Simulator will be used by a team of operating and safety specialists for civil nuclear power plants
– By Abby Gessner –
The GDF SUEZ Group has contracted to acquire an engineering simulator supplied by CORYS T.E.S.S to use at an engineering and operating resources centre for latest generation EPR reactors. This simulator, which will be located in Brussels, will be used by a team of operating and safety specialists for civil nuclear power plants. Engineers will undertake specific analysis related to the latest generation EPR nuclear power plants and their operating modes, using the simulator as a tool for advanced engineering design and safety analysis. With this advanced tool GDF SUEZ will continue to play a major role in the nuclear industry in France and abroad.
A full-scale simulation of the EPR nuclear island
The contract includes the supply of the simulator platform, detailed operating documentation for all the major systems of the nuclear island, numerous operating scenarios – normal, with incidents, with accidents – and a series of training courses for the users.
From engineering to training, anything is possible
This simulator offers many advantages to GDF SUEZ engineers. The first is to train its nuclear engineering teams the specifics of the EPRtm reactor and develop an understanding of the operating modes and safety analysis. In the second phase, this tool will enable engineers to use the simulator for use in designing future reactors. Lastly, the same platform can eventually become a training and qualifying tool for the actual plant operators.
With this contract, CORYS T.E.S.S. has significantly strengthened its position in the area of engineering simulation and EPR training. The simulator will incorporate all the major systems of the power plant (physical process, operational and safety I&C system, management and supervision). The simulator provided by CORYS T.E.S.S. offers unequalled realism of real-time operations by the use of computing codes typically reserved for engineering design.
CORYS T.E.S.S., based in Grenoble, France, is the European leader in nuclear power plant simulation, and has subsidiaries in North America and in China. In 2008 CORYS T.E.S.S. had consolidated sales revenues of €33 million.
With almost 20 years of experience and more than 450 simulators installed for applications in the energy and transport sectors in 25 countries, CORYS T.E.S.S. employs more than 220 people in Grenoble and has subsidiaries in the United States and in China. CORYS T.E.S.S. is a joint venture between AREVA TA (66%) and EDF Développement et Environnement (34%).