A Kalman filtering of the Self-Powered Neutron Detector current to determine excess reactivity

Abstract Self-powered neutron detectors are common sensory devices for flux mapping purposes in nuclear reactors. A Kalman filtering strategy has been explored in this work to overcome the inherent delay in certain designs thereof enabling their application for the online monitoring and control activities. Determination of the core excess reactivity by way of the current reading in a Rhodium detector has thus been attempted as a generalization to the well-known reactor inverse kinetics problem. Efficient reactivity estimation is reported. Further analysis carried out for a Cobalt SPND excludes the need for additional current compensation as this detector predominantly enjoys a fairly rapid γ induced electric current.