4+ Dimensional nuclear systems engineering

Nuclear power plants (NPPs) require massive quantity of data during the design, construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning stages because of their special features like size, cost, radioactivity, and so forth. The system engineering thus calls for a fully integrated way of managing the information flow spanning their life cycle. This paper proposes digital systems engineering anchored in three dimensional (3D) computer aided design (CAD) models. The signature in the proposal lies with the four plus dimensional (4+D) TechnologyTM, a critical know how for digital management. ESSE (Engineering Super Simulation Emulation) features a 4+D TechnologyTMfor nuclear energy systems engineering. The technology proposed in the 3D space and time plus cost coordinates, i.e. 4+D, is the backbone of digital engineering in the nuclear systems design and management. Dased on an integrated 3D configuration management system, ESSE consists of solutions JANUS (Junctional Analysis Neodynamic Unit SoftPower), EURUS (Engineering Utilities Research Unit SoftPower), NOTUS (Neosystemic Optimization Technical Unit SoftPower), VENUS (Virtual Engineering Neocybernetic Unit SoftPower) and INUUS (Informative Neographic Utilities Unit SoftPower). NOTUS contributes to reducing the construction cost of the NPPs by optimizing the component manufacturing procedure and the plant construction process. Planning and scheduling construction projects can thus benefit greatly by integrating traditional management techniques with digital process simulation visualization. The 3D visualization of construction processes and the resulting products intrinsically afford most of the advantages realized by incorporating a purely schedule level detail based the 4+D system. Problems with equipment positioning and manpower congestion in certain areas can be visualized prior to the actual operation, thus preventing accidents and safety problems such as collision between two machines and losses in productivity. VENUS applies the virtual reality (VR) technology in nuclear industry.VR provides an interactive real time motion with sound and tactile and other forms of feedback. Therefore, management and workers are able to comprehend the work process better by visualizing precisely how activities relate to one another, thus reducing conflicting interpretations and communication problems. VENUS comfortably familiarize the public with existing or planned systems. INUUS provides with effective information management and methodology of expression. Information is offered in such varieties as real time data on the spot, result of computational analysis in the process of plant design and information of documents for drawing, just to name the few. INUUS resorts to 3D object oriented methods to efficaciously manage voluminous information with. For example, INUUS can be used as a 3D pre processor for a NPP system analysis code. JANUS extracts the geometric data directly from the CAD files to import to multidimensional computational fluid and structural dynamics codes. JANUS uses these joint CAD analysis methods to eliminate the necessity of any pre- and post processors. EURUS combines the VR technology with a wide spectrum of high precision, high resolution analysis techniques and virtual design development environment so that a system can be designed and analysed in the cyber space. EURUS realizes cyber experimentation with which the behaviour of such complex structures as NPP can be simulated and reflected onto the design. The 4+D TechnologyTM is slated to bring about revolutionary change in improving the NPP life cycle starting from the conceptual design all the way to the final decommissioning. It will also eventually lead to paperless design and paperless plants in the foreseeable future