The stability of boiling water reactors as a catastrophe phenomenon
Paper in proceeding, 2015

The stability of boiling water reactors (BWRs) is revisited in terms of catastrophe theory. The hypothesis is proposed that the stability parameter (decay ratio) of a complex, many-variable non-linear system might obey a cusp catastrophe. The incentive for this surmise comes from indications in real measurements that in certain cases the decay ratio appears to behave discontinuously and might show a hysteresis as a function of the control parameters reactor power and coolant flow. Such observations can be explained by a phenomenological catastrophe model suggested in this article. Since a cusp-type behaviour implies that the decay ratio is many-valued in a certain region of the power-flow map, a mechanism is suggested how a Hopf bifurcation with multiplicative noise can lead to such a behaviour.

Catastrophe theory

BWR

Stability

Author

Imre Pazsit

Chalmers, Applied Physics, Nuclear Engineering

Victor Dykin

Chalmers, Applied Physics, Nuclear Engineering

H. Konno

University of Tsukuba

T. Kozlowski

University of Illinois

Mathematics and Computations, Supercomputing in Nuclear Applications and Monte Carlo International Conference, M and C+SNA+MC 2015, Nashville, United States, 19-23 April 2015

Vol. 1 763-774
978-151080804-1 (ISBN)

Subject Categories

Subatomic Physics

ISBN

978-151080804-1

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7/4/2018 6