High-Fidelity Digital Twins for BWRX-300 Critical Systems

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Program:
GEMINA
Award:
$1,787,065
Location:
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Status:
ACTIVE
Project Term:
10/01/2020 - 09/30/2024

Technology Description:

The BWRX-300 is a 300 MWe water-cooled, natural circulation small modular reactor designed by GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) to provide flexible energy generation that is cost-competitive with natural gas-fired plants. GE Research (GER) has 10+ years experience in developing probabilistic machine learning (ML) methods/tools integrated with their domain expertise in thermo-mechanical lifing/durability. GER has applied this industrially proven capability to build digital twins for military and commercial applications. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will assemble, validate, and exercise high-fidelity digital twins of the BWRX-300 systems. MIT’s work will advance and demonstrate predictive maintenance approaches and model-based fault system detection techniques by GEH and GER. The digital twins address mechanical and thermal fatigue failure modes that drive O&M activities well beyond selected BWRX-300 components and extend to all advanced reactors where a flowing fluid is present. The role of high-fidelity resolution is central to the approach, as it addresses the unique challenges of the nuclear industry.

Potential Impact:

The program goal is to reduce fixed O&M costs from ~13 $/MWh in the current fleet to ~2 $/MWh in the advanced fleet. Benefits include:

Security:

Establishing U.S. advanced reactor technological leadership and improving U.S. energy security with safe, reliable, dispatchable power for a robust and resilient electric power system;

Environment:

Reducing energy-related emissions with a competitive, carbon-free electricity source; and

Economy:

Increasing productivity and creating a competitive edge for advanced reactors.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Jenifer Shafer
Project Contact:
Prof. Emilio Baglietto
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
emiliob@mit.edu

Partners

General Electric

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Release Date:
10/02/2019