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Division Spotlight
Nuclear Criticality Safety
NCSD provides communication among nuclear criticality safety professionals through the development of standards, the evolution of training methods and materials, the presentation of technical data and procedures, and the creation of specialty publications. In these ways, the division furthers the exchange of technical information on nuclear criticality safety with the ultimate goal of promoting the safe handling of fissionable materials outside reactors.
Meeting Spotlight
Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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August 2024
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Latest News
Vogtle-3 shuts down for valve issue
One of the new Vogtle units in Georgia was shut down unexpectedly on Monday last week for a valve issue that has since been investigated and repaired. According to multiple local news outlets, Georgia Power reported on July 17 that Unit 3 was back in service.
Southern Company spokesperson Jacob Hawkins confirmed that Vogtle-3 went off line at 9:25 p.m. local time on July 8 “due to lowering water levels in the steam generators caused by a valve issue on one of the three main feedwater pumps.”
Gaëtan Robin, Anne-Sophie Hintzy, Stéphane Marchaud, Rachid Hamadi (EdF)
Proceedings | Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control, and Human-Machine Interface Technolgies (NPIC&HMIT 2019) | Orlando, FL, February 9-14, 2019 | Pages 1591-1599
For some years now, studies have proved the feasibility and the interest of providing simulation solutions on the functional and detailed I&C specifications of nuclear units. This is a first step to detect design errors upstream of I&C engineering process. Indeed, the rupture in the design process between detailed specifications and final programmed or wired I&C systems (different tools and different people/staffs are involved for these activities) increases the risk of errors detected late, during on-site requalification tests. Generally, platform tests are performed to verify the final implementation of I&C, but they are often limited to logical functions and performed in open-loop. For several years, EDF Research and Development has been working jointly with EDF engineering units to add I&C closed-loop verifications in design process, especially by studying Model-In-the-Loop (MIL) and Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) simulations. In HIL simulation, an I&C platform is connected to a numeric model that simulates the plant dynamic behavior. The advantage to connect control system to a process model is that exchanged data, namely process and I&C data are more realistic and have a functional meaning. It presents a real interest to have physical feedbacks (for example water level or pressure in a circuit) for the verification of analog controls. Furthermore, the use of real programmed I&C systems allow to perform more realistic tests by taking into account the hardware characteristics of the platform (filtering time, delays, etc.). This approach ultimately increases confidence level in engineering studies before on-site tests and earn time and money by detecting problems during platform tests. The paper details the approach adopted by EDF R & D for the implementation of HIL simulation (in terms of tools, testing platforms), and will present its application on a concrete case study of an analog regulation modification, on 1300MW French Nuclear Power Plants.