Nuclear reactor protection systems and methods
AssigneeNuScale Power, LLC
InventorsGregory Wayne Clarkson, Rufino Ayala, Jason Pottorf
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A nuclear reactor protection system includes a plurality of functionally independent modules, each of the modules configured to receive a plurality of inputs from a nuclear reactor safety system, and logically determine a safety action based at least in part on the plurality of inputs, each of the functionally independent modules comprising a digital module or a combination digital and analog module, an analog module electrically coupled to one or more of the functionally independent modules, and one or more nuclear reactor safety actuators communicably coupled to the plurality of functionally independent modules to receive the safety action determination based at least in part on the plurality of inputs.
Claims12
A nuclear reactor protection system, comprising:
- a first logic circuit configured in hardware to derive a first safety determination associated with an estimated condition of a nuclear reactor or a portion thereof, the first logic circuit receiving input from a first set of sensors wherein the first logic circuit comprises a combination of a first digital module and a first analog module and wherein the first analog module is configured to override operations of the first digital module;
- a second logic circuit that is diverse from the first logic circuit and configured in hardware to derive a second safety determination, the second logic circuit receiving input from a second set of sensors that is separate from the first set of sensors,
- wherein the second safety determination is redundantly associated with the estimated condition and separate from the first safety determination;
- and
- a first display interface module coupled to the first logic circuit and configured in hardware to provide driver functionalities for displaying the first safety determination or the processing result thereof on one or more directly connected display panels;
- and
- a second display interface module coupled to the second logic circuit and configured in hardware to provide driver functionalities for displaying the second safety determination on the one or more directly connected display panels, wherein the first display interface module and second display interface module have differences that preserve one or more forms of diversity in processing the first and second safety determinations.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.