Tecnatom has Full Scope Simulators for the five Spanish nuclear power plants in operation: Almaraz, Ascó, Cofrentes, Trillo and Vandellós.
Nuclear power plants refuel on a regular basis. In the case of Trillo annually, in the case of Almaraz, Ascó and Vandellós every year and a half, and in the case of Cofrentes every two years approximately.
Within the simulator maintenance process, there is a methodology that determines the impact on the training of personnel with an operating license after the modification of the core of the reference plant. This methodology complies with the requirements established by the reference standard for updating simulators, ANSI 3.5.
In case it is determined that changes from one core configuration to the next one have an impact on the operation, the simulator is updated. The corresponding changes are made to the simulation models by means of a tool designed by Tecnatom for this purpose, considering the design and management documentation of the cycle together with data on burns, poisons, etc. Subsequently, a battery of exhaustive tests is run to ensure that the simulator core response responds in the same way than the core of the reference nuclear power plant.
During 2022, the cores of the Cofrentes NPP and Ascó NPP simulators were updated. This guarantees the fidelity of our simulators with respect to the reference plants and the highest quality standards for the training of operating personnel.
