DOE Fundamentals Handbook: Instrumentation and Control, Volume 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-06-01

The Instrumentation and Control Fundamentals Handbook was developed to assist nuclear facility operating contractors provide operators, maintenance personnel, and the technical staff with the necessary fundamentals training to ensure a basic understanding of instrumentation and control systems. The handbook includes information on temperature, pressure, flow, and level detection systems; position indication systems; process control systems; and radiation detection principles. This information will provide personnel with an understanding of the basic operation of various types of DOE nuclear facility instrumentation and control systems

DOE Fundamentals Handbook: Instrumentation and Control, Volume 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1992-06-01

The Instrumentation and Control Fundamentals Handbook was developed to assist nuclear facility operating contractors provide operators, maintenance personnel, and the technical staff with the necessary fundamentals training to ensure a basic understanding of instrumentation and control systems. The handbook includes information on temperature, pressure, flow, and level detection systems; position indication systems; process control systems; and radiation detection principles. This information will provide personnel with an understanding of the basic operation of various types of DOE nuclear facility instrumentation and control systems.

DOE Fundamentals Handbook: Instrumentation and Control, Volume 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-06-01

The Instrumentation and Control Fundamentals Handbook personnel, and the technical staff facility operating contractors provide operators, maintenance personnel, and the technical staff with the necessary fundamentals training to ensure a basic understanding of instrumentation and control systems. The handbook includes information on temperature, pressure, flow, and level detection systems; position indication systems; process control systems; and radiation detection principles. This information will provide personnel with an understanding of the basic operation of various types of DOE nuclear facility instrumentation and control systems

Distributed Framework for Dynamic Telescope and Instrument Control

Science.gov (United States)

Ames, Troy J.; Case, Lynne

2002-01-01

Traditionally, instrument command and control systems have been developed specifically for a single instrument. Such solutions are frequently expensive and are inflexible to support the next instrument development effort. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is developing an extensible framework, known as Instrument Remote Control (IRC) that applies to any kind of instrument that can be controlled by a computer. IRC combines the platform independent processing capabilities of Java with the power of the Extensible Markup Language (XML). A key aspect of the architecture is software that is driven by an instrument description, written using the Instrument Markup Language (IML). IML is an XML dialect used to describe graphical user interfaces to control and monitor the instrument, command sets and command formats, data streams, communication mechanisms, and data processing algorithms. The IRC framework provides the ability to communicate to components anywhere on a network using the JXTA protocol for dynamic discovery of distributed components. JXTA (see httD://www.jxta.org,) is a generalized protocol that allows any devices connected by a network to communicate in a peer-to-peer manner. IRC uses JXTA to advertise a device's IML and discover devices of interest on the network. Devices can join or leave the network and thus join or leave the instrument control environment of IRC. Currently, several astronomical instruments are working with the IRC development team to develop custom components for IRC to control their instruments. These instruments include: High resolution Airborne Wideband Camera (HAWC), a first light instrument for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA); Submillimeter And Far Infrared Experiment (SAFIRE), a Principal Investigator instrument for SOFIA; and Fabry-Perot Interferometer Bolometer Research Experiment (FIBRE), a prototype of the SAFIRE instrument, used at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO). Most recently, we have

Fusion instrumentation and control: a development strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsu, P.Y.; Greninger, R.C.; Longhurst, G.R.; Madden, P.

1981-01-01

We have examined requirements for a fusion instrumentation and control development program to determine where emphasis is needed. The complex, fast, and closely coupled system dynamics of fusion reactors reveal a need for a rigorous approach to the development of instrumentation and control systems. A framework for such a development program should concentrate on three principal need areas: the operator-machine interface, the data and control system architecture, and fusion compatible instruments and sensors. System dynamics characterization of the whole fusion reactor system is also needed to facilitate the implementation process in each of these areas. Finally, the future need to make the instrumentation and control system compatible with the requirements of a commercial plant is met by applying transition technology. These needs form the basis for the program tasks suggested

Mechanical engineers' handbook, design, instrumentation, and controls

CERN Document Server

Kutz, Myer

2015-01-01

Full coverage of electronics, MEMS, and instrumentation andcontrol in mechanical engineering This second volume of Mechanical Engineers' Handbookcovers electronics, MEMS, and instrumentation and control, givingyou accessible and in-depth access to the topics you'll encounterin the discipline: computer-aided design, product design formanufacturing and assembly, design optimization, total qualitymanagement in mechanical system design, reliability in themechanical design process for sustainability, life-cycle design,design for remanufacturing processes, signal processing, dataacquisition and dis

Fuel fabrication instrumentation and control system overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bennett, D.W.; Fritz, R.L.

1980-10-01

A process instrumentation and control system is being developed for automated fabrication of breeder reactor fuel at the Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory (HEDL) in Richland, Washington. The basic elements of the control system are a centralized computer system linked to distributed local computers, which direct individual process applications. The control philosophy developed for the equipment automation program stresses system flexibility and inherent levels of redundant control capabilities. Four different control points have been developed for each unit process operation

Plans for the CIT [Compact Ignition Tokamak] instrumentation and control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Preckshot, G.G.

1987-01-01

Extensive experience with previous fusion experiments (TFTR, MFTF-B and others) is driving the design of the Instrumentation and Control System (I and C) for the Compact Ignition Tokamak (CIT) to be built at Princeton. The new design will reuse much equipment from TFTR and will be subdivided into six major parts: machine control, machine data acquisition, plasma diagnostic instrument control and instrument data acquisition, the database, shot sequencing and safety interlocks. In a major departure from previous fusion experiment control systems, the CIT machine control system will be a commercial process control system. Since the machine control system will be purchased as a completely functional product, we will be able to concentrate development manpower in plasma diagnostic instrument control, data acquisition, data processing and analysis, and database systems. We will discuss the issues driving the design, give a design overview and state the requirements upon any prospective commercial process control system

The NSTX Central Instrumentation and Control System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

G. Oliaro; J. Dong; K. Tindall; P. Sichta

1999-01-01

Earlier this year the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory achieved ''first plasma''. The Central Instrumentation and Control System was used to support plasma operations. Major elements of the system include the Process Control System, Plasma Control System, Network System, Data Acquisition System, and Synchronization System. This paper will focus on the Process Control System. Topics include the architecture, hardware interface, operator interface, data management, and system performance

Using XML and Java for Astronomical Instrumentation Control

Science.gov (United States)

Ames, Troy; Koons, Lisa; Sall, Ken; Warsaw, Craig

2000-01-01

Traditionally, instrument command and control systems have been highly specialized, consisting mostly of custom code that is difficult to develop, maintain, and extend. Such solutions are initially very costly and are inflexible to subsequent engineering change requests, increasing software maintenance costs. Instrument description is too tightly coupled with details of implementation. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is developing a general and highly extensible framework that applies to any kind of instrument that can be controlled by a computer. The software architecture combines the platform independent processing capabilities of Java with the power of the Extensible Markup Language (XML), a human readable and machine understandable way to describe structured data. A key aspect of the object-oriented architecture is software that is driven by an instrument description, written using the Instrument Markup Language (IML). ]ML is used to describe graphical user interfaces to control and monitor the instrument, command sets and command formats, data streams, and communication mechanisms. Although the current effort is targeted for the High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera, a first-light instrument of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, the framework is designed to be generic and extensible so that it can be applied to any instrument.

Development of NPTC-11 intelligence control instrument with digital display

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Chengming; Pu Li; Yu Jiang; Xue Yuping; Zhang Bo; Chen Yong

2007-01-01

The accurate of the process control gauge has direct influence on the safe operation of nuclear power plants. Therefore it is necessary to accumulate experiences for the domestic development of this Instrument. In this paper, NPTC-11 intelligence control Instrument with digital display is developed based on the design code for nuclear Instrument, considering the actual application requirements and technical redundancy. Its application in nuclear power plant for almost one year indicates that this Instrument satisfies the development purpose and requirements. (authors)

Concluding from operating experience to instrumentation and control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pleger, H.; Heinsohn, H.

1997-01-01

Where conclusions are drawn from operating experience to instrumentation and control systems, two general statements should be made. First: There have been braekdowns, there have also been deficiencies, but in principle operating experience with the instrumentation and control systems of German nuclear power plants has been good. With respect to the debates about the use of modern digital instrumentation and control systems it is safe to say, secondly, that the instrumentation and control systems currently in use are working reliably. Hence, there is no need at present to replace existing systems for reasons of technical safety. However, that time will come. It is a good thing, therefore, that the use of modern digital instrumentation and control systems is to begin in the field of limiting devices. The operating experience which will thus be accumulated will benefit digital instrumentation and control systems in their qualification process for more demanding applications. This makes proper logging of operating experience an important function, even if it cannot be transferred in every respect. All parties involved therefore should see to it that this operating experience is collected in accordance with criteria agreed upon so as to prevent unwanted surprises later on. (orig.) [de

Malaysian Preparation for Nuclear Power Plant Instrumentation and Control System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Idris Taib; Nurfarhana Ayuni Joha; Kamarudin Sulaiman; Izhar Abu Hussin

2011-01-01

Instrumentation and Control System is required in Nuclear Power Plant for their safe and effective operation. The system is combination and integrated from detectors, actuators, analog system as well as digital system. Current design of system definitely follows of electronic as well as computer technology, with strictly follow regulation and guideline from local regulator as well as International Atomic Energy Agency. Commercial Off-The-Shelf products are extensively used with specific nucleonic instrumentation. Malaysian experiences depend on Reactor TRIGA PUSPATI Instrumentation and Control, Power Plant Instrumentation and Control as well as Process Control System. However Malaysians have capabilities to upgrade themself from Electronics, Computers, Electrical and Mechanical based. Proposal is presented for Malaysian preparation. (author)

Instrument control software development process for the multi-star AO system ARGOS

Science.gov (United States)

Kulas, M.; Barl, L.; Borelli, J. L.; Gässler, W.; Rabien, S.

2012-09-01

The ARGOS project (Advanced Rayleigh guided Ground layer adaptive Optics System) will upgrade the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) with an AO System consisting of six Rayleigh laser guide stars. This adaptive optics system integrates several control loops and many different components like lasers, calibration swing arms and slope computers that are dispersed throughout the telescope. The purpose of the instrument control software (ICS) is running this AO system and providing convenient client interfaces to the instruments and the control loops. The challenges for the ARGOS ICS are the development of a distributed and safety-critical software system with no defects in a short time, the creation of huge and complex software programs with a maintainable code base, the delivery of software components with the desired functionality and the support of geographically distributed project partners. To tackle these difficult tasks, the ARGOS software engineers reuse existing software like the novel middleware from LINC-NIRVANA, an instrument for the LBT, provide many tests at different functional levels like unit tests and regression tests, agree about code and architecture style and deliver software incrementally while closely collaborating with the project partners. Many ARGOS ICS components are already successfully in use in the laboratories for testing ARGOS control loops.

New generation in process-control colorimetric instrumentation

Science.gov (United States)

Ladson, Jack A.

1992-08-01

Colorimetric performance parameters (repeatability and reproducibility) of a new spectrophotometer/colorimeter manufactured by BYK-Gardner, Inc. are reported. The color- viewTM spectrophotometer (CVS) uses forty-five degree illumination and zero degree viewing geometry relative to the plane of the test specimen. The CVS is designed for the measurement of diffuse reflectance factor. It is designed to conform to national and international recommendations for Spectrophotometry and Colorimetry. Colorimetric performance was evaluated by measuring colored tiles manufactured by the British Ceramic Research Association (BCRA). Instrument repeatability was recorded after an hour, eight hours, and thirty days. Routine performance of the CVS shows that color difference repeatability over short and medium time periods is within 0.15 CIELAB color difference unit. The long term repeatability is within 0.4 unit. Reproducibility was evaluated by making color measurements on BCRA tiles with 54 instruments. Measurements made on CVS instruments indicate that its reproducibility is better than the reproducibility of product standards. Reproducibility is well within the requirement for industrial applications. Actually, the repeatability and reproducibility is comparable to that of reference instruments in national standardizing laboratories.

Certain advancements in the introduction of radioisotope instruments for process control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pugachev, A.V.

1979-01-01

Achievements of atomic science and engineering are reported and their extensive applications in all branches of national economy. The examples are aiven of introducing radioisotopic instruments for the contpol and automation of technological processes

Non-process instrumentation surveillance and test reduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferrell, R.; LeDonne, V.; Donat, T.; Thomson, I.; Sarlitto, M.

1993-12-01

Analysis of operating experience, instrument failure modes, and degraded instrument performance has led to a reduction in Technical Specification surveillance and test requirements for nuclear power plant process instrumentation. These changes have resulted in lower plant operations and maintenance (O ampersand M) labor costs. This report explores the possibility of realizing similar savings by reducing requirements for non-process instrumentation. The project team reviewed generic Technical Specifications for the four major US nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) vendors (Westinghouse, General Electric, Combustion Engineering, and Babcock ampersand Wilcox) to identify nonprocess instrumentation for which surveillance/test requirements could be reduced. The team surveyed 10 utilities to identify specific non-process instrumentation at their plants for which requirements could be reduced. The team evaluated utility analytic approaches used to justify changes in surveillance/test requirements for process equipment to determine their applicability to non-process instrumentation. The report presents a prioritized list of non-process instrumentation systems suitable for surveillance/test requirements reduction. The top three systems in the list are vibration monitors, leak detection monitors, and chemistry monitors. In general, most non-process instrumentation governed by Technical Specification requirements are candidates for requirements reduction. If statistical requirements are somewhat relaxed, the analytic approaches previously used to reduce requirements for process instrumentation can be applied to non-process instrumentation. The report identifies as viable the technical approaches developed and successfully used by Southern California Edison, Arizona Public Service, and Boston Edison

Designer's handbook of instrumentation and control circuits

CERN Document Server

Carr, Joseph J

1991-01-01

Here is a comprehensive, practical guide to the entire process of analog instrumentation and control, from sensor input to data conversion circuitry and final output. This readable handbook avoids complex mathematical treatments, instead taking an applications-oriented approach and presenting many sample circuits and concrete examples. It is an essential reference for engineers and high-level technicians in a variety of scientific and engineering fields--anywhere data is collected electronically and where such data is used to control physical processes.Key Features* Covers design o

Instrumentation and Control in Anaerobic Digestion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Anaerobic digestion is a multistep process, and is most applied to solids destruction and wastewater treatment for energy production. Despite wide application, and long-term industrial proof of application, some industries are still reluctant to apply this technology. One of the classical reasons...... benchmark. There has therefore been, overall, a quantum advance in application and sophistication of instrumentation and control in anaerobic digestion, and it is an effective option for improved process loading rate and conversion efficiency....... are still a limitation, but this is being partly addressed by the increased complexity of digestion processes. Methods for control benchmarking have also been improved, as there is now an industry standard model (the IWA ADM1), and this is being applied in an improved whole wastewater treatment plant...

Instrumentation, Field Network And Process Automation for the LHC Cryogenic Line Tests

CERN Document Server

Bager, T; Bertrand, G; Casas-Cubillos, J; Gomes, P; Parente, C; Riddone, G; Suraci, A

2000-01-01

This paper describes the cryogenic control system and associated instrumentation of the test facility for 3 pre-series units of the LHC Cryogenic Distribution Line. For each unit, the process automation is based on a Programmable Logic Con-troller implementing more than 30 closed control loops and handling alarms, in-terlocks and overall process management. More than 160 sensors and actuators are distributed over 150 m on a Profibus DP/PA network. Parameterization, cali-bration and diagnosis are remotely available through the bus. Considering the diversity, amount and geographical distribution of the instru-mentation involved, this is a representative approach to the cryogenic control system for CERN's next accelerator.

Design concepts for a nuclear digital instrumentation and control system platform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ou, T. C.; Chen, C. K.; Chen, P. J.; Shyu, S. S.; Lee, C. L.; Hsieh, S. F.

2010-10-01

The objective of this paper is to present the development results of the nuclear instrumentation and control system in Taiwan. As the Taiwan nuclear power plants age, the need to consider upgrading of both their safety and non-safety-related instrumentation and control systems becomes more urgent. Meanwhile, the digital instrumentation and control system that is based on current fast evolving electronic and information technologies are difficult to maintain effectively. Therefore, Institute of Nuclear Energy Research was made a decision to promote the Taiwan Nuclear Instrumentation and Control System project to collaborate with domestic electronic industry to establish self-reliant capabilities on the design, manufacturing, and application of nuclear instrumentation and control systems with newer technology. In the case of safety-related applications like nuclear instrumentation and control, safety-oriented quality control is required. In order to establish a generic qualified digital platform, the world-wide licensing experience should be considered in the licensing process. This paper describes the qualification and certification tools by IEC 61508 for design and development of safety related equipment and explains the basis for many decisions made while performing the digital upgrade. (Author)

Instrumentation and control systems for monitoring and data acquisition for thermal recovery process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aparicio, J.; Hernandez, E.; Perozo, H. [PDVSA Intevep, S.A. (Venezuela)

2011-07-01

Thermal recovery methods are often applied to enhance oil recovery in heavy oil reservoirs, one of its challenges is to control the displacement of the thermal front. Methods are thus implemented to obtain data on the temperatures in the wells at any given time and to monitor other variables so that the behaviour of the thermal front can be predicted. The aim of this paper is to present a new control and instrumentation scheme to measure all of the variables. A software was created using Labview a graphs-based programming language software and PostgreSQL, a database management system. Using this software, sensors can be added or removed at any time; trends can be immediately visualized; and quality of the information is ensured since there is no human intervention in the data collection or processing. This paper presented a software which improves monitoring of all of the variables affecting the behaviour of the thermal front.

Process instrument monitoring for SNM solution surveillance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Armatys, C.M.; Johnson, C.E.; Wagner, E.P.

1983-02-01

A process monitoring computer system at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) is being used to evaluate nuclear fuel reprocessing plant data for Safeguards surveillance capabilities. The computer system was installed to collect data from the existing plant instruments and to evaluate what safeguards assurances can be provided to complement conventional accountability and physical protection measures. Movements of solutions containing special nuclear material (SNM) can be observed, activities associated with accountancy measurements (mixing, sampling, and bulk measurement) can be confirmed, and long-term storage of SNM solutions can be monitored to ensure containment. Special precautions must be taken, both in system design and operation to ensure adequate coverage of essential measured parameters and interpretation of process data, which can be comprised by instrument malfunctions or failures, unreliable data collection, or process activities that deviate from readily identified procedures. Experience at ICPP and prior evaluations at the Tokai reprocessing plant show that the use of process data can provide assurances that accountability measurement procedures are followed and SNM solutions are properly contained and can help confirm that SNM controls are in effect within a facility

Using XML and Java Technologies for Astronomical Instrument Control

Science.gov (United States)

Ames, Troy; Case, Lynne; Powers, Edward I. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Traditionally, instrument command and control systems have been highly specialized, consisting mostly of custom code that is difficult to develop, maintain, and extend. Such solutions are initially very costly and are inflexible to subsequent engineering change requests, increasing software maintenance costs. Instrument description is too tightly coupled with details of implementation. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, under the Instrument Remote Control (IRC) project, is developing a general and highly extensible framework that applies to any kind of instrument that can be controlled by a computer. The software architecture combines the platform independent processing capabilities of Java with the power of the Extensible Markup Language (XML), a human readable and machine understandable way to describe structured data. A key aspect of the object-oriented architecture is that the software is driven by an instrument description, written using the Instrument Markup Language (IML), a dialect of XML. IML is used to describe the command sets and command formats of the instrument, communication mechanisms, format of the data coming from the instrument, and characteristics of the graphical user interface to control and monitor the instrument. The IRC framework allows the users to define a data analysis pipeline which converts data coming out of the instrument. The data can be used in visualizations in order for the user to assess the data in real-time, if necessary. The data analysis pipeline algorithms can be supplied by the user in a variety of forms or programming languages. Although the current integration effort is targeted for the High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera (HAWC) and the Submillimeter and Far Infrared Experiment (SAFIRE), first-light instruments of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), the framework is designed to be generic and extensible so that it can be applied to any instrument. Plans are underway to test the framework

A basic design of SR4 instrumentation and control system for research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Syahrudin Yusuf; M Subhan; Ikhsan Shobari; Sutomo Budihardjo

2010-01-01

An SR4 instrumentation and control systems of research reactor is the equipment of nuclear research reactors as power protection devices and control systems. The equipment is to monitor safety parameters and process parameters in the state of reactor shut down, start-up, and in operation at fixed power. In the engineering of Instrumentation and control systems SR4 research reactor, its basic design consists of technical specifications of the reactor protection system devices, technical specifications of the reactor power control system devices, technical specifications information system devices, and systems process termination cabling as a support system. This basic design is used as the basis for the preparation of detailed design and subsequent engineering development of instrumentation systems and control system integrated. (author)

Artificial intelligence programming with LabVIEW: genetic algorithms for instrumentation control and optimization.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, J H

1995-06-01

A genetic algorithm for instrumentation control and optimization was developed using the LabVIEW graphical programming environment. The usefulness of this methodology for the optimization of a closed loop control instrument is demonstrated with minimal complexity and the programming is presented in detail to facilitate its adaptation to other LabVIEW applications. Closed loop control instruments have variety of applications in the biomedical sciences including the regulation of physiological processes such as blood pressure. The program presented here should provide a useful starting point for those wishing to incorporate genetic algorithm approaches to LabVIEW mediated optimization of closed loop control instruments.

21 CFR 111.117 - What quality control operations are required for equipment, instruments, and controls?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What quality control operations are required for equipment, instruments, and controls? 111.117 Section 111.117 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION... and Process Control System: Requirements for Quality Control § 111.117 What quality control operations...

Process control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayashi, Toshifumi; Kobayashi, Hiroshi.

1994-01-01

A process control device comprises a memory device for memorizing a plant operation target, a plant state or a state of equipments related with each other as control data, a read-only memory device for storing programs, a plant instrumentation control device or other process control devices, an input/output device for performing input/output with an operator, and a processing device which conducts processing in accordance with the program and sends a control demand or a display demand to the input/output device. The program reads out control data relative to a predetermined operation target, compares and verify them with actual values to read out control data to be a practice premise condition which is further to be a practice premise condition if necessary, thereby automatically controlling the plant or requiring or displaying input. Practice presuming conditions for the operation target can be examined succesively in accordance with the program without constituting complicated logical figures and AND/OR graphs. (N.H.)

Instrumentation and Controls Division annual progress report for period ending September 1, 1973

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sadowski, G.S.

1976-08-01

Research progress is described under the following topics: (1) pulse counting and analysis; (2) support for the thermonuclear division ORMAK project; (3) miscellaneous electronics development; (4) detectors of ionizing particles and radiation; (5) radiation monitoring; (6) support for the Oak Ridge Electron Linear Accelerator; (7) automatic control and data acquisition; (8) process instrumentation and control; (9) reactor instrumentation and controls; (10) instrumentation for reactor division experiments and test loops; (11) maintenance and service; and (12) ecological science studies

LabVIEW-based control software for para-hydrogen induced polarization instrumentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Agraz, Jose; Grunfeld, Alexander; Li, Debiao; Cunningham, Karl; Willey, Cindy; Pozos, Robert; Wagner, Shawn

2014-04-01

The elucidation of cell metabolic mechanisms is the modern underpinning of the diagnosis, treatment, and in some cases the prevention of disease. Para-Hydrogen induced polarization (PHIP) enhances magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signals over 10,000 fold, allowing for the MRI of cell metabolic mechanisms. This signal enhancement is the result of hyperpolarizing endogenous substances used as contrast agents during imaging. PHIP instrumentation hyperpolarizes Carbon-13 ((13)C) based substances using a process requiring control of a number of factors: chemical reaction timing, gas flow, monitoring of a static magnetic field (Bo), radio frequency (RF) irradiation timing, reaction temperature, and gas pressures. Current PHIP instruments manually control the hyperpolarization process resulting in the lack of the precise control of factors listed above, resulting in non-reproducible results. We discuss the design and implementation of a LabVIEW based computer program that automatically and precisely controls the delivery and manipulation of gases and samples, monitoring gas pressures, environmental temperature, and RF sample irradiation. We show that the automated control over the hyperpolarization process results in the hyperpolarization of hydroxyethylpropionate. The implementation of this software provides the fast prototyping of PHIP instrumentation for the evaluation of a myriad of (13)C based endogenous contrast agents used in molecular imaging.

LabVIEW-based control software for para-hydrogen induced polarization instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agraz, Jose; Grunfeld, Alexander; Li, Debiao; Cunningham, Karl; Willey, Cindy; Pozos, Robert; Wagner, Shawn

2014-01-01

The elucidation of cell metabolic mechanisms is the modern underpinning of the diagnosis, treatment, and in some cases the prevention of disease. Para-Hydrogen induced polarization (PHIP) enhances magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signals over 10 000 fold, allowing for the MRI of cell metabolic mechanisms. This signal enhancement is the result of hyperpolarizing endogenous substances used as contrast agents during imaging. PHIP instrumentation hyperpolarizes Carbon-13 ( 13 C) based substances using a process requiring control of a number of factors: chemical reaction timing, gas flow, monitoring of a static magnetic field (B o ), radio frequency (RF) irradiation timing, reaction temperature, and gas pressures. Current PHIP instruments manually control the hyperpolarization process resulting in the lack of the precise control of factors listed above, resulting in non-reproducible results. We discuss the design and implementation of a LabVIEW based computer program that automatically and precisely controls the delivery and manipulation of gases and samples, monitoring gas pressures, environmental temperature, and RF sample irradiation. We show that the automated control over the hyperpolarization process results in the hyperpolarization of hydroxyethylpropionate. The implementation of this software provides the fast prototyping of PHIP instrumentation for the evaluation of a myriad of 13 C based endogenous contrast agents used in molecular imaging

The monitoring and control of TRUEX processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Regalbuto, M.C.; Misra, B.; Chamberlain, D.B.; Leonard, R.A.; Vandegrift, G.F.

1992-04-01

The Generic TRUEX Model (GTM) was used to design a flowsheet for the TRUEX solvent extraction process that would be used to determine its instrumentation and control requirements. Sensitivity analyses of the key process variables, namely, the aqueous and organic flow rates, feed compositions, and the number of contactor stages, were carried out to assess their impact on the operation of the TRUEX process. Results of these analyses provide a basis for the selection of an instrument and control system and the eventual implementation of a control algorithm. Volume Two of this report is an evaluation of the instruments available for measuring many of the physical parameters. Equations that model the dynamic behavior of the TRUEX process have been generated. These equations can be used to describe the transient or dynamic behavior of the process for a given flowsheet in accordance with the TRUEX model. Further work will be done with the dynamic model to determine how and how quickly the system responds to various perturbations. The use of perturbation analysis early in the design stage will lead to a robust flowsheet, namely, one that will meet all process goals and allow for wide control bounds. The process time delay, that is, the speed with which the system reaches a new steady state, is an important parameter in monitoring and controlling a process. In the future, instrument selection and point-of-variable measurement, now done using the steady-state results reported here, will be reviewed and modified as necessary based on this dynamic method of analysis

Notes on instrumentation and control

CERN Document Server

Roy, G J

2013-01-01

Notes on Instrumentation and Control presents topics on pressure (i.e., U-tube manometers and elastic type gauges), temperature (i.e. glass thermometer, bi-metallic strip thermometer, filled system thermometer, vapor pressure thermometer), level, and flow measuring devices. The book describes other miscellaneous instruments, signal transmitting devices, supply and control systems, and monitoring systems. The theory of automatic control and semi-conductor devices are also considered. Marine engineers will find the book useful.

Modular and Adaptive Control of Sound Processing

Science.gov (United States)

van Nort, Douglas

This dissertation presents research into the creation of systems for the control of sound synthesis and processing. The focus differs from much of the work related to digital musical instrument design, which has rightly concentrated on the physicality of the instrument and interface: sensor design, choice of controller, feedback to performer and so on. Often times a particular choice of sound processing is made, and the resultant parameters from the physical interface are conditioned and mapped to the available sound parameters in an exploratory fashion. The main goal of the work presented here is to demonstrate the importance of the space that lies between physical interface design and the choice of sound manipulation algorithm, and to present a new framework for instrument design that strongly considers this essential part of the design process. In particular, this research takes the viewpoint that instrument designs should be considered in a musical control context, and that both control and sound dynamics must be considered in tandem. In order to achieve this holistic approach, the work presented in this dissertation assumes complementary points of view. Instrument design is first seen as a function of musical context, focusing on electroacoustic music and leading to a view on gesture that relates perceived musical intent to the dynamics of an instrumental system. The important design concept of mapping is then discussed from a theoretical and conceptual point of view, relating perceptual, systems and mathematically-oriented ways of examining the subject. This theoretical framework gives rise to a mapping design space, functional analysis of pertinent existing literature, implementations of mapping tools, instrumental control designs and several perceptual studies that explore the influence of mapping structure. Each of these reflect a high-level approach in which control structures are imposed on top of a high-dimensional space of control and sound synthesis

A Calculation of hydrodynamic noise of control valve on instrumentation and control system using smart plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demon Handoyo; Djoko H Nugroho

2012-01-01

It has been calculated characteristics of the control valve Instrumentation and Control Systems using Smart Plant software. This calculation is done in order to control the valve that will be installed as part of the instrumentation and control systems to provide the performance according to the design. The characteristics that have been calculated are Reynolds number factors which are related to the flow regime in the valve. Critical pressure factor, Valve Hydrodynamic cavitation and noise index. In this paper the discussion will be limited to matters relating to Hydrodynamic noise generation process using model of the instrumentation and control system in the plant design in yellow cake PIPKPP activities in 2012. The results of the calculation of the noise on the valves design are in the range between 9.58~70.1 dBA. (author)

In-line instrumentation and computer-controlled process supervision in reprocessing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mache, H.R.; Groll, P.

Measuring equipment is needed for continuous monitoring of concentration in radioactive process solutions. A review is given of existing in-line apparatus and of computer-controlled data processing. A process control system is described for TAMARA, a model extraction facility for the U/HNO 3 /TBP system

Role of maintenance of analytical instruments in the proceedings of quality control laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haribabu, A.; Sailoo, C.C.; Balaji Rao, Y.; Subba Rao, Y.

2015-01-01

Control Laboratory being a centralized analytical facility of Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) is engaged in chemical qualification of all nuclear materials processed/produced at NFC. The primary responsibility of control laboratory is to provide timely analytical results of raw materials, intermediates and final products to all the production plants of NFC for downstream processing. Annual analytical load of nearly five lakhs of estimations are being carried out at laboratory. For this purpose a gamut of analytical facilities ranging from classical methods like gravimetry, volumetry etc. to fully automated state-of-art analytical instruments like ICP-AES, Gas Analysers, Flame and Graphite Furnace-AAS, Direct Reading Emission Spectrometer (DRES), RF GD-OES, TIMS, WD-XRFS, ED-XRFS, Laser based PSD Analyser, Laser Fluorimeter, UV-Vis Spectrophotometer, Gamma Ray Spectrometer, Ion-Chromatography, Gas Chromatography are used to acquire analytical data to see the suitability of products for their intended use. Depending on the applications, analysts validate their procedures, calibrate their instruments, and perform additional instrument checks, such as system suitability tests and analysis of in-process quality control check samples. With the increasing sophistication and automation of analytical instruments, an increasing demand has been placed on maintenance engineers to qualify these instruments for the purpose

Reliability Estimation for Digital Instrument/Control System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Yaguang; Sydnor, Russell [U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. (United States)

2011-08-15

Digital instrumentation and controls (DI and C) systems are widely adopted in various industries because of their flexibility and ability to implement various functions that can be used to automatically monitor, analyze, and control complicated systems. It is anticipated that the DI and C will replace the traditional analog instrumentation and controls (AI and C) systems in all future nuclear reactor designs. There is an increasing interest for reliability and risk analyses for safety critical DI and C systems in regulatory organizations, such as The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Developing reliability models and reliability estimation methods for digital reactor control and protection systems will involve every part of the DI and C system, such as sensors, signal conditioning and processing components, transmission lines and digital communication systems, D/A and A/D converters, computer system, signal processing software, control and protection software, power supply system, and actuators. Some of these components are hardware, such as sensors and actuators, their failure mechanisms are well understood, and the traditional reliability model and estimation methods can be directly applied. But many of these components are firmware which has software embedded in the hardware, and software needs special consideration because its failure mechanism is unique, and the reliability estimation method for a software system will be different from the ones used for hardware systems. In this paper, we will propose a reliability estimation method for the entire DI and C system reliability using a recently developed software reliability estimation method and a traditional hardware reliability estimation method.

Reliability Estimation for Digital Instrument/Control System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Yaguang; Sydnor, Russell

2011-01-01

Digital instrumentation and controls (DI and C) systems are widely adopted in various industries because of their flexibility and ability to implement various functions that can be used to automatically monitor, analyze, and control complicated systems. It is anticipated that the DI and C will replace the traditional analog instrumentation and controls (AI and C) systems in all future nuclear reactor designs. There is an increasing interest for reliability and risk analyses for safety critical DI and C systems in regulatory organizations, such as The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Developing reliability models and reliability estimation methods for digital reactor control and protection systems will involve every part of the DI and C system, such as sensors, signal conditioning and processing components, transmission lines and digital communication systems, D/A and A/D converters, computer system, signal processing software, control and protection software, power supply system, and actuators. Some of these components are hardware, such as sensors and actuators, their failure mechanisms are well understood, and the traditional reliability model and estimation methods can be directly applied. But many of these components are firmware which has software embedded in the hardware, and software needs special consideration because its failure mechanism is unique, and the reliability estimation method for a software system will be different from the ones used for hardware systems. In this paper, we will propose a reliability estimation method for the entire DI and C system reliability using a recently developed software reliability estimation method and a traditional hardware reliability estimation method

Nuclear power plant control and instrumentation 1982. Proceedings of an international symposium on nuclear power plant control and instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-01-01

Ever increasing demands for nuclear power plant safety and availability imply a need for the introduction of modern measurement and control methods, together with data processing techniques based on the latest advances in electronic components, transducers and computers. Nuclear power plant control and instrumentation is therefore an extremely rapidly developing field. The present symposium, held in Munich, FR Germany, was prepared with the help of the IAEA International Working Group on Nuclear Power Plant Control and Instrumentation and organized in close co-operation with the Gesellschaft fur Reaktorsicherheit, Federal Republic of Germany. A number of developments were highlighted at the Munich symposium: - The increased use of computers can bring clear advantages and this technique is now proven as a tool for supervising and controlling plant operation. Advanced computerized systems for operator support are being developed on a large scale in many countries. The progress in this field is quite obvious, especially in disturbance analysis, safety parameter display, plant operator guidance and plant diagnostics. The new trend of introducing computers and microprocessors in protection systems makes it easy to implement 'defence-in-depth' strategies which give better assurance of correct system responses and also prevent unnecessary reactor trips, thus improving plant availability. The introduction of computerized systems for control of reactor power, reactor water level and reactor pressure as well as for reactor start-up and shut-down could improve the reliability and availability of nuclear power plants. The rapid technical development in the area of control and instrumentation makes it necessary to plan for at least one replacement of obsolete equipment in the course of the 30 years lifetime of a nuclear power plant and retrofitting of currently operating reactors with new control systems. Major design improvements and regulatory requirements also require

Instrumentation, control and modellisation/simulation in waste water treatment plants; Instrumentacion, control y modelizacion/simulacion en plantas depuradoras de aguas residuales

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodriguez, E.; Martinez, J. L.; Llorente, V.

2002-07-01

Controlling waste water treatment plants presents numerous problems as a result of the complexity of the task involved in managing them. The different instruments used in monitoring and controlling the flow, dissolved oxygen, pH, cloudiness and other parameters involved in the treatment process at level 0 are listed and described. The control and regulation equipment comprising level 1 is operated by the process computers of level 2. The different types of instruments are studied in relation to monitoring and control and the analysis and management o the data supplied by the instrumentation, the control strategies, operational margins and applicable software. Several case studies of activated sludge treatment processes are included to facilitate comprehension. Finally, the simulation models are presented with a view to aiding understanding, management and prediction of the operation of waste water treatment plants, particularly in regard to the problems of bulking and/or foaming. (Author)

30 CFR 77.314 - Automatic temperature control instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Automatic temperature control instruments. 77... UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Thermal Dryers § 77.314 Automatic temperature control instruments. (a) Automatic temperature control instruments for thermal dryer system shall be of the recording type. (b) Automatic...

Advanced Instrumentation and control techniques for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mori, Nobuyuki; Makino, Maomi; Naito, Norio

1992-01-01

Toshiba has been promoting the development of an advanced instrumentation and control system for nuclear power plants to fulfill the requirements for increased reliability, improved functionality and maintainability, and more competitive economic performance. This system integrates state-of-the-art technologies such as those for the latest man-machine interface, digital processing, optical multiplexing signal transmission, human engineering, and artificial intelligence. Such development has been systematically accomplished based on a schematic view of integrated digital control and instrumentation systems, and the development of whole systems has now been completed. This paper describes the purpose, design philosophy, and contents of newly developed systems, then considers the future trends of advanced man-machine systems. (author)

Feedback control of acoustic musical instruments: collocated control using physical analogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Berdahl, Edgar; Smith, Julius O; Niemeyer, Günter

2012-01-01

Traditionally, the average professional musician has owned numerous acoustic musical instruments, many of them having distinctive acoustic qualities. However, a modern musician could prefer to have a single musical instrument whose acoustics are programmable by feedback control, where acoustic variables are estimated from sensor measurements in real time and then fed back in order to influence the controlled variables. In this paper, theory is presented that describes stable feedback control of an acoustic musical instrument. The presentation should be accessible to members of the musical acoustics community who may have limited or no experience with feedback control. First, the only control strategy guaranteed to be stable subject to any musical instrument mobility is described: the sensors and actuators must be collocated, and the controller must emulate a physical analog system. Next, the most fundamental feedback controllers and the corresponding physical analog systems are presented. The effects that these controllers have on acoustic musical instruments are described. Finally, practical design challenges are discussed. A proof explains why changing the resonance frequency of a musical resonance requires much more control power than changing the decay time of the resonance. © 2012 Acoustical Society of America.

Strategy for improving instrumentation and control in operating nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abad Bassols, L.; Nino Perote, R.

1996-01-01

There are three basic reasons why nuclear power plants need to systematically upgrade their instrumentation and control equipment: Obsolete instrumentation and lack spares Little capacity of flexibility for extension Possibility of attaining better systems integration and improving systems-operations interface This article shows how to approach these issues using the following strategies: Use of distributed control systems and PLCs for control, signalling, command, communications, etc, in both nuclear and conventional applications Upgrading of process instrumentation equipment, sensors, transmitters, etc Upgrading of alarm-signalling systems In each group of equipment items consideration should be given to: Aspects regarding manufacturers-suppliers Effects on design, adaptation and documentation of operating plants Effects on the training and handling skills of operation and maintenance staff Strategy for incorporating the new system into the Plant with minimum impact on operation (Author)

Instrumentation and Controls Division biennial progress report, September 1, 1974--September 1, 1976. Non-LMFBR programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sadowski, G.S.

1976-11-01

Research progress and developments are reported in the areas of basic electronics, instruments, radiation monitoring, pulse counting and analysis, electronic engineering support for research facilities, automatic control and data acquisition, reactor instrumentation and controls, fuel reprocessing and shipping, process systems and instrumentation development, thermometry, instrumentation for reactor division experiments and test loops, environmental science studies, miscellaneous engineering studies, services, and developments, and maintenance

Web based remote instrumentation and control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dhekne, P.S.; Patil, Jitendra; Kulkarni, Jitendra; Babu, Prasad; Lad, U.C.; Rahurkar, A.G.; Kaura, H.K.

2001-01-01

The Web-based technology provides a very powerful communication medium for transmitting effectively multimedia information containing data generated from various sources, which may be in the form of audio, video, text, still or moving images etc. Large number of sophisticated web based software tools are available that can be used to monitor and control distributed electronic instrumentation projects. For example data can be collected online from various smart sensors/instruments such as images from CCD camera, pressure/ humidity sensor, light intensity transducer, smoke detectors etc and uploaded in real time to a central web server. This information can be processed further, to take control action in real time from any remote client, of course with due security care. The web-based technology offers greater flexibility, higher functionality, and high degree of integration providing standardization. Further easy to use standard browser based interface at the client end to monitor, view and control the desired process parameters allow you to cut down the development time and cost to a great extent. A system based on a web client-server approach has been designed and developed at Computer division, BARC and is operational since last year to monitor and control remotely various environmental parameters of distributed computer centers. In this paper we shall discuss details of this system, its current status and additional features which are currently under development. This type of system is typically very useful for Meteorology, Environmental monitoring of Nuclear stations, Radio active labs, Nuclear waste immobilization plants, Medical and Biological research labs., Security surveillance and in many such distributed situations. A brief description of various tools used for this project such as Java, CGI, Java Script, HTML, VBScript, M-JPEG, TCP/IP, UDP, RTP etc. along with their merits/demerits have also been included

Instrumentation and Controls Division biennial progress report, September 1, 1976--September 1, 1978

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sadowski, G.S. (ed.)

1978-11-01

Progress is summarized in the following research and development areas: electronic circuits;instruments; radiation monitoring; process systems and instrumentation; thermometry; instrumentation for engineering experiments and test loops; HTGR fuel recycle development; reactor measurements and analysis; automatic control and data acquisition; electronic engineering support for research facilities; miscellaneous engineering services, studies, and developments; maintenance; and environmental science studies.

Instrumentation and Controls Division biennial progress report, September 1, 1976--September 1, 1978

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sadowski, G.S.

1978-11-01

Progress is summarized in the following research and development areas: electronic circuits;instruments; radiation monitoring; process systems and instrumentation; thermometry; instrumentation for engineering experiments and test loops; HTGR fuel recycle development; reactor measurements and analysis; automatic control and data acquisition; electronic engineering support for research facilities; miscellaneous engineering services, studies, and developments; maintenance; and environmental science studies

Expert systems in process control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wittig, T.

1987-01-01

To illustrate where the fundamental difference between expert systems in classical diagnosis and in industrial control lie, the work of process control instrumentation is used as an example for the job of expert systems. Starting from the general process of problem-solving, two classes of expert systems can be defined accordingly. (orig.) [de

PEP instrumentation and control system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Melen, R.

1980-06-01

This paper describes the operating characteristics of the primary components that form the PEP Instrumentation and Control System. Descriptions are provided for the computer control system, beam monitors, and other support systems.

PEP instrumentation and control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melen, R.

1980-06-01

This paper describes the operating characteristics of the primary components that form the PEP Instrumentation and Control System. Descriptions are provided for the computer control system, beam monitors, and other support systems

Safety regulations concerning instrumentation and control systems for research reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Shanshoury, A.I.

2009-01-01

A brief study on the safety and reliability issues related to instrumentation and control systems in nuclear reactor plants is performed. In response, technical and strategic issues are used to accomplish instrumentation and control systems safety. For technical issues there are ; systems aspects of digital I and C technology, software quality assurance, common-mode software, failure potential, safety and reliability assessment methods, and human factors and human machine interfaces. The strategic issues are the case-by-case licensing process and the adequacy of the technical infrastructure. The purpose of this work was to review the reliability of the safety systems related to these technical issues for research reactors

New technology in nuclear power plant instrumentation and control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1985-01-01

The primary topic of this book is what can be done to improve nuclear power plant operation safety and the economic benefits that can be gained with the utilization of advance instrumentation and control technology. Other topics discussed are the industry's reluctance to accept new designs determining cost effective improvements, and difficulties in meeting regulatory standards with new technology control. The subjects will be useful when considering the area of instrumentation and control for enhancing plant operation and safety. Contents: Advanced Instrumention, Plant Control and Monitoring, Plant Diagnostics and Failure Detection, Human Factors Considerations in Instrumentation and Control, NRC and Industry Perspective on Advanced Instrumentation and Control

Study on the instrumentation and control of the fermentaion process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nanba, Akira

1988-03-25

An attempt was made to create models representing various fermentation processes, and these models were applied to a computer-controlled bread yeast culture plant. First, batch ethanol fermentation processes using yeast were analyzed in the light of reaction rate theory, and various model equations were presented. Using these models, analysis was made at various fermentation temperatures. As a result, it was found that the model equations are applicable to ethanol production and that the reaction rate equation is useful for analyzing high-concentration ethanol fermentation processes. Next, heat involved in ethanol fermentation was measured with a calorimeter. In combination with the above models, automatic montitoring based on microcomputer control, data processing, and display on a screen was attempted, with good results. Using the above findings, the ethanol generation reaction in the bread yeast culture was analyzed qualitatively. Culture control was performed with ethanol growth patterns as signals. The above technique has proved to be applicable to industrial bread yeast production. (17 figs, 3 tabs, 29 refs)

The strategy for intelligent integrated instrumentation and control system development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, Kee Choon; Ham, Chang Shik

1995-01-01

All of the nuclear power plants in Korea are operating with analog instrumentation and control ( I and C) equipment which are increasingly faced with frequent troubles, obsolescence and high maintenance expenses. Electrical and computer technology has improved rapidly in recent years and has been applied to other industries. So it is strongly recommended we adopt modern digital and computer technology to improve plant safety and availability. The advanced I and C system, namely, Integrated Intelligent Instrumentation and Control System (I 3 Cs) will be developed for beyond the next generation nuclear power plant. I 3 CS consists of three major parts, the advanced compact workstation, distributed digital control and protection system including Automatic Start-up/Shutdown Intelligent Control System (ASICS) and the computer-based alarm processing and operator support system, namely, Diagnosis, Response, and operator Aid Management System (DREAMS)

Implementation of a communication and control network for the instruments of a nuclear analytical laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cunya, Eduardo; Baltuano, Oscar; Bedregal, Patricia

2013-01-01

This paper describes the implementation of a communication network and control for a conventional laboratory instruments and nuclear analytical processes based on CAN open field bus to control devices and machines. Hardware components and software developed as well as installation and configuration tools for incorporating new instruments to the network re presented. (authors).

Instrumentation and process control development for in situ coal gasification. Fourth quarterly report, September--November 1975

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Northrop, D.A. (ed.)

1976-01-01

The instrumentation effort for Phases 2 and 3 of the Second Hanna In Situ Coal Gasification Experiment was fielded and background data obtained prior to the initiation of Phase 2 on November 25, 1975. A total of over 600 channels of instrumentation in 15 instrumentation wells and two surface arrays was fielded for the instrumentation techniques under evaluation. The feasibility of the passive acoustic technique to locate the source of process-related noises has been demonstrated; its utility is presently hampered by the inexact definition of signal arrivals and the lack of automated signal monitoring and analysis systems. A revised mathematical model for the electrical techniques has been developed which demonstrates the potential for remote monitoring. (auth)

Instrumentation and Controls Division annual progress report for period ending September 1, 1974. Non-LMFBR program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sadowski, G.S.

1976-09-01

Research projects are summarized under the following categories: (1) basic electronics development; (2) engineering support for research facilities; (3) pulse counting and analysis; (4) radiation detection and monitoring; (5) instrument development; (6) automatic control and data acquisition; (7) process systems and instrumentation development; (8) reactor instrumentation and controls; (9) fuel reprocessing and shipping; (10) standards laboratory; (11) instrumentation for reactor division experiments and test loops; (12) maintenance and service; (13) ecological science studies; and (14) administration and training

Instrumentation and Controls Division annual progress report for period ending September 1, 1974. Non-LMFBR program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sadowski, G.S. (comp.)

1976-09-01

Research projects are summarized under the following categories: (1) basic electronics development; (2) engineering support for research facilities; (3) pulse counting and analysis; (4) radiation detection and monitoring; (5) instrument development; (6) automatic control and data acquisition; (7) process systems and instrumentation development; (8) reactor instrumentation and controls; (9) fuel reprocessing and shipping; (10) standards laboratory; (11) instrumentation for reactor division experiments and test loops; (12) maintenance and service; (13) ecological science studies; and (14) administration and training. (WHK)

Study on virtual instrument developing system based on intelligent virtual control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Baoping; Cheng Fabin; Qin Shuren

2005-01-01

The paper introduces a non-programming developing system of a virtual instrument (VI), i.e., a virtual measurement instrument developing system (VMIDS) based on intelligent virtual control (IVC). The background of the IVC-based VMIDS is described briefly, and the hierarchical message bus (HMB)-based software architecture of VMIDS is discussed in detail. The three parts and functions of VMIDS are introduced, and the process of non-programming developing VI is further described

Study on virtual instrument developing system based on intelligent virtual control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tang Baoping; Cheng Fabin; Qin Shuren [Test Center, College of Mechanical Engineering, Chongqing University , Chongqing 400030 (China)

2005-01-01

The paper introduces a non-programming developing system of a virtual instrument (VI), i.e., a virtual measurement instrument developing system (VMIDS) based on intelligent virtual control (IVC). The background of the IVC-based VMIDS is described briefly, and the hierarchical message bus (HMB)-based software architecture of VMIDS is discussed in detail. The three parts and functions of VMIDS are introduced, and the process of non-programming developing VI is further described.

Instrumentation and Controls Division progress report, September 1, 1980-July 1, 1982

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klobe, L.E.E. (ed.)

1982-12-01

Activities are reported by the Reactor Systems Section, Research Instrument Section, and the Measurement and Controls Engineering Section. Reactor system activities include dynamic analysis, survillanc and diagnostic methods, design and evaluation, detectors, facilities support, process instrumentation development, and special assignments. Activities in the Research Instrument Section include the Navy-ORNL RADIAC development program, advanced ..gamma.. and x ray detector systems, neutron detection and subcriticality measurements, circuit development, position-sensitive detectors, stand-alone computers, environmental monitoring-detectors and systems, plant security, engineering support for fusion energy division, engineering support for accelerator physics, and communications: radio, closed-circuit tv, and computer. Activities in the Measurement and Controls Engineering Section include the AVLIS program; gas centrifuge enrichment technology support; Advanced Instrumentation for Reflood Studies (AIDRS) program; instrumentation development support for fuel reprocessing; in-core experiments and reactor systems; energy, conservation, and electric power systems; computer systems; measurements research; and fossil energy studies Publications are listed. (WHK)

Instrumentation and Controls Division progress report, September 1, 1980-July 1, 1982

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klobe, L.E.E.

1982-12-01

Activities are reported by the Reactor Systems Section, Research Instrument Section, and the Measurement and Controls Engineering Section. Reactor system activities include dynamic analysis, survillanc and diagnostic methods, design and evaluation, detectors, facilities support, process instrumentation development, and special assignments. Activities in the Research Instrument Section include the Navy-ORNL RADIAC development program, advanced #betta# and x ray detector systems, neutron detection and subcriticality measurements, circuit development, position-sensitive detectors, stand-alone computers, environmental monitoring-detectors and systems, plant security, engineering support for fusion energy division, engineering support for accelerator physics, and communications: radio, closed-circuit tv, and computer. Activities in the Measurement and Controls Engineering Section include the AVLIS program; gas centrifuge enrichment technology support; Advanced Instrumentation for Reflood Studies (AIDRS) program; instrumentation development support for fuel reprocessing; in-core experiments and reactor systems; energy, conservation, and electric power systems; computer systems; measurements research; and fossil energy studies Publications are listed

Performing instrumentation and controls upgrades

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kessler, F. M.; Connell, T. J.; Ryan, M. P.

1992-01-01

I and C upgrades are comprised of a varying range of content, complexity, expansiveness, and criticality. There are common threads in all upgrades which can be simplified by the development of a long term I and C upgrade plan. The development of a such a plan can establish effective ground rules for upgrades, large and small. It can be the basis from which to begin an upgrade evaluation and the standard which is used to compare the degree of compliance of any upgrade regarding the plan or to define the differences from the plan and an individual upgrade. Primary motivation for I and C upgrades are obsolescence and unavailability of spare parts. Numerous other areas of consideration are also involved in an upgrade. Today's technology results in most upgrades largely or totally utilizing digital equipment. The use of digital equipment is fairly new in many I and C applications and requires an elaborate evaluation from functional, qualification, operational, and licensing perspectives as well as others. A well defined upgrade plan developed as a basis for I and C upgrades is a significant start to ensuring an effective upgrade process. Properly developed and implemented, the plan will support I and C upgrade efforts to ensure that the intricacies associated with such tasks eliminate the existing problems which require the upgrade to be performed. The upgrade plan also results in ensuring the maximum benefit from all perspectives of the plant enhancements being carried out and considered for future implementation. Instrumentation and controls aging and replacement are issues of growing importance due to the potential for significant impact on plant operation and efficiency. Obsolescence and unavailability of spare parts are major drivers towards evaluating the cost benefits of upgrading current equipment. In addition to these two primary factors, the advantages of utilizing digital equipment have also become of prime importance when evaluating instrumentation and

Control and acquisition system of a space instrument for cosmic ray measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Prieto, M.; Martín, C.; Quesada, M.; Meziat, D.; Medina, J.; Sánchez, S.; Rodríguez-Frías, M. D.

2000-04-01

The PESCA Instrument Control and Acquisition System (PICAS) design, building and tests are presented. The purpose of the PESCA instrument is the study of the Solar Energetic Particles and the Anomalous Cosmic Rays. It is, therefore, a satellite on-board instrument. The PICAS is basically a computer, composed of a microprocessor with a memory block and a set of interfaces for the communication with the rest of the instrument and the satellite. The PICAS manages all the comunication processes with the satellite, that comprises the order reception from the ground station, and the telemetry sending, that includes scientific data and housekeeping data. By means of telecommands, the PICAS is completely controllable from the ground. The PICAS is also a reliable data acquisition system that guarantees the correct reception of the Cosmic Rays data collected in the ground.

Performance and quality control of nuclear medicine instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paras, P.

1981-01-01

The status and the recent developments of nuclear medicine instrumentation performance, with an emphasis on gamma-camera performance, are discussed as the basis for quality control. New phantoms and techniques for the measurement of gamma-camera performance parameters are introduced and their usefulness for quality control is discussed. Tests and procedures for dose calibrator quality control are included. Also, the principles of quality control, tests, equipment and procedures for each type of instrument are reviewed, and minimum requirements for an effective quality assurance programme for nuclear medicine instrumentation are suggested. (author)

Conceptual design for the NSTX Central Instrumentation and Control System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bashore, D.; Oliaro, G.; Roney, P.; Sichta, P.; Tindall, K.

1997-01-01

The design and construction phase for the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is under way at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). Operation is scheduled to begin on April 30, 1999. This paper describes the conceptual design for the NSTX Central Instrumentation and Control (I and C) System. Major elements of the Central I and C System include the Process Control System, Plasma Control System, Network System, Data Acquisition System, and Synchronization System to support the NSTX experimental device

How To Control Color Appearance With Instrumentation

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Margaret E.

1980-05-01

Colorimetry, as defined by the International Commission on Illumination, is the measurement of colors, made possible by the properties of the eye and based on a set of conventions. Instrumentation for measuring object color, therefore, must be based on a human observer. The intent is to design an instrument that in effect responds as a person would, so that research development, production control and quality control areas have some means of assessing the acceptability of the appearance of a product. Investigations of a human observer's psychological response to color, and the manner in which visual observations are made, give the instrument designer and manufacturer data necessary to answer two questions: a. How can we put numbers (instrument read-out) on a perception that occurs in the brain of the observer? b. What can we learn from examination of a visual observing situation that will guide us in our design of an instrumental simulation of this situation? Involving as it does our own daily, almost unconscious, practice of making judgments concerning the things we see, the design and manufacture of color measurement instruments is an exceedingly interesting field. The advances being made concurrently today in research concerning human color vision and in optical and electronic technology will make possible increasingly useful instrumentation for quality control of product color.

Power plant instrumentation and control handbook a guide to thermal power plants

CERN Document Server

Basu, Swapan

2014-01-01

The book discusses instrumentation and control in modern fossil fuel power plants, with an emphasis on selecting the most appropriate systems subject to constraints engineers have for their projects. It provides all the plant process and design details, including specification sheets and standards currently followed in the plant. Among the unique features of the book are the inclusion of control loop strategies and BMS/FSSS step by step logic, coverage of analytical instruments and technologies for pollution and energy savings, and coverage of the trends toward filed bus systems and integratio

Cold Vacuum Drying Safety Class Instrumentation and Control System Design Description

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

WHITEHURST, R.

1999-01-01

This document describes the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility (CVDF) Safety Class Instrumentation and Control system (SCIC). The SCIC provides safety functions and features to protect the environment, off-site and on-site personnel and equipment. The function of the SCIC is to provide automatic trip features, valve interlocks, alarms, indication and control for the cold vacuum drying process

IAEA safeguards instrumentation: Development, implementation and control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rundquist, D.E.

1983-01-01

Extensive development efforts over the last 5 years have produced a number of new instruments to help the IAEA meet its safeguards obligations. Implementation of these new instruments is proceeding at a necessarily slower pace. To optimize the performance and reliability of the instrumentation systems when used in safeguards applications, increasing attention is needed to be spent on performance monitoring and control of the instruments. (author)

EARLY READING ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS: ABILITIES AND PROCESSES INVOLVED

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Cláudia de Souza

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the following early reading assessment instruments: “Bateria de Recepção e Produção da Linguagem Verbal” (SCLIAR-CABRAL, 2003a and “Teste de Competência de Leitura de Palavras e Pseudopalavras” (SEABRA; CAPOVILLA, 2010. The main research goal is to analyze in each one of these reading assessment instruments some of the multiple cognitive processes and basic low-level abilities involved in reading. In this sense, decoding, word recognition, lexical access, syntactic and textual processing, and comprehension are the cognitive processes taken into account. With regard to the basic reading abilities, accuracy and fluency (rhythm, prosody and speed are considered. The results indicate that each one of the analyzed reading assessment instruments assesses different aspects of the reading processes and abilities, mainly through off-line measures. ScliarCabral’s assessment battery allows the researcher or the teacher to evaluate the following processes: perception of the grapheme opposition in minimal pairs of words and in sentences, difficulties in sentence processing, skills in decoding the graphemic-phonemic relationship, and textual comprehension. In its turn, the reading assessment instrument proposed by Seabra e Capovilla allows one to evaluate student’s reading development level, by classifying the kind of processing as logographic, alphabetic or orthographic.

Welding process modelling and control

Science.gov (United States)

Romine, Peter L.; Adenwala, Jinen A.

1993-01-01

The research and analysis performed, and software developed, and hardware/software recommendations made during 1992 in development of the PC-based data acquisition system for support of Welding Process Modeling and Control is reported. A need was identified by the Metals Processing Branch of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, for a mobile data aquisition and analysis system, customized for welding measurement and calibration. Several hardware configurations were evaluated and a PC-based system was chosen. The Welding Measurement System (WMS) is a dedicated instrument, strictly for the use of data aquisition and analysis. Although the WMS supports many of the functions associated with the process control, it is not the intention for this system to be used for welding process control.

Simultaneous control of multiple instruments at the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Johansson, Erik M.; Goodrich, Bret

2012-09-01

The Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) is a 4-meter solar observatory under construction at Haleakala, Hawaii. The simultaneous use of multiple instruments is one of the unique capabilities that makes the ATST a premier ground based solar observatory. Control of the instrument suite is accomplished by the Instrument Control System (ICS), a layer of software between the Observatory Control System (OCS) and the instruments. The ICS presents a single narrow interface to the OCS and provides a standard interface for the instruments to be controlled. It is built upon the ATST Common Services Framework (CSF), an infrastructure for the implementation of a distributed control system. The ICS responds to OCS commands and events, coordinating and distributing them to the various instruments while monitoring their progress and reporting the status back to the OCS. The ICS requires no specific knowledge about the instruments. All information about the instruments used in an experiment is passed by the OCS to the ICS, which extracts and forwards the parameters to the appropriate instrument controllers. The instruments participating in an experiment define the active instrument set. A subset of those instruments must complete their observing activities in order for the experiment to be considered complete and are referred to as the must-complete instrument set. In addition, instruments may participate in eavesdrop mode, outside of the control of the ICS. All instrument controllers use the same standard narrow interface, which allows new instruments to be added without having to modify the interface or any existing instrument controllers.

The instrument control unit of SPICA SAFARI: a macro-unit to host all the digital control functionalities of the spectrometer

Science.gov (United States)

Di Giorgio, Anna Maria; Biondi, David; Saggin, Bortolino; Shatalina, Irina; Viterbini, Maurizio; Giusi, Giovanni; Liu, Scige J.; Cerulli-Irelli, Paquale; Van Loon, Dennis; Cara, Christophe

2012-09-01

We present the preliminary design of the Instrument Control Unit (ICU) of the SpicA FAR infrared Instrument (SAFARI), an imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) designed to give continuous wavelength coverage in both photometric and spectroscopic modes from around 34 to 210 µm. Due to the stringent requirements in terms of mass and volume, the overall SAFARI warm electronics will be composed by only two main units: Detector Control Unit and ICU. ICU is therefore a macro-unit incorporating the four digital sub-units dedicated to the control of the overall instrument functionalities: the Cooler Control Unit, the Mechanism Control Unit, the Digital processing Unit and the Power Supply Unit. Both the mechanical solution adopted to host the four sub-units and the internal electrical architecture are presented as well as the adopted redundancy approach.

Control of training instrument

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seo, K. W.; Joo, Y. C.; Park, J. C.; Hong, C. S.; Choi, I. K.; Cho, B. J.; Lee, H. Y.; Seo, I. S.; Park, N. K.

1996-01-01

This report describes the annual results on control of training instrument. The scope and contents are the following: 1. Control of Compact Nuclear Simulator 2. Control of Radiation/Radioactivity Measurement 3. Control of Non-Destructive Testing Equipment 4. Control of Chemical Equipment 5. Control of Personal Computer 6. Other related Lecture Aid Equipment. Efforts were employed to upgrade the training environment through retrofitting experimental facilities, compiling teaching materials and reforcing audio-visual aids. The Nuclear Training Center executed the open-door training courses for 2,496 engineers/scientists from the nuclear regulatory, nuclear industries, research institutes and other related organizations by means of offering 45 training courses during the fiscal year 1995. (author). 15 tabs., 7 figs., 13 refs

A survey on the VXIbus and validity analyses for instrumentation and control in NPPs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, Kee Choon; Park, Won Man

1997-06-01

This document presents the technical status of the VXIbus system and its interface. VMEbus, while developed as a backplane for Motorola processors, can be used for data acquisition, control and other instrumentation applications. The VXIbus and its associated standard for form, fit, and electrical interface have simplified the process of putting together automated instrumentation systems. The VXIplug and play system alliance was founded in 1993, the alliance's charter to improve the effectiveness of VXI-based solutions by increasing ease-of-use and improving the interoperability of mainframes, computers, instrumentations, and software through open, multivendor standards and practices. This technical report surveys surveys the instrumentation and control in NPPs apply to the VXI-based instruments which are studied expendability, interoperability, maintainability and other features. (author). 10 refs., 4 tabs., 25 figs

Instrumentation and control engineering at ENACE (Argentine Nuclear Enterprise of Electric Power Plants S.A.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roca, J.L.; Garzon, D.

1987-01-01

This paper describes the techniques used in the project of instrumentation and control for the Atucha II nuclear power plant, from the original flow diagram of the system whose instrumentation and control is requested to the functional binary diagrams and control loops, through measurement sheets and other documentation. An account of the organization and handling of this mass of information is given, using an electronic processing system of data file for the project. A brief description of the task implied in the completing and updating of these files defines the scheme in which all the documentation development associated with a given process is included. (Author)

Towards a Generic and Adaptive System-On-Chip Controller for Space Exploration Instrumentation

Science.gov (United States)

Iturbe, Xabier; Keymeulen, Didier; Yiu, Patrick; Berisford, Dan; Hand, Kevin; Carlson, Robert; Ozer, Emre

2015-01-01

This paper introduces one of the first efforts conducted at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to develop a generic System-on-Chip (SoC) platform to control science instruments that are proposed for future NASA missions. The SoC platform is named APEX-SoC, where APEX stands for Advanced Processor for space Exploration, and is based on a hybrid Xilinx Zynq that combines an FPGA and an ARM Cortex-A9 dual-core processor on a single chip. The Zynq implements a generic and customizable on-chip infrastructure that can be reused with a variety of instruments, and it has been coupled with a set of off-chip components that are necessary to deal with the different instruments. We have taken JPL’s Compositional InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer (CIRIS), which is proposed for NASA icy moons missions, as a use-case scenario to demonstrate that the entire data processing, control and interface of an instrument can be implemented on a single device using the on-chip infrastructure described in this paper. We show that the performance results achieved in this preliminary version of the instrumentation controller are sufficient to fulfill the science requirements demanded to the CIRIS instrument in future NASA missions, such as Europa.

Development and application of special instrumentation for materials accountancy and process control in spent fuel recycle plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, P.A.; Gardner, N.; Merrill, N.H.; Whitehouse, K.R.

1996-01-01

Safe and optimum operations of spent fuel recycle plants rely on the availability of real time measurement systems at key points in the process. More than thirty types of special instrument systems have been developed and commissioned on the THORP reprocessing plant at Sellafield. These systems are compiled together with the associated information on measurement purpose, measurement technique and plant performance. A number of these measurement systems are of interest to support Safeguards arrangements on the plant. A more detailed overview of two such instrument systems respectively within the Head End and Product Finishing Stages of THORP is provided. The first of these is the Hulls Monitor, based on high resolution gamma spectrometry, as well as active and passive neutron measurements, of the basket of leached fuel cladding. This provides vital data for criticality assurance, nuclear material accountancy and inventory determination for ultimate disposal of the cladding waste. The second system is the Plutonium Inventory Monitoring System (PIMS) which employs passive neutron counting from a distributed array of neutron detectors within the Pu Finishing Line. This provides a near real time estimate of Pu inventories both during operations and at clean out of the Finishing Line. Both the Hulls Monitor and PIMS technologies are applicable to MOX Fuel recycle. Both systems enhance the control of fissile material in key areas of the recycle process which are of interest to the Safeguards authorities. (author)

Virtual Instrumentation Corrosion Controller for Natural Gas Pipelines

Science.gov (United States)

Gopalakrishnan, J.; Agnihotri, G.; Deshpande, D. M.

2012-12-01

Corrosion is an electrochemical process. Corrosion in natural gas (methane) pipelines leads to leakages. Corrosion occurs when anode and cathode are connected through electrolyte. Rate of corrosion in metallic pipeline can be controlled by impressing current to it and thereby making it to act as cathode of corrosion cell. Technologically advanced and energy efficient corrosion controller is required to protect natural gas pipelines. Proposed virtual instrumentation (VI) based corrosion controller precisely controls the external corrosion in underground metallic pipelines, enhances its life and ensures safety. Designing and development of proportional-integral-differential (PID) corrosion controller using VI (LabVIEW) is carried out. When the designed controller is deployed at field, it maintains the pipe to soil potential (PSP) within safe operating limit and not entering into over/under protection zone. Horizontal deployment of this technique can be done to protect all metallic structure, oil pipelines, which need corrosion protection.

Measuring Instruments Control Methodology Performance for Analog Electronics Remote Labs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Unai Hernandez-Jayo

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the work that has been developed in parallel to the VISIR project. The objective of this paper is to present the results of the validations processes that have been carried out to check the control methodology. This method has been developed with the aim of being independent of the instruments of the labs.

Process information displays from a computerized nuclear materials control and accounting system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ellis, J.H.

1981-11-01

A computerized nuclear materials control and accounting system is being developed for an LWR spent fuel reprocessing facility. This system directly accesses process instrument readings, sample analyses, and outputs of various on-line analytical instruments. In this paper, methods of processing and displaying this information in ways that aid in the efficient, timely, and safe control of the chemical processes of the facility are described

A taxonomy of control in intensified processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barzin, R.; Abd Shukor, S.R.; Ahmad, A.L.

2006-01-01

Process Intensification (PI) is a revolutionary approach to design, development and implementation of process and plant. PI technology offers improved environment in a chemical process in terms of better products, and processes which are safer, cleaner, smaller - and cheaper. PI is a strategy of making dramatic reductions in the size of unit operations within chemical plants, in order to achieve given production objectives. However, PI technology would be handicapped if such system is not properly controlled. There are some foreseeable problems in order to control such processes for instance, dynamic interaction between components that make up a control loop, response time of the instrumentations, availability of proper sensor and etc. In some cases, in order to control these systems, advanced control solutions have been applied i.e. model predictive controllers (MPC) and its different algorithms such as quadratic generalized predictive control (QGPC) and self tuning quadratic generalized predictive control (STQGPC). Nevertheless in some cases simpler solutions could be applied to control such system for example proportional integral controller in the control of reactive distillation systems. As mentioned, conventional control systems like proportional-integral, proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers and their different structures can be used in PI systems but due to inherent nonlinearity and fast responsiveness of PI systems, digital controllers-regarding to their robustness-are mostly applied in order to control PI systems. Regarding to the fact that choosing the appropriate control strategy is the most essential part of making PI systems possible to be handle easily, taxonomy of the usage of various control structure in controlling PI systems is proposed. This paper offers an overview and discussion on identifying potential problems of instrumentation in PI technology and available control strategies

Automated processing of endoscopic surgical instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Roth, K; Sieber, J P; Schrimm, H; Heeg, P; Buess, G

1994-10-01

This paper deals with the requirements for automated processing of endoscopic surgical instruments. After a brief analysis of the current problems, solutions are discussed. Test-procedures have been developed to validate the automated processing, so that the cleaning results are guaranteed and reproducable. Also a device for testing and cleaning was designed together with Netzsch Newamatic and PCI, called TC-MIC, to automate processing and reduce manual work.

CAMAC-controlled calibration system for nuclear reactor instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McDowell, W.P.; Cornella, R.J.

1977-01-01

The hardware and the software which have been developed to implement a nuclear instrument calibration system for the Argonne National Laboratory ZPR-VI and ZPR-IX reactor complex are described. The system is implemented using an SEL-840 computer with its associated CAMAC crates and a hardware interface to generate input parameters and measure the required outputs on the instrument under test. Both linear and logarithmic instruments can be calibrated by the system and output parameters can be measured at various automatically selected values of ac line voltage. A complete report on each instrument is printed as a result of the calibration and out-of-tolerance readings are flagged. Operator interface is provided by a CAMAC-controlled Hazeltine terminal. The terminal display leads the operator through the complete calibration procedure. This computer-controlled system is a significant improvement over previously used methods of calibrating nuclear instruments since it reduces reactor downtime and allows rapid detection of long-term changes in instrument calibration

Designing communication and remote controlling of virtual instrument network system

Science.gov (United States)

Lei, Lin; Wang, Houjun; Zhou, Xue; Zhou, Wenjian

2005-01-01

In this paper, a virtual instrument network through the LAN and finally remote control of virtual instruments is realized based on virtual instrument and LabWindows/CVI software platform. The virtual instrument network system is made up of three subsystems. There are server subsystem, telnet client subsystem and local instrument control subsystem. This paper introduced virtual instrument network structure in detail based on LabWindows. Application procedure design of virtual instrument network communication, the Client/the programming mode of the server, remote PC and server communication far realizing, the control power of the workstation is transmitted, server program and so on essential technical were introduced. And virtual instruments network may connect to entire Internet on. Above-mentioned technology, through measuring the application in the electronic measurement virtual instrument network that is already built up, has verified the actual using value of the technology. Experiment and application validate that this design is resultful.

Designing communication and remote controlling of virtual instrument network system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lei Lin; Wang Houjun; Zhou Xue; Zhou Wenjian

2005-01-01

In this paper, a virtual instrument network through the LAN and finally remote control of virtual instruments is realized based on virtual instrument and LabWindows/CVI software platform. The virtual instrument network system is made up of three subsystems. There are server subsystem, telnet client subsystem and local instrument control subsystem. This paper introduced virtual instrument network structure in detail based on LabWindows. Application procedure design of virtual instrument network communication, the Client/the programming mode of the server, remote PC and server communication far realizing, the control power of the workstation is transmitted, server program and so on essential technical were introduced. And virtual instruments network may connect to entire Internet on. Above-mentioned technology, through measuring the application in the electronic measurement virtual instrument network that is already built up, has verified the actual using value of the technology. Experiment and application validate that this design is resultful

DWPF process control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heckendoin, F.M. II

1983-01-01

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) for waste vitrification at the Savannah River Plant (SRP) is in the final design stage. Instrumentation to provide the parameter sensing required to assure the quality of the two-foot-diameter, ten-foot-high waste canister is in the final stage of development. All step of the process and instrumentation are now operating as nearly full-scale prototypes at SRP. Quality will be maintained by assuring that only the intended material enters the canisters, and by sensing the resultant condition of the filled canisters. Primary emphasis will be on instrumentation of the process

EPROM-based LSI-11 for distributed instrumentation control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunt, D.N.

1981-01-01

The LLNL Nuclear Chemistry Counting Facility (NCCF) is being converted to a modern production facility. A computer network has been designed and built to implement this conversion. The outermost node of the computer network is a dedicated EPROM-based controller. The controller handles the details of driving the attached nuclear instrumentation, providing a standard interface to the remainder of the network. This paper addresses the design and the implementation of the dedicated instrumentation controller

Evolution of the VLT instrument control system toward industry standards

Science.gov (United States)

Kiekebusch, Mario J.; Chiozzi, Gianluca; Knudstrup, Jens; Popovic, Dan; Zins, Gerard

2010-07-01

The VLT control system is a large distributed system consisting of Linux Workstations providing the high level coordination and interfaces to the users, and VME-based Local Control Units (LCU's) running the VxWorks real-time operating system with commercial and proprietary boards acting as the interface to the instrument functions. After more than 10 years of VLT operations, some of the applied technologies used by the astronomical instruments are being discontinued making it difficult to find adequate hardware for future projects. In order to deal with this obsolescence, the VLT Instrumentation Framework is being extended to adopt well established Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) components connected through industry standard fieldbuses. This ensures a flexible state of the art hardware configuration for the next generation VLT instruments allowing the access to instrument devices via more compact and simpler control units like PC-based Programmable Logical Controllers (PLC's). It also makes it possible to control devices directly from the Instrument Workstation through a normal Ethernet connection. This paper outlines the requirements that motivated this work, as well as the architecture and the design of the framework extension. In addition, it describes the preliminary results on a use case which is a VLTI visitor instrument used as a pilot project to validate the concepts and the suitability of some COTS products like a PC-based PLCs, EtherCAT8 and OPC UA6 as solutions for instrument control.

Quality control of nuclear medicine instruments, 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-12-01

This document gives detailed guidance on the quality control of various instruments used in nuclear medicine. A first preliminary document was drawn up in 1979. A revised and extended version, incorporating recommended procedures, test schedules and protocols was prepared in 1982. The first edition of 'Quality Control of Nuclear Medicine Instruments', IAEA-TECDOC-317, was printed in late 1984. Recent advances in the field of nuclear medicine imaging made it necessary to add a chapter on Camera-Computer Systems and another on SPECT Systems

Quality control of nuclear medicine instruments 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-05-01

This document gives detailed guidance on the quality control of various instruments used in nuclear medicine. A first preliminary document was drawn up in 1979. A revised and extended version, incorporating recommended procedures, test schedules and protocols was prepared in 1982. The first edition of ''Quality Control of Nuclear Medicine Instruments'', IAEA-TECDOC-317, was printed in late 1984. Recent advances in the field of nuclear medicine imaging made it necessary to add a chapter on Camera-Computer Systems and another on SPECT Systems. Figs and tabs

Planning instruments to control urban growth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Gertrud; Nielsen, Thomas Alexander Sick

2010-01-01

It is challenging to plan and control urban development in peri-urban areas. But if no planning is done, the result will often be unsustainable, including widespread, dispersed and uncoordinated urban growth. Spatial planning based on zoning remains the most important planning instrument and its...... success depend on regional coordination. Incentive based instruments may contrbute to growth management, but only few examples are available and their effects on urban growth patterns yet to be seen....

Integrated Instrumentation and Control Upgrade Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilkinson, D.; Sun, B.; Wray, L.; Smith, J.

1992-02-01

This document presents the first industry-wide integrated research and development plan to support upgrading instrumentation and control (I ampersand C) systems in nuclear power plants in the United States. The plan encompasses both solving obsolescence problems and introducing modern I ampersand C technology into the industry. Accomplishing this plan will provide the technological base to modernize existing plants, as well as bridge the gap to meet Advanced Light Water Reactor (ALWR) requirements for modern I ampersand C systems. This plan defines Research and Development tasks to meet the identified needs for the following technical elements: Instrumentation, Control and Protection, Man-Machine Support Systems, Maintenance, Communications, Verification and Validation, and Specifications and Standards

On-line calibration of process instrumentation channels in nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hashemian, H.M.; Farmer, J.P. [Analysis and Measurement Services Corp., Knoxville, TN (United States)

1995-04-01

An on-line instrumentation monitoring system was developed and validated for use in nuclear power plants. This system continuously monitors the calibration status of instrument channels and determines whether or not they require manual calibrations. This is accomplished by comparing the output of each instrument channel to an estimate of the process it is monitoring. If the deviation of the instrument channel from the process estimate is greater than an allowable limit, then the instrument is said to be {open_quotes}out of calibration{close_quotes} and manual adjustments are made to correct the calibration. The success of the on-line monitoring system depends on the accuracy of the process estimation. The system described in this paper incorporates both simple intercomparison techniques as well as analytical approaches in the form of data-driven empirical modeling to estimate the process. On-line testing of the calibration of process instrumentation channels will reduce the number of manual calibrations currently performed, thereby reducing both costs to utilities and radiation exposure to plant personnel.

Proceedings: Electromagnetic interference control in modern digital instrumentation and control upgrades

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-06-01

A workshop on Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI) Control in Modern Digital Instrumentation ampersand Control System Upgrade was held in Baltimore on September 10-11, 1992 to provide a forum for technology transfer, technical information exchange, and education. The workshop was attended by more than 70 representatives of electric utilities, equipment manufacturers, engineering consulting organizations, and government agencies. The workshop consists of four sessions: (1) Organizational EMC Perspectives, (2) EMI Environment, Case Histories ampersand Solutions, (3) EMC in Digital Instrumentation ampersand Control Systems, and (4) EMI Utility Needs. A group discussion followed the presentations to identify utility needs. Individual papers have been cataloged separately

Femoral Test Bed for Impedance Controlled Surgical Instrumentation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian Brendle

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The risk for patients during the standard procedure of revision of cemented artificial hip joints is unsatisfactorily highdue to its high level of invasiveness and limited access to the operative field. To reduce this risk we are developing anImpedance Controlled Surgical Instrumentation (ICOS system, which aims to establish real-time control during a BoneCement (BC milling process. For this, the relationship between the thickness of the BC and its frequency-dependentelectrical impedance is used to estimate the residual BC thickness. The aim is to avoid unintended cutting of boneby detecting the passage of the BC/bone boundary layer by the milling head. In a second step, an estimation of theresidual BC thickness will be used to improve process control. As a first step towards demonstrating the feasibility ofour approach, presented here are experimental studies to characterize the BC permittivity and to describe the process indetail. The results show that the permittivity properties of BC are dominated by its polymethyl methacrylate (PMMAfraction. Thus, PMMA can be used as a substitute for future experiments. Furthermore, a Femoral Test Bed (FTB wasdesigned. Using this setup we show it is feasible to accurately distinguish between slightly different thicknesses of BC.

CARMENES instrument control system and operational scheduler

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Piquer, Alvaro; Guàrdia, Josep; Colomé, Josep; Ribas, Ignasi; Gesa, Lluis; Morales, Juan Carlos; Pérez-Calpena, Ana; Seifert, Walter; Quirrenbach, Andreas; Amado, Pedro J.; Caballero, José A.; Reiners, Ansgar

2014-07-01

The main goal of the CARMENES instrument is to perform high-accuracy measurements of stellar radial velocities (1m/s) with long-term stability. CARMENES will be installed in 2015 at the 3.5 m telescope in the Calar Alto Observatory (Spain) and it will be equipped with two spectrographs covering from the visible to the near-infrared. It will make use of its near-IR capabilities to observe late-type stars, whose peak of the spectral energy distribution falls in the relevant wavelength interval. The technology needed to develop this instrument represents a challenge at all levels. We present two software packages that play a key role in the control layer for an efficient operation of the instrument: the Instrument Control System (ICS) and the Operational Scheduler. The coordination and management of CARMENES is handled by the ICS, which is responsible for carrying out the operations of the different subsystems providing a tool to operate the instrument in an integrated manner from low to high user interaction level. The ICS interacts with the following subsystems: the near-IR and visible channels, composed by the detectors and exposure meters; the calibration units; the environment sensors; the front-end electronics; the acquisition and guiding module; the interfaces with telescope and dome; and, finally, the software subsystems for operational scheduling of tasks, data processing, and data archiving. We describe the ICS software design, which implements the CARMENES operational design and is planned to be integrated in the instrument by the end of 2014. The CARMENES operational scheduler is the second key element in the control layer described in this contribution. It is the main actor in the translation of the survey strategy into a detailed schedule for the achievement of the optimization goals. The scheduler is based on Artificial Intelligence techniques and computes the survey planning by combining the static constraints that are known a priori (i.e., target

Differential dependence of Pavlovian incentive motivation and instrumental incentive learning processes on dopamine signaling

Science.gov (United States)

Wassum, Kate M.; Ostlund, Sean B.; Balleine, Bernard W.; Maidment, Nigel T.

2011-01-01

Here we attempted to clarify the role of dopamine signaling in reward seeking. In Experiment 1, we assessed the effects of the dopamine D1/D2 receptor antagonist flupenthixol (0.5 mg/kg i.p.) on Pavlovian incentive motivation and found that flupenthixol blocked the ability of a conditioned stimulus to enhance both goal approach and instrumental performance (Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer). In Experiment 2 we assessed the effects of flupenthixol on reward palatability during post-training noncontingent re-exposure to the sucrose reward in either a control 3-h or novel 23-h food-deprived state. Flupenthixol, although effective in blocking the Pavlovian goal approach, was without effect on palatability or the increase in reward palatability induced by the upshift in motivational state. This noncontingent re-exposure provided an opportunity for instrumental incentive learning, the process by which rats encode the value of a reward for use in updating reward-seeking actions. Flupenthixol administered prior to the instrumental incentive learning opportunity did not affect the increase in subsequent off-drug reward-seeking actions induced by that experience. These data suggest that although dopamine signaling is necessary for Pavlovian incentive motivation, it is not necessary for changes in reward experience, or for the instrumental incentive learning process that translates this experience into the incentive value used to drive reward-seeking actions, and provide further evidence that Pavlovian and instrumental incentive learning processes are dissociable. PMID:21693635

Process control measurements in the SRP fuel separations plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McKibben, J.M.; Pickett, C.E.; Dickert, H.D.

1982-02-01

Programs were started to develop new in-line and at-line analytical techniques. Among the more promising techniques being investigated are: (1) an in-line instrument to analyze for percent tributyl phosphate in process solvent, (2) remote laser optrode techniques (using lazer light transmitted to and from the sample cell via light pipes) for a variety of possible analyses, and (3) sonic techniques for concentration analyses in two component systems. A subcommittee was also formed to investigate state-of-the-technology for process control. The final recommendation was to use a distributed control approach to upgrade the process control sytem. The system selected should be modular, easy to expand, and simple to change control strategies. A distributed system using microprocessorbased controllers would allow installation of the control intelligence near the process, thereby simplifying field wiring. Process information collected and stored in the controllers will be transmitted to operating consoles, via a data highway, for process management and display. The overall program has a number of distinct benefits. There are a number of cost savings that will be realized. Excellent annual return on investment - up to 110% - has been predicted for several of the projects in this program that are already funded. In addition, many of the instrument modifications will improve safety performance and production throughput in the specific ways shown

A survey of process control computers at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dahl, C.A.

1989-01-01

The Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory is charged with the safe processing of spent nuclear fuel elements for the United States Department of Energy. The ICPP was originally constructed in the late 1950s and used state-of-the-art technology for process control at that time. The state of process control instrumentation at the ICPP has steadily improved to keep pace with emerging technology. Today, the ICPP is a college of emerging computer technology in process control with some systems as simple as standalone measurement computers while others are state-of-the-art distributed control systems controlling the operations in an entire facility within the plant. The ICPP has made maximal use of process computer technology aimed at increasing surety, safety, and efficiency of the process operations. Many benefits have been derived from the use of the computers for minimal costs, including decreased misoperations in the facility, and more benefits are expected in the future

Metallurgical characterization of controlled memory wire nickel-titanium rotary instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Ya; Zhou, Hui-Min; Zheng, Yu-Feng; Campbell, Les; Peng, Bin; Haapasalo, Markus

2011-11-01

To improve the fracture resistance of nickel-titanium (NiTi) files, manufacturers have introduced new alloys and developed new manufacturing processes for the fabrication of NiTi files. This study aimed to examine the phase transformation behavior and microstructure of NiTi instruments from a novel controlled memory NiTi wire (CM wire). Instruments of EndoSequence (ES), ProFile (PF), ProFile Vortex (Vortex), Twisted Files (TF), Typhoon (TYP), and Typhoon™ CM (TYP CM), all size 25/.04, were examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). Microstructures of etched instruments were observed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with x-ray energy-dispersive spectrometric (EDS) analyses. The DSC analyses showed that each segment of the TYP CM and Vortex instruments had an austenite transformation completion or austenite-finish (A(f)) temperature exceeding 37°C, whereas the NiTi instruments made from conventional superelastic NiTi wire (ES, PF, and TYP) and TF had A(f) temperatures substantially below mouth temperature. The higher A(f) temperature of TYP CM instruments was consistent with a mixture of austenite and martensite structure, which was observed at room temperature with XRD. All NiTi instruments had room temperature martensite microstructures consisting of colonies of lenticular features with substantial twinning. EDS analysis indicated that the precipitates in all NiTi instruments were titanium-rich, with an approximate composition of Ti(2)Ni. The TYP CM and Vortex instruments with heat treatment contribute to increase austenite transformation temperature. The CM instrument has significant changes in the phase transformation behavior, compared with conventional superelastic NiTi instruments. Copyright © 2011 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

VIMOS Instrument Control Software Design: an Object Oriented Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Brau-Nogué, Sylvie; Lucuix, Christian

2002-12-01

The Franco-Italian VIMOS instrument is a VIsible imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph with outstanding multiplex capabilities, allowing to take spectra of more than 800 objects simultaneously, or integral field spectroscopy mode in a 54x54 arcsec area. VIMOS is being installed at the Nasmyth focus of the third Unit Telescope of the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Mount Paranal in Chile. This paper will describe the analysis, the design and the implementation of the VIMOS Instrument Control System, using UML notation. Our Control group followed an Object Oriented software process while keeping in mind the ESO VLT standard control concepts. At ESO VLT a complete software library is available. Rather than applying waterfall lifecycle, ICS project used iterative development, a lifecycle consisting of several iterations. Each iteration consisted in : capture and evaluate the requirements, visual modeling for analysis and design, implementation, test, and deployment. Depending of the project phases, iterations focused more or less on specific activity. The result is an object model (the design model), including use-case realizations. An implementation view and a deployment view complement this product. An extract of VIMOS ICS UML model will be presented and some implementation, integration and test issues will be discussed.

Instrumentation and control of turbine, generator and associated systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vogtland, U.

1982-01-01

The purpose of this presentation is to give some information on Instrumentation and Control (I and C) for turbine-generators, in this case for nuclear application. The I and C scope of supply for such a turbine-generator can be divided as follows: - Closed-loop controls - Turbine stress control systems - Supervisory instrumentation - Protection systems - Open-loop controls. The main systems used for nuclear application are presented by means of examples taken from these a.m. categories. (orig./RW)

Measurement control program for NDA instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsue, S.T.; Marks, T.

1983-01-01

Measurement control checks for nondestructive assay instruments have been a constant and continuing concern at Los Alamos National Laboratory. This paper summarizes the evolution of the measurement control checks in the various high-resolution gamma systems we have developed. In-plant experiences with these systems and checks will be discussed. Based on these experiences, a set of measurement control checks is recommended for high-resolution gamma-ray systems

Automatic tracking of laparoscopic instruments for autonomous control of a cameraman robot.

Science.gov (United States)

Khoiy, Keyvan Amini; Mirbagheri, Alireza; Farahmand, Farzam

2016-01-01

An automated instrument tracking procedure was designed and developed for autonomous control of a cameraman robot during laparoscopic surgery. The procedure was based on an innovative marker-free segmentation algorithm for detecting the tip of the surgical instruments in laparoscopic images. A compound measure of Saturation and Value components of HSV color space was incorporated that was enhanced further using the Hue component and some essential characteristics of the instrument segment, e.g., crossing the image boundaries. The procedure was then integrated into the controlling system of the RoboLens cameraman robot, within a triple-thread parallel processing scheme, such that the tip is always kept at the center of the image. Assessment of the performance of the system on prerecorded real surgery movies revealed an accuracy rate of 97% for high quality images and about 80% for those suffering from poor lighting and/or blood, water and smoke noises. A reasonably satisfying performance was also observed when employing the system for autonomous control of the robot in a laparoscopic surgery phantom, with a mean time delay of 200ms. It was concluded that with further developments, the proposed procedure can provide a practical solution for autonomous control of cameraman robots during laparoscopic surgery operations.

Target Diagnostic Instrument-Based Controls Framework for the National Ignition Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shelton, R; O'Brien, D; Nelson, J; Kamperschroer, J

2007-01-01

NIF target diagnostics are being developed to observe and measure the extreme physics of targets irradiated by the 192-beam laser. The response time of target materials can be on the order of 100ps--the time it takes light to travel 3 cm--temperatures more than 100 times hotter than the surface of the sun, and pressures that exceed 109 atmospheres. Optical and x-ray diagnostics were developed and fielded to observe and record the results of the first 4-beam experiments at NIF. Hard and soft x-ray spectra were measured, and time-integrated and gated x-ray images of hydrodynamics experiments were recorded. Optical diagnostics recorded backscatter from the target, and VISAR laser velocimetry measurements were taken of laser-shocked target surfaces. Additional diagnostics are being developed and commissioned to observe and diagnose ignition implosions, including various neutron and activation diagnostics. NIF's diagnostics are being developed at LLNL and with collaborators at other sites. To accommodate the growing number of target diagnostics, an Instrument-Based Controls hardware-software framework has been developed to facilitate development and ease integration into the NIF Integrated Computer Control System (ICCS). Individual WindowsXP PC controllers for each digitizer, power supply and camera (i.e., instruments) execute controls software unique to each instrument model. Each hardware-software controller manages a single instrument, in contrast to the complexity of combining all the controls software needed for a diagnostic into a single controller. Because of this simplification, controllers can be more easily tested on the actual hardware, evaluating all normal and off-normal conditions. Each target diagnostic is then supported by a number of instruments, each with its own hardware-software instrument-based controller. Advantages of the instrument-based control architecture and framework include reusability, testability, and improved reliability of the deployed

Target Diagnostic Instrument-Based Controls Framework for the National Ignition Facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shelton, R; O' Brien, D; Nelson, J; Kamperschroer, J

2007-05-07

NIF target diagnostics are being developed to observe and measure the extreme physics of targets irradiated by the 192-beam laser. The response time of target materials can be on the order of 100ps--the time it takes light to travel 3 cm--temperatures more than 100 times hotter than the surface of the sun, and pressures that exceed 109 atmospheres. Optical and x-ray diagnostics were developed and fielded to observe and record the results of the first 4-beam experiments at NIF. Hard and soft x-ray spectra were measured, and time-integrated and gated x-ray images of hydrodynamics experiments were recorded. Optical diagnostics recorded backscatter from the target, and VISAR laser velocimetry measurements were taken of laser-shocked target surfaces. Additional diagnostics are being developed and commissioned to observe and diagnose ignition implosions, including various neutron and activation diagnostics. NIF's diagnostics are being developed at LLNL and with collaborators at other sites. To accommodate the growing number of target diagnostics, an Instrument-Based Controls hardware-software framework has been developed to facilitate development and ease integration into the NIF Integrated Computer Control System (ICCS). Individual WindowsXP PC controllers for each digitizer, power supply and camera (i.e., instruments) execute controls software unique to each instrument model. Each hardware-software controller manages a single instrument, in contrast to the complexity of combining all the controls software needed for a diagnostic into a single controller. Because of this simplification, controllers can be more easily tested on the actual hardware, evaluating all normal and off-normal conditions. Each target diagnostic is then supported by a number of instruments, each with its own hardware-software instrument-based controller. Advantages of the instrument-based control architecture and framework include reusability, testability, and improved reliability of the

Chemical sensors and gas sensors for process control in biotechnology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, D.E.

1988-04-01

This paper is concerned with the possibilities for chemical measurement of the progress of biotechnological processes which are offered by devices already developed for other demanding applications. It considers the potential use of ultrasonic instrumentation originally developed for the nuclear industry, gas measurement methods from the fields of environmental monitoring and combustion control, nuclear instruments developed for the oil, mining and chemical industries, robotic systems and advanced control techniques. (author)

Instrumentation and Controls Division Progress report, July 1, 1992--June 30, 1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McDonald, D.W.

1995-06-01

The Instrumentation and Controls (I&C) Division serves a national laboratory, and as such has an expansive domain: science, industry, and national defense. The core mission is to support the scientific apparatus of the Laboratory and all of the systems that protect the safety and health of people and the environment. Progress is reported for the five sections: photonics and measurements systems, electronic systems, signal processing, controls and systems integration, and technical support.

Design type testing for digital instrumentation and control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bastl, W.; Mohns, G.

1997-01-01

The design type qualification of digital safety instrumentation and control is outlined. Experience shows that the concepts discussed, derived from codes, guidelines and standards, achieve useful results. It has likewise become clear that the systematics of design type qualification of the hardware components is also applicable to the software components. Design type qualification of the software, a premiere, could be performed unexpectedly smoothly. The hardware design type qualification proved that the hardware as a substrate of functionality and reliability is an issue that demands full attention, as compared to conventional systems. Another insight is that design qualification of digital instrumentation and control systems must include plant-independent systems tests. Digital instrumentation and control systems simply work very differently from conventional control systems, so that this testing modality is inevitable. (Orig./CB) [de

Cost-effective instrumentation and control upgrades for commercial nuclear power plants surety principles developed at Sandia National Laboratories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rochau, G.E.; Dalton, L.J.

1998-01-01

Many nuclear power plants use instrument and control systems based on analog electronics. The state of the art in process control and instrumentation has advanced to use digital electronics and incorporate advanced technology. This technology includes: distributed microprocessors, fiber optics, intelligent systems (neutral networks), and advanced displays. The technology is used to optimize processes and enhance the man-machine interface while maintaining control and safety of the processes. Nuclear power plant operators have been hesitant to install this technology because of the cost and uncertainty in the regulatory process. This technology can be directly applied in an operating nuclear power plant provided a surety principle-based 'administrator' hardware system is included in parallel with the upgrade. Sandia National Laboratories has developed a rigorous approach to High Consequence System Surety (HCSS). This approach addresses the key issues of safety, security, and control while satisfying requirements for reliability and quality. We believe that HCSS principles can be applied to nuclear power plants in a manner that allows the off-the-shelf use of process control instrumentation while maintaining a high level of safety and enhancing the plant performance. We propose that an HCSS Administrator be constructed as a standardized approach to address regulatory issues. Such an administrator would allow a plant control system to be constructed with commercially available, state-to-the-art equipment and be customized to the needs of the individual plant operator. (author)

Project C-018H, 242-A evaporator/PUREX Plant Process Condensate Treatment Facility Instrumentation and Control (I ampersand C)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dupuis, A.

1995-01-01

This Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) has been prepared to demonstrate that the Collection System Instrumentation ampersand Control System for Project C-018H performs according to design. Specifically, this ATP is designed to verify the following overall system requirements: The input and outputs properly connected to the LCU terminal strips. The control system software conforms to the configuration specified by the logic diagrams, piping and instrumentation diagrams (P ampersand ID), and the LERF operating philosophy. Testing will be performed using actual signals. If actual signals are not available, then simulated signals will be used to complete the tests

Harmonization of the licensing process for digital instrumentation and control systems in nuclear power plants. Report prepared within the framework of the Technical Working Group on Nuclear Power Plant Control and Instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-12-01

This report was prepared in response to the recommendation of the Technical Working Group on Nuclear Power Plant Control and Instrumentation (TWG-NPPCI). This recommendation was based on the recognition of the present diversity in national practices in licensing digital Instrumentation and control (I and C). The goal of this report is to promote harmonization of I and C licensing requirements in the Member States. It applies to I and C modernization, retrofits, upgrades, replacement, new installation, and other aspects of digital I and C in both existing and new nuclear power plants. It should be pointed out that a single publication, like this report, can only take the first step towards initiating a process leading to licensing requirements, which are more harmonized. It is therefore hoped that that this report will get a broad readership among those who can influence requirements that are set on digital I and C. This report provides general and high level recommendations to assist senior officials at utilities, vendor organizations, regulatory bodies, and their support organizations who are involved in the licensing of digital I and C. It is also intended to be read by persons participating in technical committees which are writing standards. The authors of this report believe that harmonization can be achieved through a consideration of the technical and scientific basis of high integrity digital I and C systems. It is also believed that many benefits can be reached in resolving various issues of a technical and engineering nature, which presently are creating controversies in the licensing of digital I and C in NPP safety applications. This publication is based on a consideration of the licensing process of I and C in a top down fashion to discuss generic principles to be applied when assessing digital I and C in NPP safety applications. This report gives an overview of the confidence building process in which evidence is created that digital I and C fulfils

The Los Alamos accelerator control system data base: A generic instrumentation interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalesio, L.R.

1990-01-01

Controlling experimental-physics applications requires a control system that can be quickly integrated and easily modified. One aspect of the control system is the interface to the instrumentation. An instrumentation set has been chosen to implement the basic functions needed to monitor and control these applications. A data-driven interface to this instrumentation set provides the required quick integration of the control system. This type of interface is limited by its built-in capabilities. Therefore, these capabilities must provide an adequate range of functions to be of any use. The data-driven interface must support the instrumentation range requird, the events on which to read or control the instrumentation and a method for manipulating the data to calculate terms or close control loops. The database for the Los Alamos Accelerator Control System addresses these requirements. (orig.)

Reconstruction of instrumentation and control system (SKR)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiening, K.-H.

2001-01-01

For the first time extensive upgrades have been performed in all safety related areas of units with WWER 440/230 reactors. One of the most important actions was the replacement of the safety and safety related instrumentation and control. The state of the art digital safety instrumentation and control system TELEPERM XS has been implemented in units 1 and 2 of the Bohunice V1 power plant. The requirements as deduced from safety assessments conducted by commissions of international experts have been fulfilled, so that Bohunice V1 after this gradual reconstruction has been upgraded to an internationally accepted safety level for the remainder of its service life. (author)

Cold Vacuum Drying Safety Class Instrumentation and Control System Design Description SYS 93-2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

WHITEHURST, R.

1999-01-01

This document describes the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility (CVDF) Safety Class Instrumentation and Control system (SCIC). The SCIC provides safety functions and features to protect the environment, off-site and on-site personnel and equipment. The function of the SCIC is to provide automatic trip features, valve interlocks, alarms, indication and control for the cold vacuum drying process

Instrument maintenance of ultrasonic influences parameters measurement in technological processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomal V. S.

2008-04-01

Full Text Available The contact and non-contact vibration meters for intermittent and continuous control of the vibration amplitude in the ultrasonic technological equipment have been developed. And in order to estimate the cavitation intensity in liquids the authors have developed cavitation activity indicators and cavitation sensitivity meters, allowing to measure the magnitude of the signal level in the range of maximum spectral density of cavitation noise. The developed instruments allow to improve the quality of products, reduce the defect rate and power consumption of equipment by maintaining optimum conditions of the process.

Declarative flow control for distributed instrumentation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parvin, Bahram; Taylor, John; Fontenay, Gerald; Callahan, Daniel

2001-06-01

We have developed a 'microscopy channel' to advertise a unique set of on-line scientific instruments and to let users join a particular session, perform an experiment, collaborate with other users, and collect data for further analysis. The channel is a collaborative problem solving environment (CPSE) that allows for both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration, as well as flow control for enhanced scalability. The flow control is a declarative feature that enhances software functionality at the experimental scale. Our testbed includes several unique electron and optical microscopes with applications ranging from material science to cell biology. We have built a system that leverages current commercial CORBA services, Web Servers, and flow control specifications to meet diverse requirements for microscopy and experimental protocols. In this context, we have defined and enhanced Instrument Services (IS), Exchange Services (ES), Computational Services (CS), and Declarative Services (DS) that sit on top of CORBA and its enabling services (naming, trading, security, and notification) IS provides a layer of abstraction for controlling any type of microscope. ES provides a common set of utilities for information management and transaction. CS provides the analytical capabilities needed for online microscopy. DS provides mechanisms for flow control for improving the dynamic behavior of the system.

Design of coordinated controller in nuclear power plant based on digital instrument and control technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng Shouyu; Peng Minjun; Liu Xinkai; Zhao Qiang; Deng Xiangxin

2014-01-01

Nuclear power plant (NPP) is a multi-input and multi-output, no-linear and time-varying complex system. The conventional PID controller is usually used in NPP control system which is based on analog instrument. The system parameters are easy to overshoot and the response time is longer in the control mode of the conventional PID. In order to improve this condition, a new coordinated control strategy which is based on expert system and the original controllers in the digital instrument and control technology was presented. In order to verify and validate it, the proposed coordinated control technology was tested by the full-scope real-time simulation system. The results prove that using digital instrument and control technology to achieve coordinated controller is feasible, the coordinated controller can effectively improve the dynamic operating characteristics of the system, and the coordinated controller is superior to the conventional PID controller in control performance. (authors)

The potential of soft computing methods in NPP instrumentation and control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hampel, R.; Chaker, N.; Kaestner, W.; Traichel, A.; Wagenknecht, M.; Gocht, U.

2002-01-01

The method of signal processing by soft computing include the application of fuzzy logic, synthetic neural networks, and evolutionary algorithms. The article contains an outline of the objectives and results of the application of fuzzy logic and methods of synthetic neural networks in nuclear measurement and control. The special requirements to be met by the software in safety-related areas with respect to reliability, evaluation, and validation are described. Possible uses may be in off-line applications in modeling, simulation, and reliability analysis as well as in on-line applications (real-time systems) for instrumentation and control. Safety-related aspects of signal processing are described and analyzed for the fuzzy logic and synthetic neural network concepts. Application are covered in selected examples. (orig.)

Statistical process control for alpha spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Richardson, W; Majoras, R E [Oxford Instruments, Inc. P.O. Box 2560, Oak Ridge TN 37830 (United States); Joo, I O; Seymour, R S [Accu-Labs Research, Inc. 4663 Table Mountain Drive, Golden CO 80403 (United States)

1995-10-01

Statistical process control(SPC) allows for the identification of problems in alpha spectroscopy processes before they occur, unlike standard laboratory Q C which only identifies problems after a process fails. SPC tools that are directly applicable to alpha spectroscopy include individual X-charts and X-bar charts, process capability plots, and scatter plots. Most scientists are familiar with the concepts the and methods employed by SPC. These tools allow analysis of process bias, precision, accuracy and reproducibility as well as process capability. Parameters affecting instrument performance are monitored and analyzed using SPC methods. These instrument parameters can also be compared to sampling, preparation, measurement, and analysis Q C parameters permitting the evaluation of cause effect relationships. Three examples of SPC, as applied to alpha spectroscopy , are presented. The first example investigates background contamination using averaging to show trends quickly. A second example demonstrates how SPC can identify sample processing problems, analyzing both how and why this problem occurred. A third example illustrates how SPC can predict when an alpha spectroscopy process is going to fail. This allows for an orderly and timely shutdown of the process to perform preventative maintenance, avoiding the need to repeat costly sample analyses. 7 figs., 2 tabs.

Statistical process control for alpha spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richardson, W.; Majoras, R.E.; Joo, I.O.; Seymour, R.S.

1995-01-01

Statistical process control(SPC) allows for the identification of problems in alpha spectroscopy processes before they occur, unlike standard laboratory Q C which only identifies problems after a process fails. SPC tools that are directly applicable to alpha spectroscopy include individual X-charts and X-bar charts, process capability plots, and scatter plots. Most scientists are familiar with the concepts the and methods employed by SPC. These tools allow analysis of process bias, precision, accuracy and reproducibility as well as process capability. Parameters affecting instrument performance are monitored and analyzed using SPC methods. These instrument parameters can also be compared to sampling, preparation, measurement, and analysis Q C parameters permitting the evaluation of cause effect relationships. Three examples of SPC, as applied to alpha spectroscopy , are presented. The first example investigates background contamination using averaging to show trends quickly. A second example demonstrates how SPC can identify sample processing problems, analyzing both how and why this problem occurred. A third example illustrates how SPC can predict when an alpha spectroscopy process is going to fail. This allows for an orderly and timely shutdown of the process to perform preventative maintenance, avoiding the need to repeat costly sample analyses. 7 figs., 2 tabs

The upgraded control and instrumentation system of C5 irradiation device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iordache, A.; Ancuta, M.; Gruia, L.; Pulpa, A.; Salistean, E.; Gusescu, G.

2013-01-01

C5 capsule is an irradiation device of TRIGA SSR, which is designed for irradiation of structural materials in an inert environment for mechanical behavior characterization and the material microstructure evolution during irradiation. The paper presents the upgraded control and instrumentation system of the C5 irradiation device which was designed and manufactured to enhance the performance of this system for better surveillance and processing the acquired experimental data. (authors)

Instrument ampersand controls section (IA) improvements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kramer, C.; Paul, J.

1993-01-01

This portion of the panel session briefly delineates improvements in the Instrument and Controls (IA) Section over the past few years. These improvements are listed briefly in summary form. The status of publication of the IA Section of AG-1 is reviewed

The Aspects Of Inventory Controlling Instruments Implementation In The System Of Retail Chains Finance Management

OpenAIRE

Nataliya Buratchuk

2014-01-01

The article deals with issues of implementation of inventory controlling instruments in the system of retail chains finance management. The author suggests expanded classification of methods and instruments of inventory controlling distinguishing 3 groups of specific instruments: logistic controlling instruments, expenditures and supply chains controlling instruments and inventory special controlling mechanisms. Based on investigation of controlling methods and instruments, the approximate li...

Cost-effective instrumentation and control upgrades for commercial nuclear power plants using surety principles developed at Sandia National Laboratories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rochau, G.E.; Dalton, L.J.

1997-01-01

Many nuclear power plants use instrument and control systems based on analog electronics. The state of the art in process control and instrumentation has advanced to use digital electronics and incorporate advanced technology. This technology includes distributed microprocessors, fiber optics, intelligent systems (neural networks), and advanced displays. The technology is used to optimize processes and enhance the man-machine interface while maintaining control and safety of the processes. Nuclear power plant operators have been hesitant to install this technology because of the cost and uncertainty in the regulatory process. This technology can be directly applied in an operating nuclear power plant provided a surety principle-based open-quotes administratorclose quotes hardware system is included in parallel with the upgrade Sandia National Laboratories has developed a rigorous approach to High Consequence System Surety (HCSS). This approach addresses the key issues of safety, security, and control while satisfying requirements for reliability and quality. HCSS principles can be applied to nuclear power plants in a manner that allows the off-the-shelf use of process control instrumentation while maintaining a high level of safety and enhancing the plant performance. We propose that an HCSS administrator be constructed as a standardized approach to address regulatory issues. Such an administrator would allow a plant control system to be constructed with commercially available, state-of-the-art equipment and be customized to the needs of the individual plant operator

Nuclear power plant control and instrumentation in Italy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lantieri, A.

1992-01-01

The National Energy Plan (PEN) approved by the Government of Italy in August 1988 provides a programme of research and industrial development or reactors with inherent and passive safety features. For the Control Systems and Instrumentation there is the aim to define rules and design criteria, by evaluating the impact of inherent safety goals on the C and I design. The effort on man-machine interface is considered essential to increase safety and efficiency of advanced reactors. The paper briefly describes the activity in control systems and in the instrumentation area. (author)

Building of a CAD system for instrumentation and control system of nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Zhicai; Hu Chunping; Zhang Dongsheng

2012-01-01

Base on the analysis of deign documents and process, a database for instrumentation and control system design can be developed with a popular desktop relational database management system (RDBMS). With the RDBMS, an instrumentation and control system CAD system can be built unitizing database link feature of popular CAD software, with the function of management of design data, output of list and forms. and design of drawings. A CAD system of this kind has been used in the design practice of nuclear power plant. With this system, it is shown that, the consistency of information has been controlled and the load on the engineer has been significantly reduced. The methodology used here can also be used in the CAD system for CAP1000 and CAP1400 plant. (authors) series

JACoW Safety instrumented systems and the AWAKE plasma control as a use case

CERN Document Server

Blanco Viñuela, Enrique; Fernández Adiego, Borja; Speroni, Roberto

2018-01-01

Safety is likely the most critical concern in many process industries, yet there is a general uncertainty on the proper engineering to reduce the risks and ensure the safety of persons or material at the same time as providing the process control system. Some of the reasons for this misperception are unclear requirements, lack of functional safety engineering knowledge or incorrect protection functionalities attributed to the BPCS (Basic Process Control System). Occasionally the control engineers are not aware of the hazards inherent to an industrial process and this causes an incorrect design of the overall controls. This paper illustrates the engineering of the SIS (Safety Instrumented System) and the BPCS of the plasma vapour controls of the AWAKE R&D; project, the first proton-driven plasma wakefield acceleration experiment in the world. The controls design and implementation refers to the IEC61511/ISA84 standard, including technological choices, design, operation and maintenance. Finally, the publica...

Remote instrument/electrical wall nozzle replaement in the Defense Waste Processing Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heckendorn, F.M. II.

1983-09-01

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) for waste vitrification at the Savannah River Plant is in the final design stage. Development of remotely replaceable instrument and electrical through-wall wiring is now complete. These assemblies connect the power and control signals from the high radiation environment to the personnel access areas. The ability to replace them will extend the life and lower the cost of the DWPF. 3 references, 22 figures, 2 tables

Operating experience with LAMPF main beam lines instrumentation and control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

van Dyck, O.B.; Harvey, A.; Howard, H.H.; Roeder, D.L.

1975-01-01

Instrumentation and control (I and C) for the Los Alamos Clinton P. Anderson Meson Physics Facility (LAMPF) main beam line is based upon central computer control through remote stations which provide input and output to most devices. Operating experience shows that the ability of the computer to give high-quality graphical presentation of the measurements enhances operator performance and instrument usefulness. Experience also shows that operator efficiency degrades rapidly with increasing instrument response time, that is, with increasing delay between the time a control is changed and the result can be observed. For this reason, instrumentation upgrade includes speeding up data acquisition and display times to under 10 s. Similarly, television-viewed phosphors are being retained where possible since their instantaneous response is very useful. Other upgrading of the instrumentation system is planned to improve data accuracy, reliability, redundancy, and instrument radiation tolerance. Past experience is being applied in adding or relocating devices to simplify tuning procedures. (U.S.)

Controlling the COD removal of an A-stage pilot study with instrumentation and automatic process control.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Mark W; Elliott, Matt; DeArmond, Jon; Kinyua, Maureen; Wett, Bernhard; Murthy, Sudhir; Bott, Charles B

2017-06-01

The pursuit of fully autotrophic nitrogen removal via the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) pathway has led to an increased interest in carbon removal technologies, particularly the A-stage of the adsorption/bio-oxidation (A/B) process. The high-rate operation of the A-stage and lack of automatic process control often results in wide variations of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal that can ultimately impact nitrogen removal in the downstream B-stage process. This study evaluated the use dissolved oxygen (DO) and mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) based automatic control strategies through the use of in situ on-line sensors in the A-stage of an A/B pilot study. The objective of using these control strategies was to reduce the variability of COD removal by the A-stage and thus the variability of the effluent C/N. The use of cascade DO control in the A-stage did not impact COD removal at the conditions tested in this study, likely because the bulk DO concentration (>0.5 mg/L) was maintained above the half saturation coefficient of heterotrophic organisms for DO. MLSS-based solids retention time (SRT) control, where MLSS was used as a surrogate for SRT, did not significantly reduce the effluent C/N variability but it was able to reduce COD removal variation in the A-stage by 90%.

Quality control of nuclear medicine instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mould, R.F.

1983-09-01

The proceedings of a conference held by the Hospital Physicists' Association in London 1983 on the quality control of nuclear medicine instrumentation are presented. Section I deals with the performance of the Anger gamma camera including assessment during manufacture, acceptance testing, routine testing and long-term assessment of results. Section II covers interfaces, computers, the quality control problems of emission tomography and the quality of software. Section III deals with radionuclide measurement and impurity assessment and Section IV the presentation of images and the control of image quality. (U.K.)

USE OF LEAN PRODUCTION INSTRUMENTS IN DESIGNING THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elietta P. Burnasheva

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: the concept of lean production seeks not a reduction of costs but complete elimination of losses that do not bring added value to the product or service. In any system, in all processes – from production and assembly, to hospitality, education, health, transport and social services – there are hidden losses. Teaching itself is a kind of production process in which a certain “product” (student acquires the added value (knowledge and skills, that is why it has become topical in educational institution to establish the working group on introduction of lean production into the learning process. The article presents the factors that are to be taken into account while designing the educational process based on the lean production principles. Materials and Methods: methods of analysis of existing system of vocational training in higher school, monitoring of the results of educational practice, modeling and experimental work in the process of analytical work were used. Results: important direction for eliminating losses in the educational process is the development of the interlinked curricula, allowing to avoid repeated study of a number of didactic units in the organization of continuous training in the system “Vocational education – Higher education”. In order to eliminate the possibility of incompetent graduate one should focus on the organisation of objective final control. Losses in education are caused by to the mismatch between labour market demand and the spectrum of areas of training in educational institutions. Discussion and Conclusions: the lean production possibilities are defined as instrumental in ensuring the organisation of “the process of lean learning”: by applying some lean production instruments such as the designing of the educational process, preventing of “faulty work” while training students, the attuning of the training system to employers’ requests, the visualisation of the education

New algorithms and pulse-processing units in radioisotope instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antonjak, V.; Gonsjorowski, L.; Jastschuk, E.; Kwasnewski, T.

1981-01-01

Three new algorithms and the corresponding electronic circuits are described, beginning with the automatic gain stabilisation circuit for scintillation counters. The signal obtained as the difference between two pulse trains from amplitude discriminators has been used for photomultiplier high voltage control. Furthermore, a real time digital filter for random pulse trains is presented, showing that the variance of pulse trains is decreasing after passing the filter. The block diagram, principle of operation and basic features of the filter are given. Finally, a digital circuit for polynomial linearization of the scale function in radioisotope instruments is described. Again, the block diagram of pulse train processing, the mode of operation and programming method are given. (author)

Renovation of PARR instrumentation and controls

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karim, A.; Haq, I.; Akhtar, K.M.; Alam, G.D.

1987-01-01

The Pakistan research reactor (PARR) was commissioned in 1965 and operated since then in accordance with the requirements. In the first instance, it was proposed that the controls and instrumentation be modernized according to the state of current technology and for meeting the more stringent safety, and operational needs. A computer has been added for data acquisition, logging and analysis. A closed circuit television system has been installed to monitor access of personnel to the reactor building and for viewing the reactor core with an underwater camera. This report gives a brief account of the old instrumentation and some details of the new replacements. (orig./A.B)

Economic policy instruments for the control of air pollution in Poland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bates, R.W.

1993-01-01

The World Bank is analyzing the role of economic policy instruments for the control of air pollution in Poland, in cooperation with Polish and international experts. The first stage, covering Poland as a whole, was recently completed, jointly financed with the U.S. E.P.A. and the Government of the Netherlands. The second stage, now under way, will extend the analysis into a specific regional framework. Stage 2 is financed by the World Bank, the Polish Government, and the U.K. Environment Know-How Fund. Air Pollution in Poland is overwhelmingly caused by energy production and uses, due to the fact that the Polish economy depends heavily on coal and lignite. At present, vehicles contribute less to total emissions than do coal burning and industrial processes, although they account for 25-35% of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and lead; and the concentrated in areas of high population density. The paper shows how economic, technical and meteorological modelling can be used, to reach conclusions about cost-effective strategies for the control of emissions and the improvement of ambient air quality. A simulation approach is presented, to compare alternative policy instruments, in terms of their impact on emissions and control costs for Poland as a whole. The main instruments considered are open-quotes command-and-controlclose quotes regimes (C ampersand C) and economic incentives, namely fuel taxes, emissions taxes and emissions trading. Next, the paper describes how the analysis is being extended, to link emissions with ambient air quality, using air dispersion modelling, based on a case study for Krakow. Finally, some conclusions are drawn on the importance of sound economic policies for air quality management, the costs of alternative standards, C ampersand C approaches versus economic incentives, a practical strategy to develop an effective role for emissions taxes and trading, and the regional differentiation of policy instruments

Modernization of control instrumentation and security of reactor IAN - R1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez, J. M.

1993-01-01

The program to modernize IAN-R1 research reactor control and safety instrumentation has been carried out considering two main aspects: updating safety philosophy requirements and acquiring the newest reactor control instrumentation controlled by computer, following the present criteria internationally recognized, for safety and reliable reactor operations and the latest developments of nuclear electronic technology. The new IAN-R1 reactor instrumentation consist of two wide range neutron monitoring channels, commanded by microprocessor a data acquisition system and reactor control, (controlled by computers). The reactor control desk is providing through two displays; all safety and control signals to the reactor operators; furthermore some signals like reactor power, safety and period signals are also showed on digital bar graphics, which are hard wired directly from the neutron monitoring channels

Distributed process control system for remote control and monitoring of the TFTR tritium systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schobert, G.; Arnold, N.; Bashore, D.; Mika, R.; Oliaro, G.

1989-01-01

This paper reviews the progress made in the application of a commercially available distributed process control system to support the requirements established for the Tritium REmote Control And Monitoring System (TRECAMS) of the Tokamak Fusion Test REactor (TFTR). The system that will discussed was purchased from Texas (TI) Instruments Automation Controls Division), previously marketed by Rexnord Automation. It consists of three, fully redundant, distributed process controllers interfaced to over 1800 analog and digital I/O points. The operator consoles located throughout the facility are supported by four Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP-11/73 computers. The PDP-11/73's and the three process controllers communicate over a fully redundant one megabaud fiber optic network. All system functionality is based on a set of completely integrated databases loaded to the process controllers and the PDP-11/73's. (author). 2 refs.; 2 figs

An overview of process instrumentation, protective safety interlocks and alarm system at the JET facilities active gas handling system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skinner, N.; Brennan, P.; Brown, K.; Gibbons, C.; Jones, G.; Knipe, S.; Manning, C.; Perevezentsev, A.; Stagg, R.; Thomas, R.; Yorkshades, J.

2003-01-01

The Joint European Torus (JET) Facilities Active Gas Handling System (AGHS) comprises ten interconnected processing sub-systems that supply, process and recover tritium from gases used in the JET Machine. Operations require a diverse range of process instrumentation to carry out a multiplicity of monitoring and control tasks and approximately 500 process variables are measured. The different types and application of process instruments are presented with specially adapted or custom-built versions highlighted. Forming part of the Safety Case for tritium operations, a dedicated hardwired interlock and alarm system provides an essential safety function. In the event of failure modes, each hardwired interlock will back-up software interlocks and shutdown areas of plant to a failsafe condition. Design of the interlock and alarm system is outlined and general methodology described. Practical experience gained during plant operations is summarised and the methods employed for routine functional testing of essential instrument systems explained

MicroASC instrument onboard Juno spacecraft utilizing inertially controlled imaging

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, David Arge Klevang; Jørgensen, Andreas Härstedt; Benn, Mathias

2016-01-01

This contribution describes the post-processing of the raw image data acquired by the microASC instrument during the Earth-fly-by of the Juno spacecraft. The images show a unique view of the Earth and Moon system as seen from afar. The procedure utilizes attitude measurements and inter......-calibration of the Camera Head Units of the microASC system to trigger the image capturing. The triggering is synchronized with the inertial attitude and rotational phase of the sensor acquiring the images. This is essentially works as inertially controlled imaging facilitating image acquisition from unexplored...

Legal control scenario applied to embedded software in measuring instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castro, C.G. de; Brandao, P.C.; Leitao, F.O.

2013-01-01

This paper presents a scenario of legal control of software in measuring instruments. Such control is hampered by intrinsic problems related to software analysis and verification. To circumvent these difficulties, several projects are being developed to attack different stages of legal control, such as the model type approval, periodic verifications and metrological expertise. The proposals that will arise from these projects will be discussed among the parts and may be incorporated into the measuring instruments. (author)

Organic ice resists for 3D electron-beam processing: Instrumentation and operation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tiddi, William; Elsukova, Anna; Beleggia, Marco

2018-01-01

Organic vapors condensed into thin layers of ice on the surface of a cold substrate are exposed with an electron beam to create resist patterns for lithography applications. The entire spin- and development-free lithography process requires a single custom instrument. We report the design, material...... choice, implementation and operation of this apparatus. It is based on a scanning electron microscope fitted with an electron beam control system that is normally used for electron beam lithography in a multi-user open-access laboratory. The microscope was also equipped with a gas injection system......, a liquid nitrogen cooled cryostage, a temperature control system, and a load-lock. Three steps are required to initialize the apparatus for organic ice resist processing, and two steps are required to restore the apparatus for routine multi-user operations. Five steps are needed to create organic ice...

Advanced Map For Real-Time Process Control

Science.gov (United States)

Shiobara, Yasuhisa; Matsudaira, Takayuki; Sashida, Yoshio; Chikuma, Makoto

1987-10-01

MAP, a communications protocol for factory automation proposed by General Motors [1], has been accepted by users throughout the world and is rapidly becoming a user standard. In fact, it is now a LAN standard for factory automation. MAP is intended to interconnect different devices, such as computers and programmable devices, made by different manufacturers, enabling them to exchange information. It is based on the OSI intercomputer com-munications protocol standard under development by the ISO. With progress and standardization, MAP is being investigated for application to process control fields other than factory automation [2]. The transmission response time of the network system and centralized management of data exchanged with various devices for distributed control are import-ant in the case of a real-time process control with programmable controllers, computers, and instruments connected to a LAN system. MAP/EPA and MINI MAP aim at reduced overhead in protocol processing and enhanced transmission response. If applied to real-time process control, a protocol based on point-to-point and request-response transactions limits throughput and transmission response. This paper describes an advanced MAP LAN system applied to real-time process control by adding a new data transmission control that performs multicasting communication voluntarily and periodically in the priority order of data to be exchanged.

An instrument control and data analysis program for imaging and in vivo spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roos, M.S.; Mushlin, R.A.; Veklerov, E.; Port, J.D.; Ladd, C.; Harrison, C.G.

1987-01-01

The spectrometer control data processing environment and the libraries of macros designed are used to support imaging and in vivo spectroscopy at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Brigham and Women's Hospital in systems ranging from a 2-T animal spectrometer to a 0.5-T whole body imager. Experiments that have been successfully implemented include multi-slice, multi-echo imaging fast steady state free precession imaging and 31 P spectroscopy. The flexibility of the macro programming structure allowed very rapid development of these macro libraries. We have demonstrated that instrumentation developed around standard hosts, buses, and operating systems can yield research tools with performance comparable to highly specialized systems. The combination of low macro instruction overhead, provision of user access to system internals, and a rich command set controlling basic acquisition and processing functions provides a foundation on which libraries of macros may be built to serve a broad range of users, perhaps more easily than a system with larger sets of less primitive commands and a more limited batch processor. Well defined program interfaces for macros and for installing commands, as well as the ability to modify instrument control code significantly broaden the range of experiments accessible to the researcher

New technology for BWR power plant control and instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takano, Yoshiyuki; Nakamura, Makoto; Murata, Fumio.

1992-01-01

Nuclear power plants are facing strong demands for higher reliability and cost-performance in their control and instrumentation systems. To meet these needs, Hitachi is developing advanced control and instrumentation technology by rationalizing the conventional technology in that field. The rationalization is done through the utilization of reliable digital technology and optical transmission technology, and others, which are now commonly used in computer applications. The goal of the development work is to ensure safe, stable operation of the plant facilities and to secure harmony between man and machine. To alleviate the burdens of the operators, the latest electronic devices are being employed to create an advanced man-machine interface, and to promote automatic operation of the plant based upon the automatic operation of individual systems. In addition, the control and instrumentation system, including the safety system, incorporates more and more digital components in order to further enhance the reliability and maintainability of the plant. (author)

An instrument control and data analysis program for NMR imaging and spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roos, M.S.; Mushlin, R.A.; Veklerov, E.; Port, J.D.; Ladd, C.; Harrison, C.G.

1988-01-01

We describe a software environment created to support real-time instrument control and signal acquisition as well as array-processor based signal and image processing in up to five dimensions. The environment is configured for NMR imaging and in vivo spectroscopy. It is designed to provide flexible tools for implementing novel NMR experiments in the research laboratory. Data acquisition and processing operations are programmed in macros which are loaded in assembled from to minimize instruction overhead. Data arrays are dynamically allocated for efficient use of memory and can be mapped directly into disk files. The command set includes primitives for real-time control of data acquisition, scalar arithmetic, string manipulation, branching, a file system and vector operations carried out by an array processor. 6 figs

Instrumentation and Control Systems for Sodium thermal hydraulic Experiment Loop for Finned-tube sodium-to-Air heat exchanger (SELFA)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Byeong Yeon; Kim, Hyung Mo; Cho, Youn Gil; Kim, Jong Man; Ko, Yung Joo; Kang, Byeong Su; Jung, Min Hwan; Jeong, Ji Young [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

A forced-draft sodium-to-air heat exchanger (FHX) is a part of decay heat removal system (DHRS) in Prototype Gen-IV Sodium-cooled fast reactor (PGSFR), which is being developed at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). Sodium thermal hydraulic Experiment Loop for Finned-tube sodium-to-Air heat exchanger (SELFA) is a test facility for verification and validation of the design code for a forced-draft sodium-to-air heat exchanger (FHX). In this paper, we have provided design and fabrication features for the instrumentation and control systems of SELFA. In general, the instrumentation systems and control systems are coupled for measurement and control of process variables. Instrumentation systems have been designed for investigating thermal-hydraulic characteristics of FHX and control systems have been designed to control the main components (e.g. electromagnetic pumps, heaters, valves etc.) required for test in SELFA. In this paper, we have provided configurations of instrumentation and control systems for Sodium thermal hydraulic Experiment Loop for Finned-tube sodium-to-Air heat exchanger (SELFA). The instrumentation and control systems of SELFA have been implemented based on the expected operation ranges and lesson learned from operational experience of 'Sodium integral effect test loop for safety simulation and assessment-1' (STELLA-1)

Desk-top microcomputer for lab-scale process control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Overman, R.F.; Byrd, J.S.; Goosey, M.H.; Sand, R.J.

1981-01-01

A desk-top microcomputer was programmed to acquire the data from various process control sensors installed in a laboratory scale liquid-liquid extraction, pulse column facility. The parameters monitored included valve positions, gamma spectra, alpha radioactivity, temperature, pH, density, and flow rates. The program for the microcomputer is written in BASIC and requires about 31000 8-bit bytes of memory. All data is stored on floppy discs, and can be displayed or printed. Unexpected data values are brought to the process operator's attention via CRT display or print-out. The general organization of the program and a few subroutines unique to polling instruments are explained. Some of the data acquisition devices were designed and built at the Savannah River Laboratory. These include a pulse height analyzer, a data multiplexer, and a data acquisition instrument. A general description of the electronics design of these instruments is also given with emphasis placed on data formatting and bus addressing

Quality control of nuclear medicine instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-11-01

This document, which gives detailed guidance on the quality control of the various electronic instruments used for radiation detection and measurement in nuclear medicine, stems from the work of two Advisory Groups convened by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). A preliminary document, including recommended test schedules but lacking actual protocols for the tests, was drawn up by the first of these groups, meeting at the IAEA Headquarters in Vienna in 1979. A revised and extended version, incorporating recommended test protocols, was prepared by the second Group, meeting likewise in Vienna in 1982. This version is the model for the present text. The document should be of value to all nuclear medicine units, and especially to those in developing countries, in the initiation or revision of schemes for the quality control of their instruments. Its recommendations have provided the basis for instruction in two IAEA regional technical co-operation projects in the subject field, one initiated in 1981 for countries of Latin America and one initiated in 1982 for countries of Asia and the Pacific

Student Evaluation of Teaching: An Instrument and a Development Process

Science.gov (United States)

Alok, Kumar

2011-01-01

This article describes the process of faculty-led development of a student evaluation of teaching instrument at Centurion School of Rural Enterprise Management, a management institute in India. The instrument was to focus on teacher behaviors that students get an opportunity to observe. Teachers and students jointly contributed a number of…

Automatic process control in anaerobic digestion technology: A critical review.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Duc; Gadhamshetty, Venkataramana; Nitayavardhana, Saoharit; Khanal, Samir Kumar

2015-10-01

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a mature technology that relies upon a synergistic effort of a diverse group of microbial communities for metabolizing diverse organic substrates. However, AD is highly sensitive to process disturbances, and thus it is advantageous to use online monitoring and process control techniques to efficiently operate AD process. A range of electrochemical, chromatographic and spectroscopic devices can be deployed for on-line monitoring and control of the AD process. While complexity of the control strategy ranges from a feedback control to advanced control systems, there are some debates on implementation of advanced instrumentations or advanced control strategies. Centralized AD plants could be the answer for the applications of progressive automatic control field. This article provides a critical overview of the available automatic control technologies that can be implemented in AD processes at different scales. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of robotically controlled advanced endoscopic instruments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reilink, Rob; Kappers, Astrid M.L.; Stramigioli, Stefano; Misra, Sarthak

Background Advanced flexible endoscopes and instruments with multiple degrees of freedom enable physicians to perform challenging procedures such as the removal of large sections of mucosal tissue. However, these advanced endoscopes are difficult to control and require several physicians to

Instrumentation utilisation for risk control in safety operations. [balloons and rockets

Science.gov (United States)

Swayer, F. R.

1987-01-01

Ways in which instrumentation is utilized for risk control for inherently safe (no control or guidance) and flight programmed launch vehicles is presented. Instrumentation and how it is utilized in the launching and recovery of balloons and payloads is also presented. Wind sensing, computer systems, tracking, and telemetry are discussed.

Applying Trusted Network Technology To Process Control Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Okhravi, Hamed; Nicol, David

Interconnections between process control networks and enterprise networks expose instrumentation and control systems and the critical infrastructure components they operate to a variety of cyber attacks. Several architectural standards and security best practices have been proposed for industrial control systems. However, they are based on older architectures and do not leverage the latest hardware and software technologies. This paper describes new technologies that can be applied to the design of next generation security architectures for industrial control systems. The technologies are discussed along with their security benefits and design trade-offs.

Acceptance for Beneficial Use Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid N

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-01-01

This is a final Acceptance for Beneficial Use (ABU) for Pumping and Instrumentation Control (PIC) skid ''N''. PIC skid ''N'' is ready for pumping tank U-109. All the testing and documentation has been completed as required on the AE3U checklist. This AE3U covers only the readiness of the PIC skid ''N''. Other U-farm preparations including dilution tank fabrication, portable exhauster readiness, leak detection, valve pit preparation, and the Operation Control Station readiness are not part of this ABU. PIC skid ''N'' is a new skid fabricated and tested at Site Fabrication Services. The skid controls the jet pump and monitors various instruments associated with the pumping operation. This monitoring includes leak detection along the waste transfer route and flammable gases in the pump pit. This Acceptance for Beneficial Use documents that Pumping Instrumentation and Control (PIC) skid ''N'' is ready for field use. This document does not cover the field installation or operational testing

Design of virtual three-dimensional instruments for sound control

Science.gov (United States)

Mulder, Axel Gezienus Elith

An environment for designing virtual instruments with 3D geometry has been prototyped and applied to real-time sound control and design. It enables a sound artist, musical performer or composer to design an instrument according to preferred or required gestural and musical constraints instead of constraints based only on physical laws as they apply to an instrument with a particular geometry. Sounds can be created, edited or performed in real-time by changing parameters like position, orientation and shape of a virtual 3D input device. The virtual instrument can only be perceived through a visualization and acoustic representation, or sonification, of the control surface. No haptic representation is available. This environment was implemented using CyberGloves, Polhemus sensors, an SGI Onyx and by extending a real- time, visual programming language called Max/FTS, which was originally designed for sound synthesis. The extension involves software objects that interface the sensors and software objects that compute human movement and virtual object features. Two pilot studies have been performed, involving virtual input devices with the behaviours of a rubber balloon and a rubber sheet for the control of sound spatialization and timbre parameters. Both manipulation and sonification methods affect the naturalness of the interaction. Informal evaluation showed that a sonification inspired by the physical world appears natural and effective. More research is required for a natural sonification of virtual input device features such as shape, taking into account possible co- articulation of these features. While both hands can be used for manipulation, left-hand-only interaction with a virtual instrument may be a useful replacement for and extension of the standard keyboard modulation wheel. More research is needed to identify and apply manipulation pragmatics and movement features, and to investigate how they are co-articulated, in the mapping of virtual object

System 80+ instrumentation and controls - certification of a reliable design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matzie, R.A.; Scarola, K.; Turk, R.S.

1993-01-01

ABB Combustion Engineering's (ABB) System 80+ advanced light water plant design includes a modern, fully digitized instrumentation and controls complex, Nuplex 80+. This complex incorporates an evolutionary advanced control room, replacing conventional analog instruments with more capable computer driven components. As a result, Nuplex 80+ results in significant improvements in operator information handling and control to enhance plant safety and availability. The design implements features which the U.S. NRC has determined to be acceptable for addressing the potential for common mode failure in software implemented for protective functions. (author)

Instrumented Compliant Wrist with Proximity and Contact Sensing for Close Robot Interaction Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pascal Laferrière

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Compliance has been exploited in various forms in robotic systems to allow rigid mechanisms to come into contact with fragile objects, or with complex shapes that cannot be accurately modeled. Force feedback control has been the classical approach for providing compliance in robotic systems. However, by integrating other forms of instrumentation with compliance into a single device, it is possible to extend close monitoring of nearby objects before and after contact occurs. As a result, safer and smoother robot control can be achieved both while approaching and while touching surfaces. This paper presents the design and extensive experimental evaluation of a versatile, lightweight, and low-cost instrumented compliant wrist mechanism which can be mounted on any rigid robotic manipulator in order to introduce a layer of compliance while providing the controller with extra sensing signals during close interaction with an object’s surface. Arrays of embedded range sensors provide real-time measurements on the position and orientation of surfaces, either located in proximity or in contact with the robot’s end-effector, which permits close guidance of its operation. Calibration procedures are formulated to overcome inter-sensor variability and achieve the highest available resolution. A versatile solution is created by embedding all signal processing, while wireless transmission connects the device to any industrial robot’s controller to support path control. Experimental work demonstrates the device’s physical compliance as well as the stability and accuracy of the device outputs. Primary applications of the proposed instrumented compliant wrist include smooth surface following in manufacturing, inspection, and safe human-robot interaction.

Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control Systems Technologies Technical Program Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bruce Hallbert

2012-09-01

Reliable instrumentation, information, and control (II&C) systems technologies are essential to ensuring safe and efficient operation of the U.S. light water reactor (LWR) fleet. These technologies affect every aspect of nuclear power plant (NPP) and balance-of-plant operations. In 1997, the National Research Council conducted a study concerning the challenges involved in modernization of digital instrumentation and control systems in NPPs. Their findings identified the need for new II&C technology integration.

Development of Temperature Control Solutions for Non-Instrumented Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NINAAT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tamás Pardy

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Non-instrumented nucleic acid amplification tests (NINAAT are a novel paradigm in portable molecular diagnostics. They offer the high detection accuracy characteristic of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT in a self-contained device, without the need for any external instrumentation. These Point-of-Care tests typically employ a Lab-on-a-Chip for liquid handling functionality, and perform isothermal nucleic acid amplification protocols that require low power but high accuracy temperature control in a single well-defined temperature range. We propose temperature control solutions based on commercially available heating elements capable of meeting these challenges, as well as demonstrate the process by which such elements can be fitted to a NINAAT system. Self-regulated and thermostat-controlled resistive heating elements were evaluated through experimental characterization as well as thermal analysis using the finite element method (FEM. We demonstrate that the proposed solutions can support various NAAT protocols, as well as demonstrate an optimal solution for the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP protocol. Furthermore, we present an Arduino-compatible open-source thermostat developed for NINAAT applications.

FY 2000 report on the results of the research and development project for the photon-aided instrumentation and processing technologies. R and D of the photon-aided instrumentation and processing technologies; 2000 nendo photon keisoku kako gijutsu seika hokokusho. Photon keisoku kako gijutsu no kenkyu kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

Described herein are the FY 2000 results of development of the photon-aided instrumentation and processing technologies. The technological and R and D trends of the photon-aided instrumentation and processing technologies are surveyed, in order to clarify the directions of their impacts and ripple effects on creation of new industries and development of the existing industries. The survey committee is organized, for exchanging opinions and information, and collection of information. For the trends of the photon-aided processing technologies, information on the elementary and peripheral technologies is collected by literature survey and academic meetings for processing, applied instrumentation and analysis, and photon generation/controlling, to grasp, analyze and study the latest trends. For the photon-utilizing technologies, information is collected viewed from their application to wide industrial areas, e.g., medical, diagnostic, communication/transmission, multimedia and chemical areas, other than those for instrumentation and processing. Also surveyed and analyzed/studied are the technologies for environmental protection, sensing, information, and the new areas, e.g., terahertz photonics and agriculture. (NEDO)

Remote Instrument Control with CIMA Web Services and Web 2.0 Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas John du Boulay

2008-02-01

Full Text Available The Common Instrument Middleware Architecture (CIMA model for Web services based monitoring of remote scientific instruments is being extended and enhanced to provide a capability for remote instrument control. X-ray diffraction has been selected as an ideal domain for prototype development, with the goal being a comprehensive and feature rich portal system for access to remote instruments and their data. The system has two principle components, one of which serves the instrument and data, and the second serves the client user. Plugin modules are used to provide flexibility and re-use, and the notion of plugin control is being developed. The architecture supports remote access to multiple instruments from a single portal. The use of Web 2.0 Pushlet and AJAX technologies has been introduced for push based portlet refresh and updating. An X3D based 3D virtual representation of the instrument provides data collection simulation and (pseudo real time instrument representation.

Micro-controller based air pressure monitoring instrumentation system using optical fibers as sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Hazarika, D.; Pegu, D. S.

2013-03-01

This paper describes a micro-controller based instrumentation system to monitor air pressure using optical fiber sensors. The principle of macrobending is used to develop the sensor system. The instrumentation system consists of a laser source, a beam splitter, two multi mode optical fibers, two Light Dependent Resistance (LDR) based timer circuits and a AT89S8252 micro-controller. The beam splitter is used to divide the laser beam into two parts and then these two beams are launched into two multi mode fibers. One of the multi mode fibers is used as the sensor fiber and the other one is used as the reference fiber. The use of the reference fiber is to eliminate the environmental effects while measuring the air pressure magnitude. The laser beams from the sensor and reference fibers are applied to two identical LDR based timer circuits. The LDR based timer circuits are interfaced to a micro-controller through its counter pins. The micro-controller samples the frequencies of the timer circuits using its counter-0 and counter-1 and the counter values are then processed to provide the measure of air pressure magnitude.

Instrumentation reference book

CERN Document Server

Boyes, Walt

2002-01-01

Instrumentation is not a clearly defined subject, having a 'fuzzy' boundary with a number of other disciplines. Often categorized as either 'techniques' or 'applications' this book addresses the various applications that may be needed with reference to the practical techniques that are available for the instrumentation or measurement of a specific physical quantity or quality. This makes it of direct interest to anyone working in the process, control and instrumentation fields where these measurements are essential.* Comprehensive and authoritative collection of technical information* Writte

Long-term preventive maintenance of instrumentation control equipment for PWR plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugitani, S.; Nanba, M.

2006-01-01

Since the PWR plants in Japan have been operated more than 30 years, main instrumentation control equipment of analog systems has been renewed to digital control systems. Renewal works had to be done in short period within periodical inspection term and for several facilities. The Mitsubishi LTD group had been provided with these market needs by its digital control system (MELTAC-NplusR 3) applicable to main instrumentation control equipment for primary and secondary systems and had already finished the renewal for practical plants. (T. Tanaka)

Control system design specification of advanced spent fuel management process units

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahn, S. H.; Kim, S. H.; Yoon, J. S

2003-06-01

In this study, the design specifications of instrumentation and control system for advanced spent fuel management process units are presented. The advanced spent fuel management process consists of several process units such as slitting device, dry pulverizing/mixing device, metallizer, etc. In this study, the control and operation characteristics of the advanced spent fuel management mockup process devices and the process devices developed in 2001 and 2002 are analysed. Also, a integral processing system of the unit process control signals is proposed, which the operation efficiency is improved. And a redundant PLC control system is constructed which the reliability is improved. A control scheme is proposed for the time delayed systems compensating the control performance degradation caused by time delay. The control system design specification is presented for the advanced spent fuel management process units. This design specifications can be effectively used for the detail design of the advanced spent fuel management process.

Environmental Licensing: an Instrument of Command and Control by Exception?

OpenAIRE

Sleman Chams, Juliette; Gestión Ambiental de la Corporación Autónoma Regional del Atlántico-CRA, autoridad ambiental del Departamento del Atlántico,; Velásquez Muñoz, Carlos Javier; Universidad del Norte (Barranquilla)

2016-01-01

This article analyzes the situation of the most important instrument of command and control existing in the Colombian environmental legislation: the environmental license. Since its first formal regulation, on behalf of Decree 1753 of August 3, 1994, has received several modifications which, apparently, have made, in spite of its importance, in an instrument of command and control by exception. The article revises on the scope of each of the modifications and the justifications put forward by...

WTEC panel report on European nuclear instrumentation and controls

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, J.D.; Lanning, D.D.; Johnson, P.M.H.

1991-12-01

A study of instrumentation and controls (I and C) technology used in nuclear power plants in Europe was conducted by a panel of US specialists. This study plants in Europe was conducted by a panel of US specialists. This study included a review of the literature on the subject, followed by a visit to some of the leading organizations in Europe in the field nuclear I and C. Areas covered are: (1) role of the operator and control room design; (2) transition from analog to digital technology; (3) computerized operator support systems for fault management; (4) control strategies and techniques; (5) Nuclear power plant I and C architecture; (6) instrumentation and (7) computer standards and tools. The finding relate to poor reactions

In-line metallurgical process control in the steel industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wanin, M.

1993-01-01

The steel products manufacturing involves a long line of complex processes: liquid metal elaboration, solidification, hot and cold transformation by rolling surface protection by coating. The Process Control aims at improving global productivity and quality of the resulting products by optimizing each elementary process as well as management of tools or workshops interfaces. Complex processes, involving generally many variables, require for their control more or less sophisticated models. These process models are either analytical when physical and thermodynamical mechanisms are known or statistical or knowledge based, according to circumstances. In any case, it is necessary to have a reliable and precise instrumentation to adjust undetermined parameters during model development and to be able to take into account external parameters variability during current working. This instrumentation concerns both running of machines and testing of manufactured materials under harsh environment conditions of Iron and Steel industry: temperature, dusts, steam, electromagnetic interferences, vibrations, .. . In this context, in-line Non Destructive Testing methods contribute efficienly because they may give directly and in real time products characteristics, integrating both drifts of machines and sensors due to their ageing and the abnormal spread of material entering the process. These methods induce the development of sophisticated inspection equipments whose strategic significance is such that their failure to operate can require production shutdown. The paper gives some representative examples of improvement of the accuracy of an in-line measurement or controlling of elementary processes or processes interfaces: temperature measurement by infrared pyrometry, thickness profile determination by X-ray array sensor, recrystallization control in continuous by X-ray and ultrasonic methods, automatic detection and indentification of surface defects by optics, cracks detection on

Electrical, instrumentation, and control codes and standards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kranning, A.N.

1978-01-01

During recent years numerous documents in the form of codes and standards have been developed and published to provide design, fabrication and construction rules and criteria applicable to instrumentation, control and power distribution facilities for nuclear power plants. The contents of this LTR were prepared by NUS Corporation under Subcontract K5108 and provide a consolidated index and listing of the documents selected for their application to procurement of materials and design of modifications and new construction at the LOFT facility. These codes and standards should be applied together with the National Electrical Code, the ID Engineering Standards and LOFT Specifications to all LOFT instrument and electrical design activities

Safety Research Experiment Facility Project. Conceptual design report. Volume VIII. Instrumentation and control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-01-01

Included are sections dealing with the following: nuclear instrumentation system, reactor control system, plant protection system, plant annunciator system, data acquisition system, and reactor cooling system instrumentation and control

Current state and prospects of the IBR-2M instrument control software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirilov, A.S.

2011-01-01

The article is devoted to the main features and plans of future improvements of the Sonix + instrumental complex, which is used now to control experimental hardware at the IBR-2M spectrometers. The Sonix + software inherited basic solutions from the older Sonix system. In particular, those are the modular organization using special database for device control and reflection of the current system state, using script programming for the measured procedure. At the same time, some basic features were revised to make the system more unified, flexible and comfortable for the user. Main changes can be grouped as follows: structural enhancements, using the Python as a script language, GUI redesign and unification, remote supervision and instrument control via network. During the last years, this complex has been tested at some IBR-2 instruments (REMUR, NERA-PR) and on some instruments at other centers. We are planning to install it at the other instruments of IBR-2M as well

Instrumentation and Controls Division biennial progress report, September 1, 1978-September 1, 1980

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sadowski, G.S. (comp.)

1981-06-01

Brief summaries of research work are presented in the following section: overview of the ORNL Instrumentation and Controls Division activities; new developments and methods; reactor instrumentation and controls; measurement and control engineering; electronic engineering; maintenance; studies; services; and development; and division achievements.

Instrumentation and Controls Division biennial progress report, September 1, 1978-September 1, 1980

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sadowski, G.S.

1981-06-01

Brief summaries of research work are presented in the following section: overview of the ORNL Instrumentation and Controls Division activities; new developments and methods; reactor instrumentation and controls; measurement and control engineering; electronic engineering; maintenance; studies; services; and development; and division achievements

Mass Alarms in Main Control Room Caused Condensate on the Instrumentation and Control Cards in Turbine Building

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goo, Cheol-Soo

2015-01-01

A bunch of alarms and trouble lights on the main control room simultaneously turned on during inspection and exchange of the coolers of the turbine building at pressurized water reactor of the Hanbit nuclear power plant No. 6. The main cause was condensate on instrumentation cards of plant control system (PCS) installed at enclosures in the turbine building which have MUX cabinets to transmit signals between the main control room and local equipment. To control the temperature and humidity of the MUX cabinets, two coolers of the plant chilled water system supply air to the compact enclosures at turbine building where temperature and humidity is high in the summer. It is an unusual experience that mass alarms abnormally were occurred in the main control room during normal plant operation phases. Spurious signals with unknown cause at control and instrumentation system occasionally may have an unnecessary actuation of monitoring equipment and a plant scram even. One of the main causes is humidity by a rapid temperature change of the control and instrumentation cards. Dew on the instrumentation cards could form an abnormal short circuit in printed circuit board with the compact circuits and make any malfunction of the related system. Instrumentation and control cards with integrated circuits are vulnerable to high humidity and temperature where the system is enclosed in a small housing or enclosure surrounding with hash environment such as a turbine building. It was found that there was no functional degradation of the safety systems and no outsides releases of radioactive materials by this occurrence. (author)

Instrumentation, Field Network and Process Automation for the Cryogenic System of the LHC Test String

CERN Document Server

Suraci, A; Balle, C; Blanco-Viñuela, E; Casas-Cubillos, J; Gomes, P; Pelletier, S; Serio, L; Vauthier, N; Balle, Ch.

2001-01-01

CERN is now setting up String 2, a full-size prototype of a regular cell of the LHC arc. It is composed of two quadrupole, six dipole magnets, and a separate cryogenic distribution line (QRL) for the supply and recovery of the cryogen. An electrical feed box (DFB), with up to 38 High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) leads, powers the magnets. About 700 sensors and actuators are distributed along four Profibus DP and two Profibus PA field buses. The process automation is handled by two controllers, running 126 Closed Control Loops (CCL). This paper describes the cryogenic control system, associated instrumentation, and their commissioning.

Integration of Sensors, Controllers and Instruments Using a Novel OPC Architecture.

Science.gov (United States)

González, Isaías; Calderón, Antonio José; Barragán, Antonio Javier; Andújar, José Manuel

2017-06-27

The interconnection between sensors, controllers and instruments through a communication network plays a vital role in the performance and effectiveness of a control system. Since its inception in the 90s, the Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control (OPC) protocol has provided open connectivity for monitoring and automation systems. It has been widely used in several environments such as industrial facilities, building and energy automation, engineering education and many others. This paper presents a novel OPC-based architecture to implement automation systems devoted to R&D and educational activities. The proposal is a novel conceptual framework, structured into four functional layers where the diverse components are categorized aiming to foster the systematic design and implementation of automation systems involving OPC communication. Due to the benefits of OPC, the proposed architecture provides features like open connectivity, reliability, scalability, and flexibility. Furthermore, four successful experimental applications of such an architecture, developed at the University of Extremadura (UEX), are reported. These cases are a proof of concept of the ability of this architecture to support interoperability for different domains. Namely, the automation of energy systems like a smart microgrid and photobioreactor facilities, the implementation of a network-accessible industrial laboratory and the development of an educational hardware-in-the-loop platform are described. All cases include a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) to automate and control the plant behavior, which exchanges operative data (measurements and signals) with a multiplicity of sensors, instruments and supervisory systems under the structure of the novel OPC architecture. Finally, the main conclusions and open research directions are highlighted.

TELICS—A Telescope Instrument Control System for Small/Medium Sized Astronomical Observatories

Science.gov (United States)

Srivastava, Mudit K.; Ramaprakash, A. N.; Burse, Mahesh P.; Chordia, Pravin A.; Chillal, Kalpesh S.; Mestry, Vilas B.; Das, Hillol K.; Kohok, Abhay A.

2009-10-01

For any modern astronomical observatory, it is essential to have an efficient interface between the telescope and its back-end instruments. However, for small and medium-sized observatories, this requirement is often limited by tight financial constraints. Therefore a simple yet versatile and low-cost control system is required for such observatories to minimize cost and effort. Here we report the development of a modern, multipurpose instrument control system TELICS (Telescope Instrument Control System) to integrate the controls of various instruments and devices mounted on the telescope. TELICS consists of an embedded hardware unit known as a common control unit (CCU) in combination with Linux-based data acquisition and user interface. The hardware of the CCU is built around the ATmega 128 microcontroller (Atmel Corp.) and is designed with a backplane, master-slave architecture. A Qt-based graphical user interface (GUI) has been developed and the back-end application software is based on C/C++. TELICS provides feedback mechanisms that give the operator good visibility and a quick-look display of the status and modes of instruments as well as data. TELICS has been used for regular science observations since 2008 March on the 2 m, f/10 IUCAA Telescope located at Girawali in Pune, India.

Applying improved instrumentation and computer control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bevilacqua, F.; Myers, J.E.

1977-01-01

In-core and out-of-core instrumentation systems for the Cherokee-I reactor are described. The reactor has 61m-core instrument assemblies. Continuous computer monitoring and processing of data from over 300 fixed detectors will be used to improve the manoeuvering of core power. The plant protection system is a standard package for the Combustion Engineering System 80, consisting of two independent systems, the reactor protection system and the engineering safety features activation system, both of which are designed to meet NRC, ANS and IEEE design criteria or standards. The plants protection system has its own computer which provides plant monitoring, alarming, logging and performance calculations. (U.K.)

Fatigue testing of controlled memory wire nickel-titanium rotary instruments.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Ya; Qian, Wei; Abtin, Houman; Gao, Yuan; Haapasalo, Markus

2011-07-01

To improve the fracture resistance of nickel-titanium (NiTi) files, manufacturers have introduced new alloys to manufacture NiTi files and developed new manufacturing processes. This study was aimed to examine the fatigue behavior of NiTi instruments from a novel controlled memory NiTi wire (CM Wire). Instruments of ProFile, Typhoon (TYP), Typhoon CM (TYP CM), DS-SS0250425NEYY (NEYY), and DS-SS0250425NEYY CM (NEYY CM) (DS Dental, Johnson City, TN) all size 25/.04 were subjected to rotational bending at the curvature of 35° and 45° in air at the temperature of 23° ± 2°C, and the number of revolutions to fracture (N(f)) was recorded. The fracture surface of all fragments was examined by a scanning electron microscope. The crack-initiation sites, the percentage of dimple area to the whole fracture cross-section, and the surface strain amplitude (ε(a)) were noted. The new alloy yielded an improvement of over three to eight times in N(f) of CM files than that of conventional NiTi files (P wire (58%-100%) had one crack origin. The values of the fraction area occupied by the dimple region were significantly smaller on CM NiTi instruments compared with conventional NiTi instruments (P wire at both curvatures (P Wire had a significantly higher N(f) and lower surface strain amplitude than the conventional NiTi wire files with identical design. Copyright © 2011 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Elucidating unconscious processing with instrumental hypnosis

Science.gov (United States)

Landry, Mathieu; Appourchaux, Krystèle; Raz, Amir

2014-01-01

Most researchers leverage bottom-up suppression to unlock the underlying mechanisms of unconscious processing. However, a top-down approach – for example via hypnotic suggestion – paves the road to experimental innovation and complementary data that afford new scientific insights concerning attention and the unconscious. Drawing from a reliable taxonomy that differentiates subliminal and preconscious processing, we outline how an experimental trajectory that champions top-down suppression techniques, such as those practiced in hypnosis, is uniquely poised to further contextualize and refine our scientific understanding of unconscious processing. Examining subliminal and preconscious methods, we demonstrate how instrumental hypnosis provides a reliable adjunct that supplements contemporary approaches. Specifically, we provide an integrative synthesis of the advantages and shortcomings that accompany a top-down approach to probe the unconscious mind. Our account provides a larger framework for complementing the results from core studies involving prevailing subliminal and preconscious techniques. PMID:25120504

Elucidating Unconscious Processing With Instrumental Hypnosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mathieu eLandry

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Most researchers leverage bottom-up suppression to unlock the underlying mechanisms of unconscious processing. However, a top-down approach – for example via hypnotic suggestion – paves the road to experimental innovation and complementary data that afford new scientific insights concerning attention and the unconscious. Drawing from a reliable taxonomy that differentiates subliminal and preconscious processing, we outline how an experimental trajectory that champions top-down suppression techniques, such as those practiced in hypnosis, is uniquely poised to further contextualize and refine our scientific understanding of unconscious processing. Examining subliminal and preconscious methods, we demonstrate how instrumental hypnosis provides a reliable adjunct that supplements contemporary approaches. Specifically, we provide an integrative synthesis of the advantages and shortcomings that accompany a top-down approach to probe the unconscious mind. Our account provides a larger framework for complementing the results from core studies involving prevailing subliminal and preconscious techniques.

Instrumentation and control strategies for an integral pressurized water reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Belle R. Upadhyaya

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Several vendors have recently been actively pursuing the development of integral pressurized water reactors (iPWRs that range in power levels from small to large reactors. Integral reactors have the features of minimum vessel penetrations, passive heat removal after reactor shutdown, and modular construction that allow fast plant integration and a secure fuel cycle. The features of an integral reactor limit the options for placing control and safety system instruments. The development of instrumentation and control (I&C strategies for a large 1,000 MWe iPWR is described. Reactor system modeling—which includes reactor core dynamics, primary heat exchanger, and the steam flashing drum—is an important part of I&C development and validation, and thereby consolidates the overall implementation for a large iPWR. The results of simulation models, control development, and instrumentation features illustrate the systematic approach that is applicable to integral light water reactors.

Specialists meeting on design and assessment of instrumentation and control systems in NPP coping with rapid technological change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-10-01

A transition from analogue to computer based I and C (instrumentation and control) systems in nuclear power plants enabled the industry not only to make use of advantages of computers for the control of technological processes, but also transferred the unusual short innovation cycles in computer technology to become a constraint on the process I and C. This situation led the IAEA to provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of the problems and organize a Specialists` Meeting in the framework of the International Working Group on Nuclear Power Plant Control and Instrumentation. The basic objective was to elaborate the management, engineering and economic problems arising from rapid technological changes, to point out solutions and to discuss the future trends in the field. The Year 2000 Issue was also inside the scope of the Meeting. Typical problems were technology changes provoking major I and C concept changes, spare part availability, compatibility in refurbishment processes. The present document contains the papers presented by national delegates, each with an abstract, and the conclusions drawn from the final discussion Refs, figs, tabs

Specialists meeting on design and assessment of instrumentation and control systems in NPP coping with rapid technological change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-10-01

A transition from analogue to computer based I and C (instrumentation and control) systems in nuclear power plants enabled the industry not only to make use of advantages of computers for the control of technological processes, but also transferred the unusual short innovation cycles in computer technology to become a constraint on the process I and C. This situation led the IAEA to provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of the problems and organize a Specialists' Meeting in the framework of the International Working Group on Nuclear Power Plant Control and Instrumentation. The basic objective was to elaborate the management, engineering and economic problems arising from rapid technological changes, to point out solutions and to discuss the future trends in the field. The Year 2000 Issue was also inside the scope of the Meeting. Typical problems were technology changes provoking major I and C concept changes, spare part availability, compatibility in refurbishment processes. The present document contains the papers presented by national delegates, each with an abstract, and the conclusions drawn from the final discussion

Policy instruments for pollution control in developing countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Eskeland, G S; Jimenez, E

1992-07-01

Economic development in developing countries must be accomplished in a manner that does not harm the environment with pollution. Pollution harms human health and productivity. Thus appropriate strategies must be developed that promote growth, reduce poverty, and protect the environment. A review of the current literature is performed with attention paid to cost-effective interventions i.e., comparisons of regulatory and fiscal instruments that can reduce pollution. Both direct instruments (like effluent charges, tradable permits, deposit refund systems, emission regulations and regulatory agency funding for purification, cleanup, waste disposal, and enforcement) and indirect instruments (like input/output taxes and subsidies, substitution subsidies, abatement inputs, regulation of equipment and processes, and development of clean technologies) are examined. Examples are used to show how indirect instruments can be successful when monitoring and enforcement is too costly. A careful examination of distributive concerns illustrate how the effect on the poor may need particular consideration and how groups with vested interests can help evaluate the probable success of such interventions.

Advanced instrumentation and control techniques for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayakawa, Hiroyasu; Makino, Maomi

1989-01-01

Toshiba has been promoting the development and improvement of control and instrumentation (C and I) systems employing the latest technologies, to fulfill the requirements of nuclear power plants for increased reliability, the upgrading of functions, improved maintainability, and reasonable cost. Such development has been systematically performed based on a schematic view of integrated digital control and instrumentation systems, actively adopting state-of-the-art techniques such as the latest man-machine interfaces, digital and optical multiplexing techniques, and artificial intelligence. In addition, comprehensive feedback has been obtained from the accumulation of operating experience. This paper describes the purpose, contents and status of applications of representative newly-developed systems. (author)

Incore instrument device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakima, Naoki

1996-01-01

An incore instrument device has an integrally disposed touch panel having a function of displaying an operation indication method such as for setting of conditions for incore measurement and information processing and results of the incore measurement and a function capable of conducting operation indication such as for setting conditions and information processing for incore measurement relative to a control section upon touching an information position on a displayed information. In addition, an information processing section comprising a man-machine function program formed so as to recognize the content of the operation indication for the incore measurement by touching and let the control section to conduct it is disposed to the outside by way of a communication interface. In addition, a programming device is disposed for forming and rewriting the program of the man-machine function relative to the information processing section. Then, when various indication operations are conducted upon performing incore measurement, a view point can be concentrated to one predetermined point thereby enabling to improve the operationability without danger. In addition, the programming of the man-machine function does not apply unnecessary load to the control section in the incore instrumentation device. (N.H.)

Project W-314 DST and DCRT instrument and control systems, initial assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Acree, C.D.

1996-01-01

This report contains an assessment of the instrument and control systems in the Double Shell Tank Farms and the 244-A DCRT. The assessment report contains data from physical inspection activities and an overall engineering assessment of the instruments and control systems in use in the Double Shell Tanks

Design and development of control instrumentation for the superconducting Linear Accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joshi, Gopal; Kapatral, R.S.; Jha, K.; Rathod, N.C.; Sujo, C.I.; Ananthakrishnan, T.S.; Narsaiah, A.; Ghodgaonkar, M.D.; Kataria, S.K.; Singh, S.K.

2001-01-01

Electronics Division, BARC is developing the required control instrumentation for the Linear Accelerator (LINAC) coming up at TIFR. This consists of RF systems, CAMAC instruments and the Control and Information System. The control system consists of several identical Local Control Stations (LCS) connected over a LAN to a Main Control Station (MCS). Each LCS consists of a PC, CAMAC crates with functional Modules and RF systems. The MCS will contain two PCs running identical software. Each LCS will cater to two LINAC module each consisting of one cryostat and four resonators. This paper discusses different systems developed and under development in the Electronics Division which play an important role in the control of the LINAC. (author)

Safety Evaluation of Kartini Reactor Based on Instrumentation System Design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tjipta Suhaemi; Djen Djen Dj; Itjeu K; Johnny S; Setyono

2003-01-01

The safety of Kartini reactor has been evaluated based on instrumentation system aspect. The Kartini reactor is designed by BATAN. Design power of the reactor is 250 kW, but it is currently operated at 100 kW. Instrumentation and control system function is to monitor and control the reactor operation. Instrumentation and control system consists of safety system, start-up and automatic power control, and process information system. The linear power channel and logarithmic power channel are used for measuring power. There are 3 types of control rod for controlling the power, i.e. safety rod, shim rod, and regulating rod. The trip and interlock system are used for safety. There are instrumentation equipment used for measuring radiation exposure, flow rate, temperature and conductivity of fluid The system of Kartini reactor has been developed by introducing a process information system, start-up system, and automatic power control. It is concluded that the instrumentation of Kartini reactor has followed the requirement and standard of IAEA. (author)

Instrumentation and controls of an ignited tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becraft, W.R.; Golzy, J.; Houlberg, W.A.; Kukielka, C.A.; Onega, R.J.; Raju, G.V.S.; Stone, R.S.

1980-10-01

The instrumentation and controls (I and C) of an ignited plasma magnetically confined in a tokamak configuration needs increased emphasis in the following areas: (1) physics implications for control; (2) plasma shaping/position control; and (3) control to prevent disruptive instabilities. This document reports on the FY 1979 efforts in these and other areas. Also presented are discusssions in the areas of: (1) diagnostics suitable for the Engineering Test Facility (ETF); and (2) future research and development (R and D) needs. The appendices focus attention on some preliminary ideas about the measurement of the deuteron-triton (D-T) ratio in the plasma, synchrotron radiation, and divertor control. Finally, an appendix documenting the thermal consequences to the first wall of a MPD is presented

Instrumentation and control in Indian PHWRs - evolution and vision for future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Umesh, Chandra

2004-01-01

Full text: Presently there are twelve Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) under operation and six plants are under construction. The instrumentation and control of these plants has evolved from RAPS-1 onwards and has relied upon indigenous technology development efforts. The evolution process of I and C can be broadly divided into three phases comprising of RAPS and MAPS, NAPS and KAPS and KAIGA and RAPS-3,4. The technologies employed in various areas namely field instrumentation, monitoring and signal processing, interlock logic systems, process control, reactor regulation, protection logic and signal processing, radiation monitoring and operator information systems have evolved from plant to plant mostly independently on need basis -due to additional functional requirements or to avoid obsolescence. A unified approach to C and I was attempted in the 500 MWe design by evolving the concept of DCPIS. However due to tight plant schedules, technologies of third phase were adopted in TAPP-3 and 4 with some changes and additions. In the plants under construction at Kaiga-3 and 4 and RAPP- 5 and 6 also, the I and C technologies are similar to Kaiga-1,2 with incremental changes as required. The technologies presently employed in the PHWR plants have functioned quite satisfactorily and during last year overall plant availability factor was about 90%, which is among the best in the world, The I and C technologies employed in these plants is simple, easy to understand and maintain as well as low cost and hence it is suitable for Indian needs. In older plants, problems sometimes arise due to ageing, obsolescence and lack of documentation in some areas. Some computer-based systems have been affected by noise through power supplies and ground connections necessitating a comprehensive evaluation of these issues. However, there is a need to enhance the level of instrumentation and control from this sound base to achieve lower plant cost and improved safety. This can be

Nuclear Power Plant Control and Instrumentation in Pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iqleem, J.; Hashmi, J.A.; Siddiqui, Z.H.

1990-01-01

Nuclear reactors generate 15% of the world's supply electric power. The substantial growth in world energy demand is inevitably continuing throughout the next century. Nuclear power which has already paid more than enough for itself and its development, will provide increasing share of electricity production both in the developed and developing countries. For Pakistan with limited natural resources such as oil, gas, and fully tapped hydel power, nuclear power is the only viable option. However, things are not simple for developing countries which embark on nuclear power program. A technical infrastructure should be established as it has been shown by the experience of Control and Instrumentation of the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant. The national report describes the program of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission in (NPP) Computers, Control and Instrumentation for design, construction, operation, and maintenance of nuclear power plants. (author)

XML for nuclear instrument control and monitoring: an approach towards standardisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bharade, S.K.; Ananthakrishnan, T.S.; Kataria, S.K.; Singh, S.K.

2004-01-01

Communication among heterogeneous system with applications running under different operating systems and applications developed under different platforms has undergone rapid changes due to the adoption of XML standards. These are being developed for different industries like Chemical, Medical, Commercial etc. The High Energy Physics community has already a standard for exchange of data among different applications , under heterogeneous distributed systems like the CMS Data Acquisition System. There are a large number of Nuclear Instruments supplied by different manufactures which are increasingly getting connected. This approach is getting wider acceptance in instruments at reactor sites, accelerator sites and complex nuclear experiments -especially at centres like CERN. In order for these instruments to be able to describe the data which is available from them in a platform independent manner XML approach has been developed. This paper is the first attempt at Electronics Division for proposing an XML standard for control, monitoring, Data Acquisition and Analysis generated by Nuclear Instruments at Accelerator sites, Nuclear Reactor plant and Laboratory. The gamut of Nuclear Instruments include Multichannel Analysers, Health Physics Instruments, Accelerator Control Systems, Reactor Regulating systems, Flux mapping Systems etc. (author)

Instrumentation and control of the fast breeder reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juengst, U.

1982-01-01

Generally the Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR) in comparison to the Leight Water Reactors hasn't exceptionally different requirements to the instrumentation and control systems. There fore the paper restricts itself to outline the peculiarities of LMFBR's exemplified at the design of the German Breeder SNR-300 beeing under construction. The special sodium instrumentation for temperature level, flow and pressure in the main systems is described. The automatic control system enabled the plant to follow the bad demand of the grid immidiately. The nuclear power production itself is stabilized by inherent coefficients of the core. An exceptional high reliability of the shut down systems is necessary; there fore all LMFBR's have two completely independant and diverse shut down systems. In the SNR-300 also the control of decay heat removal and the active safety systems for enclosure of radioactivity are distributed to two independent and diverse plant protection systems (PPS) so that the first system covered the accidents due to internal events and the second systems managed the external events such as earthquake and aircraft crash. (orig.)

Assessment and management of ageing of electrical instrumentation and control cables

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pachner, J. [International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA, Vienna (Austria); Burnay, S.G. [John Knott Associates Ltd., Newbury (United Kingdom)

2001-07-01

This paper presents a summary of the results of an IAEA Co-ordinated Research Project (CRP) on Management of Ageing of In-containment Instrumentation and Control (I and C) Cables addressing current practices and techniques for assessing and managing ageing degradation of cables in real nuclear power plant (NPP) environments. These practices and techniques include environmental qualification, identification of cables of concern, condition monitoring, and predictive modelling. The paper shows how they should be integrated within a plant-specific ageing management programme utilising a systematic ageing management process, which is an adaptation of Deming Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle to ageing management. (author)

Assessment and management of ageing of electrical instrumentation and control cables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pachner, J.; Burnay, S.G.

2001-01-01

This paper presents a summary of the results of an IAEA Co-ordinated Research Project (CRP) on Management of Ageing of In-containment Instrumentation and Control (I and C) Cables addressing current practices and techniques for assessing and managing ageing degradation of cables in real nuclear power plant (NPP) environments. These practices and techniques include environmental qualification, identification of cables of concern, condition monitoring, and predictive modelling. The paper shows how they should be integrated within a plant-specific ageing management programme utilising a systematic ageing management process, which is an adaptation of Deming Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle to ageing management. (author)

An instrumentation for control and measurement of activated mineral samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skaarup, P.

1976-01-01

A description is given of an instrumentation for control of a pneumatic tube system used to transport mineral samples for activation in a reactor and from there to a detector arrangement. A possible content of uranium in the samples can be seen from the radiation measured. The instrumentation includes a PDP-11 computer and a CAMAC crate

Instruments and methods of scintillation spectra processing for radiation control tasks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antropov, S.Yu.; Ermilov, A.P.; Ermilov, S.A.; Komarov, N.A.; Krokhin, I.I.

2005-01-01

On gamma-spectrometer the response function could be calculated on the base of sensitivity data, energy resolution and form of Compton spectrum part. On the scintillation gamma-spectrometer with Na-I(Tl) crystal 63x63 mm the method allows to divide the 5-10 components mixtures, and on the beta-spectrometer of 2-3 component mixtures. The approach is realized in the 'Progress' program-instrumental complexes

Digital Signal Processing in Beam Instrumentation Latest Trends and Typical Applications

CERN Document Server

Angoletta, Maria Elena

2003-01-01

The last decade has seen major improvements in digital hardware, algortithms and software, which have trickled down to the Beam Instrumentation (BI) area. An advantageous transition is taking place towards systems with an ever-stronger digital presence. Digital systems are assembled by means of a rather small number of basic building blocks, with improved speed, precision, signal-to-noise ratio, dynamic range, flexibility, and accompanied by a range of powerful and user-friendly development tools. The paper reviews current digital BI trends, including using Digital Signal Processors, Field Programmable Gate Arrays, Digital Receivers and General Purpose Processors as well as some useful processing algorithms. Selected digital applications are illustrated on control/feedback and beam diagnostics.

The EyeHarp: A Gaze-Controlled Digital Musical Instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Vamvakousis, Zacharias; Ramirez, Rafael

2016-01-01

We present and evaluate the EyeHarp, a new gaze-controlled Digital Musical Instrument, which aims to enable people with severe motor disabilities to learn, perform, and compose music using only their gaze as control mechanism. It consists of (1) a step-sequencer layer, which serves for constructing chords/arpeggios, and (2) a melody layer, for playing melodies and changing the chords/arpeggios. We have conducted a pilot evaluation of the EyeHarp involving 39 participants with no disabilities from both a performer and an audience perspective. In the first case, eight people with normal vision and no motor disability participated in a music-playing session in which both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. In the second case 31 people qualitatively evaluated the EyeHarp in a concert setting consisting of two parts: a solo performance part, and an ensemble (EyeHarp, two guitars, and flute) performance part. The obtained results indicate that, similarly to traditional music instruments, the proposed digital musical instrument has a steep learning curve, and allows to produce expressive performances both from the performer and audience perspective.

RELEVANCE OF ECONOMIC INSTRUMENTS USED IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SORINA-GEANINA MĂRGĂRIT (STĂNESCU

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The interaction between environmental, economic and social factors influences the ecological balance and generates the change of living conditions and those of socio-economic development. One of the essential conditions for building a sustainable economic development is the identification and implementation of active or voluntary instruments to influence economic and social activity towards ensuring their sustainability. In this paper, we intend to introduce the tools used in the process of sustainable development, which have a key role in adopting an environmentally responsible behavior. The results of this study are represented by the drafting of the advantages and disadvantages of using these economic and financial instruments. The purpose of this paper is to present the evolution of costs for environmental protection and the relevance of instruments used at the national level in environmental protection.

Atomic absorption instrument functional description

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bystroff, R.I.; Boyle, W.G. Jr.; Barton, G.W. Jr.

1976-01-01

This report describes a proposed system for automating atomic absorption analysis. The system consists of two atomic absorption instruments and an automatic sampler that can be attached to either instrument. A computer program controls the sampling and gathers data. The program then uses the data to perform bookkeeping, data processing, and report writing

Implementation of statistical process control for proteomic experiments via LC MS/MS.

Science.gov (United States)

Bereman, Michael S; Johnson, Richard; Bollinger, James; Boss, Yuval; Shulman, Nick; MacLean, Brendan; Hoofnagle, Andrew N; MacCoss, Michael J

2014-04-01

Statistical process control (SPC) is a robust set of tools that aids in the visualization, detection, and identification of assignable causes of variation in any process that creates products, services, or information. A tool has been developed termed Statistical Process Control in Proteomics (SProCoP) which implements aspects of SPC (e.g., control charts and Pareto analysis) into the Skyline proteomics software. It monitors five quality control metrics in a shotgun or targeted proteomic workflow. None of these metrics require peptide identification. The source code, written in the R statistical language, runs directly from the Skyline interface, which supports the use of raw data files from several of the mass spectrometry vendors. It provides real time evaluation of the chromatographic performance (e.g., retention time reproducibility, peak asymmetry, and resolution), and mass spectrometric performance (targeted peptide ion intensity and mass measurement accuracy for high resolving power instruments) via control charts. Thresholds are experiment- and instrument-specific and are determined empirically from user-defined quality control standards that enable the separation of random noise and systematic error. Finally, Pareto analysis provides a summary of performance metrics and guides the user to metrics with high variance. The utility of these charts to evaluate proteomic experiments is illustrated in two case studies.

Conceptual design of safety instrumentation for PFBR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muralikrishna, G.; Seshadri, U.; Raghavan, K.

1996-01-01

Instrumentation systems enable monitoring of the process which in turn enables control and shutdown of the process as per the requirements. Safety Instrumentation due to its vital importance has a stringent role and this needs to be designed methodically. This paper presents the details of the conceptual design for PFBR. (author). 4 figs, 3 tabs

A whole process quality control system for energy measuring instruments inspection based on IOT technology

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Bo; Liu, Li; Wang, Jiahan; Li, Xiran; Liu, Zhenbo; Li, Dewei; Wang, Jun; Liu, Lu; Wu, Jun; Xu, Tingting; Cui, He

2017-10-01

Electric energy measurement as a basic work, an accurate measurements play a vital role for the economic interests of both parties of power supply, the standardized management of the measurement laboratory at all levels is a direct factor that directly affects the fairness of measurement. Currently, the management of metering laboratories generally uses one-dimensional bar code as the recognition object, advances the testing process by manual management, most of the test data requires human input to generate reports. There are many problems and potential risks in this process: Data cannot be saved completely, cannot trace the status of inspection, the inspection process isn't completely controllable and so on. For the provincial metrology center's actual requirements of the whole process management for the performance test of the power measuring appliances, using of large-capacity RF tags as a process management information media, we developed a set of general measurement experiment management system, formulated a standardized full performance test process, improved the raw data recording mode of experimental process, developed a storehouse automatic inventory device, established a strict test sample transfer and storage system, ensured that all the raw data of the inspection can be traced back, achieved full life-cycle control of the sample, significantly improved the quality control level and the effectiveness of inspection work.

Proceedings of the International topical meeting on VVER instrumentation and control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-12-31

The Proceedings contain the full texts of 44 contributions, out of which 42 have been input to INIS. The papers cover various aspects of WWER instrumentation and control including reactor upgrading and modernization, testing and refurbishment of instrumentation, and operational experience and problems. (A.K.).

Proceedings of the International topical meeting on VVER instrumentation and control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-11-01

The Proceedings contain the full texts of 44 contributions, out of which 42 have been input to INIS. The papers cover various aspects of WWER instrumentation and control including reactor upgrading and modernization, testing and refurbishment of instrumentation, and operational experience and problems. (A.K.)

The contribution of instrumentation and control software to system reliability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fryer, M.O.

1984-01-01

Advanced instrumentation and control systems are usually implemented using computers that monitor the instrumentation and issue commands to control elements. The control commands are based on instrument readings and software control logic. The reliability of the total system will be affected by the software design. When comparing software designs, an evaluation of how each design can contribute to the reliability of the system is desirable. Unfortunately, the science of reliability assessment of combined hardware and software systems is in its infancy. Reliability assessment of combined hardware/software systems is often based on over-simplified assumptions about software behavior. A new method of reliability assessment of combined software/hardware systems is presented. The method is based on a procedure called fault tree analysis which determines how component failures can contribute to system failure. Fault tree analysis is a well developed method for reliability assessment of hardware systems and produces quantitative estimates of failure probability based on component failure rates. It is shown how software control logic can be mapped into a fault tree that depicts both software and hardware contributions to system failure. The new method is important because it provides a way for quantitatively evaluating the reliability contribution of software designs. In many applications, this can help guide designers in producing safer and more reliable systems. An application to the nuclear power research industry is discussed

Rheological Properties of Extreme Pressure Greases Measured Using a Process Control Rheometer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Glasscock, Julie; Smith, Robin S.

2012-01-01

A new process control rheometer (PCR) designed for use in industrial process flows has been used to measure the rheological properties of three extreme-pressure greases. The rheometer is a robust yet sensitive instrument designed to operate in an industrial processing environment in either in......-line or on-line configurations. The PCR was able to measure the rheological properties including the elastic modulus, viscous modulus, and complex viscosity of the greases which in an industrial flow application could be used as variables in a feedback system to control the process and the quality...

The development of advanced instrumentation and control technology. The development of verification and validation technology for instrumentation and control in NPPs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, Kee Choon; Ham, Chang Shik; Lee, Jang Soo; Kim, Jang Yeol; Song, Soon Ja; Kim, Jung Taek; Park, Won Man; Lee, Dong Young; Eom, Heung Seop; Park, Kee Yong.

1997-07-01

We found essential problems followed by digitalizing of instrumentation and control. A scheme is divided into hardware and software to resolve these problems. We have analyzed the hardware V and V methodologies about common mode failure, commercial grade dedication process and electromagnetic compatibility. We have developed several guidelines, the software classification guideline, the quality assurance handbook for the software in digital I and C, the software V and V planning guideline, and the software safety guideline. And then, we have established the integrated environment for the safety-critical software based on the Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools. We have also surveyed a trend and application case of test facility for establishment of functional requirements. Input/output interface which connects among the host computer and developed target and panel are designed and manufactured using UXI bus. The developed functional test facility is used for test and validate the automatic start-up intelligent control system, the dynamic alarm system, the accident identification system using hidden Markov model, and the intelligent logic tracking system. The result of evaluation of the above systems shows the functional test facility performance is sufficient in normal operating and transient conditions. (author). 24 tabs., 59 figs

The development of advanced instrumentation and control technology. The development of verification and validation technology for instrumentation and control in NPPs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwon, Kee Choon; Ham, Chang Shik; Lee, Jang Soo; Kim, Jang Yeol; Song, Soon Ja; Kim, Jung Taek; Park, Won Man; Lee, Dong Young; Eom, Heung Seop; Park, Kee Yong

1997-07-01

We found essential problems followed by digitalizing of instrumentation and control. A scheme is divided into hardware and software to resolve these problems. We have analyzed the hardware V and V methodologies about common mode failure, commercial grade dedication process and electromagnetic compatibility. We have developed several guidelines, the software classification guideline, the quality assurance handbook for the software in digital I and C, the software V and V planning guideline, and the software safety guideline. And then, we have established the integrated environment for the safety-critical software based on the Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools. We have also surveyed a trend and application case of test facility for establishment of functional requirements. Input/output interface which connects among the host computer and developed target and panel are designed and manufactured using UXI bus. The developed functional test facility is used for test and validate the automatic start-up intelligent control system, the dynamic alarm system, the accident identification system using hidden Markov model, and the intelligent logic tracking system. The result of evaluation of the above systems shows the functional test facility performance is sufficient in normal operating and transient conditions. (author). 24 tabs., 59 figs.

A cross-platform GUI to control instruments compliant with SCPI through VISA

Science.gov (United States)

Roach, Eric; Liu, Jing

2015-10-01

In nuclear physics experiments, it is necessary and important to control instruments from a PC, which automates many tasks that require human operations otherwise. Not only does this make long term measurements possible, but it also makes repetitive operations less error-prone. We created a graphical user interface (GUI) to control instruments connected to a PC through RS232, USB, LAN, etc. The GUI is developed using Qt Creator, a cross-platform integrated development environment, which makes it portable to various operating systems, including those commonly used in mobile devices. NI-VISA library is used in the back end so that the GUI can be used to control instruments connected through various I/O interfaces without any modification. Commonly used SCPI commands can be sent to different instruments using buttons, sliders, knobs, and other various widgets provided by Qt Creator. As an example, we demonstrate how we set and fetch parameters and how to retrieve and display data from an Agilent Digital Storage Oscilloscope X3034A with the GUI. Our GUI can be easily used for other instruments compliant with SCPI and VISA with little or no modification.

A pilot's opinion - VTOL control design requirements for the instrument approach task.

Science.gov (United States)

Patton, J. M., Jr.

1972-01-01

This paper presents pilot opinion supported by test data concerning flight control and display concepts and control system design requirements for VTOL aircraft in the instrument approach task. Material presented is drawn from research flights in the following aircraft: Dornier DO-31, Short SC-1, LTV XC-142A, and Boeing-Vertol CH-46. The control system concepts and mechanizations employed in the above aircraft are discussed, and the effect of control system augmentation is shown on performance. Operational procedures required in the instrument approach task are described, with comments on need for automation and combining of control functions.

Reactor instrumentation and control in nuclear power plants in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aleite, W.

1993-01-01

The pertinent legislation, guidelines and standards of importance for nuclear power plant construction as well as the relevant committees in Germany are covered. The impact of international developments on the German regulatory scene is mentioned. A series of 15 data sheets on reactor control, followed by 5 data sheets on instrumentation and control in nuclear power plants, which were drawn up for German plants, are compared and commented in some detail. Digitalization of instrumentation and control systems continues apace. To illustrate the results that can be achieved with a digitalized information system, a picture series that documents a plant test of behavior on simulated steam generator tube rupture is elaborately commented. An outlook on backfitting and upgrading applications concludes this paper. (orig.) [de

Acceptance for Beneficial Use Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid L

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

1999-01-01

This is a final Acceptance for Beneficial Use (ABU) for Pumping and Instrumentation Control (PIC) skid ''L''. PIC skid ''L'' is ready for pumping tank U-105. All the testing and documentation has been completed as required on the ABU checklist. This ABU covers only the readiness of the PIC skid ''L''. Other U-farm preparations including dilution tank fabrication, portable exhauster readiness, leak detection, valve pit preparation, and the Operation Control Station readiness are not part of this ABU. PIC skid ''L'' is a new skid fabricated and tested at Site Fabrication Services. The skid controls the jet pump and monitors various instruments associated with the pumping operation. This monitoring includes leak detection along the waste transfer route and flammable gases in the pump pit

Human machine interface for research reactor instrumentation and control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Sabri Minhat; Mohd Idris Taib; Izhar Abu Hussin; Zareen Khan Abdul Jalil Khan; Nurfarhana Ayuni Joha

2010-01-01

Most present design of Human Machine Interface for Research Reactor Instrumentation and Control System is modular-based, comprise of several cabinets such as Reactor Protection System, Control Console, Information Console as well as Communication Console. The safety, engineering and human factor will be concerned for the design. Redundancy and separation of signal and power supply are the main factor for safety consideration. The design of Operator Interface absolutely takes consideration of human and environmental factors. Physical parameters, experiences, trainability and long-established habit patterns are very important for user interface, instead of the Aesthetic and Operator-Interface Geometry. Physical design for New Instrumentation and Control System of RTP are proposed base on the state-of- the-art Human Machine Interface design. (author)

Quality control procedures applied to nuclear instruments. Proceedings of a technical meeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-11-01

Quality Control (QC), test procedures for Nuclear Instrumentation are important for assurance of proper and safe operation of the instruments, especially with regard to equipment related to radiological safety, human health and national safety. Correct measurements of radiation parameters must be ensured, i.e., accurate measurement of the number of radioactive events, counting times and in some cases accurate measurements of the radiation energy and occurring time of the nuclear events. There are several kinds of testing on nuclear instruments, for example, type-testing done by suppliers, acceptance testing made by the end users, Quality Control tests after repair and Quality Assurance/Quality Controls tests made by end-users. All of these tests are based in many cases on practical guidelines or on the experience of the own specialist, the available standards on this topic also need to be adapted to specific instruments. The IAEA has provided nuclear instruments and supported the operational maintenance efforts of the Member States. Although Nuclear Instrumentation is continuously upgraded, some older or aged instruments are still in use and in good working condition. Some of these instruments may not, however, meet modern requirements for the end-user therefore, Member States, mostly those with emerging economies, modernize/refurbish such instruments to meet the end-user demands. As a result, new instrumentation which is not commercially available, or modernized/refurbished instruments, need to be tested or verified with QC procedures to meet national or international certification requirements. A technical meeting on QC procedures applied to nuclear instruments was organized in Vienna from 23 to 24 August 2007. Existing and required QC test procedures necessary for the verification of operation and measurement of the main characteristics of nuclear instruments was the focus of discussion at this meeting. Presentations made at the technical meeting provided

Modernization of the CDTN IPR-R1 TRIGA reactor instrumentation and control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mesquita, A.Z.; Costa, A.C.L.; Souza, R.M.G.P.

2009-01-01

The control system of the IPR-R1 was changed in 1995. Although since the year's 80 was generalized the use of microprocessor technology and video monitors for visual interface, in the IPR-R1 control room it was used analogical system by relay-based logic, and were maintained the mechanical strip chart recorders (ink-pen drive) to measure, monitor and store the operational parameters. It was maintained the measure and the control of, practically, the same variables of the original system, although the reactor power already have been upgraded to 100 kW and began the studies to increase it to 250 kW, which is the current core configuration. For 250 kW operations the fuel heat transfer becomes important and new parameters should be used as safety operational limits. A state-of-the-art instrumentation and control system using microprocessor technology is proposed to replace the present analogical systems. The new system can eliminates most manual data logging, provides automatic or manual reactor operation modes, provides complete real-time operator display, replays historical operating data on monitor or printer, eliminates spare parts replacement problems and meets all applicable international standards as NRC and IEE specifications. This paper describes the research project in process in CDTN that has as objective the modernization of the IPR-R1 TRIGA reactor instrumentation and control of the operational variables. The project also will improve the accomplishment of neutronic and thermal-hydraulic experiments, foreseen in the CDTN research program. (author)

An Investigation of Secure Remote Instrument Control

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schissel, D.; Abla, G.; Penaflor, B. [General Atomics, San Diego (United States); Ciarlette, D. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge (United States)

2009-07-01

This paper examines the computer science issues associated with secure remote instrumentation control for magnetic fusion experiments. Computer science research into enhancing the ability to scientifically participate in a fusion experiment remotely has been growing in size in an attempt to better address the needs of fusion scientists worldwide. The natural progression of this research is to examine how to move from remote scientific participation to remote hardware control. The vision is to define a gatekeeper software system that will be the only channel of interaction for incoming requests to the experimental site. The role of the gatekeeper is to validate the identification and access privilege of the requester and to insure the validity of the proposed request. The vision for the gatekeeper is that it be a modular system that is simple in design and defined in a way that makes its implementation and operation transparent and obvious. The architecture of the module interface is flexible enough that it can easily allow the future addition of new modules. At the same time, it should be transparent to end-users and allow a high volume of activity so as to not provide a work bottleneck. Appropriate security requires the ability to verify identity (authentication), verify access control (authorization), and validate the appropriateness of requests. The validation process can include provenance and semantic methodologies. The results of the gatekeeper design and initial prototype testing will be presented as well as a discussion on the implication of this research on the operation of fusion experimental machines such as ITER. (authors)

Safety critical FPGA-based NPP instrumentation and control systems: assessment, development and implementation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bakhmach, E. S.; Siora, A. A.; Tokarev, V. I.; Kharchenko, V. S.; Sklyar, V. V.; Andrashov, A. A.

2010-10-01

The stages of development, production, verification, licensing and implementation methods and technologies of safety critical instrumentation and control systems for nuclear power plants (NPP) based on FPGA (Field Programmable Gates Arrays) technologies are described. A life cycle model and multi-version technologies of dependability and safety assurance of FPGA-based instrumentation and control systems are discussed. An analysis of NPP instrumentation and control systems construction principles developed by Research and Production Corporation Radiy using FPGA-technologies and results of these systems implementation and operation at Ukrainian and Bulgarian NPP are presented. The RADIY TM platform has been designed and developed by Research and Production Corporation Radiy, Ukraine. The main peculiarity of the RADIY TM platform is the use of FPGA as programmable components for logic control operation. The FPGA-based RADIY TM platform used for NPP instrumentation and control systems development ensures sca lability of system functions types, volume and peculiarities (by changing quantity and quality of sensors, actuators, input/output signals and control algorithms); sca lability of dependability (safety integrity) (by changing a number of redundant channel, tiers, diagnostic and reconfiguration procedures); sca lability of diversity (by changing types, depth and method of diversity selection). (Author)

Microspectrometers: an industry and instrumentation overview

Science.gov (United States)

Neece, Gregory A.

2008-08-01

Microspectrometers, miniature spectrometers, portable spectrometers, or Fiber Optic Spectrometers are some of the names typically given to the class small spectrometers that are derived from simple, fixed optics, and low cost detector arrays. The author will use these terms interchangeably. This class of instrument has been available for over 18 years, gaining industry acceptance with each year. From a very basic optical platform to sophisticated instrumentation for scientific investigation and process control, this class of instrument has evolved substantially since its introduction to the market. For instance it is now possible to cover the range from 200 - 2,500 nm utilizing only two channels of spectrometers with either synchronous or asynchronous channel control. On board processing and memory have enabled the instruments to become fully automated, stand alone sensors communicating with their environment via analog, digital, USB2 and even wireless protocols. New detectors have entered the market enabling solutions "tuned" to the demands of specific applications.

Measurement, instrumentation, and sensors handbook

CERN Document Server

Eren, Halit

2014-01-01

The Second Edition of the bestselling Measurement, Instrumentation, and Sensors Handbook brings together all aspects of the design and implementation of measurement, instrumentation, and sensors. Reflecting the current state of the art, it describes the use of instruments and techniques for performing practical measurements in engineering, physics, chemistry, and the life sciences and discusses processing systems, automatic data acquisition, reduction and analysis, operation characteristics, accuracy, errors, calibrations, and the incorporation of standards for control purposes. Organized acco

International Working Group on Nuclear Power Plant Control and Instrumentation: Recent activities and future prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kossilov, A.

1992-01-01

The IWG-NPPCI working group exists to consider developments, disseminate and exchange experience in all aspects of instrumentation, control and information technology relevant to the safety and economics of NPP design and operation. The main topics dealt with are: nuclear instrumentation, control systems, protection systems, early failure detection and diagnosis, use of computer technology in NPP operation, instrumentation for accidental situation, operator support systems, man-machine interface. The main objectives of the IWG-NPPCI are: to assist the IAEA to provide the Member States with information and recommendations on technical aspects of the NPP control and instrumentation with the aim to assure reliable functions; to promote and exchange of information on national programs, new developments and experience from operating NPPs, and to stimulate the coordination of research on NPP control and instrumentation

International Working Group on Nuclear Power Plant Control and Instrumentation: Recent activities and future prospects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kossilov, A [International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria)

1992-07-01

The IWG-NPPCI working group exists to consider developments, disseminate and exchange experience in all aspects of instrumentation, control and information technology relevant to the safety and economics of NPP design and operation. The main topics dealt with are: nuclear instrumentation, control systems, protection systems, early failure detection and diagnosis, use of computer technology in NPP operation, instrumentation for accidental situation, operator support systems, man-machine interface. The main objectives of the IWG-NPPCI are: to assist the IAEA to provide the Member States with information and recommendations on technical aspects of the NPP control and instrumentation with the aim to assure reliable functions; to promote and exchange of information on national programs, new developments and experience from operating NPPs, and to stimulate the coordination of research on NPP control and instrumentation.

Solution assay instrument operations manual

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, T.K.; Marks, T.; Parker, J.L.

1983-09-01

An at-line solution assay instrument (SAI) has been developed and installed in a plutonium purification and americium recovery process area in the Los Alamos Plutonium Processing Facility. The instrument was designed for accurate, timely, and simultaneous nondestructive analysis of plutonium and americium in process solutions that have a wide range of concentrations and americium/plutonium ratios and for routine operation by process technicians who lack instrumentation background. The SAI, based on transmission-corrected, high-resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy, has two measurement stations attached to a single multichannel analyzer/computer system. To ensure the quality of assay results, the SAI has an internal measurement control program, which requires daily and weekly check runs and monitors key aspects of all assay runs. For a 25-ml sample, the assay precision is 5 g/l within a 2000-s count time

Instrumentation and control systems for CANDU-PHW nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lepp, R.M.; Watkins, L.M.

1982-02-01

The instrumentation and control of CANDU nuclear power plants takes advantage of modern electronics technology in the extensive computerization of important control and man-machine functions. A description of these functions as well as those of the four Special Safety Systems is provided

Nuclear Power Plant Control and Instrumentation activities in the United Kingdom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodings, A.

1990-01-01

The paper describes the status of the NPP control and instrumentation in the United Kingdom. The general technology underlying most aspects of power reactor C and I in the UK has not altered since the last progress report although there have been many improvements in detail. In one field, however, that of computer applications, the change has almost been one of kind rather than degree. The following fields are briefly described: The status of nuclear power in the UK, the development of sensors, the development of electronic equipment, signal processing - information technology, quality assurance and the validation and verification of software, expert systems, training simulators. (author). 1 ref

Modernization of the Ukrainian NPP instrumentation and control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yastrebenetsky, M.

1998-01-01

Modernization of many instrumentation and control systems for all type of reactors is under way now in Ukraine. Main principles of modernization, standards that are used for modernization are described in the report. (author)

Card controlled beta backscatter thickness measuring instrument

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schlesinger, J.

1978-01-01

An improved beta backscatter instrument for the nondestructive measurement of the thickness of thin coatings on a substrate is described. Included therein is the utilization of a bank of memory stored data representative of isotope, substrate, coating material and thickness range characteristics in association with a control card having predetermined indicia thereon selectively representative of a particular isotope, substrate material, coating material and thickness range for conditioning electronic circuit means by memory stored data selected in accord with the predetermined indicia on a control card for converting backscattered beta particle counts into indicia of coating thickness

Curriculum Management Practices in Pedagogical Coordinations of Araucania Schools: Unveiling Technical/Instrumental Rationality, Control and Power Mechanisms Underlying

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Carlos Beltrán-Véliz

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This article consists of a case study regarding curriculum management practices of pedagogical coordinators in schools in Araucania area. The study aims to reveal technical/instrumental rationality, control and power mechanisms that underlie the curriculum management practices of such pedagogical coordinators of schools in Araucania region. A descriptive qualitative design based on the constructionist grounded theory and the constant comparative method is considered. Subjects studied included 12 technical leaders and 22 teachers from Araucania schools. Techniques for collecting information were semi-structured interview and texts for reading. Four categories rose from axial coding. Findings reveal that the teaching process is reduced to an instructional process. Furthermore, there is no uniformity of criteria regarding general functions that must be met. In the same extent, activity coordination is centered on bureaucratic administrative aspects, with main focus on task control. Regulations, programs and educational projects are used as control mechanisms. In addition, absence of spaces for professional discussion of pedagogical work and for constructive criticism is envisioned. This study concludes that pedagogical coordination practices are geared from an “instrumental rationality”, anchored in technical management set up in control and power.

The Perceived Personal Control (PPC) questionnaire as an outcome of genetic counseling: reliability and validity of the instrument.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smets, E.M.A.; Pieterse, A.H.; Aalfs, C.M.; Ausems, M.G.E.M.; Dulmen, A.M. van

2006-01-01

The perceived personal control (PPC) questionnaire was developed by Berkenstadt and colleagues as an outcome measure for the evaluation of the process of genetic counseling. The present study aimed to further assess the psychometric properties of a Dutch version of the instrument. Data were used

Use of spreadsheets for interactive control of MFTF-B plasma diagnostic instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Preckshot, G.G.; Goldner, A.L.; Kobayashi, A.

1986-01-01

The Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF-B) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has a variety of highly individualized plasma diagnostic instruments attached to the experiment. These instruments are controlled through graphics workstations networked to a central computer system. A distributed spreadsheet-like program runs in both the graphics workstations and in the central computer system. An interface very similar to a commercial spreadsheet program is presented to the user at a workstation. In a commercial spreadsheet program, the user may attach mathematical calculation functions to spreadsheet cells. At MFTF-B, hardware control functions, hardware monitoring functions, and communications functions, as well as mathematical functions, may be attached to cells. Both the user and feedback from instrument hardware may make entries in spreadsheet cells; any entry in a spreadsheet cell may cause reevaluation of the cell's associated functions. The spreadsheet approach makes the addition of a new instrument a matter of designing one or more spreadsheet tables with associated meta-language-defined control and communication function strings. This paper describes the details of the spreadsheets and the implementation experience

Use of spreadsheets for interactive control of MFTF-B plasma diagnostic instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Preckshot, G.G.; Goldner, A.; Kobayashi, A.

1985-01-01

The Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF-B) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has a variety of highly individualized plasma diagnostic instruments attached to the experiment. These instruments are controlled through graphics workstations networked to a central computer system. A distributed spreadsheet-like program runs in both the graphics workstations and in the central computer system. An interface very similar to a commercial spreadsheet program is presented to the user at a workstation. In a commercial spreadsheet program, the user may attach mathematical calculation functions to spreadsheet cells. At MFTF-B, hardware control functions, hardware monitoring functions, and communications functions, as well as mathematical functions, may be attached to cells. Both the user and feedback from instrument hardware may make entries in spreadsheet cells; any entry in a spreadsheet cell may cause reevaluation of the cell's associated functions. The spreadsheet approach makes the addition of a new instrument a matter of designing one or more spreadsheet tables with associated meta-language-defined control and communication function strings. We report here details of our spreadsheets and our implementation experience

Proceedings: Instrumentation and control test reduction workshop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-09-01

Instrumentation and control (I ampersand C) surveillance and testing is a significant contributor to operations and management costs. Several techniques to eliminate or reduce manual testing requirements could reduce costs while improving plant safety and performance. I ampersand C test reduction was the subject of this 1991 workshop. The workshop covered test elimination, test reduction, test automation, and relevant standards and benefits. The conclusions of the workshop were the following: More utility information sharing is important. There is a significant amount of information available throughout the industry, but it is not available in a concise, useable form. An I ampersand C utility users group is needed to address items such as instrument calibration reduction, set-point methodologies, and other current I ampersand C issues. The workshop was well received. The timing is right to initiate actions to reduce testing

NPP Temelin instrumentation and control system upgrade and verification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ubra, O.; Petrlik, J.

1998-01-01

Two units of Ver 1000 type of the Czech nuclear power plant Temelin, which are under construction are being upgraded with the latest instrumentation and control system delivered by WEC. To confirm that the functional design of the new Reactor Control and Limitation System, Turbine Control System and Plant Control System are in compliance with the Czech customer requirements and that these requirements are compatible with NPP Temelin upgraded technology, the verification of the control systems has been performed. The method of transient analysis has been applied. Some details of the NPP Temelin Reactor Control and Limitation System verification are presented.(author)

Planck 2015 results: II. Low Frequency Instrument data processings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ade, P. A R; Aghanim, N.; Ashdown, M.

2016-01-01

We present an updated description of the Planck Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) data processing pipeline, associated with the 2015 data release. We point out the places where our results and methods have remained unchanged since the 2013 paper and we highlight the changes made for the 2015 release...

Development of quality control and instrumentation performance metrics for diffuse optical spectroscopic imaging instruments in the multi-center clinical environment

Science.gov (United States)

Keene, Samuel T.; Cerussi, Albert E.; Warren, Robert V.; Hill, Brian; Roblyer, Darren; Leproux, AnaÑ--s.; Durkin, Amanda F.; O'Sullivan, Thomas D.; Haghany, Hosain; Mantulin, William W.; Tromberg, Bruce J.

2013-03-01

Instrument equivalence and quality control are critical elements of multi-center clinical trials. We currently have five identical Diffuse Optical Spectroscopic Imaging (DOSI) instruments enrolled in the American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN, #6691) trial located at five academic clinical research sites in the US. The goal of the study is to predict the response of breast tumors to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in 60 patients. In order to reliably compare DOSI measurements across different instruments, operators and sites, we must be confident that the data quality is comparable. We require objective and reliable methods for identifying, correcting, and rejecting low quality data. To achieve this goal, we developed and tested an automated quality control algorithm that rejects data points below the instrument noise floor, improves tissue optical property recovery, and outputs a detailed data quality report. Using a new protocol for obtaining dark-noise data, we applied the algorithm to ACRIN patient data and successfully improved the quality of recovered physiological data in some cases.

Optimization criteria for control and instrumentation systems in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez, A.J.

1978-01-01

The system of dose limitation recently recommended by the International Commission on Radiation Protection includes, as a base for deciding what is reasonably achievable in dose reduction, the optimization of radioprotection systems. This paper, after compiling relevant points in the new system, discusses the application of optimization to control and instrumentation of radioprotection systems in nuclear power plants. Furthermore, an extension of the optimization criterion to nuclear safety systems is also presented and its application to control and instrumentation is discussed; systems including majority logics are particularly scrutinized. Finally, eventual regulatory implications are described. (author)

Specification of requirements for upgrades using digital instrument and control systems. Report prepared within the framework of the international working group on nuclear power plant control and instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

The need to develop good specifications of requirements for instrument and control (I and C) systems applies throughout the world and is becoming more and more important as more upgrades are planned. Better guidance on how to develop good requirements specifications would support safer, more effective and more economical refits and upgrades. The need for this was pointed out by the IAEA International Working Group on Nuclear Power Plant Control and Instrumentation (IWG-NPPCI). This report is the result of a series of advisory and consultants meetings held by the IAEA in 1997 and 1998 in Vienna. The scope of the activities described covers a methodology for the determination of requirements and the development of the necessary specifications and plans needed through the life-cycle of digital instrumentation and control systems. It is restricted to technical aspects and indicates subjects which should be included in specifications and plans at different phases

Safety critical FPGA-based NPP instrumentation and control systems: assessment, development and implementation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bakhmach, E. S.; Siora, A. A.; Tokarev, V. I. [Research and Production Corporation Radiy, 29 Geroev Stalingrada Str., Kirovograd 25006 (Ukraine); Kharchenko, V. S.; Sklyar, V. V.; Andrashov, A. A., E-mail: marketing@radiy.co [Center for Safety Infrastructure-Oriented Research and Analysis, 37 Astronomicheskaya Str., Kharkiv 61085 (Ukraine)

2010-10-15

The stages of development, production, verification, licensing and implementation methods and technologies of safety critical instrumentation and control systems for nuclear power plants (NPP) based on FPGA (Field Programmable Gates Arrays) technologies are described. A life cycle model and multi-version technologies of dependability and safety assurance of FPGA-based instrumentation and control systems are discussed. An analysis of NPP instrumentation and control systems construction principles developed by Research and Production Corporation Radiy using FPGA-technologies and results of these systems implementation and operation at Ukrainian and Bulgarian NPP are presented. The RADIY{sup TM} platform has been designed and developed by Research and Production Corporation Radiy, Ukraine. The main peculiarity of the RADIY{sup TM} platform is the use of FPGA as programmable components for logic control operation. The FPGA-based RADIY{sup TM} platform used for NPP instrumentation and control systems development ensures sca lability of system functions types, volume and peculiarities (by changing quantity and quality of sensors, actuators, input/output signals and control algorithms); sca lability of dependability (safety integrity) (by changing a number of redundant channel, tiers, diagnostic and reconfiguration procedures); sca lability of diversity (by changing types, depth and method of diversity selection). (Author)

Instrumentation, controls and automation in the power industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1991-01-01

The year 1991 will be remembered as the year EPRI joined with the ISA Power Division to present an outstanding group to technical papers at the First Annual ISA/EPRI Joint Controls and Automation Conference. All papers met the theme for the conference namely Innovative Instrumentation, Controls, and Automation Techniques for the Power Generation Industry and cover a myriad of application ranging from nuclear to conventional fossil to co-generation plants involving nuclear, conventional BTG, and combined cycle equipment applications

Real-time operation without a real-time operating system for instrument control and data acquisition

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Randolf; Poglitsch, Albrecht; Fumi, Fabio; Geis, Norbert; Hamidouche, Murad; Hoenle, Rainer; Looney, Leslie; Raab, Walfried; Viehhauser, Werner

2004-09-01

We are building the Field-Imaging Far-Infrared Line Spectrometer (FIFI LS) for the US-German airborne observatory SOFIA. The detector read-out system is driven by a clock signal at a certain frequency. This signal has to be provided and all other sub-systems have to work synchronously to this clock. The data generated by the instrument has to be received by a computer in a timely manner. Usually these requirements are met with a real-time operating system (RTOS). In this presentation we want to show how we meet these demands differently avoiding the stiffness of an RTOS. Digital I/O-cards with a large buffer separate the asynchronous working computers and the synchronous working instrument. The advantage is that the data processing computers do not need to process the data in real-time. It is sufficient that the computer can process the incoming data stream on average. But since the data is read-in synchronously, problems of relating commands and responses (data) have to be solved: The data is arriving at a fixed rate. The receiving I/O-card buffers the data in its buffer until the computer can access it. To relate the data to commands sent previously, the data is tagged by counters in the read-out electronics. These counters count the system's heartbeat and signals derived from that. The heartbeat and control signals synchronous with the heartbeat are sent by an I/O-card working as pattern generator. Its buffer gets continously programmed with a pattern which is clocked out on the control lines. A counter in the I/O-card keeps track of the amount of pattern words clocked out. By reading this counter, the computer knows the state of the instrument or knows the meaning of the data that will arrive with a certain time-tag.

Life Cycle V and V Process for Hardware Description Language Programs of Programmable Logic Device-based Instrumentation and Control Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cha, K. H.; Lee, D. Y.

2010-01-01

Programmable Logic Device (PLD), especially Complex PLD (CPLD) or Field Programmable Logic Array (FPGA), has been growing in interest in nuclear Instrumentation and Control (I and C) applications. PLD has been applied to replace an obsolete analog device or old-fashioned microprocessor, or to develop digital controller, subsystem or overall system on hardware aspects. This is the main reason why the PLD-based I and C design provides higher flexibility than the analog-based one, and the PLD-based I and C systems shows better real-time performance than the processor-based I and C systems. Due to the development of the PLD-based I and C systems, their nuclear qualification has been issued in the nuclear industry. Verification and Validation (V and V) is one of necessary qualification activities when a Hardware Description Language (HDL) is used to implement functions of the PLD-based I and C systems. The life cycle V and V process, described in this paper, has been defined as satisfying the nuclear V and V requirements, and it has been applied to verify Correctness, Completeness, and Consistency (3C) among design outputs in a safety-grade programmable logic controller and a safety-critical data communication system. Especially, software engineering techniques such as the Fagan Inspection, formal verification, simulated verification and automated testing have been defined for the life cycle V and V tasks of behavioral, structural, and physical design in VHDL

Instrumentation and Controls evaluation for space nuclear power systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, J.L.; Oakes, L.C.

1984-01-01

Design of control and protection systems should be coordinated with the design of the neutronic, thermal-hydraulic, and mechanical aspects of the core and plant at the earliest possible stage of concept development. An integrated systematic design approach is necessary to prevent uncoordinated choices in one technology area from imposing impractical or impossible requirements in another. Significant development and qualification will be required for virtually every aspect of reactor control and instrumentation. In-core instrumentation widely used in commercial light water reactors will not likely be usable in the higher temperatures of a space power plant. Thermocouples for temperature measurement and gamma thermometers for flux measurement appear to be the only viable candidates. Recent developments in ex-core neutron detectors may provide achievable alternatives to in-core measurements. Reliable electronic equipment and high-temperature actuators will require major development efforts

PLC/DTAM Software Programs for Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid ''L''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-01-01

This document describes the software programs for the Programmable Logic Controller and the Data Table Access Module for Pumping Instrumentation and Control skid ''L''. The Appendices contains copies of the printouts of these software programs

Recent developments in the field of nuclear power plant control and instrumentation in Hungary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pellionisz, P.

1992-01-01

A considerable percentage (32.8% in 1989) of electric energy in Hungary is produced by nuclear power plant Paks. The paper presents an overview of activities on control and instrumentation in the following areas: Control and instrumentation upgrading; training simulators; diagnostic systems. (author). 1 tab

Instrumental development and data processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franzen, J.

1978-01-01

A review of recent developments in mass spectrometry instrumentation is presented under the following headings: introduction (scope of mass spectrometry compared with neighbouring fields); ion sources and ionization techniques; spectrometers (instrumental developments); measuring procedures; coupling techniques; data systems; conclusions (that mass spectrometry should have a broader basis and that there would be mutual profit from a better penetration of mass spectrometry into fields of routine application). (U.K.)

The DCU: the detector control unit of the SAFARI instrument onboard SPICA

Science.gov (United States)

Clénet, A.; Ravera, L.; Bertrand, B.; Cros, A.; Hou, R.; Jackson, B. D.; van Leeuwen, B. J.; Van Loon, D.; Parot, Y.; Pointecouteau, E.; Sournac, A.; Ta, N.

2012-09-01

The SpicA FAR infrared Instrument (SAFARI) is a European instrument for the infrared domain telescope SPICA, a JAXA space mission. The SAFARI detectors are Transistor Edge Sensors (TES) arranged in 3 matrixes. The TES front end electronic is based on Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUIDs) and it does the readout of the 3500 detectors with Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) type architecture. The Detector Control Unit (DCU), contributed by IRAP, manages the readout of the TES by computing and providing the AC-bias signals (1 - 3 MHz) to the TES and by computing the demodulation of the returning signals. The SQUID being highly non-linear, the DCU has also to provide a feedback signal to increase the SQUID dynamic. Because of the propagation delay in the cables and the processing time, a classic feedback will not be stable for AC-bias frequencies up to 3 MHz. The DCU uses a specific technique to compensate for those delays: the BaseBand FeedBack (BBFB). This digital data processing is done for the 3500 pixels in parallel. Thus, to keep the DCU power budget within its allocation we have to specifically optimize the architecture of the digital circuit with respect to the power consumption. In this paper we will mainly present the DCU architecture. We will particularly focus on the BBFB technique used to linearize the SQUID and on the optimization done to reduce the power consumption of the digital processing circuit.

Temperature control system for optical elements in astronomical instrumentation

Science.gov (United States)

Verducci, Orlando; de Oliveira, Antonio C.; Ribeiro, Flávio F.; Vital de Arruda, Márcio; Gneiding, Clemens D.; Fraga, Luciano

2014-07-01

Extremely low temperatures may damage the optical components assembled inside of an astronomical instrument due to the crack in the resin or glue used to attach lenses and mirrors. The environment, very cold and dry, in most of the astronomical observatories contributes to this problem. This paper describes the solution implemented at SOAR for remotely monitoring and controlling temperatures inside of a spectrograph, in order to prevent a possible damage of the optical parts. The system automatically switches on and off some heat dissipation elements, located near the optics, as the measured temperature reaches a trigger value. This value is set to a temperature at which the instrument is not operational to prevent malfunction and only to protect the optics. The software was developed with LabVIEWTM and based on an object-oriented design that offers flexibility and ease of maintenance. As result, the system is able to keep the internal temperature of the instrument above a chosen limit, except perhaps during the response time, due to inertia of the temperature. This inertia can be controlled and even avoided by choosing the correct amount of heat dissipation and location of the thermal elements. A log file records the measured temperature values by the system for operation analysis.

MITS instrumentation error analysis report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, D.W.; Hillon, D.D.

1980-01-01

The MITS (Machine Interface Test System) installation consists of three types of process monitoring and control instrumentation: flow, pressure, and temperature. An effort has been made to assess the various instruments used and assign a value to the accuracy that can be expected. Efforts were also made to analyze the calibration and installation procedures to be used and determine how these might effect the system accuracy

Study of an induction brazing process for the instrumentation feed through part

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hong, Jintae; Ahn, Sung Ho; Joung, Chang Young; Kim, Ka Hye; Heo, Sung Ho [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2013-10-15

In general, brazing is used to seal out the feed through part of thin wires, and several studies in nuclear fields used brazing as a sealing method. However, previous techniques using a manual torch or an induction brazing by blowing Ar gas as a shield gas cannot avoid soot, which is difficult to remove. In addition, because their brazing quality is not uniform, instrumentation cables cannot deliver signals due to damage of excessive heat. In this study, an automatically controlled induction brazing system has been developed including a vacuum chamber to prevent generation of soot. A loop is a facility to carry out irradiation test for nuclear fuels and materials in a research reactor by measuring the irradiation behavior of them in a timely manner. Because flow condition of coolant in a loop should be the same with that of NPPs', highly pressurized (15.5 MPa) and highly heated (300 .deg. C) coolant is circulated through the loop. Therefore, sealing of the pressure boundary is one of the most important processes in fabricating the in-pile test section (IPS). In particular, sensors such as thermocouples, LVDTs and SPNDs are attached in a test rig and deliver signals to the measuring device at the outside of the reactor pool through instrumentation cables, which pass through the pressure boundary of the test rig. Therefore, it needs to seal out the instrumentation feed through part to not leak the coolant.

Development of FPGA-based safety-related instrumentation and control systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oda, N.; Tanaka, A.; Izumi, M.; Tarumi, T.; Sato, T. [Toshiba Corporation, Isogo Nuclear Engineering Center, Yokohama (Japan)

2004-07-01

Toshiba has developed systems which perform signal processing by field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) for safety-related instrumentation and control systems. FPGA is a device which consists only of defined digital circuit: hardware, which performs defined processing. FPGA-based system solves issues existing both in the conventional systems operated by analog circuits (analog-based system) and the systems operated by central processing units (CPU-based system). The advantages of applying FPGA are to keep the long-life supply of products, improving testability (verification), and to reduce the drift which may occur in analog-based system. Considering application to safety-related systems, nonvolatile and non rewritable FPGA which is impossible to be changed after once manufactured has been adopted in Toshiba FPGA-based system. The systems which Toshiba developed this time are Power range Monitor (PRM) and Trip Module (TM). These systems are compatible with the conventional analog-based systems and the CPU-based systems. Therefore, requested cost for upgrading will be minimized. Toshiba is planning to expand application of FPGA-based technology by adopting this development method to the other safety-related systems from now on. (authors)

Microprocessor-controlled data-acquisition instrument for neutron-activation measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, B.A.

1981-01-01

This paper describes a microprocessor controlled data acquisition instrument designed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to provide experimenters with a diagnostic tool for measuring the performance of laser imploded fusion targets via neutron activation techniques. This instrument features the ability to count four independent inputs simultaneously while providing a front panel readout of these inputs, plus a time of day clock. A hardcopy printout of the data is also provided by a built-in thermal printer. All running modes and parameters are user selectable via a front panel keypad, and a complete set of internal self-testing diagnostics are available for debug

Instrumentation for Nuclear Applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

The objective of this project was to develop and coordinate nuclear instrumentation standards with resulting economies for the nuclear and radiation fields. There was particular emphasis on coordination and management of the Nuclear Instrument Module (NIM) System, U.S. activity involving the CAMAC international standard dataway system, the FASTBUS modular high-speed data acquisition and control system and processing and management of national nuclear instrumentation and detector standards, as well as a modest amount of assistance and consultation services to the Pollutant Characterization and Safety Research Division of the Office of Health and Environmental Research. The principal accomplishments were the development and maintenance of the NIM instrumentation system that is the predominant instrumentation system in the nuclear and radiation fields worldwide, the CAMAC digital interface system in coordination with the ESONE Committee of European Laboratories, the FASTBUS high-speed system and numerous national and international nuclear instrumentation standards

Process Skill Assessment Instrument: Innovation to measure student’s learning result holistically

Science.gov (United States)

Azizah, K. N.; Ibrahim, M.; Widodo, W.

2018-01-01

Science process skills (SPS) are very important skills for students. However, the fact that SPS is not being main concern in the primary school learning is undeniable. This research aimed to develop a valid, practical, and effective assessment instrument to measure student’s SPS. Assessment instruments comprise of worksheet and test. This development research used one group pre-test post-test design. Data were obtained with validation, observation, and test method to investigate validity, practicality, and the effectivenss of the instruments. Results showed that the validity of assessment instruments is very valid, the reliability is categorized as reliable, student SPS activities have a high percentage, and there is significant improvement on student’s SPS score. It can be concluded that assessment instruments of SPS are valid, practical, and effective to be used to measure student’s SPS result.

Causes and effects of vital instrumentation and control power supply bus failures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muhlheim, M.D.; Murphy, G.A.

1987-01-01

This article presents the results of a study in which the objective was to evaluate nuclear power-plant operating experience to identify the causes and the effects of vital instrumentation and control (I and C) power supply bus failures. Vital I and C power is normally provided to essential instrumentation and controls through either vital d-c or a-c power supply systems. The vital d-c power supply system generally provides control power for starting the diesel generators, for operating electrical circuit breakers, and for controlling various logic circuits. The vital d-c power system also supplies vital a-c power through an inverter. The vital a-c power supply system generally feeds the reactor protection system channels, the engineered safety features actuation system channels, and critical instrumentation in the control room. The leading cause of vital bus failures is inverter failures; other causes are human errors, battery charger failures, and miscellaneous failures. The effects of these failures are that the margin of safety can be degraded by (1) denying key information to the operators, (2) inducing plant transients, (3) causing safety injection actuations, and (4) causing the loss of shutdown cooling flow

Instrumentation for tomograph positioning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frenkel, A.D.B.; Castello Branco, L.M.; Reznik, D.S.; Santos, C.A.C.; Borges, J.C.

1986-01-01

The COPPE's Nuclear Instrumentation Lab. has been developing researches directed towards the implementation of a Computer-Based Tomography System. Basically, the system reported in this paper can be divided into three major parts: the mechanical part, responsible for the physical movement (Stepper-Motors, table, etc.); the electronic part, which controls the mechanical part and handles the data-acquisition process (microcomputer, interfaces, etc.); and finally, the support of a software-oriented system, including control programs and information processing routines. (Author) [pt

WTEC panel report on European nuclear instrumentation and controls. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

White, J.D.; Lanning, D.D.; Johnson, P.M.H. [eds.] [World Technology Evaluation Center, Baltimore, MD (United States); Shelton, R.D. [World Technology Evaluation Center, Baltimore, MD (United States)

1991-12-01

A study of instrumentation and controls (I and C) technology used in nuclear power plants in Europe was conducted by a panel of US specialists. This study plants in Europe was conducted by a panel of US specialists. This study included a review of the literature on the subject, followed by a visit to some of the leading organizations in Europe in the field nuclear I and C. Areas covered are: (1) role of the operator and control room design; (2) transition from analog to digital technology; (3) computerized operator support systems for fault management; (4) control strategies and techniques; (5) Nuclear power plant I and C architecture; (6) instrumentation and (7) computer standards and tools. The finding relate to poor reactions.

Process instrumentation and control for cryogenic system of VECC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pal, Sandip

2017-01-01

Superconducting Cyclotron, which comprises of superconducting main magnet and cryopanels operating at 4.3 K, are operational at VECC in three phases starting from 2005; finally without interruption from July, 2010 to November, 2016. Cryogenic loads of the Cyclotron are catered by any of the two helium liquefiers/refrigerators (250W and 415W @ 4.5K) and associated cryogen distribution system with extensive helium gas management system. The system also consists of 31 K liters of liquid Nitrogen (LN_2) storage and delivery system, necessary of radiation shield. EPICS (Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System) architecture is open source, flexible and has unlimited tags as compared to the commercial Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) packages. Hence, it has been adopted to design the SCADA module. The EPICS Input Output Controller (IOC) communicates with four PLCs over Ethernet based control LAN to control/monitor 618 numbers of field Inputs/ Outputs (I/O). The control system is fully automated and does not require any human intervention for routine operation. Since these two liquefiers share the same high pressure (HP) and low pressure (LP) pipelines, any pressure fluctuation due to rapid change in flow sometimes causes trip of the liquefiers. Few modifications are made in the control scheme in HP and LP zones to avoid liquefier trip. The plant is running very reliably round the clock and the historical data of important parameters during plant operation are archived for plant maintenance, easy diagnosis and future modifications. Total pure helium cycle gas inventory is monitored through EPICS for early detection of helium loss from its trend

PLC/DTAM Software Programs for Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid L

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-01-03

This document describes the software programs for the Programmable Logic Controller and the Data Table Access Module for Pumping Instrumentation and Control skid ''L''. The Appendices contains copies of the printouts of these software programs.

A practicable signal processing algorithm for industrial nuclear instrument

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Yaogeng; Gao Song; Yang Wujiao

2006-01-01

In order to reduce the statistical error and to improve dynamic performances of the industrial nuclear instrument, a practicable method of nuclear measurement signal processing is developed according to industrial nuclear measurement features. The algorithm designed is implemented with a single-chip microcomputer. The results of application in (radiation level gauge has proved the effectiveness of this method). (authors)

Food Processing Control

Science.gov (United States)

1997-01-01

When NASA started plarning for manned space travel in 1959, the myriad challenges of sustaining life in space included a seemingly mundane but vitally important problem: How and what do you feed an astronaut? There were two main concerns: preventing food crumbs from contaminating the spacecraft's atmosphere or floating into sensitive instruments, and ensuring complete freedom from potentially catastrophic disease-producing bacteria, viruses, and toxins. To solve these concerns, NASA enlisted the help of the Pillsbury Company. Pillsbury quickly solved the first problem by coating bite-size foods to prevent crumbling. They developed the hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) concept to ensure against bacterial contamination. Hazard analysis is a systematic study of product, its ingredients, processing conditions, handling, storage, packing, distribution, and directions for consumer use to identify sensitive areas that might prove hazardous. Hazard analysis provides a basis for blueprinting the Critical Control Points (CCPs) to be monitored. CCPs are points in the chain from raw materials to the finished product where loss of control could result in unacceptable food safety risks. In early 1970, Pillsbury plants were following HACCP in production of food for Earthbound consumers. Pillsbury's subsequent training courses for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) personnel led to the incorporation of HACCP in the FDA's Low Acid Canned Foods Regulations, set down in the mid-1970s to ensure the safety of all canned food products in the U.S.

Quality control through dosimetry at a contract radiation processing facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du Plessis, T.A.; Roediger, A.H.A.

1985-01-01

Reliable dosimetry procedures constitute a very important part of process control and quality assurance at a contract gamma radiation processing facility that caters for a large variety of different radiation applications. The choice, calibration and routine intercalibration of the dosimetry systems employed form the basis of a sound dosimetry policy in radiation processing. With the dosimetric procedures established, detailed dosimetric mapping of the irradiator upon commissioning (and whenever source modifications take place) is carried out to determine the radiation processing characteristics and peformance of the plant. Having established the irradiator parameters, routine dosimetry procedures, being part of the overall quality control measures, are employed. In addition to routine dosimetry, independent monitoring of routine dosimetry is performed on a bi-monthly basis and the results indicate a variation of better than 3%. On an annaul basis the dosimetry systems are intercalibrated through at least one primary standard dosimetry laboratory and to date a variation of better than 5% has been experienced. The company also participates in the Pilot Dose Assurance Service of the International Atomic Energy Agency, using the alanine/ESR dosimetry system. Routine calibration of the instrumentation employed is carried out on a regular basis. Detailed permanent records are compiled on all dosimetric and instrumentation calibrations, and the routine dosimetry employed at the plant. Certificates indicating the measured absorbed radiation doses are issued on request and in many cases are used for the dosimetric release of sterilized medical and pharmaceutical products. These procedures, used by Iso-Ster at its industrial gamma radiation facility, as well as the experience built up over a number of years using radiation dosimetry for process control and quality assurance are discussed. (author)

Regulatory Research of the PWR Severe Accident. Information Needs and Instrumentation for Hydrogen Control and Management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Gun Chul; Suh, Kune Y.; Lee, Jin Yong; Lee, Seung Dong [Seoul Nat' l Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2001-03-15

The current research is concerned with generation of basic engineering data needed in the process of developing hydrogen control guidelines as part of accident management strategies for domestic nuclear power plants and formulating pertinent regulatory requirements. Major focus is placed on identification of information needs and instrumentation methods for hydrogen control and management in the primary system and in the containment, development of decision-making trees for hydrogen management and their quantification, the instrument availability under severe accident conditions, critical review of relevant hydrogen generation model and phenomena In relation to hydrogen behavior, we analyzed the severe accident related hydrogen generation in the UCN 3{center_dot}4 PWR with modified hydrogen generation model. On the basis of the hydrogen mixing experiment and related GASFLOW calculation, the necessity of 3-dimensional analysis of the hydrogen mixing was investigated. We examined the hydrogen control models related to the PAR(Passive Autocatalytic Recombiner) and performed MAAP4 calculation in relation to the decision tree to estimate the capability and the role of the PAR during a severe accident.

Regulatory Research of the PWR Severe Accident. Information Needs and Instrumentation for Hydrogen Control and Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Gun Chul; Suh, Kune Y.; Lee, Jin Yong; Lee, Seung Dong

2001-03-01

The current research is concerned with generation of basic engineering data needed in the process of developing hydrogen control guidelines as part of accident management strategies for domestic nuclear power plants and formulating pertinent regulatory requirements. Major focus is placed on identification of information needs and instrumentation methods for hydrogen control and management in the primary system and in the containment, development of decision-making trees for hydrogen management and their quantification, the instrument availability under severe accident conditions, critical review of relevant hydrogen generation model and phenomena In relation to hydrogen behavior, we analyzed the severe accident related hydrogen generation in the UCN 3·4 PWR with modified hydrogen generation model. On the basis of the hydrogen mixing experiment and related GASFLOW calculation, the necessity of 3-dimensional analysis of the hydrogen mixing was investigated. We examined the hydrogen control models related to the PAR(Passive Autocatalytic Recombiner) and performed MAAP4 calculation in relation to the decision tree to estimate the capability and the role of the PAR during a severe accident

Nuclear electronic instrument systems using the Harwell 6000 series

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seymour, F.D.; Snelling, G.F.; Hawthorn, I.

1980-01-01

This report describes some of the more recent equipment designed by the Systems Instrumentation Unit (AERE, Harwell), in the Harwell 6000 modular format. The units include: Laboratory Instruments (alpha monitors, beta-gamma detectors, spectrometers, automatic sample changer systems, automated counting laboratory systems, low power systems). Environmental Monitors (nuclear plant monitor, air monitor, sea bed monitor). Process Instruments (plutonium waste control, x-ray fluorescence monitor, process monitor, beam current monitor, effluent monitors). (U.K.)

Quality control of nuclear medicine instruments, 1991; Control de calidad de los instrumentos de medicina nuclear, 1991

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-12-01

This document gives detailed guidance on the quality control of various instruments used in nuclear medicine. A first preliminary document was drawn up in 1979. A revised and extended version, incorporating recommended procedures, test schedules and protocols was prepared in 1982. The first edition of 'Quality Control of Nuclear Medicine Instruments', IAEA-TECDOC-317, was printed in late 1984. Recent advances in the field of nuclear medicine imaging made it necessary to add a chapter on Camera-Computer Systems and another on SPECT Systems.

Instrumentation, control and automation in wastewater - from London 1973 to Narbonne 2013

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsson, G.; Carlsson, B.; Comas, J.

2014-01-01

, instrumentation, computer systems and control theory. However, many developments have not been addressed here, such as sewer control, drinking water treatment and water distribution control. It is hoped that this review can stimulate new attempts to more effectively apply control and automation in water systems...

Development of intelligent system for a thermal analysis instrument

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Xiaoli; Wu Guoxin; Shi Yongchao

2005-01-01

The key techniques for the intelligent analysis instrument developed are proposed. Based on the technique of virtual instrumentation, the intelligent PID control algorithm to control the temperature of thermal analysis instrument is described. The dynamic character and the robust performance of traditional PID controls are improved through the dynamic gain factor, temperature rate change factor, the forecast factor, and the temperature correction factor is introduced. Using the graphic development environment of LabVIEW, the design of system modularization and the graphic display are implemented. By means of multiple mathematical modules, intelligent data processing is realized

Principles relating to the digital instrumentation and control design approach 2017

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-01-01

The design of the instrumentation and control of nuclear facilities uses digital systems that offer increasing computation and interconnection capabilities. They enable advanced functions to be carried out, such as calculation of the critical heat flux ratio, help to detect hardware failures in real time and provide operators with rich, flexible interfaces. However, these evolved functions may be affected by faults that make their logic systematically inadequate in certain cases, which introduces sources of failure other than random hardware failures and raises questions about the informal concept of the increased 'complexity' of instrumentation and control. Appropriate design principles shall therefore be applied so that this logic is as fault-free as possible and can be assessed by an independent body such as IRSN. This document presents the main problems associated with the design of the digital instrumentation and control of a complex facility, as well as the general principles to follow to demonstrate that a satisfactory safety level has been achieved. The doctrine elements presented in this document are the result of the experience acquired during assessments carried out for the French nuclear power plants, enhanced by exchanges with experts from the nuclear sector, and reflect French practice; they apply in other sectors in which a high level of confidence can be attributed to instrumentation and control. The normative texts cited in this document provide detailed requirements that are open to considerable interpretation, as the nature of the problem posed does not enable relevant and measurable criteria to be defined in all cases. This document aims to explain the principles underlying these detailed requirements and to give the means for interpreting them in each situation. (authors)

Isotope-equipped measuring instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyagawa, Kazuo; Amano, Hiroshi

1980-01-01

In the steel industry, though the investment in isotope-equipped measuring instruments is small as compared with that in machinery, they play important role in the moisture measurement in sintering and blast furnaces, the thickness measurement in rolling process and others in automatic control systems. The economic aspect of the isotope-equipped measuring instruments is described on the basis of the practices in Kimitsu Works of Nippon Steel Corporation: distribution of such instruments, evaluation of economic effects, usefulness evaluation in view of raising the accuracy, and usefulness evaluation viewed from the failure of the isotope instruments. The evaluation of economic effects was made under the premise that the isotope-equipped measuring instruments are not employed. Then, the effects of raising the accuracy are evaluated for a γ-ray plate thickness gauge and a neutron moisture gauge for coke in a blast furnace. Finally, the usefulness was evaluated, assuming possible failure of the isotope-equipped measuring instruments. (J.P.N.)

Emergency Diesel: Safety-related instrumentation and control with programmable logic controllers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breidenich, G.; Luedtke, M.

2004-01-01

This report presents a new concept for the design of emergency diesel equipment protection circuits as a part of the safety related instrumentation in the nuclear power plant Biblis, units A and B. The concept was implemented with state of the art SIMATIC S7/316 programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and can be adapted to any system with high availability requirements (e.g. power plant turbines, aircraft engines, mining pumps etc). (orig.)

Construction of the monitoring, processing and logging systems supporting for management, operation and maintenance of the Dalat reactor control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trinh Dinh Hai; Nguyen Thanh Cuong; Huynh Ton Nghiem; Phan Quoc Minh; Nguyen Duc Tuan; Nguyen Nhi Dien

2004-01-01

From 1/2002 to 12/2003, we implemented successfully a project, entitled 'Construction of the monitoring, processing and logging systems supporting for management, operation and maintenance of the Dalat reactor control system' under the assistance of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Its main results such as Testing Apparatus based on microcontroller for all functional boards of the Control Logic System of the Reactor Control System (RCS). Technical support CD - ROM for Process Instrumentation System, software for logging automatically information from important systems of the RCS through LAN, program for failure management of Process Instrumentation System have been playing an important role for observation, operation support, maintenance of the RCS. Through this project, the implementation group has grown up rapidly. The control and instrumentation group has been provided with some modern equipment, electronic components, and materials for maintenance work and research development in the years to come. This paper presents typical results and discussions. (author)

Adaptation of instruments developed to study the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shushanikova, Anastasia A.

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The objective of the research was to adapt for use in Russian-language contexts a set of instruments that assess the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic practices. The instruments explore the effectiveness of different types of therapy, without evaluating the abstract, idealized characteristics or specifics of each approach, specialist, or therapeutic case. The adapted instruments are based on reflective data about the significance of therapeutic events, from the point of view of both the client and the therapist. We translated, edited, and adapted forms developed by John McLeod and Mick Cooper — a “Goals Form”, a “Goal Assessment Form”, a “Post-Session Form”, and a “Therapy Personalization Form”. The adaption was intended to cohere with the stylistic and cultural aspects of the Russian language. The research showed that the instruments and the methods have great potential for practical and theoretical application in qualitative studies to formulate hypotheses and to verify them in quantitative studies. The phenomenological analysis reveals the reliability, appropriateness, and validity of the adapted instruments for identifying specific meanings of the psychotherapeutic cases considered. The instruments can be used in studies exploring helpful aspects and effectiveness in different types of therapy (cognitive, existential, outdoor therapy, online counseling, etc. with different groups of clients. It is reasonable to continue the use of the Russian-language version of the instruments in further studies exploring the effectiveness of psychological practices. The adapted instruments facilitate comparison and cross-cultural studies, and formulation of meaningful hypotheses about the effectiveness and quality of the psychotherapeutic process.

The quality of instruments to assess the process of shared decision making: A systematic review

Science.gov (United States)

Bomhof-Roordink, Hanna; Smith, Ian P.; Scholl, Isabelle; Stiggelbout, Anne M.; Pieterse, Arwen H.

2018-01-01

Objective To inventory instruments assessing the process of shared decision making and appraise their measurement quality, taking into account the methodological quality of their validation studies. Methods In a systematic review we searched seven databases (PubMed, Embase, Emcare, Cochrane, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Academic Search Premier) for studies investigating instruments measuring the process of shared decision making. Per identified instrument, we assessed the level of evidence separately for 10 measurement properties following a three-step procedure: 1) appraisal of the methodological quality using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist, 2) appraisal of the psychometric quality of the measurement property using three possible quality scores, 3) best-evidence synthesis based on the number of studies, their methodological and psychometrical quality, and the direction and consistency of the results. The study protocol was registered at PROSPERO: CRD42015023397. Results We included 51 articles describing the development and/or evaluation of 40 shared decision-making process instruments: 16 patient questionnaires, 4 provider questionnaires, 18 coding schemes and 2 instruments measuring multiple perspectives. There is an overall lack of evidence for their measurement quality, either because validation is missing or methods are poor. The best-evidence synthesis indicated positive results for a major part of instruments for content validity (50%) and structural validity (53%) if these were evaluated, but negative results for a major part of instruments when inter-rater reliability (47%) and hypotheses testing (59%) were evaluated. Conclusions Due to the lack of evidence on measurement quality, the choice for the most appropriate instrument can best be based on the instrument’s content and characteristics such as the perspective that they assess. We recommend refinement and validation of

Instrument validation system of general application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Filshtein, E.L.

1990-01-01

This paper describes the Instrument Validation System (IVS) as a software system which has the capability of evaluating the performance of a set of functionally related instrument channels to identify failed instruments and to quantify instrument drift. Under funding from Combustion Engineering (C-E), the IVS has been developed to the extent that a computer program exists whose use has been demonstrated. The initial development work shows promise for success and for wide application, not only to power plants, but also to industrial manufacturing and process control. Applications in the aerospace and military sector are also likely

The upgraded control and instrumentation system of C9 irradiation device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pulpa, A.; Parvu, C.; Valeca, S. C.; Ancuta, M.; Ana, E.

2016-01-01

C9 Capsule is an irradiation device of TRIGA SSR, which was designed for nuclear fuel cycling testing. It simulates the load follow-up by the power reactor, i.e. CANDU 700MW operating with variable load. The irradiation tests in the power cycling conditions were conceived for complete characterization of the fuel behaviour. The irradiation conditions are similar to those found in nuclear power plant when it is operated in load following mode. The power cycling tests are performed by using an under flux moving system. The paper presents the upgraded control and instrumentation system of the ''9C irradiation device, designed and manufactured in order to enhance the performance of this system for better surveillance and processing of the acquired experimental data. (authors)

Nuclear power plant control and instrumentation activities in Argentina during 1989-1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lorenzetti, J.R.

1992-01-01

A brief resume of the activities in the different areas of control and instrumentation is included. As there was a delay in the construction of the new power plant most of the effort were dedicated to the plants that they are in operation. It has been added instrumentation to have better information in the control room and to check new variables of the plant according with the experience learned from the operation. It was dedicated special strength in the areas of training simulators and in service inspection. (author)

Instrumentation and Controls Division, Technical Support Department Management Plan, FY 1993--FY 1996

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adkisson, B.P.; Kunselman, C.W.; Effler, R.P.; Miller, D.R.; Millet, A.J.; Stansberry, C.T.

1993-08-01

This report describes the organization, key functions, and major activities of the Technical Support Department The Department is the programmatic support element of the Instrumentation and Controls Division. The Department`s primary focus is the support of existing equipment and systems at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that are generally characterized as instrumentation and controls. The support takes the form of repair, calibration, fabrication, field engineering, preventive maintenance, software support, and record keeping.

Ageing management of control and instrumentation systems for Indian Nuclear Power Stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Premchandran, T.; Ghoshal, B.; Shirolkar, K.M.; Ahmad, S.N.

2006-01-01

During the time of enmasse coolant channel replacement program, undertaken at Rajasthan Atomic Power Station and Madras Atomic Power Station, upgradation and ageing management activities of these units were also taken up with a view to improve the performance of the station. This paper presents the approach followed for handling the issues, pertaining to the ageing management and obsolesce of various components of Control and Instrumentation systems of these stations. Ageing related issues for field instruments, control room instruments and hardware like cables, terminal blocks and relays will be covered in this paper. It will also cover various aspects of ageing management like assessment of degradation due to ageing, policy followed for identifying the instruments that are to be replaced, selection procedure for items for assessment of residual life, testing method followed for life assessment and problems faced during replacement. From the experience gained, the issues to be addressed during design and construction stages of future plants to minimize the ageing related problems are also discussed in this paper. (author)

A set of portable radioisotopic control and measuring instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pospeev, V.V.; Sidorov, V.N.; Tesnavs, Eh.R.; Uleksin, V.I.

1979-01-01

The problems and perspectives are examined of the portable radioisotope instruments application in agriculture, building industry, engeeniring and geological survay and in melioration. Principles are given of creation a series of radioisotopic instruments based on the principle of ganging. The series described consists of radioisotopic densimeters and moisture gages of the portable type, based on the ganging principle. The instruments differ in the measuring converters and have unified information processing and power supply devices. Criteria are stated for the ganging principle estimation, in particular, estimation of the technical means' compatibility. Four different types of compatibility are distinguished: an information compatibility; a metrological compatibility; structural and operational compatibility. Description is given of the unified information processing device - the unified pulse counter of the SIP-1M type and description of a row of radioisotopic measuring converters, which provides a possibility for completing the portable radioisotope densimeter of the RPP-2 type, intended for measuring densities of concrets and soils in the surface layer up to 30 cm and the density range from 1000 to 2500 kg/m 3 ; portable radioisotope densimeter of the RPP-1 type having measuring range from 600 to 1500 kg/m 3 ; surface-depth radioisotopic densimeter of the PPGR-1 type and surface-depth radioisotopic moisture gage of the VPGR-1 type [ru

Interfacing to accelerator instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shea, T.J.

1995-01-01

As the sensory system for an accelerator, the beam instrumentation provides a tremendous amount of diagnostic information. Access to this information can vary from periodic spot checks by operators to high bandwidth data acquisition during studies. In this paper, example applications will illustrate the requirements on interfaces between the control system and the instrumentation hardware. A survey of the major accelerator facilities will identify the most popular interface standards. The impact of developments such as isochronous protocols and embedded digital signal processing will also be discussed

Instrumentation & Data Acquisition System (D AS) Engineer

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Markus Deon

2015-01-01

The primary job of an Instrumentation and Data Acquisition System (DAS) Engineer is to properly measure physical phenomenon of hardware using appropriate instrumentation and DAS equipment designed to record data during a specified test of the hardware. A DAS system includes a CPU or processor, a data storage device such as a hard drive, a data communication bus such as Universal Serial Bus, software to control the DAS system processes like calibrations, recording of data and processing of data. It also includes signal conditioning amplifiers, and certain sensors for specified measurements. My internship responsibilities have included testing and adjusting Pacific Instruments Model 9355 signal conditioning amplifiers, writing and performing checkout procedures, writing and performing calibration procedures while learning the basics of instrumentation.

PLC and DTAM Software Programs for Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid P

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-01-01

This document describe the software programs for the Programmable Logic Controller and the Datable Access Module for Pumping Instrumentation and Control skid ''P''. The Appendices contains copies of the printouts of these software programs

Optical fibers and their instrumentation applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boisde, Gilbert.

1982-09-01

The use of optical fibers in instrumentation requires a knowledge of their properties as ''photon carriers'' and ''sensors''. New instrumentation design implies a satisfactory evaluation of the entire measurement circuit, including the emitter, optical coupling, optical fiber with its physical, spectral and physico-chemical properties, the connector, receiver, signal amplifier and data processing system. An example, is provided of the development of a new technique in physico-chemical instrumentation: remote spectrophotometry. Three aspects are discussed: 1) industrial measurement in ''process control'' using the Telephot (R), 2) remote spectral measurement, 3) opical multiplexing. This is followed by a review of various optical fiber based instrumental techniques used in the fields of medicine (endoscopy, fluorothermy, laser surgery), solar energy industrial applications subject to electrical disturbances (position sensors, strain measurements), and in physico-chemical analysis (fluorescence, redox potentials) [fr

MathWorks Simulink and C++ integration with the new VLT PLC-based standard development platform for instrument control systems

Science.gov (United States)

Kiekebusch, Mario J.; Di Lieto, Nicola; Sandrock, Stefan; Popovic, Dan; Chiozzi, Gianluca

2014-07-01

ESO is in the process of implementing a new development platform, based on PLCs, for upcoming VLT control systems (new instruments and refurbishing of existing systems to manage obsolescence issues). In this context, we have evaluated the integration and reuse of existing C++ libraries and Simulink models into the real-time environment of BECKHOFF Embedded PCs using the capabilities of the latest version of TwinCAT software and MathWorks Embedded Coder. While doing so the aim was to minimize the impact of the new platform by adopting fully tested solutions implemented in C++. This allows us to reuse the in house expertise, as well as extending the normal capabilities of the traditional PLC programming environments. We present the progress of this work and its application in two concrete cases: 1) field rotation compensation for instrument tracking devices like derotators, 2) the ESO standard axis controller (ESTAC), a generic model-based controller implemented in Simulink and used for the control of telescope main axes.

Relating microstructure, sensory and instrumental texture of processed oat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. SALMENKALLIO-MARTTILA

2008-12-01

Full Text Available This study is a part of a larger project aiming to produce new, healthy, and tasty food ingredients from oat. Germination and different heating processes can be used to improve the texture and flavour of cereals. In this study effects of germination and wet and dry heating on the microstructure, instrumental structure and sensory properties of two oat varieties were assessed. The microstructure of native, germinated, autoclaved and extruded grains of the hulled cv. Veli and hull-less cv. Lisbeth was examined by light microscopy, the texture was measured by determining the milling energy and hardness of the grains and sensory characteristics were evaluated with descriptive sensory profile analysis. In cv. Veli the cells of the starchy endosperm were smaller than in cv. Lisbeth and ß-glucan was concentrated in the subaleurone layer. In cv. Lisbeth ß-glucan was evenly distributed in the starchy endosperm. The grains of cv. Lisbeth were more extensively modified in the germination process than the grains of cv. Veli, otherwise the effects of processing on the grains of the two cultivars were similar. Germination caused cell wall degradation, autoclaving and extrusion cooking caused starch gelatinization. Autoclaving resulted in the hardest perceived texture in oat. Gelatinization of starch appeared to contribute more to the hardness of oat groats than the cell wall structure. Of the instrumental methods used in this study the milling energy measurement appeared to be the most useful method for the analysis of the effects of processing on grain structure.;

WTEC panel report on European nuclear instrumentation and controls. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, J.D.; Lanning, D.D.; Beltracchi, L.; Best, F.R.; Easter, J.R.

1991-12-01

A study of instrumentation and controls (I and C) technology used in nuclear power plants in Europe was conducted by a panel of American specialists. The study included a review of the literature on the subject, followed by a visit to some of the leading organizations in Europe in the field of nuclear I and C. The findings of the study are presented in the report. The scope is limited to pressurized water reactors in Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Norway and Russia. Specific topics include: The role of the operator and control room design; the transition from analog to digital technology; computerized operator support systems for fault management; control strategies and techniques; an investigation of nuclear power plant I and C architecture; instrumentation; computer standards and tools. A companion study is JTEC Panel Report on Nuclear Power in Japan (PB90-215724)

Integration of instrumentation and processing software of a laser speckle contrast imaging system

Science.gov (United States)

Carrick, Jacob J.

Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) has the potential to be a powerful tool in medicine, but more research in the field is required so it can be used properly. To help in the progression of Michigan Tech's research in the field, a graphical user interface (GUI) was designed in Matlab to control the instrumentation of the experiments as well as process the raw speckle images into contrast images while they are being acquired. The design of the system was successful and is currently being used by Michigan Tech's Biomedical Engineering department. This thesis describes the development of the LSCI GUI as well as offering a full introduction into the history, theory and applications of LSCI.

PLC and DTAM Software Programs for Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid ''M''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-01-01

This document describes the software programs for the Programmable Logic Controller and the Data Table Access Module for Pumping Instrumentation and Control skid ''M''. The Appendices contains copies of the printouts of these software programs

THE ACCOUNTING REGULATION PROCESS IN THE FIELD OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Coroiu Sorina Ioana

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Our paper develops an analysis on the accounting regulation process by considering the field of financial instruments as one of the most controversial areas of financial reporting. After a brief introduction, comprising aspects related to the accounting regulation process, we first stop upon the historical evolution of the two main accounting referential that currently collaborate through the convergence process. Our analysis focuses both on standards first issuance and on their amendment process. A special emphasize is given to the international accounting referential. The obtained results enhance the complexity of the approached field and indicate significant steps still needed to be taken.

Power station instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jervis, M.W.

1993-01-01

Power stations are characterized by a wide variety of mechanical and electrical plant operating with structures, liquids and gases working at high pressures and temperatures and with large mass flows. The voltages and currents are also the highest that occur in most industries. In order to achieve maximum economy, the plant is operated with relatively small margins from conditions that can cause rapid plant damage, safety implications, and very high financial penalties. In common with other process industries, power stations depend heavily on control and instrumentation. These systems have become particularly significant, in the cost-conscious privatized environment, for providing the means to implement the automation implicit in maintaining safety standards, improving generation efficiency and reducing operating manpower costs. This book is for professional instrumentation engineers who need to known about their use in power stations and power station engineers requiring information about the principles and choice of instrumentation available. There are 8 chapters; chapter 4 on instrumentation for nuclear steam supply systems is indexed separately. (Author)

Conceptual design of the X-IFU Instrument Control Unit on board the ESA Athena mission

Science.gov (United States)

Corcione, L.; Ligori, S.; Capobianco, V.; Bonino, D.; Valenziano, L.; Guizzo, G. P.

2016-07-01

Athena is one of L-class missions selected in the ESA Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 program for the science theme of the Hot and Energetic Universe. The Athena model payload includes the X-ray Integral Field Unit (X-IFU), an advanced actively shielded X-ray microcalorimeter spectrometer for high spectral resolution imaging, utilizing cooled Transition Edge Sensors. This paper describes the preliminary architecture of Instrument Control Unit (ICU), which is aimed at operating all XIFU's subsystems, as well as at implementing the main functional interfaces of the instrument with the S/C control unit. The ICU functions include the TC/TM management with S/C, science data formatting and transmission to S/C Mass Memory, housekeeping data handling, time distribution for synchronous operations and the management of the X-IFU components (i.e. CryoCoolers, Filter Wheel, Detector Readout Electronics Event Processor, Power Distribution Unit). ICU functions baseline implementation for the phase-A study foresees the usage of standard and Space-qualified components from the heritage of past and current space missions (e.g. Gaia, Euclid), which currently encompasses Leon2/Leon3 based CPU board and standard Space-qualified interfaces for the exchange commands and data between ICU and X-IFU subsystems. Alternative architecture, arranged around a powerful PowerPC-based CPU, is also briefly presented, with the aim of endowing the system with enhanced hardware resources and processing power capability, for the handling of control and science data processing tasks not defined yet at this stage of the mission study.

Proceedings of symposium on intelligent nuclear instrumentation-2001

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kataria, S.K.; Vaidya, P.P.; Das, Debashis; Narurkar, P.V.

2001-02-01

Advances in the field of instrumentation are relevant to many areas of importance such as nuclear and accelerator based research, reactor monitoring and control, non-destructive testing and evaluation, laser programme and health and environment monitoring etc. The nuclear instrumentation is a specialized field with very specific expertise in detection, processing and its analysis. The symposium covers various fields of nuclear interest such as radiation detectors, application of ASICs and FPGA in instruments, field instruments, nuclear instrumentation for basic research, accelerator, reactor, health and environmental monitoring instrumentation, medical instrumentation, instrument net working inclusive of field buses, WEB based and wireless technologies, software tools, AI technique in instrumentation etc., in this specialized area. Papers relevant to INIS are indexed separately

Optimal Design of Safety Instrumented Systems for Pressure Control of Methanol Separation Columns in the Bisphenol a Manufacturing Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

In-Bok Lee

2016-12-01

Full Text Available A bisphenol A production plant possesses considerable potential risks in the top of the methanol separation column, as pressurized acetone, methanol, and water are processed at an elevated temperature, especially in the event of an abnormal pressure increase due to a sudden power outage. This study assesses the potential risks in the methanol separation column through hazard and operability assessments and evaluates the damages in the case of fire and explosion accident scenarios. The study chooses three leakage scenarios: a 5-mm puncture on the methanol separation column, a 50-mm diameter fracture of a discharge pipe and a catastrophic rupture, and, simulated using Phast (Ver. 6.531, the concentration distribution of scattered methanol, thermal radiation distribution of fires, and overpressure distribution of vapor cloud explosions. Implementation of a safety-instrumented system equipped with two-out-of-three voting as a safety measure can detect overpressure at the top of the column and shut down the main control valve and the emergency shutoff valve simultaneously. By applying a safety integrity level of three, the maximal release volume of the safety relief valve can be reduced and, therefore, the design capacity of the flare stack can also be reduced. Such integration will lead to improved safety at a reduced cost.

Defense waste processing facility at Savannah River Plant. Instrument and power jumpers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heckendorm, F.M. II.

1983-06-01

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) for waste vitrification at the Savannah River Plant is in the final design stage. Development of equipment interconnecting devices or jumpers for use within the remotely operated processing canyon is now complete. These devices provide for the specialized instrument and electrical requirements of the DWPF process for low-voltage, high-frequency, and high-power interconnections

Evaluating Statistical Process Control (SPC) techniques and computing the uncertainty of force calibrations

Science.gov (United States)

Navard, Sharon E.

1989-01-01

In recent years there has been a push within NASA to use statistical techniques to improve the quality of production. Two areas where statistics are used are in establishing product and process quality control of flight hardware and in evaluating the uncertainty of calibration of instruments. The Flight Systems Quality Engineering branch is responsible for developing and assuring the quality of all flight hardware; the statistical process control methods employed are reviewed and evaluated. The Measurement Standards and Calibration Laboratory performs the calibration of all instruments used on-site at JSC as well as those used by all off-site contractors. These calibrations must be performed in such a way as to be traceable to national standards maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and they must meet a four-to-one ratio of the instrument specifications to calibrating standard uncertainty. In some instances this ratio is not met, and in these cases it is desirable to compute the exact uncertainty of the calibration and determine ways of reducing it. A particular example where this problem is encountered is with a machine which does automatic calibrations of force. The process of force calibration using the United Force Machine is described in detail. The sources of error are identified and quantified when possible. Suggestions for improvement are made.

Instrumentation control system in nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanai, Koi; Tai, Ichiro.

1982-01-01

Purpose: To improve the reliability of instrumentation control system in a nuclear power plant by using an optical fiber cable as a transmission path between a multiplexer and a central control room to thereby eliminate noises resulted from electromagnetic inductions or the likes. Constitution: Signals from neutron detectors are sent by way of ceramic-insulated cables to pre-amplifiers disposed outside of the pressure vessel of a nuclear reactor, converted into voltage pulse signals and then sent by way of coaxial cables to a multiplexer. The multiplexer receives a plurality of voltage pulse signals corresponding to the neutron detectors respectively, converts them into a time-shared electric signal train and sends it to an optical pulse transmitter. The transmitter converts the supplied signals into an optical pulse signal train corresponding to the electric signal train from the multiplexer and sends it by way of an optical fiber cable to an optical pulse receiver disposed in a central control room. (Kawakami, Y.)

ITER instrumentation and control-Status and plans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wallander, Anders; Abadie, Lana; Dave, Haresh; Di Maio, Franck; Gulati, Hitesh Kumar; Hansalia, Chandresh; Joonekindt, Didier; Journeaux, Jean-Yves; Klotz, Wolf-Dieter; Mahajan, Kirti; Makijarvi, Petri; Scibile, Luigi; Stepanov, Denis; Utzel, Nadine; Yonekawa, Izuru

2010-01-01

The ITER instrumentation and control (I and C) system is the term encompassing all hardware and software required to operate ITER. It has two levels of hierarchy: the central I and C systems and the plant systems I and C. The central I and C systems comprise CODAC (Control, Data Access and Communication), the central interlock system (CIS) and the central safety systems (CSS). The central I and C systems are 'in-fund', i.e. procured by ITER Organization (IO), while plant systems I and C are 'in-kind', i.e. procured by the seven ITER domestic agencies. This procurement model, together with the current estimate of 161 plant systems I and C, poses a major challenge for the realization and integration of the ITER I and C system. To address this challenge a main strategic focus of the CODAC group, formed in 2008, has been to establish good relations with the domestic agencies. By distributing the required R and D tasks and contracts fairly between the domestic agencies we build collaborations for the future at the same time as technical work proceed. The primary goal of ITER I and C system is to provide a fully integrated and automated control system for ITER. Standardization of plant systems I and C is of primary importance and has been the highest priority task during the last year. The target of associated R and D activities is to survey, benchmark and prototype main stream technologies, in order to choose the best and most widely used technology standards for plant systems I and C. In this paper we elaborate on our approach, both from a technical and a non-technical perspective, explain technology evaluation and decisions and finally present the way forward to ensure ITER I and C system will contribute and be instrumental in making ITER a success.

Teaching computer interfacing with virtual instruments in an object-oriented language.

Science.gov (United States)

Gulotta, M

1995-01-01

LabVIEW is a graphic object-oriented computer language developed to facilitate hardware/software communication. LabVIEW is a complete computer language that can be used like Basic, FORTRAN, or C. In LabVIEW one creates virtual instruments that aesthetically look like real instruments but are controlled by sophisticated computer programs. There are several levels of data acquisition VIs that make it easy to control data flow, and many signal processing and analysis algorithms come with the software as premade VIs. In the classroom, the similarity between virtual and real instruments helps students understand how information is passed between the computer and attached instruments. The software may be used in the absence of hardware so that students can work at home as well as in the classroom. This article demonstrates how LabVIEW can be used to control data flow between computers and instruments, points out important features for signal processing and analysis, and shows how virtual instruments may be used in place of physical instrumentation. Applications of LabVIEW to the teaching laboratory are also discussed, and a plausible course outline is given. PMID:8580361

Instrumentation and controls training in TVA: a story of large numbers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conner, D.L.

1981-01-01

The Tennessee Valley Authority currently has four nuclear units on line with seventeen units planned prior to the year 2000. Providing a permanent instrumentation and controls workforce, projected to be approximately 700 trades and labor craftsmen, is a formidable task requiring the cooperative efforts of many diverse groups: mangement and labor, engineers and craftsmen, students and instructors. In TVA, the primary source of skilled I and C craftsmen is through formal training programs conducted in cooperation with the craft bargaining unit, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The purpose of this paper is to describe and review the progress of two of these programs: the Instrument Mechanic Training Program and the Senior Instrument Mechanic Training Program

The Gas Turbine Modular Helium Reactor Optimum Design for Instrumentation and Control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quinn, Edward 'Ted'; Rodriguez, Carmelo

2002-01-01

Nuclear power plants rely on instrumentation and control (I and C) systems for monitoring, control and protection. While the earlier generations of nuclear plants were built with largely analog instrumentation systems, the industrial base has moved to digital based system. The reason for this transition to digital I and C systems lies in their important advantage over existing analog systems. In essence, the challenge is to prove that the new digital guidelines included in NUREG 0800, Standard Review Plan Chapter 7 and all associated documents provided adequate direction and safety review for an advanced control design for a new nuclear plant in the United States. This paper focuses on how one of the new designs incorporates the latest technology and meets the new NRC requirements. (authors)

Alternative approaches to pollution control and waste management: Regulatory and economic instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernstein, J.D.

1993-01-01

The purpose of the paper is to present an overview of the most common strategies and policy instruments (that is, regulatory and economic) used in developed and developing countries to achieve pollution control and waste management objectives. Although this topic has been at the center of theoretical controversy both within and outside the World Bank, the paper is not intended to contribute to this debate. Rather, its purpose is to explore how regulatory and economic instruments are used to control air and water pollution, protect ground water, and manage solid and hazardous wastes. The paper is directed to policy makers at the national, state, and local levels of government, as well as to other parties responsible for pollution control and waste management programs

PLC and DTAM Software Programs for Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid M

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-02-14

This document describes the software programs for the Programmable Logic Controller and the Data Table Access Module for Pumping Instrumentation and Control skid ''M''. The Appendices contains copies of the printouts of these software programs.

Cryogenic instrumentation needs in the controlled thermonuclear research program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walstrom, P.L.

1976-01-01

The magnet development effort for the controlled thermonuclear research program will require extensive testing of superconducting coils at various sizes from small-scale models to full-size prototypes. Extensive use of diagnostic instrumentation will be required and to make detailed comparisons of predicted and actual performance in magnet tests and to monitor the test facility for incipient failure modes. At later stages of the program, cryogenic instrumentation will be required to monitor magnet system performance in fusion power reactors. Measured quantities may include temperature, strain, deflection, coil resistance, helium coolant pressure and flow, current, voltages, etc. The test environment, which includes high magnetic fields (up to 8-10 T) and low temperature, makes many commercial measuring devices inoperative or at least inaccurate. In order to ensure reliable measurements, careful screening of commercial devices for performance in the test environment will be required. A survey of potentially applicable instrumentation is presented along with available information on operation in the test environment based on experimental data or on analysis of the physical characteristics of the device. Areas where further development work is needed are delineated

The instrumental genesis process in future primary teachers using Dynamic Geometry Software

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz-López, Natalia

2018-05-01

This paper, which describes a study undertaken with pairs of future primary teachers using GeoGebra software to solve geometry problems, includes a brief literature review, the theoretical framework and methodology used. An analysis of the instrumental genesis process for a pair participating in the case study is also provided. This analysis addresses the techniques and types of dragging used, the obstacles to learning encountered, a description of the interaction between the pair and their interaction with the teacher, and the type of language used. Based on this analysis, possibilities and limitations of the instrumental genesis process are identified for the development of geometric competencies such as conjecture creation, property checking and problem researching. It is also suggested that the methodology used in the analysis of the problem solving process may be useful for those teachers and researchers who want to integrate Dynamic Geometry Software (DGS) in their classrooms.

Backfitting in Rossendorf research reactor control and instrumentation system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klebau, J.; Seidler, S.

1985-01-01

The paper generally describes a decentralized Hierarchical Information System (HIS) which has been developed for backfitting in Rossendorf Research Reactor (RFR) control and instrumentation system. The RFR was put into operation in 1957 and reconstructed from 2 MW up to a thermal power of 10 MW at the end of the sixties. Backfitting is planned by use of an advanced computerized control system for the next years. Main tasks of HIS are: Processmonitoring, online-disturbance analysis, technical diagnosis, direct digital control and use of a special industrial robot for discharging of irradiated materials out of the reactor. Experiences obtained by HIS during a testperiod will be presented. (author)

Survey and analysis on environmental and electromagnetic effect on instrumentation and control equipment of nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hwang, In Koo; Lee, Dong Young; Cha, Kyung Ho

2001-03-01

As the instrumentation and control (I and C) equipment suppliers tend to provide digital components rather than conventional analog type components for instrumentation and control systems of nuclear power plants(NPPs), it is unavoidable to adopt digital equipment for safety I and C systems as well as non-safety systems. However, the full introduction of digital equipment for I and C systems of nuclear power plants raises several concerns which have not been considered in conventional analog I and C equipment. The two major examples of the issues of digital systems are environmental/electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and software reliability. This report presents the survey and research results on environmental and electromagnetic effect on I and C equipment of nuclear power plants to give a guideline for aging management and design process. Electromagnetic site surveys were conducted to be used as a part of technical basis to demonstrate that I and C systems are compatible with the ambient electromagnetic noise in Korean nuclear power plants.

AUTOMATED CONTROL AND REAL-TIME DATA PROCESSING OF WIRE SCANNER/HALO SCRAPER MEASUREMENTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Day, L.A.; Gilpatrick, J.D.

2001-01-01

The Low-Energy Demonstration Accelerator (LEDA), assembled and operating at Los Alamos National Laboratory, provides the platform for obtaining measurements of high-power proton beam-halo formation. Control system software and hardware have been integrated and customized to enable the production of real-time beam-halo profiles. The Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS) hosted on a VXI platform, Interactive Data Language (IDL) programs hosted on UNIX platforms, and LabVIEW (LV) Virtual Instruments hosted on a PC platform have been integrated and customized to provide real-time, synchronous motor control, data acquisition, and data analysis of data acquired through specialized DSP instrumentation. These modules communicate through EPICS Channel Access (CA) communication protocol extensions to control and manage execution flow ensuring synchronous data acquisition and real-time processing of measurement data. This paper describes the software integration and management scheme implemented to produce these real-time beam profiles

Improving the effectiveness of detailed processing by dynamic control of processing with high sports range

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu.V. Shapoval

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In this article the possibility of increasing the efficiency of the processing of parts with a diameter of up to 20 mm is analyzed, namely: vibration resistance of the cutting process at pinching due to cutting speed control in the processing, forecasting and selection of rotational frequencies, which ensure the stability of the processing system, controlling the dynamics of the process of displacement of the additional mass. The method of investigation of vibration processes during the sharpening is developed. As a result of the processing of experimental data, it was found that when an oscillatory motion is applied to the spindle rotation, the overall level of oscillation decreases, which is reflected on the quality of the treated surface. The choice of a previously known spindle rotation frequency range at which the lowest value of the oscillation amplitude of the instrument is observed in the radial direction to the detail part, allows you to increase the processing efficiency while maintaining the drawing requirements for roughness by increasing the spindle rotational speed. The combination of the node of the own forms of oscillation and the cutting zone, by dynamically controlling the fluctuations of the lathe armature due to the increase of the inertia characteristics of the machine and the reduction of the oscillation amplitude of the tool, can improve the accuracy of machining and roughness of the processed surface of the component at higher spindle speeds.

Virtualization of Legacy Instrumentation Control Computers for Improved Reliability, Operational Life, and Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, Jonathan E

2017-01-01

Laboratories tend to be amenable environments for long-term reliable operation of scientific measurement equipment. Indeed, it is not uncommon to find equipment 5, 10, or even 20+ years old still being routinely used in labs. Unfortunately, the Achilles heel for many of these devices is the control/data acquisition computer. Often these computers run older operating systems (e.g., Windows XP) and, while they might only use standard network, USB or serial ports, they require proprietary software to be installed. Even if the original installation disks can be found, it is a burdensome process to reinstall and is fraught with "gotchas" that can derail the process-lost license keys, incompatible hardware, forgotten configuration settings, etc. If you have running legacy instrumentation, the computer is the ticking time bomb waiting to put a halt to your operation.In this chapter, I describe how to virtualize your currently running control computer. This virtualized computer "image" is easy to maintain, easy to back up and easy to redeploy. I have used this multiple times in my own lab to greatly improve the robustness of my legacy devices.After completing the steps in this chapter, you will have your original control computer as well as a virtual instance of that computer with all the software installed ready to control your hardware should your original computer ever be decommissioned.

Nuclear reactor instrumentation at research reactor renewal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baers, B.; Pellionisz, P.

1981-10-01

The paper overviews the state-of-the-art of research reactor renewals. As a case study the instrumentation reconstruction of the Finnish 250 kW TRIGA reactor is described, with particular emphasis on the nuclear control instrumentation and equipment which has been developed and manufactured by the Central Research Institute for Physics, Budapest. Beside the presentation of the nuclear instrument family developed primarily for research reactor reconstructions, the quality assurance policy conducted during the manufacturing process is also discussed. (author)

Power supply for control and instrumentation in Fast Breeder Test Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raghavan, K.; Shanmugam, T.K.

1977-01-01

The design and operation of the four 'no-break' power supplies for control and instrumentation in the Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR), Kalpakkam, are described. Interruptions in the power supplies are eliminated by redundancy and battery back-up source while voltage dips and transients are taken care by automatic regulation system. The four power supplies are : (1) 24 V D.C. exclusively for neutronic and safety circuits, (2) 48 V D.C. for control logic indication lamps and solenoid valves, (3) 220 V D.C. for switchgear control, control room emergency lighting and D.C. flushing oil pump for the turbine and (4) 220 V A.C. single-phase 50 H/Z for computers and electronics of control and instrumentation. Stationary lead-acid batteries (lead antimony type) in floating mode operation with rectifier/charger are used for emergency back-up. All these power supplies are fed by 415 V, 3-phase, 50 HZ emergency supply buses which are provided with diesel generator back-up. Static energy conversion system (in preference to mechanical rotation system) is used for A.C. to D.C. and also for A.C. to A.C. conversion. (M.G.B.)

BGO front-end electronics and signal processing in the MXGS instrument for the ASIM mission

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skogseide, Yngve; Cenkeramaddi, Linga Reddy; Genov, Georgi

2012-01-01

This paper presents the Bismuth Germanate Oxide (BGO) front-end electronics design and signal processing in Modular X- and Gamma ray sensor (MXGS) instrument onboard the Atmosphere Space Interaction Monitor (ASIM) mission, funded by the European Space Agency. University of Bergen is responsible...... for the design and development of the detector layers and readout electronics for the MXGS instrument. The principal objective of the instrument is to detect Terrestrial Gamma ray Flashes (TGFs), which are related to thunderstorm activity. The digital pulse processing scheme used in the MXGS BGO detector gives...... it a significantly higher rate capability than what has been achieved in other instruments used in the study of terrestrial gamma flashes. The front-end electronics for the BGO detector layer in MXGS system also uses fewer components compared to conventional analog front-ends for BGO detectors, thereby increasing...

Proceedings of the third national symposium on advances in control and instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tiwari, A.P.; Chauhan, Vikas; Wakankar, Amol; Karnani, Urvashi; Saxena, Nikhil; Haridasan, Remya; Mishra, Elina

2014-01-01

Control and Instrumentation systems play a vital role in nuclear energy, defence, aerospace, discovery science and transportation sectors. These systems are deployed in safety-critical and mission critical applications as well. Advances in these fields have profound impact on performance, quality, reliability, safety, security and economics of these systems. While the basic theme of the symposium is control and instrumentation, this time the coverage of the symposium has been extended to defence, aerospace, discovery science and transportation sectors besides nuclear energy. This was been motivated by the need for synergy and sharing of experiences among these vital, high technology sectors. Papers relevant to INIS are indexed separately

Example of an in-plant near-real-time accountancy/process control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1981-01-01

This session describes an existing computerized in-plant near-real-time accounting and process monitoring system at the Allied-General Nuclear Services (AGNS) Barnwell Nuclear Fuel Plant (BNFP). Details of the system performance, objectives, hardware, plant instrumentation, and system functions are presented. Examples of actual programs for accounting and monitoring are described and system benefits will be discussed. The purpose of this session is to enable participants to: (1) identify the major computer hardware components of functional near-real-time accounting systems; (2) identify the types of process instrumentation necessary to perform near-real-time accounting; (3) describe the major nuclear material control and accounting functions of the AGNS computer system; and (4) assess the benefits to safeguards and plant operations of a computerized near-real-time accounting system

Quality Assurance for Space Instruments Built with COTS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guldager, Peter Buch; Thuesen, Gøsta Guldbæk; Jørgensen, John Leif

2005-01-01

be changed at any time and have major consequences to the components ability to survive the space environment. A safe way to protect to components, which are not Latch-Up immune, is to protect the components with a Latch-Up protection circuit. A strict control has to be established, when procuring COTS......Instruments for space can be built with COTS. However no radiation data are available for COTS, so the only way to ensure that the components can survive the space environment is to irradiate each component. Samples from each Lot have to be irradiated, because the manufac-turing process can...... component, testing and manufacturing the instrument before the instrument is qualified for space. By having a strict control with instrument built with COTS, it is possible to manufacture a reliable instrument as with Rad-Hard components....

Evaluation of the Primary Care in leprosy control: proposal of an instrument for users

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernanda Moura Lanza

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Objective Developing an instrument to evaluate the performance of primary health care in the leprosy control actions, from the perspective of users and do the face and content validation. Method This is a methodological study carried out in four stages: development of instrument, face and content validation, pre-test, and analysis of test-retest reliability. Results The initial instrument submitted to the judgment of 15 experts was composed of 157 items. The face and content validation and pre-test of instrument were essential for the exclusion of items and adjustment of instrument to evaluate the object under study. In the analysis of test-retest reliability, the instrument proved to be reliable. Conclusion The instrument is considered adequate, but further studies are needed to test the psychometric properties.

On-line testing of calibration of process instrumentation channels in nuclear power plants. Phase 2, Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashemian, H.M.

1995-11-01

The nuclear industry is interested in automating the calibration of process instrumentation channels; this report provides key results of one of the sponsored projects to determine the validity of automated calibrations. Conclusion is that the normal outputs of instrument channels in nuclear plants can be monitored over a fuel cycle while the plant is operating to determine calibration drift in the field sensors and associated signal conversion and signal conditioning equipment. The procedure for on-line calibration tests involving calculating the deviation of each instrument channel from the best estimate of the process parameter that the instrument is measuring. Methods were evaluated for determining the best estimate. Deviation of each signal from the best estimate is updated frequently while the plant is operating and plotted vs time for entire fuel cycle, thereby providing time history plots that can reveal channel drift and other anomalies. Any instrument channel that exceeds allowable drift or channel accuracy band is then scheduled for calibration during a refueling outage or sooner. This provides calibration test results at the process operating point, one of the most critical points of the channel operation. This should suffice for most narrow-range instruments, although the calibration of some instruments can be verified at other points throughout their range. It should be pointed out that the calibration of some process signals such as the high pressure coolant injection flow in BWRs, which are normally off- scale during plant operation, can not be tested on-line

Nuclear Power Plant Control and Instrumentation 1989

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-11-01

The meeting of the International Working Group on Nuclear Power Plant Control and Instrumentation (IWG-NPPCI) was organized in order to summarize operating experience of nuclear power plant control systems, gain a general overview of activities in development of modern control systems and receive recommendations on the further directions and particular measures within the Agency's programme. The meeting was held at the IAEA Headquarters in Vienna and was attended by 21 national delegates and observers from 18 countries. The present volume contains: (1) report on the meeting of the IWG-NPPCI, Vienna, 8-10 May 1989, (2) report of the scientific secretary on the major activities of IAEA during 1987-89 in the NPPCI area, (3) terms of reference International Working Group on NPPCI and (4) reports of the national representatives to the International Working Group on NPPCI. The paper and discussions with practical experience and described actual problems encountered. Emphasis was placed on the technical, industrial and economical aspects of the introduction of modern control systems and on the improvement of plant availability and safety. A separate abstract was prepared for each of the 19 papers presented by members of the International Working Group. Refs, figs and tabs

Concept and structure of instrumentation and control of the Atucha II nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garzon, D.; Roca, J.L.

1987-01-01

The general structure of instrumentation and control of Atucha II nuclear power plant as well as the technologies used, are described: concepts of functional decentralization and physical centralization; concept of functional group and functional complex; description of the technologies used (physical support) in the project of plant instrumentation and control; description of the different automation levels on the basis of concepts of control interface, automatism, regulation, group and subgroup controls; principles of signal conditioning; concept of announcement of alarms and state: supervisory computer, description of HAS (Hard wired Alarm System) and CAS (Computer Alarm System); application of the above mentioned structure to the project of another type of plants. (Author)

Computer Security of NPP Instrumentation and Control Systems: Cyber Threats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klevtsov, A.L.; Trubchaninov, S.A.

2015-01-01

The paper is devoted to cyber threats, as one of the aspects in computer security of instrumentation and control systems for nuclear power plants (NPP). The basic concepts, terms and definitions are shortly addressed. The paper presents a detailed analysis of potential cyber threats during the design and operation of NPP instrumentation and control systems. Eleven major types of threats are considered, including: the malicious software and hardware Trojans (in particular, in commercial-off-the-shelf software and hardware), computer attacks through data networks and intrusion of malicious software from an external storage media and portable devices. Particular attention is paid to the potential use of lower safety class software as a way of harmful effects (including the intrusion of malicious fragments of code) on higher safety class software. The examples of actual incidents at various nuclear facilities caused by intentional cyber attacks or unintentional computer errors during the operation of software of systems important to NPP safety.

INSTRUMENTATION CONTROLLING INDUSTRIAL PLANT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Марина Владимировна Чувашлова

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to analyze theoretical and practical basis of controlling and to provide implementation guidelines for enterprise controlling. The problem of controlling implementation was considered by two criteria: sphere of application and time of validity.Taking into account sphere of application criterion the objectives can be achieved by certain tools, namely: management accounting in the form of profit and loss statement; information flow in the form of workflow system and mapping of business processes; planning which includes budgeting and monitoring that could in turn allow to compare performance to predetermined standards, plans or objectives; responsibility accounting.The second criterion that is time of validity is considered as strategic.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-1-39

On-line measurement and control in sustainable mineral processing and energy production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sowerby, B.D.

2002-01-01

Sustainable development can be defined as development that 'meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs' (WCED, 1987). A sustainable minerals and energy industry will need to achieve a number of related objectives including greater energy efficiency, improved utilisation of ore deposits, improved utilisation of existing plant, improved product quality, reduction of waste material, reduction of pollution levels and improved safety margins. These objectives all relate in varying degrees to the triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental benefits. One critical component in achieving these objectives is to develop and apply improved control systems across the full range of industry applications from mining to processing and utilisation. However process control relies heavily on the availability of suitable on-line process instrumentation to provide the data and feedback necessary for its implementation. There is a lot of truth in the saying 'if you can't measure it you can't control it'. In the past measurement was achieved by manual sampling followed by sample preparation (such as drying, mixing, crushing and dividing) and off-line laboratory analysis. However this procedure is often subject to significant sampling errors and, most importantly, the measurements are too slow for control purposes. By contrast, on-line analysis can provide rapid and accurate measurement in real time thus opening up new possibilities for improved process control. As a result, there has been a rapid increase in the industrial application of on-line analysis instrumentation over the past few decades. The main purpose of this paper is to briefly review some past Australian developments of on-line analysis systems in the mineral and coal industries and to discuss present developments and future trends

High-Level Disinfection of Otorhinolaryngology Clinical Instruments: An Evaluation of the Efficacy and Cost-effectiveness of Instrument Storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Yalamanchi, Pratyusha; Yu, Jason; Chandler, Laura; Mirza, Natasha

2018-01-01

Objectives Despite increasing interest in individual instrument storage, risk of bacterial cross-contamination of otorhinolaryngology clinic instruments has not been assessed. This study is the first to determine the clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of standard high-level disinfection and clinic instrument storage. Methods To assess for cross-contamination, surveillance cultures of otorhinolaryngology clinic instruments subject to standard high-level disinfection and storage were obtained at the start and end of the outpatient clinical workday. Rate of microorganism recovery was compared with cultures of instruments stored in individual peel packs and control cultures of contaminated instruments. Based on historical clinic data, the direct allocation method of cost accounting was used to determine aggregate raw material cost and additional labor hours required to process and restock peel-packed instruments. Results Among 150 cultures of standard high-level disinfected and co-located clinic instruments, 3 positive bacterial cultures occurred; 100% of control cultures were positive for bacterial species ( P cost of individual semicritical instrument storage at $97,852.50 per year. Discussion With in vitro inoculation of >200 otorhinolaryngology clinic instruments, this study demonstrates that standard high-level disinfection and storage are equally efficacious to more time-consuming and expensive individual instrument storage protocols, such as peel packing, with regard to bacterial contamination. Implications for Practice Standard high-level disinfection and storage are equally effective to labor-intensive and costly individual instrument storage protocols.

Human factors survey of advanced instrumentation and controls

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carter, R.J.

1989-01-01

A survey oriented towards identifying the human factors issues in regard to the use of advanced instrumentation and controls (I ampersand C) in the nuclear industry was conducted. A number of United States (US) and Canadian nuclear vendors and utilities were participants in the survey. Human factors items, subsumed under the categories of computer-generated displays (CGD), controls, organizational support, training, and related topics, were discussed. The survey found the industry to be concerned about the human factors issues related to the implementation of advanced I ampersand C. Fifteen potential human factors problems were identified. They include: the need for an advanced I ampersand C guideline equivalent to NUREG-0700; a role change in the control room from operator to supervisor; information overload; adequacy of existing training technology for advanced I ampersand C; and operator acceptance and trust. 11 refs., 1 tab

Digital instrumentation and dead-time processing for radionuclide metrology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Censier, B.; Bobin, Ch.; Bouchard, J.

2010-01-01

Most of the acquisition chains used in radionuclide metrology are based on NIM modules. These analogue setups have been thoroughly tested for decades now, becoming a reference in the field. Nevertheless, the renewal of ageing modules and the need for extra features both call for the development of new acquisition schemes based on digital processing. In this article, several technologies usable for instrumentation are first presented. A review of past and present projects is made in the second part, highlighting the fundamental role of dead-time management. The last part is dedicated to the description of two digital systems developed at LNE-LNHB. The first one has been designed for the instrumentation of a NaI(Tl) well-type crystal set-up, while the second one is used for the management of three photomultipliers in the framework of the TDCR method and as a part of the development of a digital platform for coincidence counting. (authors)

Acceptance for Beneficial Use Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid ''M''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-01-01

This document is a Final Acceptance for Beneficial Use (ABU) for the readiness of Pumping Instrumentation and Control (PIC) skid ''M''. All the testing and documentation for PIC skid ''M'' is completed and the skid is ready for use in the field for pumping of tank U-102

Proceedings of the 1978 symposium on instrumentation and control for fossil demonstration plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1978-01-01

The 1978 symposium on instrumentation and control for fossil demonstration plants was held at Newport Beach, California, June 19--21, 1978. It was sponsored by Argonne National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy - Fossil Energy, and the Instrument Society of America - Orange County Section. Thirty-nine papers have been entered individually into the data base. (LTN)

Recent applications of Chemical Imaging to pharmaceutical process monitoring and quality control.

Science.gov (United States)

Gowen, A A; O'Donnell, C P; Cullen, P J; Bell, S E J

2008-05-01

Chemical Imaging (CI) is an emerging platform technology that integrates conventional imaging and spectroscopy to attain both spatial and spectral information from an object. Vibrational spectroscopic methods, such as Near Infrared (NIR) and Raman spectroscopy, combined with imaging are particularly useful for analysis of biological/pharmaceutical forms. The rapid, non-destructive and non-invasive features of CI mark its potential suitability as a process analytical tool for the pharmaceutical industry, for both process monitoring and quality control in the many stages of drug production. This paper provides an overview of CI principles, instrumentation and analysis. Recent applications of Raman and NIR-CI to pharmaceutical quality and process control are presented; challenges facing CI implementation and likely future developments in the technology are also discussed.

Development and application of industrial radioisotope instruments in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Yanxiao

1994-09-01

Industrial radioisotope instruments are emerging as advanced monitoring, controlling and automation tools for industries in China. Especially the on-line analysis systems based on radioisotope instruments, referred to as nucleonic control systems (NCS), have more and more important role in the modernization and optimization of industrial processes. Over nearly four decades significant progress has been made in the development and application of radioisotope instruments in China. After a brief review of the history of radioisotope instruments, the state of the art of this kind of instruments and recent examples of their applications are given. Technical and economic benefits have resulted from the industrial applications of radioisotope instruments and the sales of products of their own in marketing. It is expected that along with the high speed growth of national economy, there will be greater demand for radioisotope instruments and nucleonic control systems in Chinese industry to promote the technological transformation and progress of traditional industries and to establish high-tech industries with technology-intensive products. Sustained efforts for the research and development of radioisotope instrument should be made to up-grade domestic instruments and to satisfy the needs of the smaller scale industries more common in China for low cost systems. (1 fig., 2 tabs.)

Core-adjacent instrumentation systems for pebble bed reactors for process heat application - state of planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benninghofen, G.; Serafin, N.; Spillekothen, H.G.; Hecker, R.; Brixy, H.; Serpekian, T.

1982-06-01

Planning and theoretical/experimental development work for core surveillance instrumentation systems is being performed to meet requirements of pebble bed reactors for process heat application. Detailed and proved instrumentation concepts are now available for the core-adjacent instrumentation systems. The current work and the results of neutron flux measurements at high temperatures are described. Operation devices for long-term accurate gas outlet temperature measurements up to approximately 1423 deg. K will also be discussed. (author)

Research reactor instrumentation and control technology. Report of a technical committee meeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-10-01

The majority of research reactors operating today were put into operation 20 years ago, and some of them underwent modifications, upgrading and refurbishing since their construction to meet the requirements for higher neutron fluxes. However, a few of these ageing research reactors are still operating with their original instrumentation and control systems (I and C) which are important for reactor safety to guard against abnormal occurrences and reactor control involving startup, shutdown and power regulation. Worn and obsolete I and C systems cause operational problems as well as difficulties in obtaining replacement parts. In addition, satisfying the stringent safety conditions laid out by the nuclear regulatory bodies requires the modernization of research reactors I and C systems and integration of additional instrumentation units to the reactor. In order to clarify these issues and to provide some guidance to reactor operators on state-of-art technology and future trends for the I and C systems for research reactors, a Technical Committee Meeting on Technology and Trends for Research Reactor Instrumentation and Controls was held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from 4 to 8 December 1995. This publication summarizes the discussions and recommendations resulting from that meeting. This is expected to benefit the research reactor operators planning I and C improvements. Refs, figs, tabs

Acceptance Test Procedure for New Pumping and Instrumentation Control Skid L

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

1999-01-01

This Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) provides for the inspection and testing of the new Pumping and Instrumentation Control (PIC) skid designed as ''L''. The ATP will be performed after the construction of the PIC skid in the shop

Acceptance Test Procedure for New Pumping and Instrumentation Control Skid N

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

1999-01-01

This Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) provides for the inspection and testing of the new Pumping and Instrumentation Control (PIC) skid designed as ''N''. The ATP will be performed after the construction of the PIC skid in the shop

Life extension activities and modernization strategies for instrumentation ampersand control systems of research and power reactors in India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaganty, S.P.; Bairi, B.R.

1993-01-01

Based on three and half decades of experience gained in the operation and maintenance of Instrumentation and Control Systems of nuclear reactors in India, specific investigations were made to understand various aspects of aging. The analysis of the failure rates of various instruments, plant outage figures and obsolescence of components have necessitated the replacement of instrumentation to improve the reliability and performance. The aging models available were used to determine the extent of performance degradation and to formulate maintenance strategies. The nuclear instrumentation of the aging research reactors at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has been replaced with high reliability equipment using modern integrated circuits. This has resulted in an improvement in the mean time between failure (MTBF) by a factor of five. The neutronic instrumentation of Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) at Madras is currently being upgraded with the introduction of microprocessor based safety units for reactivity computation and online testing of safety logic with Fine Impulse Technique. The operating experience has also indicated the necessity of developing online surveillance methods and status monitoring of various systems to detect aging. Online cable insulation measurement technique and noise analysis methods for vibration monitoring have been developed. Campbell method of signal processing has been successfully used in extending the useful life of Local Power Range monitors in the Boiling Water Reactor at Tarapur. In order to improve reliability, accuracy and provide efficient man machine interface, microprocessor based systems with online testing features have been installed in power reactors. These include the high performance reactor regulating system and centralised radiation monitoring systems commissioned at Kakrapara power station. The paper describes the above systems and the modernization strategies for nuclear instrumentation and control

Design of instrumentation and software for precise laser machining

Science.gov (United States)

Wyszyński, D.; Grabowski, Marcin; Lipiec, Piotr

2017-10-01

The paper concerns the design of instrumentation and software for precise laser machining. Application of advanced laser beam manipulation instrumentation enables noticeable improvement of cut quality and material loss. This factors have significant impact on process efficiency and cutting edge quality by means of machined part size and shape accuracy, wall taper, material loss reduction (e.g. diamond) and time effectiveness. The goal can be reached by integration of laser drive, observation and optical measurement system, beam manipulation system and five axis mechanical instrumentation with use of advanced tailored software enabling full laser cutting process control and monitoring.

Distributed control and data processing system with a centralized database for a BWR power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujii, K.; Neda, T.; Kawamura, A.; Monta, K.; Satoh, K.

1980-01-01

Recent digital techniques based on changes in electronics and computer technologies have realized a very wide scale of computer application to BWR Power Plant control and instrumentation. Multifarious computers, from micro to mega, are introduced separately. And to get better control and instrumentation system performance, hierarchical computer complex system architecture has been developed. This paper addresses the hierarchical computer complex system architecture which enables more efficient introduction of computer systems to a Nuclear Power Plant. Distributed control and processing systems, which are the components of the hierarchical computer complex, are described in some detail, and the database for the hierarchical computer complex is also discussed. The hierarchical computer complex system has been developed and is now in the detailed design stage for actual power plant application. (auth)

Acceptance Test Procedure for New Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid ''P''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-01-01

This Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) provides for the inspection and testing of the new Pumping Instrumentation and Control (PIC) skid designed as ''P''. The ATP will be performed after the construction of the PIC skid in the fabrication shop

Acceptance Test Procedure for New Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid W

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-01-01

This Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) provides for the inspection and testing of the new Pumping Instrumentation and Control (PIC) skid designed as ''W''. The ATP will be performed after the construction of the PIC skid in the fabrication shop

Acceptance Test Procedure for New Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid V

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-01-01

This Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) provides for the inspection and testing of the new Pumping Instrumentation and Control. (PIC) skid designed as ''V''. The ATP will be performed after the construction of the PIC skid in the fabrication shop

Acceptance Test Procedure for New Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid ''V''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-01-01

This Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) provides for the inspection and testing of the new Pumping Instrumentation and Control (PIC) skid designated as ''V''. The ATP will be performed after the construction of the PIC skid in the fabrication shop

Acceptance Test Procedure for New Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid ''Q''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-01-01

This Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) provides for the inspection and testing of the new Pumping Instrumentation and Control (PIC) skid designed as ''Q''. The ATP will be performed after the construction of the PIC skid in the fabrication shop

Acceptance Test Procedure for New Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid ''T''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-01-01

This Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) provides for the inspection and testing of the new Pumping Instrumentation and Control (PIC) skid designated as ''T''. The ATP will be performed after the construction of the PIC skid in the fabrication shop

Acceptance Test Procedure for New Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid T

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-01-01

This Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) provides for the inspection and testing Of the new Pumping Instrumentation and Control (PIC) skid designed as ''T''. The ATP will be performed after the construction of the PIC skid in the fabrication shop

Acceptance Test Procedure for New Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid R

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-01-01

This Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) provides for the inspection and testing of the new Pumping Instrumentation and Control (PIC) skid designed as ''R''. The ATP will be performed after the construction of the PIC skid in the fabrication shop

Acceptance Test Procedure for New Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid ''U''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-01-01

This Acceptance Test Procedure (ATP) provides for the inspection and testing of the new Pumping Instrumentation and Control (PIC) skid designed as ''U''. The ATP will be performed after the construction of the PIC skid in the fabrication shop

Instrumentation and control doctrine for VVER upgrading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pernette, R.; Cucciniello, J.; Trebot, R.

1997-01-01

The main results are reported of analyses carried out on the WWER-400 and WWER-1000 series, and the reasons are summed up underlying the decision to establish a policy of WWER instrumentation and control upgrading. It is shown that such a policy forms a key stage in any upgrading project and contributes to the improvement of reactor safety at several levels: it helps to optimize the integration of safety requirements; it makes it easier to achieve a high level of automation and a better man-machine interaction; it should raise the culture of reactor safety. Four annexes demonstrate the factual fundamentals and structure of such a policy. (A.K.)

Planck 2013 results. II. The Low Frequency Instrument data processing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aghanim, N.; Armitage-Caplan, C.; Arnaud, M.

2013-01-01

We describe the data processing pipeline of the Planck Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) data processing centre (DPC) to create and characterize full-sky maps based on the first 15.5 months of operations at 30, 44, and 70 GHz. In particular, we discuss the various steps involved in reducing the data......) is employed to combine radiometric data and pointing information into sky maps, minimizing the variance of correlated noise. Noise covariance matrices, required to compute statistical uncertainties on LFI and Planck products, are also produced. Main beams are estimated down to the approximate to-20 dB level...

Implementation of programmable logic controller for proposed new instrumentation and control system of RTP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Khairulezwan Abdul Manan; Mohd Idris Taib; Mohd Dzul Aiman Aslan

2010-01-01

Reactor Monitoring System is one of very important part of Reactor Instrumentation and Control system. Current monitoring system is using analog system whereby all circuits are discrete circuit and all displays and indicators are not digitalized. The proposed new system will use using a Commercial Off-The-Shelf, state of the art, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system such as Programmable Logic Controller as well as Computer System. The implementations of Programmable Logic Controller are used for Data Acquisition System and as a sub-system for Computer System where all the activities involved are stored for operation record and report as well as use for research purposes. Programmable Logic Controller receives galvanised or optically isolated signal from Reactor Protection System. Programmable Logic Controller also receives signal from other parameters as a digital and analog input related to reactor system. (author)

Quality Control of Installation and Commissioning of Offshore Platform Instrument System%海上平台仪表安装调试质量控制分析

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

周永辉

2016-01-01

The instrument installation and commissioning work is a very important work in offshore oil platform construction and renovation process, the overall quality control is to ensure the intelligent control instrument play a role. This paper is based on the basic situation of offshore oil engineering automation instrument, analysis of the quality control factors of automation instrumentation engineering, finally discusses the technical measures of quality control of offshore oil platform automation instrument engineering.%仪表安装调试是海上石油平台建设、改造中一项非常重要的工作，全面的质量控制是自动化仪表设备发挥智能控制作用的保证。本文立足于海洋石油自动化仪表工程基本情况，分析自动化仪表工程质量控制因素，最后讨论了海上石油平台自动化仪表工程质量控制的技术措施。

On-line Monitoring of Instrumentation in Research Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-12-01

This publication is the result of a benchmarking effort undertaken under the IAEA coordinated research project on improved instrumentation and control (I&C) maintenance techniques for research reactors. It lays the foundation for implementation of on-line monitoring (OLM) techniques and establishment of the validity of those for improved maintenance practices in research reactors for a number of applications such as change to condition based calibration, performance monitoring of process instrumentation systems, detection of process anomalies and to distinguish between process problems/effects and instrumentation/sensor issues. The techniques and guidance embodied in this publication will serve the research reactor community in providing the technical foundation for implementation of OLM techniques. It is intended to be used by Member States to implement I&C maintenance and to improve performance of research reactors.

Instrumentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prieur, G.; Nadi, M.; Hedjiedj, A.; Weber, S.

1995-01-01

This second chapter on instrumentation gives little general consideration on history and classification of instrumentation, and two specific states of the art. The first one concerns NMR (block diagram of instrumentation chain with details on the magnets, gradients, probes, reception unit). The first one concerns precision instrumentation (optical fiber gyro-meter and scanning electron microscope), and its data processing tools (programmability, VXI standard and its history). The chapter ends with future trends on smart sensors and Field Emission Displays. (D.L.). Refs., figs

Analysis and upgrade of instrumentation and control systems for the modernization of research reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

This document provides assistance in the review and planning process for the upgrade of instrumentation and control systems (I and C systems) and related safety features of the reactor protection system for research reactors. In the interest of safety a need was realized to evaluate the performance of outdated I and C systems. An advisory group was assembled to develop guidelines and to provide recommendations for the upgrade of I and C systems. The recommendations on I and C systems upgrade contained in this document were developed by the advisory group using as guidelines the established safety criteria and operating standards for research reactors. 24 refs

Survey of instrumentation for environmental monitoring: major update. Volume 3. Radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1979-09-01

This is the third volume of a four-volume (seven-part) series, the culmination of a comprehensive survey of instrumentation for environmental monitoring. Consideration is given to instruments and techniques presently in use and to those developed for other purposes but having possible applications to radiation monitoring. The results of the survey are given as descriptions of the physical and operating characteristics of available instruments, critical comparisons among instrumentation methods, and recommendations of promising methodology and development of new instrumentation. Information is also given regarding the pollutants to be monitored, their characteristics and forms, their sources and pathways, their effects on the ecosystem, and the means of controlling them through process and regulatory controls. The discussion is presented under sections entitled radiation sources; instrumentation: by type of radiation or instrument type; and, instrumentation for specific radionuclides. (JGB)

Survey of instrumentation for environmental monitoring: major update. Volume 3. Radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-09-01

This is the third volume of a four-volume (seven-part) series, the culmination of a comprehensive survey of instrumentation for environmental monitoring. Consideration is given to instruments and techniques presently in use and to those developed for other purposes but having possible applications to radiation monitoring. The results of the survey are given as descriptions of the physical and operating characteristics of available instruments, critical comparisons among instrumentation methods, and recommendations of promising methodology and development of new instrumentation. Information is also given regarding the pollutants to be monitored, their characteristics and forms, their sources and pathways, their effects on the ecosystem, and the means of controlling them through process and regulatory controls. The discussion is presented under sections entitled radiation sources; instrumentation: by type of radiation or instrument type; and, instrumentation for specific radionuclides

Translation and cultural adaptation of a specific instrument for measuring asthma control and asthma status: the Asthma Control and Communication Instrument

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michelle Gonçalves de Souza Tavares

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: To translate the Asthma Control and Communication Instrument (ACCI to Portuguese and adapt it for use in Brazil. Methods: The ACCI was translated to Portuguese and adapted for use in Brazil in accordance with internationally accepted guidelines. The protocol included the following steps: permission and rights of use granted by the original author; translation of the ACCI from English to Portuguese; reconciliation; back-translation; review and harmonization of the back-translation; approval from the original author; review of the Portuguese version of the ACCI by an expert panel; cognitive debriefing (the clarity, understandability, and acceptability of the translated version being tested in a sample of the target population; and reconciliation and preparation of the final version. Results: During the cognitive debriefing process, 41 asthma patients meeting the inclusion criteria completed the ACCI and evaluated the clarity of the questions/statements. The clarity index for all ACCI items was > 0.9, meaning that all items were considered to be clear. Conclusions: The ACCI was successfully translated to Portuguese and culturally adapted for use in Brazil, the translated version maintaining the psychometric properties of the original version. The ACCI can be used in clinical practice because it is easy to understand and easily applied.

Translation and cultural adaptation of a specific instrument for measuring asthma control and asthma status: the Asthma Control and Communication Instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Tavares, Michelle Gonçalves de Souza; Brümmer, Carolina Finardi; Nicolau, Gabriela Valente; de Melo, José Tavares; Nazário, Nazaré Otilia; Steidle, Leila John Marques; Patino, Cecília Maria; Pizzichini, Marcia Margaret Menezes; Pizzichini, Emílio

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Objective: To translate the Asthma Control and Communication Instrument (ACCI) to Portuguese and adapt it for use in Brazil. Methods: The ACCI was translated to Portuguese and adapted for use in Brazil in accordance with internationally accepted guidelines. The protocol included the following steps: permission and rights of use granted by the original author; translation of the ACCI from English to Portuguese; reconciliation; back-translation; review and harmonization of the back-translation; approval from the original author; review of the Portuguese version of the ACCI by an expert panel; cognitive debriefing (the clarity, understandability, and acceptability of the translated version being tested in a sample of the target population); and reconciliation and preparation of the final version. Results: During the cognitive debriefing process, 41 asthma patients meeting the inclusion criteria completed the ACCI and evaluated the clarity of the questions/statements. The clarity index for all ACCI items was > 0.9, meaning that all items were considered to be clear. Conclusions: The ACCI was successfully translated to Portuguese and culturally adapted for use in Brazil, the translated version maintaining the psychometric properties of the original version. The ACCI can be used in clinical practice because it is easy to understand and easily applied. PMID:29365000

The Pediatrics Milestones Assessment Pilot: Development of Workplace-Based Assessment Content, Instruments, and Processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Hicks, Patricia J; Margolis, Melissa; Poynter, Sue E; Chaffinch, Christa; Tenney-Soeiro, Rebecca; Turner, Teri L; Waggoner-Fountain, Linda; Lockridge, Robin; Clyman, Stephen G; Schwartz, Alan

2016-05-01

To report on the development of content and user feedback regarding the assessment process and utility of the workplace-based assessment instruments of the Pediatrics Milestones Assessment Pilot (PMAP). One multisource feedback instrument and two structured clinical observation instruments were developed and refined by experts in pediatrics and assessment to provide evidence for nine competencies based on the Pediatrics Milestones (PMs) and chosen to inform residency program faculty decisions about learners' readiness to serve as pediatric interns in the inpatient setting. During the 2012-2013 PMAP study, 18 U.S. pediatric residency programs enrolled interns and subinterns. Faculty, residents, nurses, and other observers used the instruments to assess learner performance through direct observation during a one-month rotation. At the end of the rotation, data were aggregated for each learner, milestone levels were assigned using a milestone classification form, and feedback was provided to learners. Learners and site leads were surveyed and/or interviewed about their experience as participants. Across the sites, 2,338 instruments assessing 239 learners were completed by 630 unique observers. Regarding end-of-rotation feedback, 93% of learners (128/137) agreed the assessments and feedback "helped me understand how those with whom I work perceive my performance," and 85% (117/137) agreed they were "useful for constructing future goals or identifying a developmental path." Site leads identified several benefits and challenges to the assessment process. PM-based instruments used in workplace-based assessment provide a meaningful and acceptable approach to collecting evidence of learner competency development. Learners valued feedback provided by PM-based assessment.

The Application of Timer 555 for Pulse Generator in the Process Control of the D-Gun Coating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Machmud, Farid W.; Diah Intani; Isnaeni; Cece

2002-01-01

Many instrumentation of control that using electronic pulse has been found utilized to control manufacturing process in industry. The pulses were produced by oscillator circuit act as input for logic circuit then adjusts pulse properly to the process. In this work, a simple digital control instrumentation was designed and implemented for the D G un coating process. Timer 555 for adjusting oscillator pulse width could control the gas, powder feeder, and detonation frequency. The other logic circuit that was consists of one synchronize counter and some logic gate XOR, OR, AND, and NOT were adjusting pulses to produce pulses for actuator related to the processes queue. The pulses characterization show that high and low pulse width will be the same if the comparison of the two resistors of bandwidth controller almost half for a value of outer capacitor. The implementation shows that the detonation frequency was greater than 1 Hz when the capacitors value is 20μF or less, while the adjustment of pulse width to fuel actuators and O 2 describe the comparison of the gas, and pulse width to powder feeder describe the amount of powder that have been injected to fire chamber of D G un. From the characterizations and the implementation we conclude that some parameters of the D G un coating can be controlled by the bandwidth of the timer. (author)

Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control Systems Technologies Technical Program Plan for 2014

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hallbert, Bruce [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Thomas, Ken [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2014-07-01

The Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control (II&C) Systems Technologies Pathway conducts targeted research and development (R&D) to address aging and reliability concerns with the legacy instrumentation and control and related information systems of the U.S. operating light water reactor (LWR) fleet. This work involves two major goals: (1) to ensure that legacy analog II&C systems are not life-limiting issues for the LWR fleet, and (2) to implement digital II&C technology in a manner that enables broad innovation and business improvement in the nuclear power plant operating model. Resolving long-term operational concerns with the II&C systems contributes to the long-term sustainability of the LWR fleet, which is vital to the nation's energy and environmental security.

Recent improvements to the DIII-D neutral beam instrumentation and control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kellman, D.H.; Hong, R.

1997-11-01

The DIII-D neutral beam (NB) instrumentation and control (I and C) system provides for operational control and synchronization of the eight DIII-D neutral beam injection systems, as well as for pertinent data acquisition and safety interlocking. Recently, improvements were made to the I and C system. With the replacement of the NB control computers, new signal interfacing was required to accommodate the elimination of physical operator panels, in favor of graphical user interface control pages on computer terminal screens. The program in the mode control (MC) programmable logic controller (PLC), which serves as a logic-processing interface between the NB control computers and system hardware, was modified to improve the availability of NB heating of DIII-D plasmas in the event that one or more individual beam systems suddenly become unavailable while preparing for a tokamak experimental shot sequences. An upgraded computer platform was adopted for the NB control system operator interface and new graphical user interface pages were developed to more efficiently display system status data. A failure mode of the armor tile infrared thermometers (pyrometers), which serve to terminate beam pulsing if beam shine-through overheats wall thermal shielding inside the DIII-D tokamak, was characterized such that impending failures can be detected and repairs effected to mitigate beam system down-time. The hardware that controls gas flow to the beamline neutralizer cells was upgraded to reduce susceptibility to electromagnetic interference (EMI), and interlocking was provided to terminate beam pulsing in the event of insufficient neutralizer gas flow. Motivation, implementation, and results of these improvements are presented

Random-process excursions in radioisotope instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galochkin, D.V.; Polovko, S.A.

1984-01-01

Approximate expressions are derived for the mathematical expectation, variance, and distribution of the durations of the excursions of the output signal from a ratemeter in a radioisotope relay instrument. The tabulated comparison of results from Monte Carlo simulation and analytical calculation shows good agreement over the mean value and the variance of the excursion duration for T 0.2 sec as calculated and as obtained by Monte Carlo simulation with a computer using 5000 realizations. It is suggested that the results should be used in choosing the optimum parameters of radioisotope relay instruments

Instrumentation and control upgrade evaluation methodology. Volume 1: Manual. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bliss, M.; Brown, E.; Florio, F.; Stofko, M.

1996-07-01

This methodology manual describes how to develop an Upgrade Evaluation Report (UER) for an I and C system that has been identified as an upgrade candidate in the I and C Life Cycle Management Plan (LCMP). A UER can be developed by a nuclear power plant to determine the cost-effectiveness and feasibility of upgrading an aging or obsolete Instrumentation and Control (I and C) System. A separate UER is developed for each upgrade candidate system. A UER will determine if a given system requires an upgrade or if it is more cost-effective to maintain the present system. If an upgrade is unnecessary, the system will be reclassified as a retained system and a system maintenance plan will be developed for it. This manual is accompanied by a workbook (EPRI TR-104963-V2) which contains various worksheets, outlines, and generic interview questions that aid in the UER development process

Halden Reactor Project Workshop: Understanding Advanced Instrumentation and Controls Issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beltracchi, L.

1991-01-01

A Halden Reactor Project Workshop on 'Understanding Advanced Instrumentation and Controls Issues' was held in Halden, Norway, during June 17-18, 1991. The objectives of the workshop were to (1) identify and prioritize the types of technical information that the Halden Project can produce to facilitate the development of man-machine interface guidelines and (2) to identify methods to effectively integrate and disseminate this information to signatory organizations. As a member of the Halden Reactor Project, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requested the workshop. This request resulted from the NRC's need for human factors guidelines for the evaluation of advanced instrumentation and controls. The Halden Reactor Project is a cooperative agreement among several countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The US began its association with the Halden Project in 1958 through the Atomic Energy Commission. The project's activities are centered at the Halden heavy-water reactor and its associated man-machine laboratory in Halden, Norway. The research program conducted at Halden consists of studies on fuel performance and computer-based man-machine interfaces

Acceptance Test Procedure for New Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid ''P''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-01-01

This Test Plan provides a test method to dedicate the leak detection relays used on the new Pumping Instrumentation and Control (PIC) skids. The new skids are fabricated on-site. The leak detection system is a safety class system per the Authorization Basis

Acceptance Test Procedure for New Pumping Instrumentation and Control Skid Q

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KOCH, M.R.

2000-01-01

This Test Plan provides a test method to dedicate the leak detection relays used on the new Pumping Instrumentation and Control (PIC) skids. The new skids are fabricated on-site. The leak detection system is a safety class system per the Authorization Basis

Submicronic Particle Measurement Instrumentation Test Bench Data Acquisition and Control System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alberdi, J.; Barcala, J. M.; Sanz, D.; Gomez, F. J.; Molinero, A.; Navarrete, J. J.

1999-01-01

This document describes the SAD-100 system characteristics. The unit makes the instrumentation test bench data acquisition and control, SAD-100 was designed and developed by Electronic and Automation Area (CIEMAT) and Aerosol Technology in Energy Generation Project (CIEMAT). (Author) 2 refs

Replacement of the control and instrumentation system with the microprocessor based systems in Japanese PWR plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayashi, N.

1998-01-01

In Ohi Units 3 and 4, Ikata Unit 3, and Genkai Units 3 and 4, the latest of PWR plants now under operation in Japan, the reactor control system and turbine control system employ the microprocessor base digital control systems with a view to improving reliability, operability and maintainability. In the next stage plants, another application of such digital system is also planned for the instrumentation rack for the reactor protection system for further improvement. On the other hand, in Mihama Unit 1, the first of domestic PWR plants, and later plants except for the latest 5 plants, analog control systems are employed for the instrumentation racks. For the analog control systems of these plants, FOXBORO H-Line instruments, equivalent domestic box type instruments or WH7300 Series card type instruments were initially employed, and later replaced with domestic card type control systems after 10-15 year operation. However, 8-12 years have passed since these replacements, so the 15th year generally quoted as an interval for replacing C and I systems is near at hand. This is the time to consider next replacement. This replacement will be based on the latest digital technology. However, it is not practical way for the existing plants to apply the same integrated digital C and I system configuration for the next stage plants, because it requires the drastic change of the C and I system configuration and significant cost-up. Therefore, we must investigate the optimum digital C and I system configuration for the existing system. (author)

Challenges for maintaining the modernization of instrumentation and control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rojas, V.

2014-01-01

Instrumentation and control system upgrades in nuclear power plants come with some challenges for their maintenance staff. It is important to have a long term modernization plant that derives from specific studies for each system. Training, spares, configuration control and cybersecurity are critical topics to take into account from the beginning of these projects. New system maintenance plans can require a new approach in accordance with the technology. FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) appear as the alternative for the future, mainly in safety systems. (Author)

AFRRI's conversion to a microprocessor-based reactor instrumentation and control system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moore, Mark L.; Hodgdon, Kenneth M.

1986-01-01

The Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) is procuring a state-of- the-art microprocessor-based instrumentation and control system to operate AFRRI's 1 MW (steady-state), 3000 MW (pulse) TRIGA Mark-F reactor. This system will replace the current control console while improving or maintaining the existing operational capabilities and safety characteristics. The new unit will have a 15-year design life using state-of-the-art components

Environmental compatibility of automobiles - instruments for the BMW product development process; Automobil-Umweltvertraeglichkeit - neue Instrumente im BMW-Produktentwicklungsprozess

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Franze, H.A.; Neumann, U.; Vornberger, K.; Hoock, R.; Hemberger, R.

1995-09-01

The environmental impact of the automobile and its components is of growing importance not only in public debates but also in the complex decision making process regarding future car concepts. To calculate the environmental compatibility of car components BMW had developed various quantifying instruments and a holistic Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA) approach. The development phase significantly affects the entire life-cycle of a product. Suitable design criteria, recycling requirements and in-house standards have therefore been developed and established. They enable the designer to handle the more and more complex conflicts of technical, economic and ecological objectives during the development process with special view to the customer, i.e. the market. (orig.) [Deutsch] Zur nachhaltigen Verbesserung der Umweltvertraeglichkeit von Automobilen und Bauteilen hat BMW quantitative Instrumente entwickelt: Den `Anforderungskatalog Gesamtfahrzeug`, die BMW-Recycling-Norm, die Demontageanalyse von Automobilen und die lebenszyklusbezogene Bauteil-Bilanzierung. Sie sollen es dem Konstrukteur in der Entwicklungsphase praxisgerecht ermoeglichen, verschiedene Bauteilvarianten oekologisch zu bewerten. Nur so koennen die weiter zunehmenden komplexen Zielkonflike in der Automobilentwicklung, die sowohl technisch-wirtschaftlicher als auch oekonomisch-oekologischer und teilweise gesellschaftspolitischer Natur sind, in Zukunft beherrscht und damit den Markt- und Kundenanforderungen gerecht werden. (orig.)

Digitization of instrumentation and control in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hofmann, A.; Buschhorn, W.; Pache, K.; Kimmel, W.; Hoeing, M.

1997-01-01

Unit 1 of the Chooz NPP was connected to the grid in August 1996. Unit 2 will soon be connected. In the western part of the center of France, not far from the town Poitiers, there is an identical construction site where likewise two NPP units are being erected. The French firm Sema Group is the supplier of the control and monitoring system (KIC) and as the prime contractor also is responsible for coordination of work and cooperation with the firm Hartmann and Braun. Hartmann and Braun developed the Contronic E automation system and are one of the major instrumentation and control suppliers for these units. (orig./DG) [de

Control and instrumentation: micros, minis and making them manage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitchie, R.E.; Neal, R.

1989-01-01

The control and instrumentation systems on Heysham 2 and Torness Power Stations are more extensive and complex than on previous power stations. In particular computer based equipment has been used extensively for both control and monitoring functions. The design and implementation of the computer based systems introduced many complex technical and project management problems. In many areas the project management arrangements were adapted to cope with these problems and to seek to standardise on the types of equipment being used on the stations. Considerable success has been achieved in this latter respect and is expected to lead to benefits in maintenance costs over the station life. (author)

Simple Instrumental and Visual Tests for Nonlaboratory Environmental Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. P. Eksperiandova

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Proposed are simple and available techniques that can be used for rapid and reliable environmental control specifically of natural water by means of instrumental and visual tests in outdoor conditions. Developed are the chemical colorimetric modes for fast detection of socially dangerous trace impurities in water such as Co(II, Pd(II, and Rh(III as well as NO2--ions and Fe(III serving as model impurities. Application of portable digital devices and scanner allows estimating the color coordinates and increasing the accuracy and sensitivity of the tests. The combination of complex formation with preconcentration of colored complexes replaces the sensitive but time-consuming and capricious kinetic method that is usually used for this purpose at the more convenient and reliable colorimetric method. As the test tools, the following ones are worked out: polyurethane foam tablets with sorbed colored complexes, the two-layer paper sandwich packaged in slide adapter and saturated by reagents, and polyethylene terephthalate blister with dried reagents. Fast analysis of polyurethane foam tablets is realized using a pocket digital RGB-colorimeter or portable photometer. Express analysis of two-layer paper sandwich or polyethylene terephthalate blister is realized by visual and instrumental tests. The metrological characteristics of the developed visual and instrumental express analysis techniques are estimated.

Development of a nuclear reactor control system simulator using virtual instruments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinto, Antonio Juscelino; Mesquita, Amir Zacarias; Lameiras, Fernando Soares

2011-01-01

The International Atomic Energy Agency recommends the use of safety and friendly interfaces for monitoring and controlling the operational parameters of the nuclear reactors. This article describes a digital system being developed to simulate the behavior of the operating parameters using virtual instruments. The control objective is to bring the reactor power from its source level (mW) to a full power (kW). It is intended for education of basic reactor neutronic and thermohydraulic principles such as the multiplication factor, criticality, reactivity, period, delayed neutron, control by rods, fuel and coolant temperatures, power, etc. The 250 kW IPR-R1 TRIGA research reactor at Nuclear Technology Development Centre - CDTN was used as reference. TRIGA reactors, developed by General Atomics (GA), are the most widely used research reactor in the world. The simulator system is being developed using the LabVIEW (Laboratory Virtual Instruments Engineering Workbench) software, considering the modern concept of virtual instruments (VI's) using electronic processor and visual interface in video monitor. The main purpose of the system is to provide training tools for instructors and students, allowing navigating by user-friendly operator interface and monitoring tendencies of the operational variables. It will be an interactive tool for training and teaching and could be used to predict the reactor behavior. Some scenarios are presented to demonstrate that it is possible to know the behavior of some variables from knowledge of input parameters. The TRIGA simulator system will allow the study of parameters, which affect the reactor operation, without the necessity of using the facility. (author)