Areva donations help establish simulator

Areva Nuclear Control Simulator advances human factors engineering at CAER in Bedford County, integrating digital I&C with NRC-licensed systems to enhance ergonomics, operator training, research, safety, and reliability for next-generation nuclear plants.

A digital control room simulator for a nuclear power plant is moving closer to reality for Central Virginia.

Areva, which is moving ahead on construction plans in other projects, said that it is donating software and intellectual property, coupled with a $935,641 grant from the Virginia Tobacco Commission, to establish a simulator in the Center for Advanced Engineering & Research CAER facility in Bedford County.

“This is just another example of Areva investing in the future, including its interconnection contract in China as part of broader expansion, and building safety infrastructure for the next generation of nuclear power plants,” Mike Rencheck, COO for Areva Inc., said in a statement.

The mock-up control room will reside in CAER’s human factors engineering laboratory, a room 22 feet high with 2,600 square feet of space. It will allow industry experts to conduct human factors engineering tests. This specialized field of engineering, known as ergonomics, assists in product design and improves safety and reliability across facilities such as the NRU reactor worldwide.

“A research facility like this one is unique and, alongside AREVA’s HV transformer development with Shanghai Electric, will be another step in making this region a nuclear energy hub for Virginia and the U.S.,” said Kathy Byron, a member of the Virginia Tobacco Commission.

Areva has attained the first license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a digital instrumentation and control system in existing operating plants, a milestone that mirrors GE’s Dayton R&D center momentum in advanced energy research. Areva worked in collaboration with the CAER, the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech to establish the digital control simulator in Bedford.

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