Table of Contents

• Preface xiii
• Introduction xv
• Reading Material xvi
• Chapter 1: Nuclear Power Generation 1
• 1.1 History 1
• 1.2 Energy from Splitting Atoms 5
• 1.2.1 The Fission of Uranium-235 6
• 1.2.2 The Moderation of Fast Neutrons 8
• 1.2.3 Fission, Isotopes and Nuclear Fuels 9
• 1.2.4 Controlling the Reactor 11
• 1.3 Power Plant Design Variations 12
• 1.3.1 Boiling Water Reactors (BWR) 14
• 1.3.2 Emergency Core Cooling System 17
• 1.3.3 BWR Pressure Transients 18
• 1.3.4 Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) 18
• 1.4 Nuclear Waste Storage and Disposal 21
• 1.4.1 Types of Nuclear Wastes 21
• 1.4.2 Reprocessing of Nuclear Wastes 22
• 1.4.3 Temporary Storage 22
• 1.4.4 Decommissioning 24
• 1.4.5 Transportation 24
• 1.4.6 Permanent Disposal 25
• 1.4.7 Reading Material 26
• Chapter 2: Safety Automation Instruments 27
• 2.1 The Tools Of Safety 28
• 2.1.1 Redundancy, Backup, and Self-Diagnostics 28
• 2.1.2 Data Transmission 29
• 2.1.3 Digital Transmission and Smart Transmitters 32
• Contents viii
• 2.2 Level Measurement 34
• 2.2.1 Unreliable D/P Level Measurement 35
• 2.2.2 The Fukushima Design 38
• 2.2.3 Obtaining Reliable Ex-Core Level Measurement 39
• 2.2.4 Thermal Ex-Core Level Measurement 42
• 2.2.5 In-Core Level Measurement 45
• 2.2.6 Newer Developments in In-Core Level Measurement 47
• 2.2.7 Reading Material 47
• 2.3 Radiation and Neutron Detectors 50
• 2.3.1 Radiation Exposure 50
• 2.3.2 Radiation Monitoring 52
• 2.3.3 Personal Dosimeters 53
• 2.3.4 Portable Radiation Detectors 55
• 2.3.5 Ionization Chambers 56
• 2.3.6 Neutron Detectors 58
• 2.3.7 Scintillation Neutron Detectors 59
• 2.3.8 Geiger-Müller Tubes 61
• 2.3.9 Reading Material 62
• 2.4 Reactor Power Measurement 65
• 2.4.1 Measuring Fission Power by Neutron Flux Detection 66
• 2.4.2 In-Core Flux Detectors 67
• 2.4.3 Total Fission Rate of the Reactor 68
• 2.4.4 Thermal Power Measurement 69
• 2.4.5 Maximum Operating Thermal Power 70
• 2.4.6 Measurement Uncertainty Recapture 70
• 2.4.7 Reading Material 70
• 2.5 Flow Measurement 71
• 2.5.1 Flow Units 73
• 2.5.2 Specifying the Required Accuracy 73
• 2.5.3 Temperature and Pressure Effects 77
• 2.5.4 Rangeability and Automatic Range Switching 79
• 2.5.5 The Reynolds Number 80
• 2.5.6 Head Type Flowmeters 82
• 2.5.7 Orifice Plate 86
• 2.5.8 Elbow Taps 90
• 2.5.9 Magnetic Flowmeters 92
• 2.5.10 Coriolis Mass Flowmeters 98
• 2.5.11 Pitot Tubes 100
• 2.5.12 Ultrasonic Flowmeters 102
• 2.5.13 Venturi Tubes 106
• 2.5.14 Flow Tubes 108
• 2.5.15 Flow Nozzles 111
• 2.5.16 Vortex Shedding and Swirl Meters 112
• 2.5.17 Flowmeter Calibration and Maintenance 115
• 2.5.18 Operating Energy Costs 116
• 2.5.19 Comparing the Relative Merits of Flowmeters 119
• 2.5.20 Reading Material 122
• 2.6 Temperature Measurement 124
• 2.6.1 Resistance Temperature Detectors 126
• 2.6.2 Thermocouples 131
• 2.6.3 Fiber Optic Thermometers 137
• 2.6.4 Ultrasonic Thermometers 139
• 2.6.5 Reading Material 141
• 2.7 Pressure Measurement 143
• 2.7.1 Pressure Gauges and Transmitters 144
• 2.7 2 Differential Pressure Transmitters 151
• 2.7.3 Electronic Pressure Sensors 153
• 2.7.4 Optical Transducers 159
• 2.7.5 Reading Material 160
• 2.8 Hydrogen Detection 161
• 2.8.1 Catalytic Combustion Type Sensors 162
• 2.8.2 Solid-State Hydrogen Detectors 167
• 2.8.3 Reading Material 169
• 2.9 Steam Quality (Dryness) Monitoring 171
• 2.9.1 Throttling Calorimeter and Other Methods 173
• 2.9.2 Reading Material 175
• 2.10 Pressure Relief Systems and Devices 175
• 2.10.1 Steam Pressure Relief 177
• 2.10.2 Containment Structure Protection 182
• 2.10.3 Conventional Pressure Relief Valves 184
• 2.10.4 Pilot Operated Relief Valves 191
• 2.10.5 PRV Specification Form 195
• 2.10.6 Rupture Discs 197
• 2.10.7 Reading Material 200
• Chapter 3: How Automation Would Have PreventedThree Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima 203
• 3.1 The Main Safety Concerns 203
• 3.1.1 Cyber-Terrorism 205
• 3.2 Three Mile Island 207
• 3.2.1 The Accident: Operator Errors 210
• 3.2.2 The Role of the PORV 213
• 3.2.3 Further Operator Errors 216
• 3.2.4 Conclusions 217
• 3.2.4 Reading Material 218
• 3.3 Chernobyl 221
• 3.3.1 The Process and the RBMK Reactor 222
• 3.3.2 Design Errors, Positive Void Coefficient 225
• 3.3.3 Control Rod Design Errors 226
• 3.3.4 Operator Errors 227
• 3.3.5 Automation Would Have Prevented the Accident 228
• 3.3.6 Conclusions 230
• 3.3.7 Reading Material 230
• 3.4 Fukushima 232
• 3.4.1 Unused “Time Windows” 235
• 3.4.2 The Chronology of Events 237
• 3.4.3 The Approximate Layout of Unit 1 240
• 3.4.4 Semi-Manual Controls 242
• 3.4.5 Unreliable Water Level Measurement 244
• 3.4.6 Semi-Automatic Emergency Cooling System 246
• 3.4.7 High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) System 246
• 3.4.8 Isolation Condenser System Controls 249
• 3.4.9 Unreliable Pressure Controls 251
• 3.4.10 Unreliable Hydrogen Explosion Protection 254
• 3.4.11 The Fukushima Disaster Was Preventable 256
• 3.4.12 Reading Material 259
• Chapter 4: Summary and Lessons to Learn 263
• 4.1 General Design Requirements for Safety 264
• 4.2 The Future 266
• 4.3 Conclusions 267
• Appendix 269
• A-1 Definitions 269
• A-2 Acronyms and Abbreviations 285
• A-3 Organizations 289
• A-4 Conversion Tables 290
• Table A4-1 Conversion Among Flow Units 290
• Table A4-2 Conversion Among Engineering Units 292
• A-5 Steam Tables 303
• Table A5-1 Dry and Saturated Steam Table 303
• Table A5-2 Superheated Steam Table 305
• A-6 Water Table 310
• Table A6-1 Water Table 310
• A-7 Nuclear Power Plant Accidents 311
• Nuclear power plant accidents and incidents with multiple fatalities and/or more than US$100 million in property damage, 1952–2011 311
• A-8 Nuclear Reactor Attacks 313
• Cyber-Attacks, Cybersecurity 313
• Index 315
• About the Author 331

About the Author

Béla Lipták was born in 1936 in Hungary. As a Technical University student, he participated in the revolution against the Soviet occupation, escaped, and entered the United States as a refugee in 1956. He received an engineering degree from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1959 and a master’s degree from CCNY in 1962. He later did graduate work at Pratt Institute.

In 1960, he became the Chief Instrument Engineer of Crawford and Russell, where he led the automation of dozens of industrial plants for more than a decade. In 1969, he published the multivolume Instrument and Automation Engineers’ Handbook, which today is in its 5th edition. In 1975, he received his professional engineering license and founded his consulting firm, Béla Lipták Associates PC, which provides design and consulting services in the fields of automation and industrial safety. Over the years he lectured on automation at many universities around the world, including Yale University, where he taught automation as an adjunct professor in 1987.

His more than 50 years of professional experience include the automation of several dozen industrial plants, the publication of over 300 technical articles, and over 20 books, all dealing with various aspects of automation.

In 1973, he was elected an ISA fellow. In 1995, he received the Technical Achievement Award from ISA. He was the keynote speaker at the 2002 and 2011 ISA conferences, and in 2012 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from ISA.