1. Role and presentation of a control system

1.1 General

Like any continuous industrial process, a nuclear power plant or spent fuel reprocessing plant requires the implementation of means to monitor and control the physical process taking place there.

Together, these resources form the control architecture (figure 1 ):

• physical parameters are measured by instrumentation;

• process control and monitoring by operators via a man-machine interface (control devices, indicators, recorders, display screens, etc.) located in a control room;

• PLCs process the signals supplied by the instrumentation and the orders given by...