Training & Simulator

Operators qualify on a full-scope simulator, practicing normal, abnormal, and emergency sequences before touching the plant.

Operators are trained and qualified before they run the plant, and they requalify on a schedule. A full-scope simulator reproduces the control room and the plant's response, letting crews practice startup, shutdown, and off-normal events — including faults too risky to induce on real hardware — until responses are reliable.

Training path

• Systems and plasma-physics fundamentals in the classroom
• Procedure walk-throughs for every operating state
• Simulator practice of normal, abnormal, and emergency sequences
• Assessed qualification before independent duty

The simulator

The simulator models the tandem-mirror machine and its balance of plant so operators experience realistic dynamics: plug formation, steady-state control, and the behavior of trips and fast discharge. Because faults can be injected safely, crews build the reflexes that keep a real upset from becoming an incident.

Continuous qualification

Requalification keeps skills current and incorporates lessons from operating experience and design changes. The simulator is also used to validate procedure changes before they reach the control room. Training is developed at design stage; the simulator is built alongside the machine so crews are ready for the first test burner.