Grant: Alliance Grants

Nearly a third of the existing nuclear power plants in the world are over 30 years of age, with an average age of 27 years. A large number of them will have to be decommissioned in the near future, and this process needs to be safely managed. Specific to Ontario, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will start decommissioning the Pickering facility in 2025, which is expected to take approximately 40 years to complete. Various intermediate stages in the decommissioning process consist of safe storage, transfer to a temporary waste management facility, physical demolition of the facility and transfer of fuel to more permanent storage off site. Three dimensional semantically enriched models of as-built conditions, popularly known as building information models, can be a powerful tool in de-construction planning and automated and semi-automated dismantling activities. The main goal of this partnership is to develop digital workflows consisting of data collection platforms, methodologies and decision support tools targeting key decommissioning activities for nuclear facilities. The main objectives of this proposal are to: (i) develop digital scanning and the attendant decision support tools in order to rapidly digitize nuclear assets and track their evolution during decommissioning; (ii) develop algorithms and work processes for optimal packing of waste produced during decommissioning and develop visualization tools to aid in the packing process; and (iii) develop non-destructive methods to profile the activation depth in concrete and augment digital models with condition data objects. Ultimately, these activities are targeted towards systematic decommissioning management and reducing the overall radiation exposure to humans. A majority of the requested budget will be used to train highly qualified personnel, namely MASc and PhD students.