Characteristic Analysis of a Cylindrical Linear Motor for Drive Mechanism

The control rod drive mechanism (CRDM) is a critical device in nuclear plants. This paper proposes a kind of CRDM applying the cylindrical linear induction motor (CLIM). First, the structure and the working principle are introduced. Second, the finite-element method (FEM) is applied to analyze the electromagnetic characteristics of CRDM. The lifting force variation curves with different electromagnetic and structural parameters are obtained. Third, the thermal analysis is carried out by FEM. The steady-state thermal distribution and temperature of each component of CRDM are obtained. All the above results show that the proposed CRDM can meet the design criteria and such functions as rising, falling, and holding still.