Use of minicomputers to monitor performance characteristics of nuclear power plants

In recent years commercially available minicomputers have been used to study the performance characteristics of nuclear power plants. Both frequency domain and time domain signatures can be used to accomplish this task. In this paper we present the methodologies based on time series analysis to monitor stability of boiling water reactors, response monitoring of system sensors, and surveillance of certain characteristics whose changes could provide system diagnostic information. The stochastic time series modeling algorithms and estimation of performance parameters have been implemented on minicomputers (such as PDP-II) and can be used for on-line monitoring of the dynamic processes. These techniques are applicable for both steady-state response monitoring and for tracking anomalous behavior of the power plant.