Robust control of small integral pressurized water reactor using μ-synthesis

Ensuring robust control of small modular reactors (SMRs) is essential for safety and optimizing the performance of nuclear energy systems. Furthermore, accelerating integration of renewable energy sources like solar and wind into modern electricity grids has introduced certain challenges arising from inherent operational uncertainties and external disturbances. This variability has heightened the importance of using reliable power source such as SMRs with control systems capable of adjusting their power output dynamically in response to fluctuations in electricity demand. The SMART reactor is a small integral pressurized water reactor presented for enhancing the reliability and functionality of next-generation reactors. Achieving effective load-following in the SMART reactor necessitates advanced control systems that can ensure stability, safety, and performance under dynamic and uncertain conditions. The proposed robust control framework is compared with a conventional PID controller. The H ∞ robust controller is also designed to study its performance in managing system uncertainty and external disturbances. This study aims to address these critical challenges by developing a robust control framework. The μ -synthesis method is employed to achieve stable and efficient controllers for the SMART reactor. The control systems are designed to handle complex dynamics of reactor, steam generator, and pressurizer to maintain power, pressure, and water level of the modular reactor. The findings indicate that the designed controllers are highly effective in managing the aforementioned feature, while maintaining stability across the entire operational conditions. • The μ-synthesis control system for small modular reactor (SMR) is proposed. • A linear and uncertain models are developed for SMR. • The μ-value is used to evaluate the robust stability. • Simulation results show that μ -synthesis method performs better for pressure control of pressurizer and steam generator water level of small integral reactor. • The μ -synthesis method has no oscillation in reactor power in contrast to H ∞ controller. The pressurizer water level control system has nearly identical performance with PID and H ∞ controllers.