ITS Installs Oracle-Based Fuel Tracking System at Wylfa Power Station
Industrial Technology Systems Ltd (ITS), an Oracle Partner, has designed and integrated an Oracle-based fuel tracking database application for Magnox North’s Wylfa Site Station on Anglesey, the largest Magnox station, and the last one to be built.
ITS was called in when the previous tracking system, based on a FoxBase database running on a SCO UNIX system, proved unsupportable. Both Magnox North and ITS agreed that Oracle was the ideal choice because it uses industry-standard components and provides a robust database platform with a proven upgrade path.
The fuel tracking database application has four main functions: element tracking; fuel element movement paperwork; calculations, and reporting. Fuel elements are tracked as they are moved around the plant, so maintaining a full history of the element. Detailed paperwork is generated, and calculations are performed to ensure the planned movements are safe.
Flask checks ensure that the maximum heat load, maximum irradiation and minimum number of days cooled are within pre-defined limits; the isotopic content of the Flask is also determined. These values are based on a monthly calculation that updates the data for all elements in the reactor and dry store cells.
The system configures 18 reports, including highest channel irradiations, reactor/dry store isotopics, radial region data, radial region histograms, highest dwell times and reactor maps. Other reports include reactor fuelling statistics, a fission gas calculation report, and reactor overview.
The key benefits of the system include accurate traceability, Magnox North remains in control of the inventory, accurate and automated calculations allow for the preparation and planning of actions before limits are reached, erroneous actions are prevented, required documentation is automatically generated, and accurate reporting is achieved.
The new Oracle-based system, designed and integrated by ITS, provides all the functionality required, with easy-to-use tools that investigate and correct any problems. The expansibility and upgrade path has been proven through the addition of extra functionality.
ITS’ original involvement with the Wylfa Site in 1999 involved re-writing the system to use an Oracle Database v7.3.4. The main difficulty at that time was deconstructing the FoxBase database and distinguishing between what aspects required migration to Oracle, and what was there simply to maintain the database itself. Six years later the system was upgraded to Oracle 10g, leaving the database structure unchanged but re-working the forms and reports to permit a web-client environment. ITS continues to provide ongoing support through a Service Level Agreement, with a number of small projects subsequently undertaken to enhance the functionality.
Magnox were the UK’s first generation of nuclear power stations, built between 1956 and 1971. The 10 sites are now owned by The UK Government’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and are at various stages of their lifecycle, between generating (in the case of Wylfa and Oldbury) and decommissioning (at Trawsfynydd, Hunterston A and Chapelcross).
Wylfa power station was built on a 124-acre site and has been in operation since 1971. It has two Magnox design nuclear reactors and four turbine engines, which still meets 40% of Wales’ electricity demands, supplying 23 million kilowatt hours of electricity on a typical day. In 2002/03 it generated 7.3 million MWhrs, the fourth highest output in its lifetime; since commissioning, it has generated over 225,000 million units (KWhrs) of electricity.
Wylfa is scheduled to continue generating electricity until 2010, when the station’s planned decommissioning programme will begin with a defuelling programme.
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