Areva will provide an EPR plant simulator for experimental use at the Center for Advanced Engineering and Research (CAER) in Virginia.
The configurable control room facility will be used for human-machine interface and human factors studies, said Areva. It will facilitate training in and investigation of digital instrumentation and control systems, cyber security and operation of a nuclear power plant at CAER’s Center for Safe and Secure Nuclear Energy. The result will be technical input for regulatory guidance in a range of applications, including control room design, digital technologies and human performance measures.
The EPR simulator consists of four operator stations, each able to accommodate up to ten monitors, which CAER will be able to configure for various experiments. The four operator stations can be used as part of an integrated control room environment or separately for individual studies.
CAER executive director Bob Bailey commented: “The simulator provided by Areva under this agreement will now enable us to perform critical experiments in the US in areas such as alarm systems, control room design, design navigation and development of human performance.”
Separately, Babcock & Wilcox is building an Integrated System Test facility at CAER to support licensing activities for its mPower small, modular reactor design. The facility is not far from B&W’s headquarters in Lynchburg.