Neutron flux incore instrumentation of AREVA´s EPR™

SPND and AMS are two complementary systems designed to monitor local power density. Their accuracy provides great margins to the Limiting Conditions of Operation (LCOs) for EPR™´s core design and flexibility and accounts for the high load-following capability of its plants. The complementarity of this design is based on SPND-signals calibration performed at regular intervals using the AMS-results as reference data. The high degree of automation and the operating speed of the AMS can make calibration in the EPR™ a routine task which will hardly interfere with scheduled power operation (according to 30 years of operating experience in German 1300MWe PWRs).