Abstract— Nuclear reactor operation and control is a sophisticated system involving modern equipments and techniques. This paper proposes an operation and control feature of TRIGA Mark-II research reactor and discusses the structure and implementation of smooth automatic operation and control using programmable logic controller (PLC). The automation of the reactor and accurate power generation by demand is carried out by inserting or withdrawing control rods. Four trip conditions and one external faults (generalized for any external mechanical or electrical fault) are taken into account to shut down the reactor suddenly (SCRAM). This paper proposes better flexibility in operation & control and low cost & time for trouble shooting with PLC compared to the instrumentation currently offered by General Atomics for TRIGA reactor.
Index Terms— PLC, regulator rod, shim rod, transient rod, TRIGA Mark-II reactor, emergency core cooling system (ECCS), ladder logic program.
P. K. Bhowmik is with the Dept. of Instrumentation, Eastern Refinery Ltd., Chittagong, Bangladesh (e-mail: pkbcuet@yahoo.com). S. K. Dhar is with the Dept. of EEE, Premier University, Chittagong, Bangladesh (e-mail: sagar378@gmail.com).
S. Chakraborty is with the Dept. of EEE, USTC, Chittagong, Bangladesh (e-mail: sckeee03@gmail.com).
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Cite: P. K. Bhowmik, S. K. Dhar, and S. Chakraborty, " Operation and Control of TRIGA Nuclear Research Reactor with PLC," International Journal of Information and Electronics Engineering vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 553-557, 2013.
