English for Specific Purposes

regulation and safety systems that process measurement data to manage plant operation, optimize plant performance and keep the plant in a safe operating envelope; c) communication systems for data and information transfer through wires, fiber optics, wireless networks or digital data protocols; d) human-system interfaces to provide information and allow interaction with plant operating personnel; e) surveillance and diagnostic systems that monitor sensor signals for abnormalities; f) actuators (e.g. valves and motors) operated by the control and safety systems to adjust the plant’s physical processes; g) status indicators of actuators (e.g. whether valves are open or closed, and whether motors are on or off) providing signals for automatic and manual control.

In the control room, the I&C systems and the plant operators meet at the human-system interface (HSI). The designs of HSIs, whether digital (e.g. digital displays and touch screens), analog (gauges, knobs, switches, and push-buttons) or hybrid, must go beyond IT electrical engineering to include human factors engineering and assure both that the operators get the most out of the I&C system and, in a sense, the I&C system gets the most out of the human wisdom of the operators.

Perhaps faster than any other part of nuclear power plants, I&C technology is continuously advancing. Digital I&C systems are expected to continue as an area of rapid technological development. Future designs of NPPs will require new solutions both in sensing technologies and in digital control. Advanced sensors, detectors, transmitters, and data transmission lines are needed to meet the requirements imposed by the operating conditions of new designs (e.g. high temperatures and high flux) and the harsh environment of ‘beyond design basis’ conditions. Additional monitoring and diagnostic systems will need to be developed, making use of on-line condition monitoring techniques, reactor noise analysis for incipient failure detection, wireless sensor networks and communication, and integrated remote operation.