Physically-based power-level control of modular high temperature gas-cooled reactors — Part I: Self-stability analysis

Because of its strong inherent safety, the modular high temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor (MHTGR) has been seen as the chosen technology for the next generation of nuclear power plants (NPPs). Self-stability, which has great meaning in the control and operation of NPPs, is a key dynamic property of any advanced nuclear reactors. In this paper, the self-stability of the MHTGR is analyzed from a physical viewpoint. A shifted-ectropy method for analyzing the stability of the equilibriums of general thermodynamic systems is firstly established. Based upon this approach, it is proved theoretically that the equilibriums of the MHTGR dynamics are globally asymptotically stable under some reasonable assumptions.