Second order integral sliding mode observer and controller for a nuclear reactor

Abstract

This paper presents an observer-based chattering free robust optimal control scheme to regulate the total power of a nuclear reactor. The non-linear model of nuclear reactor is linearized around a steady state operating point to obtain a linear model for which an optimal second order integral sliding mode controller is designed. A second order integral sliding mode observer is also designed to estimate the unmeasurable states. In order to avoid the chattering effect, the discontinuous input of both observer and controller are designed using the super-twisting algorithm. The proposed controller is realized by combining an optimal linear tracking controller with a second order integral sliding mode controller to ensure minimum control effort and robustness of the closed-loop system in the presence of uncertainties. The condition for the selection of gains of discontinuous control based on the super-twisting algorithm is derived using a strict Lyapunov function. Performance of the proposed observer based control scheme is demonstrated through non-linear simulation studies. Keywords: Optimal control, Sliding mode control, Sliding mode observer, Nuclear reactor