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DOE OSTI · 1905494

Advanced Reactor Control and Operations (ARCO): A University Research Facility for Developing Optimized Digital Control Rooms

Poresky, Christopher·Alivisatos, Clara·Kendrick, James·Peterson, Per F.·Lew, Roger·Ulrich, Thomas A.·Boring, Ronald Laurids
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Abstract

The Advanced Reactor Control and Operations (ARCO) facility was constructed in January 2018 to serve as a test bed for advanced reactor control rooms and operator support systems. Since then, it has supported human-machine interface user experience research, fault detection and mitigation technology development, control room concept of operations development, and remote operations research. ARCO serves as the control room for the Compact Integral Effects Test (CIET) facility, which replicates the primary-side flow paths and thermal-hydraulic behavior of a fluoride-salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (FHR) using simulant fluids and scaling principles. New reactor designs feature different operating conditions and scenarios than those in existing reactors. ARCO supports the research and development of digital tools for operator communications, intuitive real-time data analysis, online health monitoring and prognostics, and control room cybersecurity. By integrating these different technologies, ARCO acts as a prototypical control system to iteratively develop methods and tools of operation in advanced small modular nuclear reactors. This paper describes the features of and challenges to operating advanced small modular reactors underlying the design basis for ARCO and its operator support systems.

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21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTSadvanced reactor control roomadvanced reactor human factorscontrol room designcybersecurityfault detectionhuman factorshuman-machine interfacemain control roomnuclear power plantoperator support

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Poresky, Christopher, Alivisatos, Clara, Kendrick, James, Peterson, Per F., Lew, Roger, Ulrich, Thomas A., Boring, Ronald Laurids. 2022-09-02. Advanced Reactor Control and Operations (ARCO): A University Research Facility for Developing Optimized Digital Control Rooms. https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2022.2092366

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