Bifurcation study of Xenon oscillations in Nuclear Reactor

MSc final stage

Presented by

Avigyan Saha (19i170012)

29 November 2021
Under the guidance of
Department of Energy Science and Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay Prof. Suneet Singh
Mumbai 400076 (India)
 Outline

2 4
What is the Model
effect of Xenon formulation for
1 oscillations?? studying this
3 5
Why we are
studying Research
How we can gap and
Xenon stabilize Xenon
oscillations?? Future work
oscillations??

1
 Xenon production
U-235

0.25
%

135   𝛽− 135   𝛽− 135  𝛽 −

135  𝛽 −
𝑆𝑏 𝑇𝑒 𝐼 𝑋𝑒
       
1.7 s 19.2 s 6.58 h 9.17 h
91%

𝜎  𝐼𝑎 𝑃 𝜎  𝑋𝑒
𝑎 𝑃

 = microscopic absorption cross section of

iodine and xenon
2
Purpose of studying Xenon oscillations
Space independent xenon oscillations which consider gross
instabilities in reactor power due to nonlinear system
behavior

Xenon acts like a poison in reactor

Dynamics of thermal reactors is essentially

governed by poison and temperature feedback effects

Dynamic behavior in a reactor system

is necessary to predict and analyze its
transient operating conditions for
control purposes
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 Effect of Xenon
Xenon nonlinear dynamics mainly attributed to its feedback effect on
1 reactor power as excessive Xenon build up and reactor shutdown

2 A gross reactor dynamic stability analysis which relies on the

fundamental mode of the reactor power

3 Nuclear reactor is represented as complex system and its stability

behavior is strongly sensitive to parameter variations and initial values

4 The Xenon oscillation to be subject to the Hopf bifurcation

phenomena

4
 System behavior changes by parameter
Example :   Van der pol Oscillator : - μ(1 - ) + = 0

Fig.1: μ= -1 (Ingoing Spiral) Fig.2: μ= 0 (Limit cycle) Fig.3: : μ= +1 (Outgoing spiral)

  = Hopf bifurcation : System’s

+  1 = 0(μ= 0 )
stability switches and a periodic
(imaginary eigen
solution arises by changing
value)
parameter
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 Model formulation

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

Governing Solution Numerical Analysis of

Equation Algorithm Solution Solution

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 Governing Equation
  =   = 3.00
Point reactor U-235
kinetics = 8.3695
= ϒ
  𝐼 ϒ
  𝑋𝑒
= 5.1310
− −
= 135  𝛽  𝛽
 𝐼 𝑋𝑒
 
135
= 1.2701 9.17 h
6.58 h 𝑋𝑒
𝜎  𝑎 𝑃
Xenon oscillations 91%
= +

(t) = [P(t)- ]  A State space representation of the above set of nonlinear

- [Xe(t)-] equation is given by:

Where =
= input parameter

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 Solution Algorithm
 − 𝛽 𝑒𝑓𝑓 − ϒ 𝑝 P0 𝑋𝑒
𝜎𝑎
⩘ λ 𝑒𝑓𝑓 0 − P0
υ ∑𝑓 ⩘
𝛽 𝑒𝑓𝑓
  −   λ𝑒𝑓𝑓 0 0
= ⩘
0 −   λ𝐼 0
ϒ 𝐼 ∑𝑓

 - 0   λ 𝐼 - 

Solved by ODE 15s solver

Imaginary eigenvalue gives oscillatory behavior

Stiff system(Higher stiffness ratio)

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Eigenvalues are -985.6433, -0.06128, 0.000182i, -0.0001872i 8
Results Numerical Solution

  4: Growing
Fig.  Fig. 5: Permanent  Fig. 6: Decaying Oscillation at
Oscillation at Oscillation at ϒ = 0.840
ϒ = 0.810 ϒ = 0.811

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 Numerical Solution

• After Shutdown iodine will decay

• Xenon will produce from iodine decay

• Major loss term for xenon basically absorption of

neutron

• Within certain amount of time reactor will not

be start up in spite of taking off the control rods
is called dead time

• In that time concentration of xenon is very high

  7: Iodine and Xenon Oscillation after
Fig.
shut down at ϒ = 0.800

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 Analysis of solution
• ‘a’ and ‘f’ points are in unstable
side

• ‘b’ and ‘e’ points are in stable

boundary

• ‘c’ and ‘d’ points are in stable side

 Fig. 8: Stability boundary for operating power level (f) and
power coefficient of reactivity (ϒ

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 Research gap and Future work

• The present work discusses the model of nuclear reactor core on the basis of point reactor
kinetics

• This model has not discussed the type of Hopf bifurcation

• This approach can be used in multi point reactor kinetics for more accurate stability analysis

• This approach can be used with the temperature feedback model

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 Thank you

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