In-Containment Signal Conditioning and Transmission via Power Lines within High Dose Rate Areas of Nuclear Power Plants

Müller S, Dennerlein J, Janke I, Weber J, Weigel R, Kölpin A (2015)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Conference contribution, Conference Contribution

Publication year: 2015

Pages Range: 1-8

Event location: Lisbon, Portugal

DOI: 10.1109/ANIMMA.2015.7465532

Abstract

Signal conditioning and transmission for sensor systems and networks within the containment of nuclear power plants (NPPs) still poses a challenge to engineers, particularly in the case of equipment upgrades for existing plants, temporary measurements, decommissioning of plants, but also for new builds. This paper presents an innovative method for efficient and cost-effective instrumentation within high dose rate areas inside the containment. A transmitter-receiver topology is proposed that allows simultaneous, unidirectional point-to-point transmission of multiple sensor signals by superimposing them on existing AC or DC power supply cables using power line communication (PLC) technology. Thereby the need for costly installation of additional cables and containment penetrations is eliminated. Based on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) electronic parts, a radiation hard transmitter is designed to operate in harsh environment within the containment during full plant operation. Hardware modularity of the transmitter allows application specific tradeoffs between redundancy and channel bandwidth. At receiver side in non-radiated areas, signals are extracted from the power line, demodulated, and provided either in analog or digital output format. Laboratory qualification tests and field test results within a boiling water reactor (BWR) are validating the proof of concept of the proposed system.

Authors with CRIS profile

Involved external institutions

AREVA GmbH Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Müller, S., Dennerlein, J., Janke, I., Weber, J., Weigel, R., & Kölpin, A. (2015). In-Containment Signal Conditioning and Transmission via Power Lines within High Dose Rate Areas of Nuclear Power Plants. In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Advancements in Nuclear Instrumentation Measurement Methods and their Applications (ANIMMA) (pp. 1-8). Lisbon, Portugal.

MLA:

Müller, Steffen, et al. "In-Containment Signal Conditioning and Transmission via Power Lines within High Dose Rate Areas of Nuclear Power Plants." Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Advancements in Nuclear Instrumentation Measurement Methods and their Applications (ANIMMA), Lisbon, Portugal 2015. 1-8.

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