U.S. DOE Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program: Advanced Instrumentation & Controls and Human System Interfaces Research Pathway

Bruce Hallbert, Idaho National LaboratoryMay 20, 2009

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The need to rely on existing plants

• 60 year licenses means current plants shut down starting in 2030.

• Steep reduction in generation if current fleet operations are not sustained.

• Without today’s nuclear plants, we lose:

– 100 GWe of low-carbon generation over about 20 years

– Low cost generation

Extending operation of existing reactors will avoid ~12 billion metric tons CO2 and provide enough electricity for 70 million homes during an additional 20 years of operations.

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Program Scope

• Nuclear Materials Aging and Degradation. Research to develop the scientific basis for understanding laboratory and field data on environmental degradation of materials, components, and structures essential to safe and sustained nuclear plant operations.

• Advanced LWR Fuel Development. Research to maintain and improve nuclear fuel designs to achieve improved economic performance while demonstrating safety and performance margins. Develop high burn-up fuel with improved cladding integrity as a primary fission product barrier.

• Risk-Informed Safety Margin Characterization. Research to fully understand and incorporate single effects and integral testing results into both deterministic and risk-informed safety margin characterizations.

• Advanced Instrumentation and Control Technologies. Research to improve inspection and monitoring technologies, including detailed strategies for managing Instrumentation & Control (I&C) system upgrades. Develop, implement, and evaluate prognostic monitoring approaches for both non-safety-related and safety-related systems.

To be implemented through broad-based Industry / National Laboratories / Government / University collaboration

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Current Situation & Challenges

• Analog systems define much of current technology for I&C today

– Service lifetimes beyond commercial expectation

– Regulatory uncertainty & business risk

• Digital systems implemented as point solutions to aging & obsolescence

– Reactive, short planning horizon

– Like for like replacement

• Fragmented and non-optimized approach; digital technologies not considered as a part of the corporate business model and hence, their potential is marginalized

– Digital systems don’t displace old costs – but add to them under this approach

– Nuclear power industry reacts to developments in other power sectors

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Game changing developments

• Cost and reliability of maintaining aging analog instrumentation

• Workforce will not be drawn to an antiquated technology base

• Mergers & acquisitions in nuclear supply create a demand for economy of scale solutions across the business enterprise

• Ever-diminishing returns from productivity & optimization programs (e.g., human performance, six sigma, Quality initiatives) prompt reconsideration of technology to achieve performance gains

• Needed, not desired, in order to make investments and commitment to long term operation

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Advanced Instrumentation and Controls Technology

Technical Projects

1. Centralized On-line Monitoring for Critical SSCs

2. New I&C and Human System Interface Capabilities and Architecture

3. Life-cycle NDE Information Assessment

4. Maintaining the Licensing and Design Basis

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1. Centralized Online Monitoring and Information Integration for Critical SSCs

Strategic Vision

• Information technology and degradation models and cases to enable real time automatic statistical analysis, pattern recognition, and criteria to diagnose degraded conditions and predict remaining useful life of SCCs.

• These instances are evaluated at centralized groups by component-type experts.

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1. Centralized Online Monitoring and Information Integration for Critical SSCs

R&D Benefits for LWR Sustainability

• Prognostic monitoring of SSCs – such as transformers, generators, RCPs, EDGs, generators, feed water pumps -- can avoid high unavailability and improve asset management.

• Diagnostics monitoring of SSCs will enhance plant reliability and avoid safety challenges commensurate with new plants.

• Automation and state-of-art analysis will reduce person-hours and maximize productivity of scarce equipment experts.

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2. New I&C and HSI Capabilities and Architecture

Strategic Vision

• Approach to achieve life cycle renewal of information & control capabilities needed to continue to operate safely and more efficiently

• Nuclear plant SCADA like architecture supporting plant activities - based on simulation, control, & diagnostics tools

• Modern technologies and hooks to allow future technologies, e.g.:– Integrated information networking and management

– Advanced, integrated control algorithms

– Automation

– Intelligent agents

– Improved, user friendly human system interfaces

– Better collaborative work environments with distributed capabilities

– Simulation

• Lifecycle maintenance and future upgrade strategies

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2. New I&C and HSI Capabilities and Architecture

R&D Benefits for LWR Sustainability• Strategy for decision-making

– Types of upgrades and modernization programs– Scope and recommended practices– Benefits to asset owners, including workforce planning, cost (O&M), life-

cycle maintenance & renewal• Maintain high levels of plant reliability & availability.• Better understand and predict effects of I&C aging and obsolescence• Improved information access, situation awareness, and decision-making allowing

enhancement of safety and increase in productivity• Integration of data and information, increased automation of routine tasks to

reduce work load and likelihood of human errors and to amplify human capabilities for increased reliability and efficiency

• Resilience: self-monitoring,diagnosis & correction; fault resistance,tolerance & recovery capabilities reducing likelihood of unplanned trips, equipment damage, and tech spec violations resulting in reducing safety & operational challenges.

• New & better approaches to design.

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3. Life-cycle NDE Information Assessment

Strategic Vision• Enhancement of measurement (NDE+), data capture and storage for

NPP primary systems to support forthcoming diagnostic and prognostic models.

• Development, validation (PDI) & deployment of inspection and characterization technologies as needed for passive elements in NPP (e.g. concrete, cabling, underground storage and buried piping condition assessments).

• Creation of methods and system for integrated information management, simulation for degradation, assessment of condition, life-utalization and prediction of remaining safe life (prognostics) for critical nuclear plant materials.

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3. Life-cycle NDE Information Assessment

R&D Benefits for LWR Sustainability

• Monitoring and prognostics for passive components will enhance safety, maintain reliability, and improve asset management.

• Monitoring and advanced diagnostics of materials provides defense-in depth for plant reliability and avoids safety challenges of potential concern to regulators.

• Automation and state-of-art analysis will reduce person-hours and maximize productivity of scarce equipment experts.

• On-line monitoring – reduces potential for “surprises”

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Recommendations

• Propose an INL hosted meeting sponsored by IAEA on issues affecting long term operation and sustainability of operating reactors

– Emphasizing I&C aspects but also including cross-cutting interactions with other critical areas (e.g., materials, risk, etc.)

– National perspectives and status of modernization and sustainability programs

– Regulatory, technical, & corporate issues

– Some time in 2010 or spring 2011

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Questions ?

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