Advanced Technologies of I and C and MMI systems in ABWR

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station units 6 and 7 (K-6/7) are the first Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) in the world, which are scheduled to begin commercial operation in 1996 and 1997. The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has developed a new Main Control Room design for the ABWR to improve man-machine interface. New configuration of panels and enhanced automation are some of the features of the ABWR type Main Control Room design. Various technologies such as Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) and Flat Displays (FDs) with touch-sensitive operations are contributed to the development of the ABWR type control room design. This design will be first applied to K-6/7. K-6/7 are also the first application of the digital safety protection system in Japan. Because digital control and network systems have already been applied to the non-safety Instrumentation and Control (I and C) systems in BWRs in Japan, TEPCO has expanded digital technology to the safety protection system through the reliability estimation based on the design and operating experiences. Upon the application of digital technology to the safety systems, it is important to achieve the highly reliability of the total system in its design and manufacturing process. (author)