Concept for a Microcontroller Based Data Acquisition Device for Use in Nuclear Environments Measuring and Monitoring

Micro-controllers, (which are a superset of microprocessors), usually include a microprocessor, RAM, nonvolatile memory and an interface controller all on a single chip. Micro-controllers are widely used in what are known as 'embedded systems'. An embedded system is designed for a specific function often in a larger overall system. Where the home PC is designed for flexibility and many different types of software applications, embedded systems are most often fixed in their functionality and typically will not change during the life of their implementation. By the same token, the software developed for a micro-controller will not typically change during device deployment and is therefore called 'firmware'. A Data Acquisition (DAQ) micro-controller will also include an Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) on the chip. The current state of nuclear power plant control systems is somewhat antiquated and even though there have been great strides made in the upgrade of Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) systems, the industry as a whole has been slow to adopt the latest in technology. The benefits of digital technology are widely recognized in the NPP industry and yet adoption has still been slow due at least to some degree by the significant safety concerns of the industry. Results in other industries including satellite manufacture however, have shown that risk can be managed and high reliability achieved to produce electronics that function without errors for many years. In addition, the catastrophe that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi plant is causing some in the NPP industry to consider electronics that can withstand severe radiation and temperature conditions. The technology exists today to develop a single chip micro-controller data acquisition system that can survive and function reliably in radiation and other harsh environments and would be suitable for implementation in an NPP system. (authors)