Patent ID: 8837664

Claim:
A power monitoring system comprising: a plurality of local power range monitoring devices, each of the local power range monitoring devices having a plurality of local power channels to obtain local neutron distribution in a nuclear reactor core; an averaged power range monitoring device that receives power output signals from the plurality of the local power range monitoring devices and obtains an average output power signal of the reactor core as a whole; and an oscillation power range monitoring device including an oscillation power range monitoring mechanism that receives power output signals from the local power range monitoring devices and monitors power oscillations of the reactor core, wherein the output signals from the local power range monitoring devices to the averaged power range monitoring device and the output signals from the local power range monitoring devices to the oscillation power range monitoring device are independent, wherein each of the local power range monitoring devices has a function to transmit to the oscillation power range monitoring device, breakdown or exclusion signals of the local power range monitoring device itself and of any of the local power channels connected to the local power range monitoring device, when the breakdown or exclusion signal of one or more of the local power channels is generated, the oscillation power range monitoring device excludes only the one or more local power channels corresponding to the breakdown or exclusion signal or signals, when the breakdown or exclusion signal of one or more of the local power range monitoring devices is generated, the oscillation power range monitoring device excludes all local power channels corresponding to the one or more local power range monitoring devices, and variables that are changed according to a type of fuel of the reactor core are set by hardware switches on a board that comprises part of the oscillation power range monitoring mechanism, the hardware switches comprising a combination of electrical contacts that are positioned such that the variables cannot be changed without stopping the oscillation power range monitoring mechanism.