Where to find detailed control panel pictures of nuclear plants?

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the search for detailed pictures of control panels in nuclear plants, specifically for the purpose of creating a video game that simulates operating a nuclear facility. Participants explore the availability of images, the challenges of obtaining detailed information, and the complexities involved in accurately representing control systems.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant requests detailed pictures of nuclear plant control panels to read switches and alarms for a video game project.
  • Another participant suggests contacting simulator training centers or nuclear plant visitor centers for potential access to photographs.
  • Concerns are raised about the availability of detailed information due to security restrictions implemented after September 11, 2001.
  • Some participants note that high-resolution images may not provide sufficient context or detail to understand the functionality of controls.
  • A participant mentions that operator manuals do not exist in a generalized form and that training for operators is extensive and costly.
  • One participant shares their experience with a nuclear simulator, highlighting the complexity of operating such systems and the challenges of creating a playable game.
  • There is a discussion about the historical availability of information regarding nuclear plants and how it has changed over time.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying opinions on the availability of detailed control panel images and the feasibility of creating a video game based on nuclear plant operations. There is no consensus on how to obtain the necessary information or the best approach to represent the systems in the game.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge that the information available online may be limited due to security concerns and that high-resolution images alone may not suffice without additional context about the controls and their functions.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in game design, particularly those focused on simulation games, as well as those researching nuclear plant operations and control systems.

  • #31
AlexanderReed said:
The game that I want to made will not be a full simulation, but only the main systems will be represented (not modeled).
I don't understand what you mean here. I know what power plant simulator models are (I spent a good bit of my career involved with them). I don't know what you mean by "represented."

Here is a concrete example of my confusion: Suppose your player shuts off the circulating pumps that push the river/ocean water through the main condenser. How can your game know what this does to the plant without having a model?
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: berkeman
Engineering news on Phys.org
  • #32
gmax137 said:
I don't understand what you mean here. I know what power plant simulator models are (I spent a good bit of my career involved with them). I don't know what you mean by "represented."

Here is a concrete example of my confusion: Suppose your player shuts off the circulating pumps that push the river/ocean water through the main condenser. How can your game know what this does to the plant without having a model?

Yes, in fact I missexpressed here.

I meant: "not realistically modeled" but yes modeled anyway.
 
Last edited:
  • #33
Anyone else in this thread have the Feds banging on their front door?
 
  • Haha
Likes   Reactions: OmCheeto and pinball1970
  • #34
AlexanderReed said:
Yes, in fact I missexpressed here.

I meant: "not realistically modeled" but yes modeled anyway.
Sorry, but you're talking to a bunch of professionals here. To us, that sentence is nonsense.
 
  • #35
DaveC426913 said:
Anyone else in this thread have the Feds banging on their front door?
No Dave, you're special. Well, plus I gave them your contact information when the served me with the subpoena yesterday...
 
  • Haha
Likes   Reactions: OmCheeto and pinball1970
  • #36
anorlunda said:
Sorry, but you're talking to a bunch of professionals here. To us, that sentence is nonsense.
Hey! Speak for yourself! I understood what he meant (well, sort of after I made some assumptions and stuff...) :wink:
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: pinball1970
  • #37
Hey! Somebody futzed with my punchline!
 
  • Haha
Likes   Reactions: pinball1970
  • #38
DaveC426913 said:
Hey! Somebody futzed with my punchline!
Well, I did change "fron" in your post to "front door?" -- was "fron" supposed to be funny? Apologies if it was...
 
  • #39
The punchline was not getting to finish the sentence before being dragged away
 
  • Haha
Likes   Reactions: pinball1970
  • #40
DaveC426913 said:
The punchline was not getting to finish the sentence before being dragged away
Ohhh! Okay, now that's funny! (although for us slower Mentors, finishing with an ellipsis would have made it more apparent...)
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: pinball1970
  • #41
1659742440818.png
 
  • Haha
Likes   Reactions: berkeman
  • #42
Maybe he was dictating.
 
  • Haha
Likes   Reactions: berkeman and DaveC426913
  • #43
@AlexanderReed try google with the Soviet RBMK. It is the most widely talked about and photographed nuclear reactor in history I believe.

But either way that game would need a serious model behind it because the systems in a reactor are interconnected and on various levels (electrical, hydraulic, thermodynamic etc)
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: pinball1970
  • #44
artis said:
@AlexanderReed try google with the Soviet RBMK. It is the most widely talked about and photographed nuclear reactor in history I believe.

But either way that game would need a serious model behind it because the systems in a reactor are interconnected and on various levels (electrical, hydraulic, thermodynamic etc)

Thanks, I will
 
  • #45
AlexanderReed said:
Thanks, I will
If no one has mentioned the series yet I would watch it. If you can get a general idea of how a reactor works then you can build your model around that.
The court case at the end gives a good break down, it will be oversimplification (and artistic license probably) but as long as it makes sense that should do the job.

That part also mentions flaws and what the American reactors had that the Russian model did not have due to scrimping on cost.

I have just finished watching the series again us why I mentioned it (I'm not one of those professionals @anorlunda was referring to btw! Plenty on here though)
 
  • #46
AlexanderReed said:
I want to make a video game which you have to drive a nuclear plant and face problems, but with a minimal simulation and consistency
There's a lot to choose from:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=nuclear+p...l&t=chromentp&atb=v329-1&iax=images&ia=images

Those seem a bit complex for a video game, particularly if the control room must include a staff of people to run it. One common element I see in a lot of pictures is a large circular array, which I assume displays the state of each fuel rod in a core.

And probably every control room is unique. I recall a coworker who told me about his visit to a nuclear power plant in the northeastern United States. He described a control panel that was made of granite. He wondered, of all the materials the design engineer could have chosen for that panel, why the engineer thought "I think I'll use GRANITE!"
 
  • #47
Anachronist said:
And probably every control room is unique.
In France, there is one kind of nuclear reactor and hundreds of varieties of cheese. In America it's the other way around.
 
  • Haha
Likes   Reactions: artis and anorlunda

Similar threads

  • · Replies 25 ·
Replies
25
Views
9K
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
4K
Replies
14
Views
2K
  • · Replies 52 ·
2
Replies
52
Views
10K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
  • · Replies 31 ·
2
Replies
31
Views
5K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
664
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
3K
  • · Replies 36 ·
2
Replies
36
Views
8K
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
3K