Technical Challenges In The Application And Licensing Of Digital Instrumentation And Control Systems In Nuclear Power Plants

Download or read book Digital Instrumentation and Control Systems in Nuclear Power Plants written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1997-04-18 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The nuclear industry and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) have been working for several years on the development of an adequate process to guide the replacement of aging analog monitoring and control instrumentation in nuclear power plants with modern digital instrumentation without introducing off-setting safety problems. This book identifies criteria for the USNRC's review and acceptance of digital applications in nuclear power plants. It focuses on eight areas: software quality assurance, common-mode software failure potential, systems aspects of digital instrumentation and control technology, human factors and human-machine interfaces, safety and reliability assessment methods, dedication of commercial off-the-shelf hardware and software, the case-by-case licensing process, and the adequacy of technical infrastructure.