while considering the effects of the hydrodynamic force imposed by the surrounding water. Simulation results show that the proposed velocity command transports the fuel rods to the target location quickly resulting in a significant decrease in the rod's vibrations.