IK-SPSA-Based Performance Optimization Strategy for Steam Generator Level Control System of Nuclear Power Plant

The steam generator (SG) is a critical component of the steam supply system in the nuclear power plant (NPP). Hence, it is necessary to control the SG level well to ensure the stable operation of the NPPs. However, its dynamic level response process has significant nonlinearity (such as the ‘swell and shrinks’ effect) and time-varying properties. As most of the SG level control systems (SGLCS) are constructed based on the Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controllers with fixed parameters, the controller parameters should be optimized to improve the performance of the SGLCS. However, traditional parameters tuning methods are generally experience-based, cumbersome, and time-consuming, and it is difficult to obtain the optimal parameters. To address the challenge, this study adopts a knowledge-informed simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation (IK-SPSA) based on adjacent iteration points information to improve the performance of the SGLCS. Rather than the traditional controller parameter tuning method, the IK-SPSA method optimizes the control system directly by using measurements of control performance. The method’s efficiency lies in the following aspects. Firstly, with the help of historical information during the optimization process, the IK-SPSA can dynamically sense the current status of the optimization process. Secondly, it can accomplish the iteration step size tuning adaptively according to the optimization process’s current status, reducing the optimization cost. Thirdly, it has the stochastic characteristic of simultaneous perturbation, which gives it high optimization efficiency to optimize high dimensional controller parameters. Fourthly, it incorporates an intelligent termination control mechanism to accomplish optimization progress control. This mechanism could terminate the optimization process intelligently through historical iterative process information, avoiding unnecessary iterations. The optimization method can improve the stability, safety, and economy of SGLCS. The simulation results demonstrated the effectiveness and efficiency of the method.