Reduced Order Methods for the Improvement of Control-Oriented Modelling of Nuclear Power Plants

In the development of the control system of a nuclear power plant, it is of primary importance to rely on simulation tools for its realization, testing and validation. These tools should provide an accurate description of the controlled response of the entire power plant in different scenarios. The classic control-oriented modelling based on 0D/1D approach is well suited for control purposes since it provides fast-running simulations and it is easy to linearize, but it may not be sufficient to deeply investigate the complexity of some systems, in particular when/where spatial phenomena have a remarkable impact on dynamics. Reduced Order Methods (ROMs) can offer the proper trade-off between computational cost and solution accuracy, combining the high-detail modelling (e.g., 3D modelling) usually adopted for design purposes with the requirements demanded for a control-oriented tool, firstly the computational efficiency. In this work, ROMs are used to improve a control-oriented plant simulator of a Lead-cooled Fast Reactor (LFR). In particular, the attention is focused on the reactor core neutronics, and on the thermal-hydraulics of the reactor pool as well. A test case regarding the design of a Kalman Filter is set up showing promising results for the application of ROM in the control context.