The Halden Reactor Project has been in operation since 1958 and is the oldest NEA joint project. It brings together an important international technical network in the area of nuclear safety ranging from fuel reliability, the integrity of reactor internals, plant control, plant monitoring and human factors. The programme of work is updated every three years and is, in general, split into two thematic areas: nuclear fuels and materials, and human, technology, organisation (HTO). The Halden HTO Projects are a direct continuation of the HTO part of the Halden Reactor Project.
The project is operated by the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) in Norway and is supported by dozens of research, regulatory and industry organisations in 12 countries.
From the very beginning, the project has been built around in-pile experiments at the Halden boiling water reactor and complementary out of pile investigations. Numerous valuable experiments have been performed in the frame of the Halden Reactor Project and have led to an improved understanding of the behaviour of nuclear materials in various conditions for the entire nuclear community.
The 2021-2023 Halden HTO goal is advancing in the Human-Technology Organisation (HTO) field by working on aspects of human performance, reliability and organisation in various stages of the plant life, including during accident situations.
The Project’s research programme consists of 7 topics of prioritised Human Factors and Digital Systems Research for Existing and New Reactors. The research topics have been selected based on trends in the industry, the needs expressed by the Halden Board of Management in “Views on the long-term direction of the OECD Halden Reactor Project 2018-2027”, advice and recommendations given in HTO meetings and in direct discussions with Project members.
- Topic 1 on Human Performance addresses five thematic areas:
- Operator Performance in Digital Control Rooms (1.1)
- Crew Factors, Teamwork and Role Independence in Control Rooms (1.2)
- Decision Making under Uncertainty (1.3)
- Event Investigations – the Added Perspective of Successes (1.4)
- The Human Performance Data Repository (1.5)
- Topic 2 on Digital I&C – Safety Assurance addresses two thematic areas:
- Risk-Informed Safety Assurance (2.1)
- Evidence Collection, Evaluation and Combination for Safety Assurance (2.2)
- Topic 3 on Control Room Design and Evaluation addresses three thematic areas:
- Augmented Reality for On-Site Control Room Assessment of Ergonomic and Regulatory Compliance (3.1)
- Lessons Learned on Control Room Validation (3.2)
- The Impact of Overview Displays on Human Performance (3.3)
- Topic 4 on Human-Automation Collaboration addresses three thematic areas:
- Human Performance in Operation of Small Modular Reactors (4.1)
- Operator Performance in Highly Automated Plants (4.2)
- Effects of Adaptive Automation on Operator Performance in Future Plants (4.3)
- Topic 5 on Digital Systems for Operation and Maintenance addresses three thematic areas:
- Advanced Condition-Based Maintenance using Digital Twins (5.1)
- Advanced Condition Monitoring for Decision Support (5.2)
- Safety Awareness in Outage Organisations (5.3)
- Topic 6 on Digital Transformation of Decommissioning addresses three thematic areas:
- Spatial Computing and Augmented Reality for Hazard Mapping and Visualisation (6.1)
- Automated Assessment of Field Worker Performance using VR&AR-based Simulator Training (6.2)
- Enabling Robotic and Remote Operations (6.3)
- Topic 7 on Cybersecurity for Main Control Rooms addresses three thematic areas:
- Digital Systems Architecture and Threat Landscape (7.1)
- Incident Detection and Response using Simulation Modelling and Tools (7.2)
- Human Behaviour during Incident Response (7.3)
Participants
- Canada – CNL (Canadian Nuclear Laboratories)
- Canada – CNSC (Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission)
- Canada – COG (CANDU Owners Group)
- China – SNERDI (Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute Co., Ltd.)
- France – IRSN (Institut de Radioprotection et de Sureté Nucleaire)
- Germany – Framatome GmbH
- Germany – GRS (Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit GmbH)
- Japan – CRIEPI (Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry)
- Korea – KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute)
- Netherlands – NRG (Dutch Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group)
- Norway – IFE (Institute for Energy Technology)
- Sweden – SSM (Swedish Radiation Safety Authority)
- Sweden – FKA (Forsmarks Kraftgrupp AB)
- Sweden – OKG (OKG Aktiebolag)
- Sweden – RAB (Ringhals AB)
- UAE – FANR (Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation)
- United Kingdom – NNL (National Nuclear Laboratory)
- USA – DoE (Department of Energy)
- USA – NRC (United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission)
- USA – EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute)
Links of general interest
natalie.bonilla@oecd-nea.org
Nuclear Safety Research Joint Projects
