AI Tools Deployed at two Constellation Nuclear Power Plants
The American company Blue Wave AI Labs has deployed machine learning tools at the Peach Bottom nuclear power plant and the Limerick power plant owned by the Constellation energy company. Argonne National Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory participated in the project.
“Blue Wave AI Labs signed an agreement with Constellation in February 2022, with the main object being the cloud components of the Blue Wave Nuclear-AI Platform: Eigenvalue and MCO.ai forecasting products.
All three artificial intelligence (AI) tools have absorbed huge volumes of plant operation reports to analyze and improve the operation of equipment, in particular, instruments for measuring parameters in the reactor core.
In 2023, these algorithms identified sensors at Limerick NPP Unit 2 that were suspected to be out of calibration. The measuring devices were taken out of service, and during the next sensor calibration cycle, plant operators were able to verify that the identified devices were indeed providing false readings due to incorrect calibration.
Graph showed sensor drift (yellow) at Limerick Power Station in 2023. Constellation used Blue Wave AI Labs’ technology to take the faulty sensor out of service, avoiding a costly and unnecessary outage.
AI algorithms have also improved engineers’ ability to predict how much fuel to procure and how to place it in the core for the most efficient operation, while meeting all safety requirements. Blue Wave AI Labs estimates that the combination of AI tools has enabled Constellation to save more than $1.6 million per year at each reactor by reducing fuel costs, minimizing reactor downtime, and reducing the time spent on analysis and planning.
Constellation is now planning to expand the use of AI to other reactors in its BWR fleet. Blue Wave AI Labs predicts that their technology could be deployed to all 32 BWRs in the country within three years, saving the nuclear industry nearly $80 million. The company is working on adapting these artificial intelligence algorithms to support the U.S. pressurized water reactor fleet.
According to Nuclear Engineering International