Plant process computer replacements - techniques to limit installation schedules and costs

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States)

OSTI ID:6982722

Baker, M D; Olson, J L ^[1]

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1. United Energy Services Corp., Pleasanton, CA (United States)

Plant process computer systems, a standard fixture in all nuclear power plants, are used to monitor and display important plant process parameters. Scanning thousands of field sensors and alarming out-of-limit values, these computer systems are heavily relied on by control room operators. The original nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) vendor for the power plant often supplied the plant process computer. Designed using sixties and seventies technology, a plant's original process computer has been obsolete for some time. Driven by increased maintenance costs and new US Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations such as NUREG-0737, Suppl. 1, many utilities have replaced their process computers with more modern computer systems. Given that computer systems are by their nature prone to rapid obsolescence, this replacement cycle will likely repeat. A process computer replacement project can be a significant capital expenditure and must be performed during a scheduled refueling outage. The object of the installation process is to install a working system on schedule. Experience gained by supervising several computer replacement installations has taught lessons that, if applied, will shorten the schedule and limit the risk of costly delays. Examples illustrating this technique are given. This paper and these examples deal only with the installation process and assume that the replacement computer system has been adequately designed, and development and factory tested.

• OSTI ID: 6982722
• Report Number(s): CONF-921102--
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society; (United States) Journal Volume: 66
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220400* -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Control Systems
COMPUTER OUTPUT DEVICES
COMPUTER-GRAPHICS DEVICES
COMPUTERS
CONTROL ROOMS
CONTROL SYSTEMS
COST
DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS
DISPLAY DEVICES
INSTALLATION
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
PLANNING
POWER PLANTS
PROCESS COMPUTERS
SCHEDULES
THERMAL POWER PLANTS