Advanced Reactor Instrumentation and Control Licensing

The nuclear industry is pursuing the development and licensing of a number of advanced reactor designs of various types and sizes. Instrumentation and control for these designs can play a key role in the operation and safety of the facilities. Multiple designers are in various pre- or post-application licensing review stages working with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The NRC has also been preparing for the review of the licensing applications. One major area is to enhance the NRC’s regulatory infrastructure that includes the development of the rules and regulatory guidance better suited for the designs. The application of the risk-informed and performance-based (RIPB) approach is one of the most significant areas for the review of the designs. Some of the key examples are the ongoing 10 CFR Part 53 rulemaking effort, the issuance of Regulatory Guide (RG) 1.233, which endorses NEI 18-04, and Trial RG 1.247, which endorses the ASME/ANS non-LWR probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) standard, and the NRC’s ongoing advanced reactor content of application project (ARCAP) along with the industry’s technology-inclusive content of application project (TICAP) in NEI 21-07. The enhanced regulatory infrastructure affects, and can provide opportunities for, the instrumentation and control (I&C) design and licensing. Specific to I&C, the NRC staff has also issued Design Review Guide (DRG) for I&C to be ready for the advanced reactors, and several designers are using this guidance. This panel will discuss the NRC and industry perspectives on the development and licensing of advanced reactor I&C. The emphasis is placed on the I&C-related regulatory infrastructure, the I&C approaches of some of the designers, the industry implementation of such regulatory infrastructure, including the RIPB approach in RG 1.233 and DRG for I&C, and the potential or unique challenges in the I&C licensing.

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