Schneider keeps Sellafield ponds chilled and clean
A
Schneider Electric product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Jul 23, 2009
Schneider Electric has upgraded the PLCs (programmable logic controllers) and software that control the Sellafield Ion Exchange Effluent Plant (Sixep).
Sellafield is responsible for safely decommissioning the UK's nuclear legacy as well as reprocessing and nuclear waste management.
Sixep features a waste-matter process that removes radioactivity from a number of outlets across the site and is critical to the facility's operations.
The waste material is kept in ponds, which generate heat and must be chilled to consistent temperatures.
Schneider Electric's PLCs have been controlling these for 25 years.
BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels) was keen to upgrade the PLCs to reduce the risks associated with the potential failure of ageing control equipment.
As the original provider, Schneider Electric was called in to manage the upgrade project.
Phil Woods, services and support manager for Schneider Electric, described some of the challenges the team had to overcome by saying: 'The system was previously controlled by five Modicon 684 PLCs, which were installed when the plant was built.
'One of the biggest issues on the new project was the requirement to create software that closely resembled the original version so that it was familiar to Sellafield's process engineering team.
'This was necessary to ensure minimum disruption to the plant and reduce the need for radical retraining.
'At the same time we had to implement programs that are compatible with IEC61131-3 open control system standards, bringing it in-line with modern regulations.' IEC61131-3 governs control-system programming language specifications to ensure a consistent approach throughout the industry.
To offer a solution, the team deployed Schneider Electric's Unity programming platform to build the application in a generic ladder format similar to the original one.
Five of the latest Modicon Quantum PLCs were installed fitted with Cablefast plug-and-play, a pre-wired, fast slot cabling system, which enabled the system to be efficiently installed and commissioned following the factory acceptance tests.
Woods added: 'Essentially the five Quantum PLCs are arranged as two pairs that perform identical functions and the fifth as an individual unit, carrying out different functions from the others.
'One pair of PLCs is in use at any time and while this is not a truly dual redundant system, the operator can switch between the two pairs of PLCs.
'We recommended Quantum PLCs as they have a high-level multi-tasking operating system but remain compact and are particularly at ease in extended architectures where various networks are built on top of each other.
'By upgrading the PLCs within the Sixep, any future spare or replacement components can be easily sourced and installed, helping to minimise downtime and supporting the system's long-term worth as an integral component of the Sellafield site.'.
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