Wireless EMC Testing of Nuclear Power Plant Equipment for Energiforsk

One problem with wireless systems within nuclear power plants is that a large share of the existing equipment in the plant is developed and installed prior to many EMC standards and hence it is difficult to really know which equipment that can be affected by wireless networks and how this effect manifest into the equipment functionality. Also, many prior tests that has been performed have been against wireless or radio protocols and techniques that are no longer in use.

To investigate the sensitivity of the existing equipment at the Nordic nuclear power plants this project has been carried out to perform standardized tests that subject the equipment to well defined electromagnetic disturbances. The test has been performed within frequency ranges that covers today mobile and wireless technologies, in an environment that is very close to the real nuclear power plants. Besides the result from the testing, the procedures used can also be valuable in validation of wireless solutions at site to identify critical and sensitive equipment. The testing was carried out by a team from Analysis and Measurement Services (AMS) Corporation Whitney Kirby, Chad Kiger at the KSU testing facility in Forsmark. The ENSRIC programme is a part of the Energiforsk nuclear portfolio, financed by Vattenfall, Uniper, Fortum, TVO, Skellefteå Kraft and Karlstads Energi.