A communication network with high safety, maintainability, and user convenience for digital I and C systems of nuclear power plants

In this paper, a new communication network with high safety, maintainability, and user convenience for digital I and C systems of nuclear power plants are proposed based on integrated design concepts, such as simple structure, standardized protocol, hard real-time property, high-speed data rate, fault-tolerance, verification and validation, hierarchical architecture, data transfer control using data gateway, and enhanced network management. Components of the proposed communication network are three level networks such as a field network, a control network, and an information network, a data gateway between the control network and the information network, and data gateway between control divisions. A new data flow concept for enhancing independence and user convenience in the data gateway between the control network and the information network is proposed. The architectures of three level networks and both gateways are proposed.