Calibration of power monitors in molten salt reactors

A method for calibrating nuclear instrumentation of a reactor, the method comprising

• starting the reactor and a heat source, the heat source comprising a heater;
• subsequent to the starting, heating, by using the heater, the reactor to an operating temperature;
• subsequent to the heating, determining whether the reactor is in a critical state;
• in response to a determination of the reactor being in a critical state, repeating steps of
• reducing the power of the heater by a predetermined amount;
• increasing the power of the reactor by changing one or more reactivity settings;
• wherein the reducing of the power of the heater and the increasing of the power of the reactor are coordinated to compensate the reduced power from the heater by using the increased power generated by the reactor until the reactor reaches thermal equilibrium;
• subsequent to the increasing, calculating the power of the reactor based on a heat transfer function of a plurality of parameters of the reactor;
• subsequent to the increasing, measuring, by the nuclear instrumentation, the power of the reactor;
• subsequent to the calculating and measuring, calibrating the nuclear instrumentation based on the calculated power of the reactor and the measured power of the reactor;
• subsequent to the calibrating, determining the power of the heater is zero and the temperature of the reactor is the operating temperature;
• and
• in response to a determination of the power of the heater being zero and the temperature of the reactor being the operating temperature, deactivating the heater.