KSG Kraftwerks-Simulator-Gesellschaft MBH of Essen, Germany, needed CPU blade and I/O controller hardware and other embedded systems technology for a D46 nuclear power plant simulator that will become operational in 2010. They found the solution at GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms in Charlottesville, Va.

GE Fanuc earned an additional $100,000 order from KSG Kraftwerksworth for embedded software and support. The embedded computer technology, controllers, CPU board hardware, subsystems, and software will be part of a reflective memory system, a ring-based, high-speed replicated shared memory network in which data is written to a reflective memory address on the local host.

The reflective memory board automatically transmits embedded computing data to the fiber-optic ring and updates the next reflective memory module on the network. The process is repeated in near real-time until each computer on the network has an up-to-date, local copy of the shared memory set.

The GE Fanuc solution sees as many as 27,000 I/Os managed in real time. Three VME-9081/32-001000 intelligent I/O controller (IIOC) systems are coupled together and linked to a VME-9150-301-000 data communications controller via a VME-5565 fiber-optic reflective memory Interface.

The reflective memory interface moves data to and from the Data Communications Controller and the IIOCs at a rate of 174 megabytes per second. Each IIOC contains a 650 MHz Intel Celeron M processor and firmware to support I/O scanning and updating, power-up, real-time, and off-line diagnostics.

“Simulators are representative of a growing class of complex application that require significant amounts of distributed computing power, sometimes spread over quite large distances, and that need to share large arrays of volatile data in real time,” says Rubin Dhillon, communications product manager at GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms.

“Many of these applications are turning to reflective memory because it is a highly scalable, simple solution that offers much lower latency and a higher degree of determinism than alternative solutions, making systems both faster and more robust,” Dhillon explains.

KSG was one of two companies founded in 1987 to deliver training to Germany’s nuclear power plant industry. KSG develops the simulators, while GfS Gesellschaft für Simulatorschulung is responsible for the delivery of more than 600 courses each year, training some 2,500 students who develop an understanding of, and learn to operate, power plants under all possible conditions on 13 simulators, as well as on an operational “glass model” of the primary circuit of a PWR-reactor in 1:10 scale.

Simulator training is a significant component in obtaining and permanently retaining the necessary, and also legally required, specialist skills needed by operators. The KSG|GfS Simulator Centre—which also provides training for the Dutch nuclear power plant industry—is the world’s largest facility of its kind, according to a representative.

For more information, visit GE Fanuc online at ww.gefanucembedded.com.

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