L-3 MAPPS to upgrade Slovenian simulator

Friday, 8 April 2016

The full-scope simulator at Slovenia's single-unit Krško nuclear power plant is to be upgraded by Canada-based L-3 MAPPS under a contract signed with operator Nuklearna Elektrarna Krško (NEK).

The Krško simulator (Image: L-3 MAPPS)

As part of the upgrade, the simulator's current UNIX operating system-based simulator will be replaced with a virtualized Windows-based platform running L-3's Orchid simulation environment. The nuclear island and conventional island models will then be migrated into Orchid. The models will also be upgraded to reflect plant changes made as part of NEK's safety upgrade program following the March 2011 accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant.

A new compact input/output system will also be installed that will be used to drive a new simulated emergency control room, which is replacing remote shutdown panels spread throughout the plant, L-3 MAPPS said.

In addition, analog cameras and microphones connected to the simulator's audio-video system will be replaced with digital ones. The upgraded simulator will also feature a new sound system to replicate control room sounds.

L-3 MAPPS said the upgrade of the Krško simulator will begin immediately and is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 2017.

NEK plant engineering director Božidar Krajnc said, "The NEK and L-3 MAPPS teams have worked very well together since the Krško full scope simulator was declared ready for training in 2000. We look forward to implementing this significant simulator upgrade project with L-3 MAPPS, which is an important part of our safety upgrade program."

Simulators are a vital piece of equipment for training plant operators, both at the start of their careers and for their continuing training. The simulator at Krško entered service in March 2000 and is primarily used to train and licence the main control room operators.

Construction of the 696 MWe Westinghouse pressurized water reactor at Krško – the first western nuclear power plant in eastern Europe – commenced in 1975 and it was connected to the grid in 1981. The plant was built as a joint venture between Slovenia and Croatia, which were both part of Yugoslavia at the time. Croatian state-owned company Hrvatska Elektroprivreda and Slovenian state-owned company Gen-Energija co-own NEK. The reactor is currently due to shut down in 2043.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News