KNOWLEDGE BOOK

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FROM ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL SYSTEM:
REACTOR TRIGA PUSPATI (RTP) EXPERIENCES

3 Technology Transfer Programme (TTP)

3.1 Human Resources & System Development Programme

One of the key elements in the ReDICS project is to establish human capacity
building by emphasising the instrumentation and control system of the newly built
control console. It also enables the Malaysian Nuclear Agency’s personnel self-
reliance, especially in the maintenance, troubleshoots and other related activities
after the end of support by KAERI. Several objectives were outlined to fulfil the
requirements of the project;

● to enhance the knowledge and expertise in the preparation of Safety Analysis
Report (SAR) related to the I&C modification based on IAEA standards

● to develop licensing procedures and QA/QC program for designing, fabricating,
testing, calibrating, troubleshooting and managing the reactor instrumentation &
control system

● to establish a group of experts in technology and engineering of reactor
instrumentation and control through knowledge sharing between KAERI and
Nuklear Malaysia

3.2 TTP at KAERI

Ten (10) personnel were assigned to undertake intensive training by KAERI in the
Republic of Korea for 6 to 9 months before the project started at the Malaysian
Nuclear Agency site. They were divided into two teams and given training in specific
topics related to reactor operation and I&C maintenance. The training provided is
listed in Table 2. Besides, reactor personnel underwent a mentor-mentee based
training program domain. Thus, at least one or two personnel have the same mentor
and work together under his supervision. Table 3 show domains of training attended
by reactor staff under the supervision of their mentor.

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Team Table 3-1 Lists of training
I&C Training

Reactor Basic system design
Operation System cabling & connection
System testing & calibration
Troubleshooting & repairing
Preventive maintenance
Quality control (QC)
Basic system design
Reactor power calibration
Control rod calibration
Start-up checklist
Reactor operation modes
Shutdown checklist
Report and data management

Domains Table 3-2 Mentoring activities NUKLEAR
Responsibilities MALAYSIA
RPS
RRS KAERI Farhana, Alfred
Khairulezwan
Design T.G Kim Maslina
Hardware T.G Kim
Algorithm D. Baang
(Software)
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CDRM (Hardware) D. Baang Sabri

WR-NMS B.S Shim All

Field instrument (ARMS, SMS, Process) B.S Shim Maslina, Sabri

Control Room Design S.M. Seo Alfred

Field work (Installation, Commissioning) J.B Lee, All All
Licensing & Operation All All
QA/QC Program J.H Ha, All Syahirah

Several expert areas that have been covered under the TTP include instrumentation and
automation, science instrumentation, electrical engineering, electronic engineering, reactor
operation and maintenance, quality assurance and control, legislation and licensing.

Figure 3-1 Reactor personnel during TTP at KAERI
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Knowledge Book:

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3.3 TTP at RTP-K

The reactor personnel underwent a training program on the RTP Netsuite. It is a tool
needed to design, simulate, test, integrate and maintain the industrial control
application. The Netsuite is a fully integrated software workbench that dramatically
reduces the time to develop, deploy, commission, and control the application.
During the TTP, reactor personnel was introduced to the RTP Korea, programmable
logic controller (PLC) vs distribution control system (DCS), the standard of SIL 1-3,
triple modular redundancy (TMR), net array development as well as the introduction
to RTP-TREND.

Figure 3-2 TTP at RTP-K
3.4

3.5 Seminar on Wide-Range Nuclear Monitoring System (WR-NMS)

The reactor personnel attended a seminar on the wide-range nuclear monitoring
system (WR-NMS). The purpose of the seminar is to enhance knowledge in

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radiation detectors and learn about the WR-NMS application, operation, and
maintenance. Topic covered are as follows;

TOPIC CONTENTS
1
2 a) Radiation Detector & Types
3 b) Gas-Filled Detector (Proportional Counter, Ionization Chamber, GM Dete

4 a) Scintillation Detector
5 b) Gamma Spectroscopy

NeutronDetector
a) Self-Powered Neutron Detector
b) W-R Fission Chamber
c) Flux Wire

Circuitry and Circuit Elements
Understanding how the reactor power monitoring detection equipment works

Source,Intermediate and Power Range Nuclear Instrumentation

3.6

3.7 Technical Visit to Korea Nuclear Facility

3.7.1 HANARO

The reactor personnel visited the High-flux Advanced Neutron Application Reactor
(HANARO) during TTP and tour inside the reactor hall, control room, beam facilities,
experimental building, radioisotope and irradiation facilities. They also were given a
lecture on the radioisotope and irradiation facility during their visit.

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Figure 3-3 Visit to HANARO

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Figure 3-4 Radioisotope facility in HANARO
3.7.2

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Figure 3-5 Cold neutron guide hall

3.7.3
3.7.4 SHIN-KORI
The reactor personnel visited the Shin Kori nuclear power plant.

Figure 3-6 Visit to the Shin Kori nuclear power plant

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3.7.5 SMART REACTOR (TESTING PLANT)

Figure 3-7 Visit to the SMART reactor testing plant
3.7.6 Reactor Experimental Training Course
The reactor personnel have attended a reactor experimental training course at the Kyung
Hee University, Seoul. The purpose of this course is to learn about the AGN-201K, a
zero-power reactor. They also have opportunities to perform experiments and group
work for the reactor operation practices, measurement of the reactor period, critical
mass approach, thermal flux measurement, and the control rod worth measurement.

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Knowledge Book:

FROM ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL SYSTEM:
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Figure 3-8 Reactor experiment course at Kyung Hee University

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4 Spin-off ReDICS

4.1 RTP simulator

The Nuclear Reactor Simulator Lab at Malaysian Nuclear Agency was a spin-off
from the Reactor TRIGA PUSPATI (RTP) upgrading project. Upon completing the
ReDICS project, the existing console was dismantled and relocated at the Nuclear
Reactor Simulator Lab and reassembled again, merely replicated the new digital as
an RTP Simulator console for education and training purposes.

The primary purpose of the simulator is operator training and a dynamic testbed
(DTB) to test and validate the control logic in the reactor regulating system (RRS) of
RTP. The simulator hardware consists of a host computer, operator station, a
network switch, control rod drive mechanism and a large display panel. The existing
RTP control console was replicated, similar to the ReDICS. The software includes a
mathematical model of reactor kinetics and thermal-hydraulics that implements plant
dynamics in real-time using LabVIEW. An instructor station module that works as a
host computer manages user instructions, a human-machine interface module, and a
human-machine interface module graphical user interface used at the actual RTP
plant.

The actual RRS consists of the PLC S7-1500, interfaced with hardwired and
network-based used as a dynamic testbed. The RRS generates control signals for
reactor power control based on the feedback signals from DTB, such as neutron
detector signal and control rod positions. The DTB runs plant dynamics based on the
RRS control signals. Thus the Hardware-In-the-Loop Simulation between RRS and
the emulated plant (DTB) has been implemented and tested in this configuration. In
addition, normal and abnormal test case have been simulated for this project.

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FROM ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL SYSTEM:
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The old RTP analogue console has been transformed into the RTP simulator. Figure
4-1 shows the transformation from the existing console into the RTP simulator.

Figure 4-1 Before and after transforming old console into RTP Simulator
RTP Simulator Console

Figure 4-2 Back panels of the RTP Simulator

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Figure 4-3 Human-machine interface

Figure 4-4 Operator workstation (OWS)

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Figure 4-5 Reactor Protection System (RPS)

Figure 4-6 Data Acquisition and Control System (DACS)

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Figure 4-7 RTP Simulator Laboratory

4.2 Education & Training (E&T) using Simulator

The RTP simulator is an interactive tool for teaching and operator training to
understand the RTP operation, reactor physics, and thermal hydraulics. The
simulator is a multi-function, interactive, configurable and used to train in the RTP
operations start-up, power control, the reactor shut down, and demonstrate the
reactivity control, reactor cooling, and reactor protection system. This simulator can
offer a hands-on experiential training program suitable for RTP operators,
maintenance technicians, suppliers, regulators, engineers, lecturers, and students.
Since 2017, the RTP simulator has been conducted many hands-on experiential
training programs for:

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• Students of Nuclear Engineering (UTM)
• Fellowship programme from the Republic of Congo
• Sudan University of Science & Technology (SUST)
• Visitors from the local and international schools and universities
• Visitors from government and private agencies, including International Atomic

Energy Agency (IAEA)
• Join exhibitions to educate the public on nuclear research reactor, especially

its applications and safety concern

Figure 4-8 Students from Sudan University of Science & Technology (SUST)

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Figure 4-9 Nuclear Science postgraduate students from UKM

Figure 4-10 Nuclear Engineering students from UTM

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Figure 4-11 Students from Indonesia
The simulator can also exhibit abnormal cases to give the students a better
understanding of the strange situation during operation. Listed below are the typical
anomalies that can be simulated using the RTP simulator:

• Control Rod Frozen (Single rod failure, dual single rod failures)
• Pool water temperature exceeds 45 deg. Celcius.
• Operate more than 1.1MW in MANUAL mode operation
• Withdraw more than one control rod at one time.
• Change test mode at RPS drawer during operation.
• Withdraw control rod manually until reactor period less than 3 seconds.
• Loss main and UPS power supply at the console.
• Remove key during operation.
• Press TR fire during normal operation.
• Change SQ mode operation during Normal operation.
• Component I&C malfunction or no analogue meter reading.

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5 Conclusion

The original design of the RTP control console supplied by General Atomics, Inc.

was an analogue system. Since the RTP first criticality, the control console was

operated and maintained to ensure the safe operation of the RTP. RTP I&C system

has become an ear and eye to the operators during operation. It is used to monitor

reactor parameters and automatically shut down the reactor if the safety limit

exceeds. After more than 30 years of operation, the control console structures,

system, and components have degraded by ageing. Tremendous efforts have been

taken to maintain the operability of the control console, and it costs a significant

amount of funding for corrective maintenance. The decision to modernise and migrate

the control console from analogue to digital was due to the increasing system stability,

errors on system indicators, non-functional function, intermittent signals in the

system, increase in reactor shutdown and maintenance time.

By these means, the proper plan on project execution was established and proposed
for fund application. The planning included the design of the new control console,
project management, technology transfer program, and the project's spin-off and
realisation with project funding award under the Tenth Malaysian Plan (RMK10). The
project was started in 2011 and commissioned in 2014. Through the collaboration
with KAERI, holistic project implementation activities was planned and executed
based on the projected timeline. The involvement of Nuklear Malaysia’s personnel at
the early stage of design, fabrication, factory tests until commissioning activities were
precious experiences that were part of the technology transfer program. The
knowledge and hands-on experiences gained through the technology transfer
program were essential to be self-reliant after the end of support from the vendor
and become the system expert. Presently, the reactor personnel was operating and
maintaining ReDICS. In addition, the spin-off from this project, such as the
establishment of reactor simulators, added value to the national technological
development, especially in nuclear reactor technology.

HISTORY OF DOCUMENT REVIEW

Versi Tarikh Keterangan Penulis
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REFERENCES

[1]

[2]

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