A simplified mathematical dynamic model of the HTR-10 high temperature gas-cooled reactor with control system design purposes

A simplified mathematical dynamic model of the HTR-10 high temperature gas-cooled reactor is developed based upon the fundamental conservation of fluid mass, energy and momentum. The model is formulated for coupling reactor neutron kinetics with reactivity feedback and reactor thermal-hydraulics. The reactor is nodalized to employ the lumped parameter modeling methodology, which is mathematically described by differential algebraic equations (DAEs). The developed model is implemented on a personal computer using the MATLAB/Simulink tool. A lot of numerical simulation experiments are investigated and discussed. The transient results show that the model can properly predict the reactor dynamics and can serve as the basis for the model-based control system design.