Last update: January 20 2002
MinuteMan is a simulator independent Advanced Core Monitoring system. A modern core monitoring system consists of four major parts:
Minuteman consists of the first three of these parts; the fourth part, the core simulator, is selected by the customer from any existing core simulator.
This unique system uses the neutronic simulator of choice for each utility allowing a direct comparison of the core design and core monitoring codes. With the built-in ability to switch neutronic simulators, this core monitoring system gives the utility freedom from any fuel vendor and allows you to switch fuel vendors as often as you like while avoiding the cost and complexity of changing core monitoring codes.
It is also possible to run more than one neutronic simulator in parallel with the "official" core monitor. This simplifies the evaluation of new versions or different neutronic codes.
In the same way this system can be plugged to any plant process computer, simplifying the test and upgrade of the data acquisition system.
In short, MinuteMan makes fuel vendor, neutronic simulator and plant process computer transitions virtually transparent to the operating staff.
The purpose of this site is two-folded: to show how the demo system for KKL (Kernkraftwerk Leibstadt AG) looks like and to be able to test it in very hard conditions.
Network bandwidth is the bottleneck just now. Our Internet access is is 10 to 100 times slower than a LAN bandwidth (128Kb/sec vs 10-100MB/s). If you are using an analog modem apply the corresponding factor (2 to 4 times slower than our link). This is the speed you will get the day you access the system from your home with a regular telephone line. At the plant the pages will be updated at least 10 times faster.
We are also continuously running 2 instances of SETI@Home. From the CPU load point of view this is equivalent to be running 2 neutronic simulation cases all the time.
The site is running on a Dual-PIII-733MHz PC with 512MB RAM. The operating system is Linux, the web server is Apache. The Internet connection bandwidth is 128kb/sec (ISDN)
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Nothing of this would have been possible without the Open Source community. We are able to work with a great operating system, first class compilers and tools, and a very friendly environment. Our lines of code are only a tiny fraction of all the open source code used for development and actually running this machine.
Special thanks to Peter Belesis for his 'hierMenus' package (DHTMLab). The pretty menus on the core map frame are his creation. He helped us a lot both directly by e-mail and indirectly by looking to his code.
RETAQS, Inc. is a US based consulting company specializing in fuels and reactor engineering. Established in 1996, RETAQS has provided fuels and reactor engineering qualification, training, and support to most US utilities and some European utilities. RETAQS employs engineers with significant plant experience as reactor or fuels engineers. This experience allows RETAQS to offer immediately effective engineering support to the plant and bring real-life experience to the classroom.
Tarkus, Ltd. is a European based consulting company established in 1995 to specialize in codes used for reactor core calculation data analysis. Tarkus has provided the development of computer codes to many European and U.S. utilities. Tarkus employs engineers with significant experience in the development, installation, and on-line support of nuclear codes. Tarkus products include graphical data analysis tools, data handling tools, core monitoring systems, and related consulting.
Tarkus, Ltd. and RETAQS, Inc., having effectively worked together on other core monitoring projects, have formed a K Effective to market an advanced core monitoring system. With the code development experience of Tarkus and the reactor engineering experience of RETAQS, these two companies are in a unique position to market a core monitoring system with unprecedented flexibility and capability.
Please send all comments, criticism, suggestions, and anything else but spam mail to Carlos Vidal