Benefits of Advanced Control Room Technologies: Phase One Upgrades to the HSSL, Research Plan, and Performance Measures

Abstract

Control room modernization is an important part of life extension for the existing light water reactor fleet. None of the 99 currently operating commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. has completed a fullscale control room modernization to date. A full-scale modernization might, for example, entail replacement of all analog panels with digital workstations. Such modernizations have been undertaken successfully in upgrades in Europe and Asia, but the U.S. has yet to undertake a control room upgrade of this magnitude. Instead, nuclear power plant main control rooms for the existing commercial reactor fleet remain significantly analog, with only limited digital modernizations. Previous research under the U.S. Department of Energy's Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program has helped establish a systematic process for control room upgrades that support the transition to a hybrid control room. While the guidance developed to date helps streamline the process of modernization and reduce costs and uncertainty associated with introducing digital control technologies into an existing control room, these upgrades do not achieve the full potential of newer technologies that might otherwise enhance plant and operator performance. The aim of the control room benefits research is to identify previously overlooked benefits of modernization, identify candidate technologies that may facilitate such benefits, and demonstrate these technologies through human factors research. This report describes the initial upgrades to the Human Systems Simulation Laboratory (HSSL) and outlines the methodology for a pilot test of the HSSL configuration.

Comparative evaluation of augmented reality-based assistance for procedural tasks: a simulated control room study

“…Implementing CBPs for second generation NPPs with less integrated systems presents many unaddressed challenges. For instance, the majority of the NPPs in United States were commissioned when the main instrument and control unit were hard-wired analogue panels (R. Boring & Joe, 2014;LeBlanc, Joe, Rice, Ulrich, & Boring, 2015). Introducing CBPs in such plants require a massive overhaul of displays, sensors and other components.…”

Baseline Study Methodology for Future Phases of Research on Nuclear Power Plant Control Room Technologies

“…In order to provide a basis for industry adoption of advanced technologies, the Control Room Upgrades Benefits Research Project under the Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control Pathway of the LWRS Program will investigate the benefits of including advanced technologies as part of control room modernization (Le Blanc et al, 2015a, Le Blanc et al, 2015b Ideally the modernization end state is a fully integrated control room with modern technologies and consistent interfaces for the operators to interact with. This approach is hypothesized to enhance plant performance, operator performance, and efficiency compared to an existing analog control room or a hybrid control room.…”

A Pilot Study Investigating the Effects of Advanced Nuclear Power Plant Control Room Technologies: Methods and Qualitative Results

“…The gPWR is a full-scope NPP model based on an existing three-loop Westinghouse NPP currently operating in the U.S. The technology upgrades to the HSSL described in Le Blanc et al (2015) were integrated with the gPWR to facilitate this research.…”