An Automatic Startup of HTR with a Digital System

Automatic startup and power control of HTR was performed with the use of a single purpose digital computer. One of the aims of this experiment was to develop a digital control system for HTR and to clarify certain problems related to digital reactor startup control.

The reactor power was controlled automatically from source range—subcritical state of ?1.2% Δk/k to preset output, e.g. 2kW, in 9 min.

The digital computer control system successfully performed the prescribed functions. The reactor was best controlled when the loop gain was adjusted for proper period. This optimized value of gain was slightly lower than ideal for power control, and hence a slight overshoot in power was seen, though to a degree small enough to be permisible for the various experimental purposes foreseen for the HTR.