Can general PD output-feedback laws be asymptotic power stabilizers of pressurized water reactors?

Pressurized water reactor (PWR) is the most widely used fission reactor whose safe, stable and efficient operation is needed by the renaissance of fission energy industry. Power-level control technique that strengthens both the closed-loop stability and transient performance is quite beneficial to improve the operational performance of PWRs. In this paper, based upon the physically-based approach, it is showed that general PD output feedback laws can guarantee the globally asymptotically closed-loop stability under a certain sufficient condition. Then, the influence of the gains in coolant temperature feedback loop to the regulation performance is shown by numerical simulation results, which is in consistence with the theoretic result. This work gives a thorough explanation to why classical PD output feedback control is effective for PWR power-level regulation practically, and also shows the feasibility of applying simple PD controller for deep load following.