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At least 451 records · Page 25
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2011

Crossing the Digital Divide

Nuclear utilities continue to upgrade aging instrumentation and control (I&C) systems with modern digital-based systems to address reliability and obsolescence concerns. In addition, the industry has demonstrated that these systems can be successfully developed and deployed even for highly safety-significant applications, such as reactor protection. However, three factors have retarded wide-scale implementation of digital technology for plant modernization and business innovation: *Large-scale digital upgrades entail considerable risk; *The upgrades are very costly and have not led to bottom-line business improvement, financial or otherwise; *Cyber Security concerns discourage wide-scale digital integration. A new national research program is under way that has been designed to address these industry concerns about expanding the use of digital technology. The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has lead responsibility for the Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control Systems Technologies research pathway within the Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program. The LWRS Program is a research and development (R&D) program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and performed in close collaboration with industry R&D and improvement programs (as defined in INL’s FY2009–2013 Light Water Reactor Sustainability Research and Development Program Plan, INL/MIS08-14918). Its purpose is to provide the technical foundations for licensing and managing the long-term, safe, and economical operation of existing nuclear power plants. The DOE’s program focus is on longer-term and higher-risk/reward research that contributes to the national policy objectives of energy security and environmental security. The specific concern addressed by this program is that large-scale I&C obsolescence could become a life-limiting issue for the current nuclear operating fleet.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2012

Multiplexed Oversampling Digitizer in 65 nm CMOS for Column-Parallel CCD Readout

A digitizer designed to read out column-parallel charge-coupled devices (CCDs) used for high-speed X-ray imaging is presented. The digitizer is included as part of the High-Speed Image Preprocessor with Oversampling (HIPPO) integrated circuit. The digitizer module comprises a multiplexed, oversampling, 12-bit, 80 MS/s pipelined Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) and a bank of four fast-settling sample-and-hold amplifiers to instrument four analog channels. The ADC multiplexes and oversamples to reduce its area to allow integration that is pitch-matched to the columns of the CCD. Novel design techniques are used to enable oversampling and multiplexing with a reduced power penalty. The ADC exhibits 188 ?V-rms noise which is less than 1 LSB at a 12-bit level. The prototype is implemented in a commercially available 65 nm CMOS process. The digitizer will lead to a proof-of-principle 2D 10 Gigapixel/s X-ray detector.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2021

How the NRC modernized its digital I&C infrastructure and where it goes from here

The NRC first formally developed infrastructure for the review of digital instrumentation and control (I&C) systems in the 1990’s. Although, the current U.S. fleet of nuclear power plants were originally designed and constructed with analog systems, the U.S. nuclear industry has for more that thirty years been working to upgrade these older systems with modern digital systems. Digital systems have many advantages but also pose different engineering challenges and need to be reviewed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in a different way. Because of this the NRC started looking at its regulatory infrastructure to see if changes needed be made to support the expanded safe use of digital systems in nuclear power plants. Several efforts in the 1990’s included a review by the National Academies’ National Research Council, a review of the impact of potential new digital systems by the NRC staff as a result of advanced reactor designs and the NRC staff’s update to the I&C section of the Standard Review Plan (SRP) (Ref 1).

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

The Role of the Digital Thread for Security, Resilience, and Adaptability in Manufacturing

The manufacturing sector is dramatically evolving with recent technical and digital advances. Among these, the digital thread is revolutionizing manufacturing operations well beyond the historic downloading of programs to computer numerically controlled (CNC) machine tools and the uploading of edited programs from CNC controllers. The digital thread is “the communication framework that enables a connected data flow and integrated view of the asset’s data throughout its lifecycle across traditionally siloed functional perspectives” (Leiva 2016). It is pervasive around the world and has changed the way society operates; for example, map apps are used to provide time-optimal directions to destinations using real-time traffic feedback. The digital thread makes it possible to digitally verify products, ensure that the latest technologies are deployed across the entire manufacturing ecosystem, and strengthen the workforce by making each individual more efficient and effective. These three foundational advanced manufacturing concepts will ensure a next-generation secure, resilient, and adaptable manufacturing ecosystem and sustainably support current and future needs of society (Lynn et al. 2020).

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Developing a digital twin for hydropower systems - an open platform framework

The definition of digital twin in Wikipedia says “A digital twin is a virtual representation that serves as the real-time digital counterpart of a physical object or process.” Indeed, the digital twin (DT) concept was initially introduced at the start of the 21st century with intent to create a digital model to reflect physical systems and derive insight from the model to make the decision on system operation. DT is also a promising enabling technology for realising smart manufacturing and industry 4.0. In general, DTs consist of three main parts: physical product, virtual product, and connected data that link physical and virtual product via various data communication schemes.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Achieving American Leadership in Cybersecurity and Digital Components Factsheet

The Biden Administration’s efforts to meet 100% clean electricity by 2035 and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 has created opportunities to rebuild American supply chains create new jobs, strengthen community engagement, and spur U.S. economic growth. DOE’s strategy for success in the transition to a clean energy economy hinges on building and maintaining technology supply chains that are advanced, secure, and resilient to cyber threats. As the energy sector grows increasingly globalized, complex, and digitized, the supply chain for digital components of energy systems – including software, virtual platforms and services, and data – is facing greater threats. Nearly all digital components of U.S. energy sector systems are vulnerable to cyber supply chain instability, stemming from a variety of causes and shared among a broad set of interdependent stakeholders. Overall, supply chain risks for digital components in energy sector systems will continue to evolve and likely increase as these systems are increasingly interconnected, digitized, and remotely operated.

CCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Development of a bayesian belief network model for the software reliability assessment of nuclear digital I and C safety systems - 206

Since the digital instrumentation and control systems are expected to play an important role for the safety systems in nuclear power plants (NPPs), the need has emerged to not only establish a basis for incorporating software behavior into digital I and C system reliability models, but also to quantify the failure probability of the software used in NPP digital protection systems. In this study, a Bayesian belief network (BBN) model is developed to quantitatively assess software reliability by estimating the number of faults in a software program considering its software development life cycle (SDLC). The model structure and parameters are established based on the information applicable to NPP safety-related systems and the evidence used to construct and quantify the BBN model was collected from three stages of expert elicitation. The software failure probability is estimated from the number of residual defects in a software program at the end of SDLC phase. As a case study, the BBN model was applied to quantify the software reliability of a typical digital protection software having the size of 50 function points and having the Medium development and validation and verification (V and V) qualities. The developed model can be applied to estimate the failure probability for both developing and deployed safety-related NPP software, and such results can be used to evaluate the quality of the digital I and C systems in addition to estimating potential reactor risk due to software failure. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Investigation of instrumentation containing an embedded digital device - 257

The U.S. nuclear power industry primarily relies on mature, well-proven analog technology as the basis for most instrumentation and control (I and C) equipment employed in its nuclear power plants (NPPs). However, the market for this legacy instrumentation is very small and availability of such equipment for spare parts or replacement is increasingly limited. Frequently, modern I and C equipment contains embedded digital devices (EDDs), such as microprocessors and programmable logic devices. While the enhanced functional capabilities provided by the digital components offer improved performance, reliability, and maintainability, the corresponding complexity of sophisticated digital implementations also exacerbate concerns about an increased potential for undetected systematic faults, which can lead to common-cause failure (CCF). As part of a research project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, an investigation has been conducted of commercially available instrumentation marketed for nuclear or industrial application. The objective was to identify the usage of EDDs and to determine the types of functional roles allocated to the devices. Examples of the equipment surveyed include smart sensors, sequencers for emergency diesel generators, pumps, valve actuators, motor control centers, breakers, priority logic modules, and uninterruptible power sources. Where sufficient detail was found, an evaluation was performed to ascertain the nature and role of the digital technology implemented in the instrumentation. The information gained through this investigation serves as technical input for defining a classification approach for EDDs based on the functional impact of the device. For example, the role of an EDD can involve any of the following functions: performance monitoring and diagnostics, information extraction and communication, instrument condition monitoring and protection, or execution of core instrument functions. Classifying digital devices according to their role in the operation of the instrumentation in which they are embedded can enable determination of the potential functional impact of failure of that device and contribute to determination of the potential safety significance of a CCF event disabling all instances of that device. This paper will report on the findings of the investigation of instrumentation with EDDs and indicate considerations for the emerging classification approach. The higher-level goal of this effort is to determine whether a graded approach to qualification testing may be possible based on classification. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Development of a model based assessment process for qualification of embedded digital devices in NPP applications: research approach and current status - 263

The instrumentation and control (I and C) equipment used in currently operating U.S. nuclear power plants (NPPs) is primarily based on mature analog technologies that are progressing towards obsolescence. The continued reliance on this legacy analog technology, which is also being propagated into new NPP designs, imposes performance penalties and maintenance burdens in comparison with modern digital I and C instrumentation. In many instances, currently available I and C equipment contain embedded digital devices (EDDs) such as microprocessors and programmable logic devices. Experience in other industries, such as avionics, has shown that digital I and C equipment containing EDDs can provide significant benefits over analog-based equipment in terms of performance, reliability, and maintainability. In recent years, due to the high demand for digital technologies in the industrial I and C marketplace, it is becoming increasingly difficult for NPPs to acquire instrumentation that is not equipped with an EDD. However, the nuclear power industry has been slow to adopt digital technology, especially in safety-related systems, in large part as a result of regulatory concerns about common-cause failure (CCF) vulnerabilities of equipment with EDDs. Consequently, there is a clear need to develop cost effective qualification methods to contribute to the assessment of CCF vulnerability posed by EDDs in modern instrumentation that could be used in NPPs. This paper describes the research regarding qualification methods for equipment with EDDs that is sponsored by the Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies (NEET) Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation (ASI) program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The purpose of the current research is to develop an effective approach employing science-based methods to resolve concerns about CCF vulnerability that serve to inhibit deployment of advanced instrumentation (e.g., sensors, actuators, microcontrollers) with EDDs in nuclear power applications. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Addressing embedded digital devices in safety-related systems of nuclear power plants - 307

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the development of the approach to addressing embedded digital devices (EDD) in safety-related systems of nuclear power plants in the U.S. and around the world. In April, 2016, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC) issued RIS 2016-05 to heighten awareness that EDDs might exist in procured equipment used in safety-related systems without the devices having been explicitly identified in procurement documentation. Inadequate consideration of these devices in digital technology system upgrades, component replacements, and new equipment applications could lead to an adverse safety consequence. The US NRC request was for addressees to implement early efforts to identify these devices. An area where this is being addressed is in regard to the performance of Diversity and Defense-In-Depth (D3) analyses, as addressed in US NRC Branch Technical Position 7-19. Nuclear facilities have increased their use and reliance on digital technology in systems and equipment (e.g., I and C, electrical systems, and fluid systems). In addition to digital instrumentation and control (I and C) systems, examples of safety-related equipment that may use digital technology include emergency diesel generators, pumps, valve actuators, motor control centers, breakers, priority logic modules, time-delay relays, and uninterruptible power sources. In the U.S. and around the world, engineering and licensing activities in standards and guidance have been, and are being developed to address this important consideration in protecting safety-related systems. This paper addresses development of an extended approach to evaluating common-cause failure vulnerability and mitigation in regard to equipment with an EDD. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

IBR Digital Supply Chain Gap Analysis and Recommendations

The adoption of clean energy technologies, including solar photovoltaics, continues to introduce non-traditional stakeholders to the operations and planning of the electric system. Stakeholders such as manufacturers, vendors, owners, aggregators, and others are enabling the adoption, integration, and optimum operations of solar technologies at accelerated rates. Inverters form the foundation of many digitally controlled energy sources for clean energy technologies, including Solar, Battery Energy Storage Systems, Hybrid Systems, and Hydrogen Fuel Cells. Their supply chain is complex, a series of microchips, electronic switches and other components making up its primary functions. The complexity of this space and the growing digitization associated with these components can create supply chain cyber risks. One measure to mitigate cybersecurity attacks is proper digital supply chain security. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), in partnership with the Cybersecurity, Energy, Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) office, is hosting a workshop to bring together solar vendors and services providers to discuss digital supply chain security for solar systems and challenges and opportunities in the transitioning to a fully domestic supply chain for solar energy in the U.S. This workshop will support the Securing Solar for the Grid (S2G) and Energy Cyber Sense program activities. During the workshop, industry experts and researchers from DOE National Laboratories will discuss the current solar supply chain landscape and the transition to domestic manufacturing of solar components in the U.S. Tools and techniques to better manage and secure the digital supply chain of solar devices and systems will be discussed.

cybersecurity↗
DOE OSTI2015

Virology: The Next Generation from Digital PCR to Single Virion Genomics

In the past 25 years, virology has had major technology breakthroughs stemming first from the introduction of nucleic acid amplification testing, but more recently from the use of next-generation sequencing, digital PCR, and the possibility of single virion genomics. These technologies have and will improve diagnosis and disease state monitoring in clinical settings, aid in environmental monitoring, and reveal the vast genetic potential of viruses. Using the principle of limiting dilution, digital PCR amplifies single molecules of DNA in highly partitioned endpoint reactions and reads each of those reactions as either positive or negative based on the presence or absence of target fluorophore. In this review, digital PCR will be highlighted along with current studies, advantages/disadvantages, and future perspectives with regard to digital PCR, viral load testing, and the possibility of single virion genomics.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Technical Specification Surveillance Interval Extension of Digital Equipment in Nuclear Power Plants: Review and Research. Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program report

The nuclear industry has been slow to incorporate digital technology into nuclear plant designs for several reasons, including: The high cost of design change modifications to implement them, versus simply replacing them with like for like technology when the components fail; Digital technology qualification issues, particularly in safety related applications that are susceptible to software common cause failure. This is a concern both for current operating plants as well as new builds; and, General familiarity and comfort with the existing analog technology on the part of the nuclear plant engineering staff, in spite of the superior performance and reduced maintenance costs of the digital replacements. At the same time, the nuclear industry is under significant cost pressure in the electric marketplace due to the abundance of natural gas generation and renewables. The industry would benefit by investment in new technologies that could lower future operating costs while addressing obsolescence and reliability issues of the current analog technologies. However, the industry has been unable to formulate the business cases to take advantage of these labor savings and production reliability improvements. This paper discusses another potential cost savings benefit of a transition to digital technology, extending the surveillance intervals of technical specification required equipment.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

Field Insights: Strengthening Digital Assurance Through On-Site Network Monitoring

The accelerating deployment of digital energy infrastructure, ranging from inverter-based resources (IBRs), battery energy storage systems (BESS), to advanced grid control platforms, has brought unprecedented visibility, flexibility, and efficiency to the electric grid. However, this digital transformation also introduces new cybersecurity challenges, particularly in the form of supply chain risks and operational blind spots at the grid edge. Over the past year, the Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER), through its Rapid Risk Assessment initiative, along with the Grid Deployment Office (GDO), through its Technical Assistance for Digital Assurance (TADA) initiative, have supported a series of on-site network engagements led by Idaho National Laboratory (INL). These engagements, conducted in partnership with asset owners across the country, have focused on identifying real-world vulnerabilities and misconfigurations in operational environments, many of which are not detectable through remote assessments or traditional compliance audits. The goal of this report is to distill key findings and lessons learned during network hunt engagements from INL’s fiscal year (FY) 2024 - 2025. It is intended to help asset owners—regardless of their participation in the program—better understand the evolving threat landscape and adopt practical measures to secure their digital energy infrastructure.

24 - POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS2011

Digitally Calibrated TR Modules Enabling Real-Time Beamforming SweepSAR Architectures for DESDynI-Class Radar Instruments

Real-time digital beamforming, combined with lightweight, large aperture reflectors, enable SweepSAR architectures such as that of the proposed DESDynI [Deformation, Ecosystem Structure, and Dynamics of Ice] SAR [Synthetic Aperture Radar] Instrument (or DSI). SweepSAR promises significant increases in instrument capability for solid earth and biomass remote sensing, while reducing mission mass and cost. This new instrument concept requires new methods for calibrating the multiple channels, which must be combined on-board, in real-time. We are developing new methods for digitally calibrating digital beamforming arrays to reduce development time, risk and cost of precision calibrated TR modules for array architectures by accurately tracking modules' characteristics through closed-loop Digital Calibration, thus tracking systematic changes regardless of temperature

SweepSar↗
DOE OSTI2017

A qualitative assessment of current CCF guidance based on a review of safety system digital implementation changes with evolving technology - 148

This paper is a summary of a study performed in support of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to evaluate current policy on software common-cause failure (CCF). The study reported in this paper is one of several that contributed to the technical basis to inform NRC staff. The study first reviewed policies and assessment guidance as discussed in the Staff Requirements Memorandum to the Secretary of the Commission, Office of the NRC (SECY) 93-087, Policy, Technical, and Licensing Issues Pertaining to Evolutionary and Advanced Light Water Reactor (ALWR) Designs, and Branch Technical Position (BTP) 7-19, Guidance on Evaluation of Defense-in-Depth and Diversity in Digital Computer-Based Instrumentation and Control Systems, as well as Chapter 7, 'Instrumentation and Controls', in NUREG-0800, Standard Review Plan for Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants. The study then examined instrumentation and controls (I and C) technology implementations in nuclear power plants in the light of current CCF guidance. The intent was to assess whether the current position on CCF remains appropriate given the evolutions in digital safety system implementations and, if gaps in the guidance were found, to provide recommendations as to how these gaps could be closed. The methodology adopted was to review the vendors' technology and software implementation processes for digital safety systems as technology evolved. The following three representative safety systems were selected to provide illustrative examples: - Eagle 21 was selected to represent vintage microprocessor-based technology used from the 1980's to mid-1990's, - TELEPERM XS (TXS) was selected to represent second generation microprocessor-based technology used from the mid-1990's to the 2000's, and - The advanced logic system (ALS) was selected to represent the latest trend of using technology based on field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Technology implementations were reviewed in light of the basic premise of the NRC in BTP 7-19 (Revision 6), that software-based or software-logic-based digital system development errors are a credible source of CCF and therefore are susceptible to CCF because identical copies of the software-based logic and architecture are present in redundant divisions of safety-related systems. BTP 7-19 categorizes firmware and logic developed from software-based development systems all under software. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Advanced Transmission Technologies –GETs and HPCs Session 3: HPCs and Building Actions Plans to Digital Assurance Risks

The third session of the Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) Technical Assistance for Digital Assurance (TADA) program, held on November 11, 2025, centered on High Performance Conductors (HPCs) and the formulation of action plans to address digital assurance risks associated with Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs). This session convened experts from utilities, vendors, and government agencies to examine the technical, operational, and cybersecurity aspects of HPC deployment. Discussions highlighted the benefits of HPCs, such as their ability to rapidly increase transmission capacity using existing corridors, improve grid resilience, reduce system losses, and align with FERC Orders 2023 and 1920. Participants evaluated supply chain and digital assurance risks, including reliance on imported materials, limited domestic manufacturing capacity, workforce shortages, and traceability issues. The session also emphasized the importance of digital trust, integration-layer cybersecurity, and unified risk frameworks, introducing tools like intrusion detection systems, encryption, zero trust networking, and firmware integrity. Recaps of earlier workshops on Dynamic Line Ratings (DLRs), Advanced Power Flow Control (APFC), and Transmission Topology Optimization (TTO) underscored institutional barriers and integration challenges. Action plans were proposed to mitigate issues such as inconsistent cybersecurity practices, SBOM usage, supply chain visibility, operator trust, and misaligned incentives. Additionally, INL presented its supply chain risk management tools and Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) principles to support secure procurement and system design. The session concluded with a commitment to share key takeaways, incorporate cohort feedback into future policy development, and continue collaborative engagement through upcoming pilot activities. Session 3 of 3.

24 - POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

A digital twin platform for building performance monitoring and optimization: Performance simulation and case studies

Advancements in sensor technology, data analytics, affordable compute, and communication infrastructure have paved the way for Digital Twin technology in optimizing building operations and controls. This study presents the development of an open and interoperable web-based Digital Twin platform for integrating diverse data streams and facilitating effective user interactions. The platform utilizes modern technologies for the web framework and time-series data management, ensuring scalability and responsiveness. The backend supports seamless integration of diverse data sources and emulators, incorporating data from building sensors and meters, external weather Application Programming Interfaces, and advanced EnergyPlus simulation models of the building and its energy systems including the Distributed Energy Resources that are formulated in Functional Mockup Units. A simulation case study was conducted with FlexLab, a test facility on Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory campus. The case study includes normal operations, Distributed Energy Resource integration, and power outage scenarios, to illustrate the Digital Twin’s ability to provide critical insights into energy performance and thermal resilience. The results demonstrated the platform’s potential as a decision-support tool for optimizing building energy performance and enhancing resilience against extreme weather events. Future work will focus on deploying the Digital Twin platform to a real building for field validation, extending its capabilities to cover more scenarios such as bidirectional Electric Vehicle interactions, and enhancing user engagement.

EnergyPlus↗