Study of a marine nuclear propulsion plant through computer simulation

Abstract

The dynamics of a proposed marine nuclear propulsion plant, under the condition of sudden changes in load, are studies by both an analog and digital simulation. Two inherent reactor characteristics, internal reactivity feedback and the existence of delayed neutron emitters, which effect power plant stability and controllability are considered in detail. Comparison of the simulation results with practical data indicates that the simulation represented the dynamics of a marine nuclear power plant with a sufficient degree of accuracy to be extremely useful in the study of marine nuclear power plants. Evaluation of the simulation results indicate that the proposed power plant is inherently stable when operating in the normal region. The desirability of control schemes are discussed and a control scheme utilizing a constant average coolant temperature program is implemented. The external control scheme significantly improved the response of the system.