ATEX & hazardous areas
HOW REMOTE SENSORS HELP PREVENT POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATIONS
A
nuclear facility has several applications where temperature monitoring is important. This includes aspects that stem from the reactors and spent fuel rods, dry stores and, even, the reactor core.
It is important that any temperature measurement is accurate as even minor inaccuracies can lead to significant risks, including overheating or mismanagement of a cooling system. Reliability is essential so no anomalies go undetected, especially when potentially hazardous equipment is involved. The centre of spent fuel rods, for example, can be as hot as 1,000 °C when they are removed. They are radioactive and take several years to cool. Though they typically go through a vitrification process to encapsulate them in glass after removal and then stored in concrete, spent fuel rods still need to be monitored for many years given their hazardous nature, as their temperature can still increase to dangerous levels.
This, along with the radiation exposure, highlights the harsh conditions that must be
Monitoring temperature is crucial in the nuclear industry. If a reactor or fuel rod’s temperature rises to a potentially dangerous level, it runs the risk of fires and other catastrophic events. Having unexpected high temperatures can cause environmental and health risks as well as unplanned downtime, preventing essential work being conducted, therefore knowing about a potentially dangerous situation arising before it takes hold is pivotal for both safety and business. Here, Gary Bradshaw, director at remote monitoring specialist Omniflex, highlights the important role remote monitoring technology plays in the nuclear sector.
withstood by any technology when monitoring nuclear sites. Some nuclear facilities have a lifespan of over 150 years before radioactive material can be removed, so whatever may have been developed for a nuclear plant in the 1990s needs to last to the 2140s so products supplied to do the monitoring have to last for decades and not become obsolete.
The Reactors, spent fuel rods, dry stores and other facilities requiring temperature monitoring are usually monitored with thermocouple / RTD sensors wired to a remote monitoring system.
This remote monitoring system accepts the signal from the temperature sensors, ensuring real time temperature measurements are accurately taken so that any out of limit alarms are immediately alerted to the operators to act before it reaches a critical stage.
This applies to any facility at a nuclear site. Remote monitoring technology can keep track of any temperature data and feed back
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February 2025 Instrumentation Monthly
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