PC-DSP System for Testing a Reactor Power Control Algorithm and a Rod Driver Prototype

A simulator of a reactor control system is presented. The hybrid simulator is based on a PC that contains the reactor dynamical model and a DSP TMS320C50 that executes the control algorithm. The control objective is to bring the reactor power from its source level (from mW to a few W) up to a full power level of 1 MW. The input signals to the DSP controller are the power error expressed in percentage and the reactor period that represents the time the reactor requires, at every sampling time, to increase the power by a factor e. The controller output that usually represents external reactivity has to be converted to the corresponding displacement of the reactor control rod. A reactor control rod driver prototype has been designed and built, and it is to be tested with the PS-DSP system.