Year
1997
Abstract
In nuclear fuel reprocessing, as with most plants, the emphasis is usually placed on continuous production over long uninterrupted periods of time. The Inspectorates have the task of inventory and accountancy verification which must be performed in full compliance and co-operation with the operator, in order to minimise any interruptions and downtimes etc., To achieve the objective of minimal interference to the operator whilst maintaining the requirements and needs of the inspectorate, portable measurement units for the monitoring of the liquid contents in tanks have been developed. These units can be applied for confirmation of tank calibrations and for unattended verification of volume measurements. The units are small and lightweight and can easily and quickly be installed in parallel to operators' pressure measurement equipment. The equipment uses compact digital pressure modules with RS485 data protocol communication. Dedicated software monitors and controls the equipment, from large distances if necessary, providing user friendly set-up to inspector's requirements, including such parameters as, data acquisition, sampling rate, data storage, alarm levels and on-line visual monitoring. Protection is provided from interference and power outages. The data can be retrieved for eventual elaboration and analysis. Already the system has been fully tested in our full scale facility and is currently installed in three reprocessing installations world-wide, undergoing in-field trials, with the full co-operation and involvement of operators and the inspectorates.