[en] One of the fundamental components so much for the sure operation, like in emergency cases or accident are the equipment s and instrumentation and control systems. The nuclear industry has had some accidents where the instrumentation and control have played and important part: a wrong design, instrumentation lack, faulty systems of safety, etc. At the present time the necessity to modernize the instrumentation and control in a nuclear power plant is before the challenge of finding innovative forms to improve the competitiveness and readiness, reducing operation costs without put ing in risk the safety and reliability of the nuclear power plant. Most of the nuclear power plants require actualizing their instrumentation and control systems, here the digital systems represent a great alternative, improving the performance and the safety, increasing the readiness and reducing the maintenance s. However they require of strict tests that allow assuring their application in critical systems. It is also necessary, the development of modernization programs that allow the programmed substitution of the systems without affecting the readiness of the nuclear power plants. During this whole modernization process will be necessary to put special attention in the cyber-safety because the attacks every time they are more elaborated. Therefore will be necessary to go toward the modernization of the instrumentation and control with the challenge of making without detriment some in the safety of the normal operation and with response reliability in emergency conditions or accident that which represents an effort that should not be postponed in the case of the nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde. (Author)

[en] In this work the design of a meteorological station for a reactor type BWR is proposed. Two independent channels of data acquisition that allow him to have a bigger readiness is exposed. It is incorporate sensors without mobile parts to measure speed, wind direction and pluvial precipitation. It also counts, with sensors of global solar radiation, net radiation, barometric pressure, relative humidity and ambient temperature; with them they are possible to be calculated, moreover, other variables as temperature differential, dew point and atmospheric stability. The sensors are placed on a tower to different heights and send their information (each second) to a local registration system, the one which in turn, it remits the data to the monitoring office so that a computer is linked with the system, display and management the information in real time and automatic way. The redundant structure allows that in the event of maintenance the data acquisition is not interrupted, even if the information is transferred to another place. In all the station sections it is used protocols of standard communication to allow that a great quantity of devices can be connected without major problem. The above-mentioned would allow to the operators in the control room to have reliable information during the whole time of the reactor operation. (Author)

[en] The versatility of drones is one of the strengths that have led to the rapid development of this technology, as they adapt relatively easily to new applications, presenting considerable advantages such as greater energy efficiency, longer life and a significant lower operation cost than manned systems. The current applications of the drones, in addition to the military, are very wide and varied. The nuclear industry represents an important area of opportunity for drones, mainly in response to radiological emergencies, since in this case there is a latent risk of the general population being exposed to high radiation doses. Drones can be used in environments with high chemical and radiological toxicity without endangering human lives. Some of the possible applications of the drones in a nuclear power plant are: perimeter surveillance in physical security, where equipped with a high definition camera can be used as support to physical security systems in general; visual inspection at sites, structures, equipment and pipelines, etc., as part of preventive maintenance in order to avoid the loss of material due to corrosion, oxidation, cracking, subsidence; the visual inspection through thermo-graphic images to be able to detect hot spots in some critical element; measurement and radiological mapping on surfaces to maintain monitoring of radiological safety at nuclear power plant facilities; the monitoring of environmental parameters and the Environmental Impact Assessment to obtain important information to determine the environmental impact of a given area; and accident support by providing information that allows staff to size the magnitude of the damage. (Author)

[en] En 2011, Mexico won the Colombian international tender for the renewal of instrumentation and control of the IAN-R1 Reactor, to Argentina and the United States. This paper presents the design criteria and the development made for the new digital control system installed in the Colombian nuclear reactor IAN-R1, which is based on a redundant and diverse architecture, which provides increased availability, reliability and safety in the reactor operation. This control system and associated instrumentation met all national export requirements, with the safety requirements established by the IAEA as well as the requirements demanded by the Colombian Regulatory Body in nuclear matter. On August 20, 2012, the Colombian IAN-R1 reactor reached its first criticality controlled with the new system developed at Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares (ININ). On September 14, 2012, the new control system of the Colombian IAN-R1 reactor was officially handed over to the Colombian authorities, this being the first time that Mexico exported nuclear technology through the ININ. Currently the reactor is operating successfully with the new control system, and has an operating license for 5 years. (Author)

[en] The Mexican National Institute of Nuclear Research (ININ) has a 1 MW TRIGA Mark III Reactor. The TRIGA MARK III is a pool type reactor with movable core and has been designed for research in the nuclear field, as well as both radioisotopes production and staff training. Its first criticality was reached on November 8th, 1968. In 1998 ININ started a project to replace the original General Atomics reactor’s control console with a new one based on digital and optical electronics. In 2002, the new control console was installed. In February of 2012 Mexican TRIGA core was converted from HEU mixed core to use only LEU (30/20) fuel, as a part of this process, and considering the obsolescence of equipment and non-availability of spare parts, the instrumentation and control system is going to be modernized, by changing the actual control system to a new one using digital technology. In this work the design of the proposed new control system is shown. This control system will be based on hot stand-by redundant PLCs and will be integrated with the reactor protection system and a new HMI fully developed by ININ. This paper describes the 2002 installed control console as well as the 2012 proposed design for the upcoming I&C system and control console. (author)

No abstract available

[en] Ceramic pot shards collected at the archaeological Mayan site of Lagartero, Chiapas, Mexico were analyzed by neutron activation analysis and data were statistically studied. The ceramics were of local manufacture and from other sites of the Upper Grijalva Basin and Guatemalan Lowlands and Highlands. X-ray diffraction indicated that quartz, feldspars montmorillonite and calcite are the main components of pastes. Pigments were analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, and hematite, pyrolusite, maghemite and calcite were identified. A discussion is presented in the context of the Mayan region. (Author)