A self-diagnosing distributed monitoring system for nuclear power plants

Sensor data fusion and interpretation, sensor failure detection, isolation and identification are extremely important activities for the safety of a nuclear power plant. In particular, they become critical in cases of conflicts among the data. If the monitored system's description model is correct and its components work properly, then incompatibilities among data may only be attributed to temporary deterioration or permanent breakage of one or more sensors. This paper introduces and discusses the conception of a distributed monitoring system able to attach each sensor with a statistically-evaluated relative degree of reliability, which is especially useful for devices situated in dangerous zones or areas, difficult to reach inside huge and complex power plants.