Reduced order model based FOPID controller design for power control in Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor with specific gain –phase margin

Abstract The substantial portion of the existing power generation comes from Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR). However, PHWR is a nonlinear and high order system and designing a controller for such a high order system is not an easy task. Therefore, it is required to design a controller for a reduced order PHWR system which will give the same response as that on the original higher order system. The focus of the present research endeavor is to propose a design methodology for a fractional-order proportional integral derivative controller for the power control of reduced order PHWR system. The reduced order models of PHWR have been obtained using Balanced Truncation method and a robust FOPID controller has been designed using the stability boundary locus method with specific gain-phase margin. The simulation results illustrate a better set point tracking performance with the use of proposed FOPID controller at 30% control drop and varied initial power levels.