Method and apparatus for remotely monitoring a process carried out in a containment structure

Apparatus for remotely monitoring the operation of a nuclear reactor enclosed in a containment structure, said apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of detector means associated with the reactor within the containment structure each generating first and second redundant digital detector signals representative of a selected operating parameter of the reactor;
• first and second communications buses located within the containment structure;
• interface means within the containment structure for applying each of said first and second digital detector signals to each of said communications buses;
• first and second bus controller/serial output devices each connected within said containment structure to one of said communications buses, for controlling said interface means in applying said redundant digital detector signals to the associated communications bus, and for serially outputting the redundant detector signals received on the associated communications bus;
• first and second data link means each connected in the containment structure to one of said bus controller/serial output devices and extending through the containment structure to the outside thereof;
• and
• first and second receiver means connected to the first and second data link means for generating from the redundant digital detector signals representations of the value of the detector signals.

A nuclear power plant comprising:

• a containment structure;
• a reactor core located inside the containment structure and having a plurality of drive rods for positioning neutron absorbing rods within the reactor core to control the reactivity thereof;
• a plurality of detector means each of which is located within the containment structure and generates redundant first and second multi-digit digital detector signals representative of the position of one of said drive rods;
• first and second communications buses located within said containment structure;
• interface means within said containment structure for applying each of said first and second digital detector signals to each of said first and second communications buses;
• first and second bus controller/serial output devices connected to the first and second communications buses respectively for controlling the interface means to apply sequentially all of said first and then all of said second digital detector signals to the associated communications bus and for serially outputting the first and second digital detector signals received over the associated communication bus;
• first and second data links connected respectively within the containment structure to each of the first and second bus controller/serial output devices and extending through the containment structure to the outside thereof;
• and
• first and second receiver means outside of the containment structure each selectively connected to the first data link from one bus controller/serial output device and the second data link from the other bus controller/serial output device for generating representations of the position of said drive rods from the first and second digital detector signals received over the selected data link.

A method of transmitting reliable signals representative of the value of a plurality of selected parameters in a process carried out in a high radiation environment inside of a containment structure to the outside of said structure with a minimum number of penetrations through the structure, comprising the steps of:

• generating inside of the containment structure a plurality of redundant sets of signals representative of the measurement of each selected parameter;
• storing inside the containment structure in each of a plurality of microprocessors equal in number to the number of redundant sets, said plurality of redundant sets of signals;
• serially transmitting said plurality of redundant sets of stored signals from each microprocessor inside said containment structure to the outside of said containment structure over its own serial data link passing through said containment structure;
• and
• generating separately outside of said containment structure, each from the redundant sets of signals transmitted over one of said serial data links, redundant representations of the value of each of said selected parameters.