Baker Interview

Nancy Jones, Editor of The Gateway, recently conducted an interview with Michael Baker of Energy Systems Solutions, Inc. (ESS) regarding the current state of control systems in the Nuclear Power industry. Mr. Baker is a senior engineer and system designer with more than 15 years specializing in monitoring and control systems for the Nuclear Power Industry.

NSJ: Mr. Baker, please provide some background on yourself and ESS for our readers?

MB: I started my career in nuclear power while I was still a student at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. I had a part time job with a company that supplied monitoring systems for commercial nuclear power plants. One of my first projects was designing a microprocessor based board that interfaced to a reactor control rod position indication system. Once I received my BS in Electrical Engineering I stayed in the nuclear industry working for various computer system integrators and engineering consulting companies. In the mid-90’s I joined ESS. ESS is a small consulting company that specializes in helping nuclear plants specify, purchase and install digital monitoring and control systems.

NSJ: Describe the typical project that ESS would be involved in.

MB: Our typical project begins when a nuclear utility has identified a need for a replacement monitoring or control system. We provide consulting services to the utility to help them cost justify the project and develop the conceptual design. We write technical specifications and help the utility evaluate proposals from automation suppliers. ESS also provides engineers to augment the utility staff to produce the design paperwork and safety evaluation necessary to install a system in nuclear plant. The systems that we work on are common to non-nuclear power plants (feedwater control, turbine speed control, etc.). The difference between nuclear power plants and other types of generating plants is the level of documentation and testing necessary to satisfy the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that the plant remains safe to operate.

NSJ: What is the current state of control systems in the Nuclear Power industry?

MB: Most nuclear plants were designed in the 1960s and built in the 1970s. So most of the Instrumentation and Control (I&C) technology is old. It is common to still find pneumatic control (3-15 psig) and obsolete 10-50 milli amp analog and relay control systems. Many plants have upgraded portions of their I&C systems to address obsolescence or reliability issues. NRC regulations after the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 forced US plants to install additional I&C systems. Most plants have a wide mix of technologies from modern DCS and PLCs to obsolete analog controllers.

NSJ: I understand that many of our nuclear plants are reaching the end of their licenses and useful life of many of their systems. What does this mean for companies like ESS?

MB: The Atomic Energy Act and NRC regulations limit commercial power reactor licenses to an initial 40 years but also permit such licenses to be renewed. This original 40-year term for reactor licenses was based on economic and antitrust considerations--not on limitations of nuclear technology. Several US plants have received license extensions from the NRC. Those plants are investing money to modernize the I&C systems so they can reliably operate for many more years. That investment means more opportunities for companies like ESS that provide process automation solutions to nuclear power plants.

NSJ: As the Nuclear facility operators plan for this refurbishment process what technology options do they have today for their control systems that didn’t exist when the plants were originally designed?

MB: Not only did these technologies not exist when the plants were designed they did not exist five years ago. The most significant technology change is in the way the human control room operator interacts with the plant systems. Nuclear plant control rooms are filled with indicator lights and physical control switches. New systems use computer graphics based Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) to replace the switches and lights. Other technologies being applied to nuclear power plants include Ethernet networks and “smart” process transmitters with HART or fieldbus interfaces.

NSJ: Can you talk about any recent refurbishment projects you were involved with?

MB: Duke Power’s Oconee Nuclear Station in South Carolina has an ongoing refurbishment project to replace several I&C systems such as the Control Rod Drive Control System, Reactor Protection System, Balance of Plant Controls, and Main Turbine Electro-Hydraulic Control. ESS has several engineers working at the station to assist the utility in the design and installation of these systems.

NSJ: Are there any lessons learned from this project that you can share with our readers?

MB: I was closely involved in the Oconee Balance of Plant controls project. The project replaces hundreds of non-safety related pneumatic control loops with Foundation fieldbus instruments. Foundation fieldbus is a digital communication standard that allows process transmitters (pressure, temperature, flow, etc.) to communicate with valve positioners and host monitoring systems (see www.fieldbus.org for more information). The Foundation fieldbus standard also has a high-level communications protocol based on Ethernet.

NSJ: You are obviously very optimistic about the potential that the Foundation Fieldbus technologies offer. What led you to this conclusion?

MB: There are several competing “fieldbus” standards. For process control (as opposed to manufacturing automation) the two dominate fieldbus standards are Foundation fieldbus and Profibus. Unlike Profibus, Foundation fieldbus (FF) is a complete process automation solution. FF is the only fieldbus that allows the control function to execute in the field devices. The PID controller can reside in the FF process transmitter or the FF valve positioner. FF technology includes both a low speed “H1” interface and a high speed Ethernet “HSE” interface. FF supports remote diagnostics and configuration of the field devices.

NSJ: Are you comfortable with using Ethernet networking technologies in state of the art control systems?

MB: Yes, it is appropriate to use Ethernet for control systems as long as the system designer addresses the issues of security and reliability. For security we do not connect the control and monitoring networks directly to the business network. For reliability we use redundant network devices and continuous remote monitoring of those devices. Most control system suppliers now use Ethernet. However, many suppliers do not provide integrated monitoring and diagnostics of the Ethernet devices such as servers, switches, printers, etc.

NSJ: How did you find The S4 Group?

MB: At Oconee we needed a way to monitor the status of all the devices on the Ethernet control network. Our fieldbus vendor provided monitoring of his equipment but not the other third party devices we had on the network such as computer servers, uninterruptible power supplies and network switches. I knew a little about SNMP technology used in the business world and I though it might be applied to the control system. Using Web searches (Google) for the terms “SNMP” and “OPC” I found The S4 Group.

NSJ: What did you find unique about our products and services?

MB: The S4 Group had exactly the kind of experience and capabilities I was looking for. We needed an SNMP solution that could integrate with our OPC based HMI software. I found other SNMP solutions for industrial control but those seemed to be linked to a particular control system product or network switch. I needed a company that had experience with SNMP, OPC and the various devices on my network. One phone call to Steve Jones of The S4 Group made me realize that I was dealing with a subject mater expert that could help us solve our network monitoring needs. S4 provided the Obermeier SNMP-OPC software, the software configuration for our specific devices and training. I learned that SNMP technology has lots of hidden complexities and I am glad that the S4 Group was there to help Oconee apply the technology. The on-site integration and testing of the Obermeier software allowed Oconee personnel to focus on the rest of the project and not worry about the SNMP details. The training provided by S4 will allow Oconee staff to manage the network monitoring as the network grows.

NSJ: Do you see these same technologies and approaches being applicable to the industry in general or were they unique to the Duke Power project?

MB: Absolutely, the needs for industrial Ethernet, Foundation fieldbus and SNMP are not unique to Duke Power. They are not even unique to nuclear power plants. As I work at other plants I am continuing to “preach” my new “religion” of Foundation fieldbus and SNMP.

NSJ: Does the state of the industry and the need for control systems refurbishment differ internationally from what you experienced here in the U.S.?

MB: No, nuclear plant I&C replacement systems are needed worldwide. I have installed systems in Russia, Armenia and Lithuania and saw many of the same types of equipment obsolescence problems. One advantage to standards like SNMP and Foundation fieldbus are that they are internationally known. This allows a company like ESS to provide our skills in these technologies worldwide.

NSJ: Thank you for spending this time with us today. Is there anything else you would like to add?

MB: Thank you. Keep up the good work with SNMP and OPC.

NSJ: We look forward to hearing about other ESS projects in the future.

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