L-3 MAPPS has secured a contract from Eskom Holdings to significantly refurbish its Koeberg operator training simulator. Featuring L-3 MAPPS’ Orchid® modeling environment, the upgrade will provide improved fidelity and performance of the simulator. The refurbished simulator is slated to be operational in March 2010, followed by a subsequent upgrade, with the entire simulator operating L-3 MAPPS high-fidelity models by December 2010.
“We have been working with Eskom since 2002 to improve the Koeberg simulator,” said Michael Chatlani, vice president of marketing and sales for L-3 MAPPS Power Systems and Simulation.
“With this third project, we are pleased to extend our valued relationship with Eskom and to fully refurbish the current simulator software using our cutting-edge technologies,” Mr Chatlani added.
The simulator upgrade project will be rolled out in two phases during which the current simulation will be migrated to a full L-3 MAPPS simulation environment.
Phase one will include remodeling of the balance of plant (BOP) process loop, simulation of the new Alstom ALSPA CONTROSTEAM steam turbine controller, emulation of the core monitoring system display and provision of an interface to Westinghouse’s ovation DCS. This approach will enable Koeberg to pre-train their operators on upcoming plant changes scheduled for the plant outage in late 2010.
Phase two will consist of upgrading the remaining plant models, including containment, emergency core cooling and common services, and migrating the legacy control logic and electrical systems into the Orchid modeling environment through a translator.
L-3 MAPPS completed a previous upgrade of the Koeberg simulator in May 2004, which involved updating the simulation server and replacing the reactor, reactor coolant system, reactor coolant pump, pressurizer, pressurizer relief tank and steam generator models. In 2008, L-3 MAPPS configured the simulator with OPC XML connectivity to support new rod control displays.
Eskom Holdings generates, transports and distributes approximately 95% of South Africa’s electricity—making up 60% of the total electricity consumed on the African continent. Eskom is the world’s 11th largest power utility in terms of generating capacity, ranks ninth in terms of sales and boasts the world’s largest dry-cooling power station.
Koeberg Power Station is the only nuclear power station on the African continent. It is situated at Duynefontein, 30km northwest of Cape Town in South Africa on the Atlantic coast. Koeberg, with two pressurized water reactor units that supply 1,800MW, ensures a reliable supply of electricity to the Western Cape, one of the fastest growing regions in South Africa. It has operated safely and efficiently for more than 21 years and has a further active life of 20 to 30 years.