Nuclear power plants provide large amounts of electricity without releasing planet-warming pollution. But the expense of running these plants has made it difficult for them to stay open. If nuclear is to play a role in the U.S. clean energy economy, costs must come down. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory are devising systems that could make nuclear energy more competitive using artificial intelligence.
Nuclear power plants are expensive in part because they demand constant monitoring and maintenance to ensure consistent power flow and safety. Argonne is midway through a $1 million, three-year project to explore how smart, computerized systems could change economics.
In a world where decisions are made according to data, it’s important to know that you can trust your data, Ponciroli said. Sensors, like any other component, can degrade. Knowing that your sensors are functioning is crucial.
The job of inspecting each sensor—and also the performance of system components such as valves, pumps, and heat exchangers—currently rests with staff who walk the plant floor. Instead, algorithms could verify data by learning how normal sensor functions and looking for anomalies.
Having validated a plant’s sensors, an artificial intelligence system would then interpret signals from them and recommend specific actions.
Ponciroli offers an example: Let’s say your car’s dashboard alerts you to a tire with low air pressure. The lower-level tasks that people do now can be handed off to algorithms, said Richard Vilim, an Argonne senior nuclear engineer. We’re trying to elevate humans to a higher degree of situational awareness so that they are observers making decisions.
Partnering with the industry to develop testing scenarios, Argonne engineers have built a computer simulation, or digital twin, of an advanced nuclear reactor. While the system is designed to serve new reactor technologies, Vilim said, it’s also flexible enough to be applied at existing nuclear plants.
The team is validating its artificial intelligence concept on the simulated reactor, and so far they have completed systems to control and diagnose its virtual parts.
