Organizations that operate fossil fuel plant control room simulators deal with different operator and training practices. Yet they share common goals when it comes to personnel safety, maximum equipment availability and lifetime, and ensuring efficient operations.

When the ISA77.20 subcommittee reviewed the existing standard, ANSI/ISA77.20.01, Fossil Fuel Power Plant Simulators: Functional Requirements, they updated many of the references, but maintained the essential purpose and scope of the standard and its contents. The 2012 revised standard is now available for sale at www.isa.org/standards.

The standard addresses the simulation of fossil power plants typically consisting of: boiler, turbine, and balance of plant with steaming capacities of 200,000 lbs/hr (25 kh/s) or greater; combustion turbine or combined cycle combustion turbine capacity of greater than 100 MWs; and associated or interactive processes.

It also addresses high-fidelity process and control logic models, highly replicated user interfaces, highly functional instructor tools, high-realism physical fidelity trainee environments, simulator platform consideration, and minimum levels of documentation.

It sets minimum criteria for the degree of software modeling detail and hardware replication, performance, and functional capabilities of the simulator control room operator interfaces.

Members may view this standard for free when visiting www.isa.org/standards.

For more information about this standard, please contact ISA Standards Administrator Ellen Fussell Policastro at efussell@isa.org.