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A Full Scope Nuclear Power Plant Training Simulator: Design and

Implementation Experiences

Article in Journal of Systemics Cybernetics and Informatics · June 2003

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 A Full Scope Nuclear Power Plant Training Simulator:
Design and Implementation Experiences

Pedro A. CORCUERA
Applied Mathematics and Computer Science Dept.
University of Cantabria
Av. de los Castros s/n, 39005 Santander, Spain

ABSTRACT regulatory commission requirements during the anual

formation plan of the operation personnel. Before this
This paper describes the development of a full scope training
simulator, the training program included the use of a
simulator for a Spanish nuclear power plant. The simulator is
interactive graphic simulator [1] to exercise the emergency
based on a client/server architecture that allows the
procedures and the Safety Parameter Display System (SPDS).
distributed execution in a network with many users to
The novelty of this simulator is that it is entirely made by
participate in the same simulation. The interface was designed
software elements (soft panels) and is capable of reproducing
to support the interaction of the operators with the simulator
the operation and functionality of every element at the real
through virtual panels supported by touch screens with high
control room. This allows that a facility with the same
fidelity graphic displays. The simulation environment is
capabilities of a hard panels simulator is available at the plant
described including the extension added to facilitate an easy
site without the need of large investment. Moreover, the
operation by instructors. The graphical interface has been
flexibility offered by software products could be exploited to
developed using component software technology. The
obtain additional benefits from the simulator, as we will
appropriate selection of hardware for visualization and
mention later.
interaction, in terms of cost and performance, resulted in a
Soft panels have been used first by flight simulators, to
facility much less expensive than the classic hard panels
reproduce almost any kind of instrumentation in different
replica simulators and, at the same time, able to fulfill most of
fields. Although soft panels concept is not new, it had not
the training requirements. The main features of the simulator
been applied so far to the entire representation of such a
are the distributed execution control of the models and the
complex system as the control room of a nuclear power plant
flexibility of design and maintenance of the interface. The
with full operational capabilities. Another uses of it is in
benefits of virtual panels approach are the automatic switch
desktop simulators and control room design or human-
reposition and tagging, configuration flexibility, low
machine interface analysis.
maintenance requirements, or capability to support multiple
As we mentioned before, training of personnel is not only
users distributed across the corporate intranet. After
a question of improving reliability and efficiency in plant
exhaustive validation and testing, the training sessions are
operation, but also a question of safety in the nuclear
being conducted successfully.
industry. Because of it, training is regulated, approved and
monitored by governmental regulatory commission and the
Keywords: Simulation, Human-machine interaction, distributed
soft panel technology shall have to be evaluated as a valid
simulation, visualization software and hardware, component
tool during the formation. We have seen that after less an
software, soft panels.
hour of adaptation to the new interface, operators use the
simulator to learn, as in a typical replica simulator, the
1. INTRODUCTION
functionality and behavior of their plant.
The training of the personnel is a main subject in the security The background of this simulator has been presented in
and reliability of many industrial processes. In order to fulfil [2], [3]. The focus of this paper is summarize the information
this objective it is necessary to develop applications that on the desing, implementation and final result of the project,
support distributed interactive simulation with an interface drawing the experiencies from this proces s and to include the
near the real world. There are many approaches to accomplish feedback from the users’ opinions. One of the main
this task: the replica simulators that reproduce by real conclusion is that with current software and visualization
hardware the same elements in the control room, the virtual technologies of medium level can support the very demanding
simulators that use soft panels and hybrid simulators that use requests, such as the training of nuclear plant operators,
a mixture of both. This paper describes the development of a commonly accomplished with more complex and expensive
full scope training simulator for a Spanish nuclear power plant tools. The same approach could be applied to other industrial
(named TSG++) that belongs to the virtual simulator class and processes.
it is on operation since November 2000. The objective of the The paper is organized as follows. In section 2 we outline
simulator was to improve training capacities and satisfy the the aspects related to the software architecture of the

12 SYSTEMICS, CYBERNETICS AND INFORMATICS VOLUME 1 - NUMBER 3

simulator with a brief description of the OpenSim NT Another interesting features of OpenSim are the structure
environment and a discussion of the simulator specification of the simulator executive that supports multithreading and is
and the adopted software development techniques. Next frame-based to maintain real time; the client/server
section is devoted to the simulator capabilities, stressing architecture, with a set of servers providing different services
those features that differentiate it from a classic replica to clients distributed across the network; and the database
simulator. In section 4 we explain the process that lead to the system that supports centralized data management and can be
final outcome of the project with mention of the alternatives maintained with ODBC compliant packages, such as SQL
regarding the hardware responsible for visualization and Server or MS Access. The interprocess communication is also
interaction. Section 5 shows the experiences undergone while performed by means of standard protocols (DDE and ONC
running the system, from the initial prototype to the complete RPC) granting that third party software can be linked to the
installation. Finally, the main conclusions are mentioned. simulator.
The schematic representation of the whole system of the
2. ARCHITECTURE OVERVIEW simulator is shown in figure 1. The different components will
be explained in the following sections.
Simulation Environment
The OpenSim NT environment [4] was chosen as the kernel
for the simulator because it allows to take full advantage of
the Windows PC technology, not only in order to run the
simulator, but also during the development process. This
means that low-cost equipment and well-known standard
software tools could be used to build the simulator.
OpenSim is an integrated software package supporting
the development, execution and validation of nuclear power
plant simulators. OpenSim is divided in two parts: the
simulator executive and the Instructor Station.
The main components of the OpenSim are: SPDS
− Model source code modules: all model codes are written
normally in Fortran language although some are in C
language, using subroutine or function modules. These
Data
modules are normally created in separate files. The
SOFT PANELS (Operators Interface)
development of a system model prototype is done using
special software tools such as Matlab, Modelica or Control Data
EcoSim.
− Fscan/Cscan: language processors to compile the source
modules so they can be integrated in the OpenSim NT SPDS Instructor
Data OPENSIM NT
executive. Interface Interface
− Database: contains all the constants and variables used
in the source modules.
− Database Manager: provides a method to manage and
display the information in the database.
− Initial Conditions: provide initial variable data when the
simulator is started or reset.
Figure 1. Schematic representation of the simulator.
− Master Simulation Task: executes synchronously the
system plant models and controls the simulation (run,
Soft Panels
freeze, backtrack, replay).
The requirement specification for the simulator stated that
− DirServer: provides information regarding the distributed
every element present at the control room should be
capability configuration of the simulation.
reproduced, being accessible by a single action of the
− DbaServer: provides access to the main database.
operator as in the real world or, at least, in the most similar
− Dynamic Data Exchange: allows outside software to
way. This meant that we couldn´t use any navigation method
connect the simulator through the DDE protocol.
to go from one panel to another, as happens with the desktop
simulators and the control room devices should be visualized
all at once. On the other hand, there was a limited space to

SYSTEMICS, CYBERNETICS AND INFORMATICS VOLUME 1 - NUMBER 3 13

accommodate the simulator at the plant facilities with less than Windows functionality. After some testing, we designed a
half the size of the real control room. general template for the source code and a procedure to adapt
With these conditions we devised the approximate shape it to the particular requirements of each panel. This method
and layout of the soft panels that would constitute the allowed that anyone programmer could begin developing
simulator. The dimensions of a 21’’ monitor were taken as a panels readily. Some panels with special component
reference. We found out that the scale of the visualized functionality, like the feedwater control system, were
elements would be roughly 50% of the actual size. More than programmed within the container. Special attention was paid
fifty panels would be needed to display the entire control to the layout and physical aspect of the components so that
room. We also analyzed the devices present on the real panels consistency in terms of scale, alignment, fonts and colors was
and realized that there were more than two thousand elements assured. Figure 3 shows an image of a composition of four
to reproduce with very different appearance and functionality. soft panels.
A large variety of push buttons, keys, switches, knobs, lamps,
gauges, recorders, annunciators and so on filled the panels.
The concept of software reusability, promoted by object
oriented design, came as the ideal solution for the
development of the simulator interface. Moreover, the
application of component software technologie [5], such as
the ActiveX controls in the Microsoft technology, would
allow a fast development of panels. We selected commercial
libraries for most of the instrumentation and decided to
develop specific controls for buttons and switches. These
components support complex functionality and communicate
directly with the simulator. They act as small stand-alone
programs that send data to the OpenSim executive through a
DDE server. For the best performance they were programmed
with Visual C++. Figure 2. Types of components used in the soft panels.
On the visual aspect, most components may display
digital pictures as background. However, in some applications
detailed drawings of the elements are used instead. We
preferred to create a photographic catalog of the devices
found in the real panels and incorporate these images onto the
components. Nowadays this job can be easily accomplished
thanks to the digital cameras at hand. Usually, the pictures
needed to be modified by means of image processing tools,
such as Adobe Photoshop, in order to improve quality or, for
instance, to obtain the image of a handle in certain position
that cannot be observed during normal plant operation. In any
case, the effort was always less than if we had to draw the
entire device and the result much more realistic. Figure 2
shows some examples of the components present on the
simulator panels.
Every soft panel is a container of the Active X controls
arranged as the real ones. Moreover, the soft panels are also
responsible for refreshing the indicators and controlling that Figure 3. Composition of four soft panels used to display the
the position of all the elements always match the evolution of turbine control system and electric generator.
the scenario being simulated, despite a new initial condition
had been set or the current sequence restarted. They Management and Communication Tools
communicate with the kernel using the same DDE server that We developed tools able to manage the whole simulator from
the components, given that a single instance of this server is a unique console, i.e. the Instructor Console, to control the
executed in the computer running each panel. computers and displays, and also to ensure fluid
The soft panels have also been programmed with Visual communications among all the involved applications. The
C++, making extensive use of the MFC libraries to provide full main goal was to provide an easy way to operate the simulator

14 SYSTEMICS, CYBERNETICS AND INFORMATICS VOLUME 1 - NUMBER 3

by the instructors, making them confident about its reliability. the required servers start automatically. In this way, the
For instance, we automated at maximum the simulator computers are always ready to display their corresponding
initialization and shutdown processes. We also added a panels.
module that sent data from the simulator to a process Another set of features is useful for the maintenance and
computer that hosted the Safety Parameter Display System fast development of the soft panels. For instance, the legends
that would be used during the training sessions. contained in the numerous labels that describe the panels’
The development of all these applications was performed devices are fully configurable from a text file. This file is read
under the client/server architecture and use standard methods when the panel is launched and includes all the information
for interprocess communication (DDE and Windows sockets) related to fonts, colors and text of every label. Hence, they can
programmed with Visual C++. be modified as needed without rebuilding the application. The
same happens to the panels with annunciators. In this case,
3. SIMULATOR CAPABILITIES the variables associated with every annunciator are read from
the file too. Thus, the same executable with different
Simulators used to train nuclear power plant operators must
configuration files is used for all these panels involving great
verify detailed regulations. The simulator has been developed
savings in programming effort.
to meet the ANSI 3.5 requirements. The only uncertain issue
A standard Windows setup program in which the user
relates to the physical fidelity of the simulator. Soft panels
only has to introduce the name of the panel to be executed in
may offer all the functionality of a full-scope replica simulator
that machine, solved the installation of the software required
except that the interaction is done through tactile displays
to run the panels and all the necessary files to be copied to
with animated images. This fact could be considered as a
their correct locations.
drawback but it can be overcome by the time that operators
Finally, the flexibility offered by the installation and
spend working on the real control room everyday.
execution of panels in whatever PC connected to the simulator
Even with the requirement of accommodating all the
computer through the company Intranet expands the range of
elements on an acceptable number of screens, we could
application making possible other sections of personnel use
maintain the relative position of more than 95% of them.
the simulator.
Regarding interaction, the components displayed on the
panels offer predefined active areas. By using touch-screens,
4. HARDWARE CHOICE AND INSTALLATION
the operator only needs to press on the required part of the
corresponding control to open/close a valve or start/stop a Three factors determined the final configuration of simulator.
pump. All the elements respond to the interaction and the First, the training requirements demanded a facility that
evolution of the simulated sequence as the real ones. We also resembled, as much as possible, the actual control room.
included sounds associated to the interactive components in Second, the available space to accommodate the system was
order to give the opera tor instant feedback from his actions. limited. And third, the expenses on equipment for the entire
Panels with annunciators generate audible alarm signals that project had to be under control and to sum a small proportion
were recorded at the control room. of the cost of a full scope replica simulator. Obviously, the
The simulator also incorporates additional features that satisfactory performance of the new simulator must also be
can only be provided by a simulator with soft panels. Some of guaranteed.
them serve to simplify the course of training sessions. For Concerning interaction only touch-screens remained as
instance, every time the instructor set a new scenario or reset the only valid option. After some tests, the resistive
the initial conditions, all the devices are adjusted technology was chosen because they offer high resolution
automatically to their new correct positions. Even the traces and can be activated by any object, not only the fingers.
on the ‘virtual’ paper rolls of recorders are erased before they Unfortunately, their thickness can affect the quality of the
begin to register data from the new simulation. Other displayed image.
capability is the automatic tagging of selected devices when it With regard to visualization we paid attention to large
is declared out of service for the ongoing sequence by means sized CRT monitors, different types of rear projectors, flat LCD
of yellow or red tags according to the associated malfunction. monitors and plasma displays. We wanted to arrange the
Further, the instructor has remote control from his own panels very close to each other, in order to save space and
console over all machines that integrate the simulator. At any suppress artificial gaps among them. This could be better
time, he can launch or close any of the panels, restart the achieved with projectors or plasma displays, but these
Windows session running in any of the computers or even systems are often designed for distant vision while, in reality,
shutdown or reboot any of the PCs. When booting, the the operators always stand close to the panels. Their
operating system enters directly to the simulator session and resolution is poor and cannot be used to display a detailed

SYSTEMICS, CYBERNETICS AND INFORMATICS VOLUME 1 - NUMBER 3 15

image of many small objects to be seen from short distance. instance, the frames of the CRT monitors were covered with
So, we chose a combination of CRT and LCD monitors. CRTs plastic pieces and painted as the rest of the structure to
offer very high resolution and are available at low cost with increase the feeling of continuity among the soft panels. A
the acceptable size of 21”. A high number of these displays series of sticky tags reproducing actual control room labels
are used in the interactive panels with a resolution of were also added for greater realism (figure 5).
1600x1200 pixels. The flat LCD monitors are lighter and easier
to handle although much more expensive and with less
resolution. We use them for panels with annunciators and
SPDS displays.
Since the computers that would support the soft panels
needed to run the Windows NT operating system we use
Pentium PCs with no especial requirements. As for the
simulator computer, main server and instructor console, we
chose a dual processor Pentium platform able to perform all
these functions simultaneously. Finally, a conventional
Ethernet network would connect all the computers.
Before the physical installation of the simulator a
prototype with twelve displays was built at our offices (figure
4). Different people, many of them from the plant, used this
prototype. Its design was continuously improved taking their
opinions into account until the entire system could be
installed at the plant. The installation process was laborious Figure 5. The operation crew during a training session on the
but fast. Every computer and their peripherals should be simulator.
labeled, placed at their exact locations and have the right
software loaded. Besides, a careful study of the power supply 5. SIMULATOR PERFORMANCE
required by all this equipment was carried out in order to set
up the appropriate electric wiring on the simulator room. To The space limitations and the hardware selected for
avoid reflections on the soft panels screens room lighting was visualization implied that the whole simulator displayed a
carefully studied too. reduced scale image of the control room. Moreover, there were
relatively large useless areas amid the soft panels that do not
exist in reality. However, despite these drawbacks we have
observed that when the simulation starts and the operators
began acting on the soft panels following their procedures,
they forget about the interface and are fully immersed on the
ongoing scenario.

The simulator has been validated and tested as any full

scope simulator. The first part of this process was carried out
at the prototype installed at the university. This initial
experience discovered some of the troubles that should be
fixed. The images of some elements were so small that it was
difficult to press over the desired active area. We learnt soon
that the general user is reluctant to substitute his finger by a
pointer or any kind of stylus. Nevertheless, in most cases
these objects could be enlarged without altering the panels’
Figure 4. Prototype built to accommodate twelve soft panels.
layout. Other objects included some components embedded in
others, for instance the knobs of the feedwater system and
Installation of all panels was distributed as in the real
control room with a final scale of 65% in length. There was recirculation analog controllers. In these rarely cases it is
provided a zooming feature. When the user press on one of
room enough for a shift of operators moving as they actually
do when controlling the plant. The rear of the structure these objects the inner knob is displayed on a new small
window over the panel, large enough to rotate the knob using
allowed accessing all the computers and peripherals easily.
Some final details served to improve the simulator look. For the finger. If the object is pressed again the window

16 SYSTEMICS, CYBERNETICS AND INFORMATICS VOLUME 1 - NUMBER 3

disappears. We also checked the performance of the touch- We note, finally, those technologies related to soft panels
screens after many hours of operation. We realized that design, development and rendering are evolving continuously
periodic calibration was convenient. while their costs decrease. We are undoubtedly convinced
When the installation of the simulator was completed a that, in the next years, the quality of this kind of systems
team of new operators was assigned to perform the final would be largely improved.
validation. These young people were used to computers and
had no trouble with the soft panels interface. In a few minutes 7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
they were familiarized with the new training environment and
Nuclenor S.A. has been financed this work as a partner of a
knew how to deal with the system. However, when the real
research agreement with the University of Cantabria. We
training sessions began we noticed that it was not so intuitive
thank the support and collaboration of the Operation
for everybody. Brief explanations about the interface and a bit
Department staff at Sta. Maria de Garoña nuclear plant.
of previous practice were enough to solve the problem. Once
the user has accepted that there are no physical handles or
8. REFERENCES
switches to operate, the only complain is about the size of the
virtual objects. [1] P. Corcuera, F. Bustío, E. Mora, “Training Simulator for
Regarding the equipment supporting the simulation and Garoña Nuclear Power Plant”, Lecture Notes in Computer
the communication between processes, there were no major Science, Springer Verlag, Vol. 1030, 1996, pp. 523-529.
problems with the configuration explained in section 4. From [2] P. Corcuera, M. Garcés, M. Zorrilla, E. Mora, “Distributed
his console, which at the same time acts as the main server Simulation with Multimedia Interface”, Lecture Notes in
and simulator computer, the instructor commands the training Computer Science, Springer Verlag,. Vol. 1798, 2000, pp.
sessions as had been devised and has full control of all the 334-342.
involv ed computers. The procedures associated to reset or [3] P. Corcuera, M. Garcés, J. Ryan, “A Training Simulator
shutdown the simulator are easy and friendly. The same with Soft Panels”, Power Plant Simulation – Fossil and
happens with the system maintenance and, also, with the Nuclear Power Plant Simulator Proceedings. Society for
introduction of modifications that reflect changes on the real Computer Simulation International, 2000, pp. 94-99.
control room or serve to test new instrumentation that could [4] S. Chan, J. Ryan, “Windows NT Simulation Platforms.
be implemented in reality. Lessons Learned”, Simulators International XIV. Society
for Computer Simulation International, 1997.
6. CONCLUSIONS [5] C. Szyperski, Component Software: Beyond Object-
Oriented Programming, Addison-Wesley, 1998.
A new simulator with soft panels interface, is being used to
train the operators of Sta. María de Garoña nuclear power
plant. This demonstrates that current visualization hardware
and software of medium level can perform the same tasks that,
until now, were reserved to much more complex and expensive
systems as the classic full scope replica simulators of nuclear
control rooms.
Furthermore, the soft panels approach provides
additional benefits that facilitate its use and expand its
functionality and range of application. If the plant already has
a replica simulator, this type of simulator would be useful to
complement the regular training and give access to others
sections of personnel to such a powerful tool as a full scope
simulator.
Hybrid systems could be considered too. The most
convincing would incorporate a series of hard panels
containing a physical copy of the interactive devices while the
instrumentation and annunciators remain in soft panels. For
other more specific applications, such as the training on the
numerous rear panels that are not included in the scope of
traditional replica simulators, a soft panels interface appears
as the most suitable solution.

SYSTEMICS, CYBERNETICS AND INFORMATICS VOLUME 1 - NUMBER 3 17

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