Load-following Control of Nuclear Reactors Based on L1 Adaptive Algorithm

In order to improve the load-following ability of nuclear reactors, an advanced load-following controller based on L
₁
adaptive control theory is proposed in this paper. First, the state estimator, which is used to reconstruct the unmeasured state, is built according to the reactor core uncertain model. Then, an adaptive control law is structured to estimate the core uncertainty online while ensuring the global asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system. Finally, L
₁
adaptive control law is designed to compensate for system uncertainties and ensure that the system realizes load-following control. Considering the high gain problem caused by adaptive control, the low pass filter is added to suppress high frequency oscillation effectively. The simulation results show that the proposed controller is not only adaptive to the system uncertainty, but also effectively completes the load-following control.