Regulatory Viability of Nuclear Digital Twins

Matrachisia, John; Eskins, Doug; Carlson, Jesse; Ulmer, Christopher; Lin, Bruce; Iyengar, Raj; Yadaz, Vaibhav

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121805 Copy

Description

Title

Regulatory Viability of Nuclear Digital Twins

Author(s)

• Matrachisia, John
• Eskins, Doug
• Carlson, Jesse
• Ulmer, Christopher
• Lin, Bruce
• Iyengar, Raj
• Yadaz, Vaibhav

Contributor(s)

McKirgan, John

Issue Date

2023

Keyword(s)

• Digital twins
• Advanced modeling
• Artificial Intelligence/Machine-Learning (AI/ML)
• Nuclear
• Regulation

Abstract

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) initiated the Digital Twins (DT)- Regulatory Viability research project beginning in 2020 under the Future-Focused Research Program. The Future-Focused Research Program was established by the NRC Office of Regulatory Research to support the identification, prioritization, performance, and monitoring of research activities: a) intended to help the NRC prepare for upcoming challenges, and b) having longer term horizons and greater risk opportunities than considered in typical activities addressing program office needs. The goals of the DT project are to identify and evaluate the regulatory impacts of a nuclear DT such as the state of technology, technical issues, and regulatory infrastructure needs. As of April 2023, the project has included two public workshops and five technical letter reports, with additional research in progress. These reports and stakeholder engagements have identified the spectrum of DT technologies and current efforts in the nuclear industry focused on DT-enabling technologies, challenges and gaps for implementing DT- enabling technologies in current and advanced reactor applications, and regulated activities that may be impacted by DT-enabling technologies. The DT landscape is rapidly changing and evolving, with many different definitions and applications of DT. Therefore, it was important for the DT project team to identify the specific problem space that was being explored. The Technical Challenges and Gaps in Digital-Twin-Enabling Technologies for Nuclear Reactor Applications [1] report presented a nuclear power plant (NPP) DT system to comprise four elements: (1) NPP, (2) DT, (3) data and response from NPP to DT, and (4) actions and recommendations from DT to NPP. The Regulatory Considerations for Nuclear Energy Applications of Digital Twin Technologies report [2] expanded on this to identify four characteristics of a nuclear DT system: (1) serves and underlying purpose, (2) exists in digital format, (3) maintains state concurrence, and (4) ensures state cognizance. The report [2] also outlines five capabilities of a DT system that have the potential to significantly impact regulated activities: (1) information, (2) communication, (3) integration, (4) analysis, and (5) control. This paper discusses key findings from past and current regulatory research activities related to DT as well as areas of future research. The paper will provide an overview of the use of advanced modeling, including AI/ML, multi-physics, and hybrid approaches, in addressing uncertainties and risk during design and operations of reactor systems

Type of Resource

text

Language

eng

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/121805

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