Application of a self-organizing fuzzy logic controller to nuclear steam generator level control Original Research Article

In this paper, the self-organizing fuzzy logic controller is investigated for the water level control of a steam generator. In comparison with conventional fuzzy logic controllers, this controller performs the control task with no initial control rules; instead, it creates control rules and tunes input membership functions based on the performance criteria as the control behavior develops, and also modifies its control structure when uncertain disturbance is suspected. Selected tuning parameters of the self-organizing fuzzy logic controller are updated on-line in the learning algorithm, by a gradient descent method. This control algorithm is applied to the water level control of a steam generator model developed by Irving et al. The computer simulation results confirm the good performance of this control algorithm for all power ranges. This control algorithm can be expected to be used for the automatic control of a feedwater control system in a nuclear power plant with digital instrumentation and control systems.