User experiences using the operator support systems SCORPIO and SPDS at Kola NPP

Full text: During the years from 2000 to 2004 a Safety Parameter Display System (SPDS) and a SCORPIO-VVER system have been installed and put into operation at Kola NPP in northern Russia. The projects have been carried out in co-operation with Finnish and Russian subcontractors with IFE, Halden, as the main contractor and the project manager. Both projects have been defined within the Norwegian Assistance Programme to Nuclear Installations at the Kola Peninsula and financed by the Norwegian government. The SPDS project has also been partly financed by the Finnish government. The Kola SPDS, which is based on a system originally developed for the Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant in Finland, was installed and put into operation on Kola NPP units 1 and 2 in April 2000 and on Kola NPP units 3 and 4 in March 2004. The system has been licensed and approved by Russian authority (GAN) for use in the control room environment. The SCORPIO-VVER system is based on the SCORPIO-VVER framework developed for Dukovany NPP, Czech Republic and Bohunice NPP, Slovak Republic. Further, the experience gained with the SCORPIO framework developed for Western PWRs have been utilised. The SCORPIO-VVER system was installed and put into operation at Kola NPP Nuclear Safety Centre in December 2003 for core monitoring on units 3 and 4. The user experiences by introducing the SPDS and the SCORPIO-VVER system at Kola NPP are so far very positive. By introducing an SPDS at Kola NPP, the process safety status (single or combinations of signals) is presented for the operator in a centralized location (on one screen) in the control room and in a form that makes it easier to obtain a quick assessment of the process safety status. According to feedback from control room personnel the SPDS has enhanced the monitoring of the safety status of the plant. The reactor core is the most central component of a nuclear power plant and a comprehensive core monitoring system is very important for maintaining reactor safety. By introducing SCORPIO, the Kola NPP specialists got a very good tool for supervision and estimation of the various neutron-physical and thermal characteristics of the reactor core on-line monitoring and prediction modes when compared to the existing core monitoring system at Kola NPP. According to feedback from Kola NPP core monitoring specialist, the SCORPIO-VVER system has enhanced the core monitoring at Kola NPP. A comprehensive QA plan is followed in the projects in accordance with common practice for Safety Parameter Display and Core Monitoring systems. (Author)