On March 2-5, 2021, the IAEA held a Technical Meeting providing an international forum for Member States to share experiences and lessons learned in the management of ageing and obsolescence of nuclear instrumentation and control systems and components at nuclear power plants, considering modernization as the main means of management and to assist the IAEA in planning future activities on this topic. The technical meeting also provided an opportunity to review a draft IAEA Nuclear Energy Series report entitled “Management of Ageing and Obsolescence of Nuclear Instrumentation and Control Systems and Components through Modernization”.
Thirteen participants from nine countries made presentations on the following topics:
- Management of Cable Aging at Nuclear Power Facilities
- Improvement of Federal Rules and Regulations with the Requirements for Ageing Management of Nuclear Installations with Research Reactors
- Strategy for I&C Product Aging and Obsolescence Management: Vendor’s Perspective
- Procedures for Ageing Management of I&C Systems at Ukrainian NPPs
- Upgrade of Existing NPPs by Installation of SAM-dedicated I&C systems
- SNSA Supervision of the Ageing Management and Obsolescence at the Krsko NPP
- I&C Modernization – Current Status & Difficulties (WNA DICTF Report)
- Field Instrumentation – Challenges Regarding Standardization
- Experience in Electronic Modules Replacement for CNAI & CNAII
- Managing the Ageing and Obsolescence of Nuclear Instrumentation and Control Systems and Components through Modernization
- State-of-the Art in Cable Condition Monitoring
- Managing Obsolescence for Digital I&C
Sean Kelley (invited expert from SunPort) made the final presentation entitled “Managing Obsolescence for Digital I&C,” which was based on his work for other clients on the same subject. The presentation highlighted several key areas including assessment and planning to develop an obsolescence management strategy, the role of obsolescence in a plant’s digital system lifecycle, identification of common types of obsolescence present in I&C systems, and some of the mitigation strategies available for plant operators.
