Digital twin of APR1400 control systems created
After four years of research, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power has completed the development of a digital twin of the Man-Machine Interface System for the control room and instrumentation & control system of the APR1400 reactor. It expects this to "greatly contribute to the reliability and safety of nuclear power generation".
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KHNP completed the construction of its Innovative MMIS Centre at the KHNP Central Research Institute in Daejeon, South Korea. It is equipped with Man-Machine Interface System (MMIS) digital twin virtualisation facilities. The company said this centre "is expected to contribute as an advance base for the MMIS digital twin simulator included in the Czech new nuclear power plant construction project, for which KHNP has been selected as the preferred bidder".
The MMIS digital twin for the APR1400 is characterised by implementing the safety and non-safety system controllers of nuclear power plants identical to actual equipment through full virtualisation, which KHNP says is more advanced than existing object-based twins.
"Using this newly developed technology, performing simulation of all processes from power plant construction to operation becomes possible," KHNP said. "In the power plant construction phase, design verification can be performed, and in the operation phase, it can be of a great help in performing root cause analysis when events such as failures occur.
"For example, when utilising the MMIS digital twin, various scenarios possible in a power plant can be simulated to test various control systems, and problem-solving ability and maintenance efficiency can be improved through smart engineering functions, real-time monitoring of controllers, and data analysis functions."
KHNP Research Institute Director Ho-cheol Shin said: "Our Korean MMIS digital twin for APR1400 will further enhance the safety of nuclear power plants, and it is expected to also further increase our export competitiveness."
South Korea has four operational APR1400 units - Saeul units 1 and 2 (formerly Shin Kori 3 and 4) and Shin Hanul units 1 and 2. Two further APR1400s are under construction as Saeul units 3 and 4. Construction permits for APR1400 units at Shin Hanul units 3 and 4 were granted last month.
Four APR1400 units have also been built at the Barakah nuclear power plant in the UAE, which are all now in commercial operation.
