Saturated output feedback high-gain control for the water-level of U-tube steam generators

U-tube steam generator (UTSG) is one of the most crucial facilities in a pressurized-water nuclear reactor (PWR). Water level control of a UTSG is of major importance in order to secure the sufficient cooling inventory for the reactor core and, at the same time, to prevent the damage of turbine blades. Due to high nonlinearity and nonminimum phase characteristics of the UTSG dynamics and the fact that the feedwater flowrate is bounded, it is very necessary to establish an effective saturated nonlinear water-level controller. In this paper, a saturated output feedback high-gain control (SOFHC) for nonlinear SISO systems is presented. Furthermore, the SOFHC is applied to control the water-level for the UTSG of a nuclear heating reactor (NHR). Numerical simulation results show the high performance of the SOFHC and the influence of the feedback gain and maximal feedwater flowrate to the control performance.