Digital systems implemented at the IPEN nuclear research reactor (IEA-R1): results and necessities

Abstract

IPEN (Nuclear and Energy Research Institute) was founded in 1956 with the main purpose of doing research and development in the field of nuclear energy and its applications. It is located at the campus of University of Sao Paulo (USP), in the city of Sao Paulo, in an area of nearly 500,000 m2. It has over 1.000 employees and 40% of them have qualification at master or doctor level The institute is recognized as a national leader institution in research and development (R&D) in the areas of radiopharmaceuticals, industrial applications of radiation, basic nuclear research, nuclear reactor operation and nuclear applications, materials science and technology, laser technology and applications. Along with the R&D, it has a strong educational activity, having a graduate program in Nuclear Technology, in association with the University of Sao Paulo, ranked as the best university in the country. The Federal Government Evaluation institution CAPES, granted to this course grade 6, considering it a program of Excellence. This program started at 1976 and has awarded 458 Ph.D. degrees and 937 master degrees since them. The actual graduate enrollment is around 400 students. One of major nuclear installation at IPEN is the IEA-R1 research reactor; it is the only Brazilian research reactor with substantial power level suitable for its utilization in researches concerning physics, chemistry, biology and engineering as well as for producing some useful radioisotopes for medical and other applications. IEA-R1 reactor is a swimming pool type reactor moderated and cooled by light water and uses graphite and beryllium as reflectors. The first criticality was achieved on September 16, 1957. The reactor is currently operating at 4.5 MW power level with an operational schedule of continuous 64 hours a week. In 1996 a Modernization Program was started to establish recommendations in order to mitigate equipment and structures ageing effects in the reactor components, detect and evaluate obsolescence of some electrical and electronic systems. In this work we will show a retrospective and results of digital systems applied to IEA-R1 reactor concerning electronic equipments and systems refurbishment and modernization and the necessity of a new control console implementation.