Comparison of state feedback and PID control of pressurizer water level in nuclear power plant

The pressurizer water level control system in nuclear power plant with pressurized water reactor (PWR) is responsible for coolant mass balance. The main control goal is to stabilize the water level at a reference value and to suppress the effect of time-varying disturbances (e.g. coolant leakage in primary circuit pipeline system). In the process of PWR power plant operation incorrect water level may disturb pressure control or may cause damage to electric heaters which could threaten plant security and stability. In modern reactors standard PID controllers are used to control water level in a pressurizer. This paper describes the performance of state feedback integral controller (SFIC) with reduced-order Luenberger state observer designed for water level control in a pressurizer and compares it to the standard PID controller. All steps from modeling of a pressurizer through control design to implementation and simulation testing in Matlab/Simulink environment are detailed in the paper.