A Nonlinear Dynamic Optimization Technique for Controlling Xenon Induced Oscillations in Large Nuclear Reactors

The problem of controlling the spatial power distribution in a reactor core under changing load conditions is formulated as a nonlinear optimization problem. The one-dimensional distributed core model is approximated by using finite differences to obtain a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Linear programming is then used in an iterative scheme to determine the optimum control rod strategy.