Development of an Automated Design-to-Analysis Process for a Nuclear Power Plant

摘要

There is a research project funded by the United States Department of Energy (DOE), as a part of the NuclearrnEnergy Research Initiative (NERI) Program, to investigate possible ways to reduce the high capital costs incurred in therndesign, procurement, construction, installation, and testing cycle of future nuclear power plants in the United States. As onernof the ways to accomplish this objective, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is leading a research effort to investigate thernfeasibility of developing an automated design-to-analysis process to enhance the efficiency of design/analysis cycle. Thisrnprocess is conceptually planned to facilitate an efficient interaction between designers and analysts by linking the plantrndesign database to a tool suite that performs finite element mesh generation and model simulation. SNL is responsible forrndeveloping this process, with support from the staff at Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC) and Duke Engineering &rnServices (DE&S) to provide a design database of components/systems. A pressurizer, which is a component in the reactorrncoolant system of the System 80+ pressurized water reactor design, with its connecting piping system and building structures,rnwas selected as a demonstration example for developing this process. This paper provides an overview of the progress statusrnof the joint effort and discusses some of the technical issues in developing this process.