L-3 MAPPS announced today that it has won an order from Westinghouse Electric Company to deliver a full-scale 1,000 MWe class pressurized water reactor (PWR) simulator equipped with severe accident simulation capability as part of a larger project that Westinghouse is fulfilling for a customer in Tokyo, Japan. The simulator will be used to teach operators plant responses ranging from normal operations to severe accidents and is scheduled to be in service in the first quarter of 2016.
"Westinghouse and L-3 MAPPS have a rich and long history of working together to enable Westinghouse control systems with L-3 MAPPS-developed plant simulators in the U.S. and in Europe," said Scott Roberts, director, operator interface for Westinghouse."We are pleased to collaborate with L-3 MAPPS on this important endeavor."
"L-3 MAPPS is committed to making a contribution to nuclear safety with this new project," said Michael Chatlani, vice president of marketing & sales for L-3 MAPPS Power Systems and Simulation. "The project is L-3 MAPPS’ first sale into the Japanese market and we look forward to further developing our relationships in this region."
The simulator will be based on L-3’s latest fully integrated Orchid® simulation environment and will operate within a virtual control room implemented using the Orchid Touch Interface and Orchid Sound System solutions, providing a full-scale training environment. The virtual panels and Orchid Instructor Station will be made available in Japanese to facilitate operation of the PWR simulator.
L-3 MAPPS will also connect the Electric Power Research Institute’s (EPRI) Modular Accident Analysis Program (MAAP5) to the simulator. The simulator models will include support for the connection of external power and water sources, part of the diverse and flexible (FLEX) response strategy developed by industry to address challenges experienced at the Fukushima Daiichi power station following the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. MAAP5 is a software program that performs severe accident analysis for nuclear power plants, including assessments of core damage and radiological transport.*
The simulator will also be equipped with new two-dimensional and three-dimensional animated, interactive visualizations of the reactor vessel, containment building and spent fuel pool to provide trainees with additional insight into the behavior of the plant during severe accidents. With severe accident simulation capabilities, the PWR simulator will support training scenarios relating to degraded reactor core conditions that result in fuel melting, including cladding oxidation and hydrogen generation, vessel failure, containment failure and fission product release.
Westinghouse Electric Company, a group company of Toshiba Corporation, is the world’s pioneering nuclear energy company and is a leading supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies to utilities throughout the world. Westinghouse supplied the world’s first pressurized water reactor in 1957 in Shippingport, Pa., U.S.A. Today, Westinghouse technology is the basis for approximately one-half of the world’s operating nuclear plants.
L-3 MAPPS has over 30 years of experience in pioneering technological advances in the marine automation field and over 40 years of experience in delivering high-fidelity power plant simulation to leading utilities worldwide. In addition, the company has more than four 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. To learn more about L-3 MAPPS, please visit the company’s website at www.L-3com.com/MAPPS.
Headquartered in New York City, L-3 employs approximately 45,000 people worldwide and is a prime contractor in aerospace systems and national security solutions. L-3 is also a leading provider of a broad range of communication and electronic systems and products used on military and commercial platforms. The company reported 2014 sales of $12.1 billion.
*A valid license to MAAP5 from EPRI is required prior to a customer being able to use MAAP5 with Licensee’s simulator products. EPRI does not endorse any third-party products or services. Orchid is a trademark of L-3 Communications MAPPS Inc. All other products are trademarks of their respective companies.