L-3 MAPPS, a subsidiary of L-3 Communications, announced today that AmerenUE has placed an order to replace the reactor core model on the Callaway nuclear plant simulator. The reactor model for the Callaway simulator is due to be in service in the spring of 2008.
The new real-time reactor core model, based on the Nodal Expansion Method (NEM), will be generated with L-3 MAPPS’ Orchid™ Core Builder software. With NEM, each node of the reactor core model is represented by a fourth-order polynomial, providing a highly accurate representation of the flux in the reactor core. Orchid™ Core Builder will also be delivered to AmerenUE for adapting the core model to incorporate plant fuel cycle updates.
L-3 MAPPS has provided simulator update products and services to AmerenUE’s Callaway Simulator for ten years. Through a series of projects over those years, the L-3 MAPPS team has upgraded several plant models, replaced the simulator environment and instructor station and supported the simulator staff with on-site simulator maintenance services. Today, the Callaway Simulator is largely based on L-3 technology.
“We take great pride in our long-standing record of advancing the Callaway Simulator, and we are pleased that AmerenUE continues to place their trust in L-3 as we take on this new project,” said Michael Chatlani, Vice President, Marketing & Sales, L-3 MAPPS Power Systems and Simulation. “Through our dedication to customer service and providing state-of-the-art simulation technology, we have been able to generate strong customer loyalty across our installed base – AmerenUE being a prime example of this.”
AmerenUE, a subsidiary of St Louis-based Ameren Corporation, is Missouri’s largest electric utility, serving 1.2 million customers in central and eastern Missouri, including the St Louis area. Callaway nuclear plant, which produces about 20 percent of AmerenUE’s power, has consistently been an industry leader in both safety and performance. The plant’s average annual net generation of 8.9 billion kilowatt-hours is equal to the amount of electricity used annually by more than 750,000 average households. Ameren Corporation is among the United States’ largest investor-owned electric and gas utilities.
L-3 MAPPS has over 20 years of experience in pioneering technological advances in the marine automation field and over 30 years of experience in delivering high-fidelity power plant simulation to leading utilities worldwide. In addition, the company has more than three decades of expertise in supplying plant computer systems for Canadian heavy water reactors. L-3 MAPPS also provides targeted controls and simulation solutions to the space sector.