Canada-based L-3 MAPPS is to upgrade the full-scope simulator at Slovenia’s single-unit Krško NPP under a contract signed with operator Nuklearna Elektrarna Krško (NEK). The simulator’s current UNIX operating system-based simulator will be replaced with a virtualized Windows-based platform running L-3’s Orchid simulation environment. The nuclear island and conventional island models will then be migrated into Orchid. The models will also be upgraded to reflect plant changes made as part of NEK’s post-Fukushima safety upgrade programme.
L-3 MAPPS said a new compact input/output system will drive a new simulated emergency control room, which is replacing remote shutdown panels spread throughout the plant. In addition, analogue cameras and microphones connected to the simulator’s audio-video system will be replaced with digital ones. The upgraded simulator will also feature a new sound system to replicate control room sounds. The upgrade will begin immediately and is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 2017.
NEK plant engineering director Božidar Krajnc said, "The NEK and L-3 MAPPS teams have worked very well together since the Krško full scope simulator was declared ready for training in 2000. We look forward to implementing this significant simulator upgrade project with L-3 MAPPS, which is an important part of our safety upgrade programme."
Construction of the 696MWe Westinghouse pressurized water reactor at Krško began in 1975 and it was connected to the grid in 1981. The plant was built as a joint venture between Slovenia and Croatia, then both part of Yugoslavia. Croatian state-owned company Hrvatska Elektroprivreda and Slovenian state-owned company Gen-Energija co-own NEK. The reactor is due to shut down in 2043.
