Facility Control System Research Articles

The thermal-hydraulics of a simulated PWR facility during steam generator tube rupture transients

The thermal-hydraulics of the semi-scale test facility during steam generator tube rupture transients were investigated in this paper. The test facility simulates the main features of a Westinghouse four-loop pressurized water reactor (PWR) plant. The constructed analytical model simulated both the intact and broken loops, and included the vessel (lower plenum, core, upper plenum, upper dome), the hot legs, pressurizer and the primary and secondary sides of the U-tube steam generators. The two-phase Modular Modeling System code, which was developed by the Electric Power Research Institute, and the EASY5 simulation language were used in carrying out the calculations. A control model was developed to simulate the major facility control systems and to perform the necessary control functions. Calculations were carried out during the first three hundred seconds of the event, where the automatically functioning plant protection system components were assumed to operate. The impact of reactor scram, pressurizer heater activation, main steam isolation valve closure, emergency core cooling system activation, pump trip, main feedwater termination, auxiliary feedwater injection, and atmospheric dump/safety relief valves opening/closing on the system response was calculated. The time histories of the thermal-hydraulic conditions, such as pressure and temperature, are presented for one, five and ten-tube ruptures. Comparisons with experimental data and RELAP-5 (MOD 1.5) calculations are also given.

A Process Control and Safeguards System Plutonium Inventory Control for MOX Fuel Facility

The plutonium inventory control (PINC) system is a real-time material accountability control system that is expected to be applied to a new large-scale plutonium fuel production facility for both fast breeder reactor and heavy water reactor at the Power Reactor and Nuclear Development Corporation. The PINC is basically a system for material control but is expected to develop into a whole facility control system, including criticality control, process control, quality control, facility protection, and so forth. Under PINC, every process and storage area is divided into a unit area, which is the smallest unit for both accountability and process control. Item and material weight automatically are accounted for at every unit area, and data are simultaneously treated by a computer network system. Sensors necessary for the system are being developed. 9 figures.