Disturbance observer-based robust backstepping load-following control for MHTGRs with actuator saturation and disturbances

This paper presents a disturbance observer-based robust backstepping load-following control (DO-RBLFC) scheme for modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (MHTGRs) in the presence of actuator saturation and disturbances. Based on reactor kinetics and temperature reactivity feedback, the mathematical model of the MHTGR is first established. After that, a DO is constructed to estimate the unknown compound disturbances including model uncertainties, external disturbances, and unmeasured states. Besides, the actuator saturation is compensated by employing an auxiliary function in this paper. With the help of the DO, a robust load-following controller is developed via the backstepping technique to improve the load-following performance of the MHTGR subject to disturbances. At last, simulation and comparison results verify that the proposed DO-RBLFC scheme offers higher load-following accuracy, better disturbances rejection capability, and lower control rod speed than a PID controller, a conventional backstepping controller, and a disturbance observer-based adaptive sliding mode controller.