Method and apparatus for accurately calculating pressurized water reactor power from out-of-core detector output current corrected for changes in three-dimensional power distribution and coolant density in the reactor core

摘要

Excore detector measurements are used to generate on-line absolute reactor power in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) by calibrating detector current measurements to the reactor thermal power calculation made at a base time early in reactor cycle while the thermal reactor power measurement is still accurate. Measurements are also made at the base time of the three-dimensional core power distribution and the core inlet temperature. Present core power measurements are then made by measuring the present excore detector current, the most recent three-dimensional core power distribution and the present core inlet temperature. The present core power is then calculated as the ratio of the present detector current to the detector current at the base time multiplied by the reactor thermal power measurement at the base time. The product is then corrected for changes in three-dimensional power distribution as a function of the difference between the three-dimensional core power distribution at the base time and a most recent three-dimensional core power distribution. The product is also corrected for changes in core inlet temperature by a correction factor which is an exponential term in which the difference between the present core inlet temperature and the core inlet temperature at the base time is multiplied by a constant. This constant is empirically determined at two different temperatures, preferably during start-up.