Remote operations and maintenance framework for molten salt reactors

Abstract

Remote, highly-automated operations and maintenance is key for economically successful deployment of molten salt reactors (MSRs). Liquid-fueled MSRs will have high dose rates within containment following initial start-up due to the proximity of the fuel salt and gaseous fission products. The challenges of performing O&M in high dose environments has long been recognized and many of the required technology components have been developed for use in similar high radiation environments.Future MSRs will need to have much lower labor costs than existing nuclear power plants to be competitive. The advance of digital technologies provides the opportunity to automate maintenance activities. Advances in modeling and simulation (M&S) may enable shifting the role of the operator from remotely performing tasks to overseeing automated systems. Dynamically updating a plant’s digital twin representation through integrating multiple sensor signals will be key to automating complex process tasks. Complex, highly-automated maintenance in high-radiation areas has not been previously proven and adequate demonstration will be required to validate its performance.