Background factors to the design of control equipment for the civil nuclear power stations

The design of the control and indication facilities required to supervise the equipment of a nuclear power station must be based on an appreciation of the methods of operation of the plant, and its staffing. The first nuclear stations are expected to operate at very high load factors as base load stations for the transmission system. This criterion leads to station layouts designed to use the minimum of staff on day-to-day operation and to the use for each station of a central control room. This paper outlines the principles governing the design of equipment for the C.E.G.B. stations and serves as an introduction to other papers of the Symposium which describe the instrumentation in detail.