Critical success factors for instrumentation and control projects within the power industry in South Africa

Abstract: Instrumentation and control projects entail an upgrade or refurbishment of a portion of the current process control system. The changes introduced present integration challenges to people, the plant and operating guidelines and procedures. The successful implementation of these time sensitive projects depends on factors such as change management effectiveness, stakeholder investment and competency of the project team. Project success factors identified across the lifecycle of the project enables the organization to filter down on challenges and risks contained within each project phase. The research identifies critical success factors specific to instrumentation and control projects within the South African power industry. The framework is developed through the descriptive analysis of feedback received from key stakeholders within the organization

Development of a Hardware-in-the-loop Simulation Platform for Safety Critical Control System Evaluation

During the lifetime of a nuclear power plant (NPP) safety electronic control system components become obsolete [7]. It is difficult to find replacement components qualified for nuclear applications [50]. Due to strict regulations, replacement components undergo extensive verification and operational analysis [70]. Therefore, the need for a platform to evaluate replacement safety control systems in a non-intrusive manner is evident. Verifying the operation or functionality of potential replacement electronic control systems is often performed through simulation [71]. To enable simulation, a physical interface between potential control systems and computer based simulators is developed. System connectivity is establish using Ethernet and standard industrial electrical signals. The interface includes a National Instruments (NI) virtual instrument (VI) and data acquisition system (DAQ) hardware. The interface supports simulator controlled transmission and receipt of variables. The transmission of simulated process variables to and from an external control system is enabled. This is known as hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation [49]. Next, HIL interface performance is verified and the following are identified; a measure of availability; the effect of varied configurations; and limitations. Further, an HIL simulation platform is created by connecting a NPP simulator and a programmable logic controller (PLC) to the interface, Canadian Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) reactor training simulator and Invensys Tricon version nine (v9) safety PLC respectively. The PLC is programmed to operate as shutdown system no. 1 (SDSl) of a CANDU reactor. Platform availability is verified and the response of the PLC as SDSl and is monitored during reactor shutdown. Proper execution of the steam generator level low (SGLL) logic on the PLC and variable transmission are observed. Thus, a platform and procedure for the evaluation of replacements for obsolete electronic control system components is demonstrated