Nuclear Power Plant Instrumentation And Control

Accidents and natural disasters involving nuclear power plants such as Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and the recent meltdown at Fukushima are rare, but their effects are devastating enough to warrant increased vigilance in addressing safety concerns. Nuclear Power Plant Instrumentation and Control Systems for Safety and Security evaluates the risks inherent to nuclear power and methods of preventing accidents through computer control systems and other such emerging technologies. Students and scholars as well as operators and designers will find useful insight into the latest security technologies with the potential to make the future of nuclear energy clean, safe, and reliable.

The nuclear industry and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) have been working for several years on the development of an adequate process to guide the replacement of aging analog monitoring and control instrumentation in nuclear power plants with modern digital instrumentation without introducing off-setting safety problems. This book identifies criteria for the USNRC's review and acceptance of digital applications in nuclear power plants. It focuses on eight areas: software quality assurance, common-mode software failure potential, systems aspects of digital instrumentation and control technology, human factors and human-machine interfaces, safety and reliability assessment methods, dedication of commercial off-the-shelf hardware and software, the case-by-case licensing process, and the adequacy of technical infrastructure.

This book provides a training course for I and C maintenance engineers in power, process, chemical, and other industries. It summarizes all the scattered literature in this field. The book compiles 30 years of knowledge gained by the author and his staff in testing the I and C systems of nuclear power plants around the world. It focuses on process temperature and pressure sensors and the verification of these sensors’ calibration and response time.

This report provides practical guidance on the methods available for verification of the software and validation of computer based systems in nuclear power plants, and on how and when these methods can be effectively applied. It will be of particular interest to all those involved in the development, implementation, maintenance and use of software and computer based instrumentation and control systems in nuclear power plants.

Dynamics and Control of Nuclear Reactors presents the latest knowledge and research in reactor dynamics, control and instrumentation; important factors in ensuring the safe and economic operation of nuclear power plants. This book provides current and future engineers with a single resource containing all relevant information, including detailed treatments on the modeling, simulation, operational features and dynamic characteristics of pressurized light-water reactors, boiling light-water reactors, pressurized heavy-water reactors and molten-salt reactors. It also provides pertinent, but less detailed information on small modular reactors, sodium fast reactors, and gas-cooled reactors. Provides case studies and examples to demonstrate learning through problem solving, including an analysis of accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi Includes MATLAB codes to enable the reader to apply the knowledge gained to their own projects and research Features examples and problems that illustrate the principles of dynamic analysis as well as the mathematical tools necessary to understand and apply the analysis Publishers Note: Table 3.1 has been revised and will be included in future printings of the book with the following data: Group Decay Constant, li (sec-1) Delayed Neutron Fraction (bi) 1 0.0124 0.000221 2 0.0305 0.001467 3 0.111 0.001313 4 0.301 0.002647 5 1.14 0.000771 6 3.01 0.000281 Total delayed neutron fraction: 0.0067

The nuclear industry and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) have been working for several years on the development of an adequate process to guide the replacement of aging analog monitoring and control instrumentation in nuclear power plants with modern digital instrumentation without introducing off-setting safety problems. This book identifies criteria for the USNRC's review and acceptance of digital applications in nuclear power plants. It focuses on eight areas: software quality assurance, common-mode software failure potential, systems aspects of digital instrumentation and control technology, human factors and human-machine interfaces, safety and reliability assessment methods, dedication of commercial off-the-shelf hardware and software, the case-by-case licensing process, and the adequacy of technical infrastructure.

Describes control systems for boilers and heat-recovery steam generators (HRSGs) in a variety of applications, from waste-to-energy plants to combined-cycle gas-turbine power stations. Basics such as methods of connecting instruments are explained, and more advanced discussions of design features of distributed control systems are also included. At every stage, emphasis is given to the interactive nature of plants and to troubleshooting and problem solving. Includes chapter summaries. The author is Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, and the Institute of Marine Engineers, and is a Senior Member of the Instrument Society of America. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

"This book evaluates the risks inherent to nuclear power and methods of preventing accidents through computer control systems and other such emerging technologies"--