Eskom’s Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, with AREVA-designed pressurized water reactors, will add a second simulator for developing new operations personnel and for continued training for existing operations personnel. The second simulator will be housed in a new training building, currently under development.

L-3 MAPPS, with subcontractor Mechtronix Systems Inc., will develop main control room panels (MCR) that are a replica of the existing Koeberg simulator MCR panels. The new simulator will be equipped with the WAGO-I/O-SYSTEM 750 using a fieldbus-independent design that features finely modular components. The I/O system is optimized for process-oriented communication and is a scalable-performance solution for high integration density.

“In addition to supplying us robust technology, we have continued to receive reliable service from L-3 MAPPS despite the long distance between South Africa and Canada,” said Willem van der Sandt, project manager, Eskom Generation. “We are optimistic that the L-3 team will again deliver a great simulator to Eskom.”

“L-3 MAPPS is pleased to collaborate again with Eskom to enhance the nuclear plant training infrastructure in South Africa,” said Michael Chatlani, vice president of marketing & sales for L-3 MAPPS Power Systems and Simulation. “With this project, the L-3 MAPPS team will pursue – and achieve – yet another high-quality technical solution for our esteemed customer.”

The simulator duplication project will be rolled out in two phases during which the current simulation will be migrated to a full L-3 MAPPS simulation environment. The first phase will consist of developing the second full scope simulator MCR and I/O system, while the second phase (retrofit phase) will see the existing training simulator upgraded to more closely resemble the new simulator. In the retrofit phase, the existing simulator’s I/O system will also be replaced by the WAGO-I/O-SYSTEM 750, while certain key panel instruments, including the control rod position indicators and the synchroscope, will be replaced by more modern equipment. These upgrades will enable Eskom to use a single software configuration on both training platforms, simplifying the configuration management task.

This project follows another order awarded to L-3 MAPPS by Eskom to significantly refurbish the existing Koeberg operator training simulator. Featuring L-3 MAPPS’ Orchid® Modeling Environment, the upgrade will provide improved fidelity and performance of the simulator. The refurbished simulator is slated to be operational in March 2010 followed by a subsequent upgrade, with the entire simulator operating L-3 MAPPS high-fidelity models by December 2010. The software platform and upgraded models will then also be applied to the second simulator.

L-3 MAPPS, a division of the L-3 Marine & Power Systems group, has over 25 years of experience in pioneering technological advances in the marine automation field and over 35 years of experience in delivering high-fidelity power plant simulation to leading utilities worldwide. In addition, the company has more than three decades of expertise in supplying plant computer systems for Canadian heavy water reactors. L-3 MAPPS also provides targeted controls and simulation solutions to the space sector.

To learn more about L-3 MAPPS, please visit the company’s website at www.L-3com.com/MAPPS.