Reactor Operations: The Role for Computers

The time between initial design choices for a nuclear reactor control room and plant commissioning approaches 8-10 years. Thus, even new plants often reflect the state-of-the-art of 10 years before, especially if the designers approached their task in a conservative fashion. The result is that few currently operating plants employ advanced computer display or control systems. At the same time, however, increasingly complex plant operations and regulatory requirements as well as economic pressures to improve efficiency and productivity are causing increased interest in computer assisted reactor operation in both new and older nuclear generating stations.