Instrumentation and Controls in Nuclear Power Plants: An Emerging Technologies Update (NUREG/CR-6992)

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Publication Information

Manuscript Completed: December 2008
Date Published: October 2009

Prepared by:
K. Korsah^a, D.E. Holcomb^a, M.D. Muhlheim^a,
J.A. Mullens^a, A. Loebl^a, M. Bobrek^a, M.K. Howlader^a,
S.M. Killough^a, M.R. Moore^a, P.D. Ewing^a, M. Sharpe^b,
A.A. Shourbaji^a, S.M. Cetiner^a, T.L. Wilson, Jr.^a,
R.A. Kisner^a

^aOak Ridge National Laboratory
1 Bethel Valley Road
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

^bUniversity of Tennessee
315 Pasqua Engineering Building
Knoxville, TN 37996-2300

K. Nguyen and T. Govan, NRC Project Managers

Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555-0001

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Abstract

This report is a summary of advances in eight instrumentation and controls (I&C) technology focus areas that have applications in nuclear power plant digital upgrades as well as in new plants. The review includes I&C architectures for selected Gen III+ plants. This report is the third in a series of planned update reports in a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) sponsored emerging technologies study. The first in the series was NUREG/CR-6812,¹ and the second was NUREG/CR-6888.² The study is designed to provide advance information that will enable NRC to be better prepared to make regulatory decisions in these areas.

Compilation of this report generally follows the pattern established in the two previous series reports of reviewing advances in several technology focus areas. However, based on the results of the program review in FY 2006, in which the focus of the study was redirected to include digital I&C in new plants, the focus areas were slightly modified to include I&C architectures in new plants. Thus, the following are the focus areas used for this third NUREG/CR in the series: (1) sensors and measurement systems, (2) communications media and networking, (3) microprocessors and other integrated circuits, (4) computational platforms, (5) surveillance, diagnostics, and prognostics, (6) human-system interactions, (7) high-integrity software, and (8) I&C architectures in new plants. This report documents findings from the study of these focus areas.