Leveraging Within-Bank Comparison for Anomaly Detection, Diagnostics, and Prognostics in Advanced Nuclear Power Plants

Nuclear power provides roughly 20% of the energy produced in U.S. and more than half carbon-free energy. Although current fleet 93 light water reactors (LWRs) continues to operate safely reliably, many plants are shutting down before their license expires due unfavorable economic performance. Operations maintenance (O&M) costs comprise over 60% cost nuclear generation largest addressable category for savings. Recently, focus industry has turned developing deploying new reactor designs further decarbonize sector. Near-term investment is likely on that can leverage operating experience our pressurized boiling (PWRs BWRs). GE-Hitachi’s BWRX-300 a small modular (SMR) based intentional scaling existing well-researched BWR technologies. Despite similarities between near-term LWRbased SMRs, such as BWRX-300, currently deployed LWRs, economics these suffer from loss economy scale enjoyed by 1,000 MWescale plants. Further, smaller expected be agile operations, supporting variety deployment scenarios, load following cogeneration. The processes procedures used manage maintain health key components systems must re-examined ensure performance support concepts operation.
 Control rods control rod drive mechanisms overall production distribution across core. As such, this system managing primary target periodic inspection desired mechanism proposed differs fundamentally BWRs: BWRX300 uses servomotors fine motion while traditional BWRs primarily use hydraulic systems. move banks multiple individual rods, each with dedicated servomotor. Rods single bank commanded follow same maneuvers thermal By monitoring position characteristics (e.g., current, rotational speed) driving within-bank consistency, faulty detected or few servomotors. This paper will present results prototypical associated simulation models normal servomotor behavior.