PROJECT OVERVIEW
The long term operation of nuclear power plants is a pillar of the European Union to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. However, its requires a close monitoring of the effects of aging on nuclear components and systems, as well as continuous efforts to improve safety.
The project draws inspiration from other high-reliability industries, such as aeronautics and oil &
gas,
adapting their innovations for nuclear applications.
FIND's
innovative approach combines three
key
technologies:
- Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), continuously monitoring facility components to detect defects at an early stage,
- Digital Twin technology, creating sophisticated virtual models that help predict and prevent potential faults
- Hardened instrumentation to monitor the progression of accidents
This smart monitoring approach addresses several critical challenges faced by nuclear facilities today:
- The need for a more robust monitoring of ageing components
- Improved understanding and management of accidental situations
- More efficient inspection processes with reduced radiation exposure for workers
By focusing on practical, cost-effective solutions that can be implemented without major facility modifications, FIND has a high potential of bringing innovations to the market.
The ASNR-led consortium includes 13 partners from 8 countries. It has been carefully selected to provide research teams and experimental facilities with the expertise to meet the project's objectives. It relies on the operational experience of nuclear utilities.
The total budget for the project is €5.8M, including €5M in grants from the Euratom research and traning programme over 4 years.
OBJECTIVES
To address current challenges in nuclear safety monitoring, FIND has established five high-level objectives, that structure the project's activities and deliverables.
- Develop real time, more representative and remote monitoring systems for safety significant defaults in metallic pipes due to the ageing of NPPs
- Develop instrumentation to collect more information about the state of safety systems and the reactor core during incidents and accidents
- Prove the ability of innovative NDE technologies to keep their performances in the nuclear context
- Prepare the adoption of the new technologies by the nuclear sector
- Inform nuclear operators of relevant monitoring technologies, and inform monitoring technology providers of relevant use-cases to increase nuclear safety
These objectives have been carefully defined to address specific challenges identified in current
nuclear safety monitoring systems, providing targeted solutions that will improve the safety of
installations while supporting operational performance (reduction of unplanned outages, better
anticipation of maintenance activities...). Each objective contributes to FIND's overall mission.
More globally, FIND will prove the added-value of continuous monitoring systems for nuclear
facilities,
as a complementary approach to well-established in-service inspection strategies. It will screen a
large
variety of technologies and issue recommendations for future developments.
Technical work programme
Addressing a large variety of industrial needs
Key systems and associated degradation mechanisms have been identified to implement the
innovations of FIND. The first are the components transporting corrosive raw water from the cold
source (river or sea) of the plant, which are partially buried and difficult to access. Critical
components of the primary and secondary circuits exposed to crack formation or corrosion-erosion
will also be addressed.
To support accident management, FIND will investigate systems to localise a breach during a
loss-of-coolant accident and to measure radioactive releases in the reactor building during a
severe accident.
Increasing synergies to develop new instrumentation faster
FIND’s partners will share their experiences on advanced sensors to tackle the above-mentioned
challenges. SHM will rely on different ultrasonic methods (acoustic emission, leakage detection,
guided-wave tomography) with traditional piezoelectric probes and more advanced Fiber-Bragg
Grating sensors. Digital Twins will combine data from extensometry gauges, thermal sensors and
accelerometers combined with detailed mechanical models to reproduce the stresses and vibrations
experienced by pipes. Hardened humidity sensors based on heated thermocouples will be designed
to track water and steam leakages. Finally, a Metallic-Organic Framework probe will be adapted
to form a miniaturised chemical analysis system.
These innovations rely on common technological concepts like embedded computing, advanced signal
treatment, miniaturisation and hardening, leading to a fruitful cross-fertilization among
partners.
Testing the technologies in real conditions
FIND’s partners have access to unique facilities to test the operationality of their acquisition systems: thermal-hydraulic loops (built or adapted for the specificities of the project), a high dose rate irradiator, operating nuclear power plants... Reproducing real or realistic operating conditions is key to prove the feasibility of the online monitoring systems developed in FIND.
RESULTS
FIND will deliver high-quality scientific literature, practical recommendations to exploit its innovation but also operational prototypes
Scientific production
Results of FIND will be published and presented in scientific journals and conferences to gather feedback from our peers. Two Ph-D students will be trained during the project.
Practical recommendations
Two reports will be issued towards the end of the project to support the industrialisation of the technologies developed in FIND. One will point out the remaining challenges to address for the adoption of the innovative instrumentations, including recommendations for their qualification. The second report will propose a roadmap for future developments, identifying new use-cases and new acquisition methods that could complement the results of FIND with additional R&D.
Prototypes
Prototypes will be installed on industrial assets and experimental facilities to deliver long-term results beyond the project. They will demonstrate the viability of the technologies in representative or real environment.