Instrumentation and Control Systems (I&C) • Among the thousands systems and

sub-systems that comprise a nuclear power plant, the system class relied upon most for protection, control, monitoring, and supervision is Instrumentation and Control (I&C) system.

• Behind the reactor, probably the most important system in the plant.

• Nuclear I&C is distinguished by demanding safety and reliability requirements. Regulatory driven technology.

• In service plant I&C are mixture of I&C digital and older analog technology.

• Older analog technology is mature and well understood, but facing obsolescence and performance challenges for new rector designs.

Modernization and Upgrades: Evolution of

I&C at NPP

Hardwired

Control

• Analog and Relays

• Push Buttons

• Single Loop Controls

• Stand Alone

• No Networks

• No Communication

•

First Generation Digital

• Serial bus

connections

between

systems

• Industrial

based PC’s…

• Simple OS

• Mimic

Hardwired

control

systems

Modern Digital

I&C: 2000 - present

• I/O - Process control

networks

• Intra-channel

communications

• Full OS Stack and System

Services

• Configurable to specific

plant layouts

• IEC function block

programming interfaces

• Network communication for

control room functions

80%

All US plants are hybrids of

Digital I&C and Analog I&C

1970’s

1980’s- 1990’s

Looming Challenges for the NPP

Utilities and Industry

6/15/2015 3

Cost Effective I&C Upgrading (LWRS) What to replace, when, and where – go beyond “least reliable systems

replacement strategy” criteria.

License amendment impacts to plant operations – minimize

“Qualification aware” I&C

Cyber Security Management Identification, Characterization of Digital Assets and Sustained

Protection of Critical Digital Assets.

Control Room Modernization Understanding Choices, Technology, and Consequences

Need to account for human performance issues given the diverse, evolving, and analog-digital hybrid nature of control room solutions. What are they?

Workforce Development, Knowledge Retention, and Training. Newly “minted” Engineers grew up in the Information age .

The young workforce must understand the past to bridge to the future.

DOE Programs of Interest to IST

6/15/2015 4

Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) - developing the

scientific basis to extend existing nuclear power plant

operating life beyond the current 60-year licensing

period and ensure long-term reliability, productivity,

safety, and security

Nuclear Energy Enabling Technology (NEET) - crosscutting

technologies that directly support and enable the

development of new and advanced reactor design

NEET Program Element - Advanced

Sensors and Instrumentation (ASI)

6/15/2015 5

Primary goal of the NEET ASI program - Foster the research and development required to identify and deploy innovative and advanced I&C capabilities that address the limitations of current I&C systems Support other DOE NE Programs by developing “frontier Technology”.

Four strategic I&C areas of research Advanced Sensors.

Digital Monitoring and Control

Nuclear Plant Communication

Advanced Concepts of Operation

NEET ASI Research Areas

6/15/2015 6

Advanced Sensors. To develop and qualify new sensor

capabilities and methods to detect and monitor behavior of

reactor and of desired parameters in integral tests to achieve

needed accuracy and minimize measurement uncertainty.

Digital Monitoring and Control. To enhance monitoring of

process variables and implementation of control actions that

increase system reliability, availability, and resilience.

Nuclear Plant Communication. To research and develop

communications technologies needed to support greater data

generation and transmission demands expected to

accompany advancements in digital sensor,

NEET ASI Research Areas (2)

6/15/2015 7

Advanced Concepts of Operation. To develop and test advanced concepts of operation for future nuclear energy systems designed to achieve highly automated control, where new human and system interaction is defined.

These areas are stake holder and Industry vetted I&C needs

All of the ASI program elements require working system demonstration to provide needed confidence for transition of technology to the industry.

2012 – 2016 ASI Program

Research Efforts

6/15/2015 8

Embedded I&C for Extreme Environments

Digital Technology Qualification

Design for Fault Tolerance and Resilience

Recalibration Methodology for Transmitters and

Instrumentation

Sensor Degradation Control Systems

Embedded I&C for Extreme

Environments

6/15/2015 9

Advanced Sensors (in Harsh

Environments)

6/15/2015 10

Ultrasonic flow meter

Two-phase magnetic flow meter

Void Fraction measurement Wire-mesh sensor

Conductivity or optic needle probe

X-ray detector

ERT/ECT

Local film thickness, droplet probes

Heat flux sensors, cladding temperature measurement

Fiber optic sensor Sapphire fiber, high temperature, radiation resistant, chemical resistant, immune

to electromagnetic interference

Possibility for sight glass window High speed imaging

Laser based PIV or PLIF

Wireless sensor

Digital Technology

Qualification

6/15/2015 11

New plant designs are continuing the use of legacy analog technology to minimize licensing risk and up-front costs

Legacy technology has been shown to be problematic in two significant areas for which modern technology provides improved characteristics

–reliable, accurate performance

–maintenance burden (i.e., effort and cost)

Determination of the operational benefits and qualification basis for implementing digital replacements to legacy analog components…

How to address CCF…

Design for Fault Tolerance and

Resilience

6/15/2015 12

I&C systems in NPP’s today are largely reactive to one another, meaning they respond or react to unanticipated events/transients with limited capacity to adapt to failures or to know how other plant systems are behaving or functioning in response to the event .

Need I&C systems that are Resilient.

The term “resilient” expresses the capacity of an operational technology or process to maintain state awareness and to proactively maintain a safe level of operational normalcy in response to anomalies, including threats of a malicious and unexpected nature.

Develop technology to assist and support operators with complex fault diagnosis and selection of appropriate mitigation control actions - Forward looking

Develop fault detection and diagnosis technologies that underlie the operator support technology

Demonstrate on IST

Generic I&C and Sensor

Challenges

6/15/2015 13

Conventional sensors: temperature, pressure, flow, water level Improved accuracy, Miniature size, and DAQ capability

Placed at more locations, multi-directional measurement

Increased temporal resolution, truly transient data

Reevaluate existing methods/components, in particular, under abnormal/accident condition Example 1, Water level measurement (Fukushima accident)

Example 2, RCIC, Terry turbine, governor valve

Example 3, Vacuum breakers, check valve, SRVs, DPVs explosive valves (automatic depressurization valves)

FPGA Based I&C, System on Chip I&C, Virtual Machines, Diverse Technology (MEMS), Advanced Smart Sensors…

Conceptual View of the IST and

NEET Nexus

Industry Relevant Research

and Analysis of Advanced

Sensors and I&C

Human/System Interface

Concepts

Advanced Control Room

and Hybrid Control Room Concepts

Education and Training

New Instrumentation

and Control

Technology

Cyber Security

Awareness

Digital I&C Upgrade

Analysis

Incontrol Architectural Layout of DI&C Lab

Full Scope NPP Simulator

Workstation Operator Workstation Operator Workstation Supervisor Workstation

National Instruments PXI Data Acquisition

Server

L3 Mapps Plant Simulation

Server

Signal Points BreakoutControl processes

I/O Simulation Interface Bus- USB, PXI express

L3 Mapps Instructor Control Station

Signal Points BreakoutProtection Processes

Data points from Plant simulator

Reconfigurable Main Control Room Facility

Initiate Plant operations, Basis Events

LabVIEW WorkstationControl and Monitoring

Ch 1

Ch 2

Ch 3

Ch 4

Teleperm TXS 2oo4 Reactor

Protection

Digital Outputs

Reac

tor

Cont

rol

Feed

wate

rCo

ntro

l

Turb

ine

Cont

rol

Analog inputs-sensors

LabVIEW WorkstationControl and Monitoring

Digital and Analog Outputs

Digital Inputs-Status and mode

Analog inputs-sensors

Digital I&C Research Facility: Phase 1, 2

Virtual or Physical Representation

Process Control Network – Profibus, TTP, etc..

Control Processes Protection Processes

Integration Between DI&C Lab and Control Room

Full Scope NPP Simulator

Workstation Operator Workstation Operator Workstation Supervisor Workstation

National Instruments PXI Data Acquisition

Server

L3 Mapps Plant Simulation

Server

Signal Points BreakoutControl processes

I/O Simulation Interface Bus- USB, PXI express

L3 Mapps Instructor Control Station

Signal Points BreakoutProtection Processes

Data points from Plant simulator

Reconfigurable Main Control Room Facility

Initiate Plant operations, Basis Events

LabVIEW WorkstationControl and Monitoring

Ch 1

Ch 2

Ch 3

Ch 4

Teleperm TXS 2oo4 Reactor

Protection

Digital Outputs

Reac

tor

Cont

rol

Feed

wate

rCo

ntro

l

Turb

ine

Cont

rol

Analog inputs-sensors

LabVIEW WorkstationControl and Monitoring

Digital and Analog Outputs

Digital Inputs-Status and mode

Analog inputs-sensors

Digital I&C Research Facility: Phase 1, 2

Virtual or Physical Representation

Process Control Network – Profibus, TTP, etc..

Control Processes Protection Processes