Dr. Robert E. Uhrig:
UT Department of Nuclear Engineering
With four decade's experience in the nuclear power field - including a major nuclear utility, three universities and two Department of Energy national laboratories - Robert E. Uhrig holds a wealth of information on the safe, efficient operation of nuclear power plants.
Uhrig's research at UT and ORNL deals with surveillance and diagnostics in nuclear power plants that make use of artificial intelligence systems. Control centers for complex automated systems, such as those found in nuclear power plants, rely on instrument feedback to maintain accurate process control. However, instruments performing repeated tasks over long periods can drift out of calibration and throw the system off-course.
Uhrig's complex software programs continuously monitor and analyze data from plant instruments. Recently, his group designed an on-line system to monitor the drift of sensors and associated instruments over time. The program assures proper instrument calibration during fuel cycles of up to two years in length. It also provides appropriate surrogate signals to replace signals from faulty instruments, so the plant can continue to operate safely until it is shut down for other routine reasons. The system can also be applied to fossil power plants, chemical plants and petroleum processing facilities.
Uhrig's work improves efficiency in nuclear and fossil power plants. An increase in thermodynamic efficiency of only 1/10th of one percent, for example, can be worth from $100,000 to $500,000 per year, depending upon the size of the plant and the value of electricity in the region. One method developed by Uhrig's research group allows plant operators to accurately infer coolant-flow measurements, which are directly related to power output. A precise measurement of coolant-flow can, under certain circumstances, provide the basis for an up to two-percent electrical power increase, with a corresponding increase in plant revenue.
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