Nuclear reactor power generation
AssigneeWestinghouse Electric Corp.
InventorsErnest A. Parziale, Dennis C. Richardson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The feedwater of a nuclear reactor at low-power levels, particularly during start-up, is controlled by combining an error signal component dependent on the departure of the actual level in the steam generator from a preset level and a component dependent upon the nuclear power delivered by the reactor. The nuclear-power change is the earliest reaction to the command to change the load level or to start up so that the nuclear-power component is a feedforwarded component. The invention prevents the system from "chugging." It also avails automatic control of the feedwater at low loading heretofore not feasible.
Claims9
Apparatus for generating power including a nuclear reactor, a turbine to be energized from said reactor, a steam generator, connected to said reactor, for deriving energy therefrom, fluid-circulating means connected to said turbine and generator, said fluid-circulating means including a first branch for circulating steam from said generator to said turbine to energize said turbine and a second branch for circulating feedwater from said turbine to said generator, said feedwater to be converted into steam by said generator by the energy supplied by said reactor to said generator, valve means in said second branch for controlling the flow of said feedwater to said generator particularly at low load levels and means responsive to the magnitude of the power supplied by said reactor and the level of the water in said generator at low loads for controlling said valve means.
Apparatus for generating power including a nuclear reactor, a turbine to be energized from said reactor, a steam generator, connected to said reactor, for deriving energy therefrom, fluid-circulating means connected to said turbine and generator, said fluid-circulating means including a first branch for circulating steam from said generator to said turbine to energize said turbine and a second branch for circulating feedwater from said turbine to said generator, said feedwater to be converted into steam by said generator by the energy supplied by said reactor to said generator, valve means in said second branch for controlling the flow of feedwater to said generator and means responsive to the magnitude of the power supplied by said reactor and the level of the water in said generator at low loads for controlling said valve means.
Apparatus for generating power including a nuclear reactor, a turbine to be energized from said reactor, a steam generator, connected to said reactor, for deriving energy therefrom, fluid-circulating means, connected to said turbine and generator, said fluid-circulating means including a first branch for circulating steam from said generator to said turbine to energize said turbine and a second branch for circulating feedwater from said turbine to said generator, said feedwater to be converted into steam by said generator by the energy supplied by said reactor to said generator, valve means for controlling the flow of said feedwater to said generator, means, connected to said generator, for deriving an error signal by comparing the desired magnitude of an operating parameter of said generator and the actual magnitude of said parameter, means, connected to said reactor, for deriving another signal dependent on the power supplied by said reactor, and means, responsive to the algebraic sum of said first-named error signal and said other signal, for controlling said valve means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.