MTA-EN-010

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Administrative Items
Date	12/14/21
Functional Area Where Benefits Will Be Realized	Engineering Maintenance Operations
Reference Implementation Guidance	Automated Analog Gauge Reader: Benchmarking and Python Source Code (EPRI 3002021055)
Industry SME	EPRI 3DM Contact: nuclearplantmod@epri.com
Previous Implementation	Please contact EPRI for more information.
Implementation Enablers	Technology can be connected for data transfer wirelessly or through a wired network. Wireless enabler guidance includes: MTA-MA-003 – Implement Wireless Network Infrastructure Using a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) MTA-MA-004 – Implement Wireless Network Infrastructure Using Wi‑Fi
Applicability	All reactor types All geographic regions
Keywords	Analog gauge; digitization; image processing; monitoring; gauge readers; online monitoring; reduced maintenance costs
Business Case Analysis Cross-Reference	N/A

Description

Currently operating nuclear power plants are typically instrumented with a large amount of analog gauges which provide local displays used to monitor parameters such as system and component pressure. These gauges are monitored manually, which requires plant personnel to be physically present to read and record data. The cumulative effort required for this manual data collection can be burdensome for operations staff. Furthermore, the location of some gauges can expose plant personnel to dose and other potentially hazardous conditions. Additionally, data from many of these systems and components are collected only during periodic rounds or on an as-needed basis, which makes it difficult to implement condition-based monitoring or to perform troubleshooting and root cause analyses (e.g., during plant transients). To reduce the risk to plant personnel and to increase the availability of data for monitoring plant health, nuclear power plants are exploring methods of continuous monitoring of existing analog gauges.

Camera-based analog gauge position readers can automate data collection and reduce the plant personnel burden associated with manual data collection. Analog gauge position readers can be equipped with edge computing devices that accurately read gauge values, convert them to digitized values, and output only the data (i.e., not the video feed) to the plant historian, thus reducing the required network bandwidth to transmit the data. The system consists of a microcontroller, camera, and memory storage, and requires the utilization of proven technology and algorithms in image processing code (e.g., in Python or other coding languages). Code development costs can be reduced by utilizing existing gauge reading code (see EPRI 3002021055). Once the code is developed, it can be used in multiple edge devices that can be deployed throughout a plant. A single camera-based analog gauge position reader can read multiple gauges in its line of sight. Additionally, the analog gauge position reader can be set up quickly and temporarily, which simplifies implementation and can allow moving the equipment to the area of greatest interest (e.g., for troubleshooting support).

This technology enables improved plant personnel efficiency and safety, as well as an increase in system monitoring capabilities with more frequent and accessible data collection.

Benefits

Benefits Estimate

Level 1 – Savings are less than $1 million per year. Savings are based on increased efficiencies of plant staff, reduced personnel dose, and potentially extended maintenance intervals through condition‑based monitoring. The extent of savings depends on the number of gauges monitored.

Benefits Description

• Improved efficiencies of plant personnel. Plant personnel can have increased flexibility to focus on higher priority activities rather than perform periodic data gathering.
• Increased equipment reliability. Data can be collected more frequently, in real-time, and with greater accuracy to better understand component performance and proactively identify issues.
• Potential labor savings for extending preventative maintenance task intervals by transitioning to condition-based maintenance, facilitated by continuous monitoring.
• Reduction in personnel dose, depending on gauge location.
• Reduction in personnel hazards due to decrease in time spent near high temperature, high energized, or hard to reach equipment.
• An alternative solution to this improvement is wireless gauge readers ( MTA-EN-001). In comparison, the benefit of the camera-based analog gauge position reader is that it does not obscure the analog gauge and can be used to non-intrusively read multiple gauges instead of only a single gauge. The camera-based system can also easily be augmented to accept wired signals to gather additional information on plant performance. For multiple gauges in close proximity, the camera-based solution may be more cost effective.

Costs and Schedule

Cost

Level 3 – Implementation cost is less than $1 million per year. Costs include equipment (e.g., microcontrollers, memory storage, cameras), initial code development, and setup. Equipment costs can total less than $500 per camera system (including the local computer and connection to existing network). One-time new-build code is expected to take around 1-2 man-months to complete. The schedule can be expedited if existing code is used.

Schedule

Less than six months, which includes planning and implementation. Schedule estimate is based on a previous implementation that took 5 weeks for code development and analog gauge position reader deployment for a single bank of gauges.

Scope Context

Per plant.

Risks

IT risks such as cybersecurity and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) are associated with integrating with the existing plant network, data storage, and analysis software. Usage of the equipment for monitoring-only and not for operational decision making should eliminate cybersecurity concerns. If usage of the equipment for purposes beyond monitoring is intended, then the appropriate utility practices to satisfy U.S. NRC requirements will mitigate these risks.

Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) must be considered to ensure that if wireless signals are used, they do not adversely affect nearby equipment. Following the EPRI and U.S. NRC guidance for equipment EMC qualification and maintaining a minimum separation distance, if required, will mitigate this risk.

Data collection may be interrupted due to plant conditions (vibrations, etc.). The analog gauge position reader can be manually re-tuned to address this issue.

SWEEP Score

Category	Level	Description
Cost	3	Implementation cost is less than $1 million.
Savings	1	Savings are less than $1 million per year.
Payback	3	Payback period depends on the scale of deployment. Based upon available cost and savings information, the payback period is expected to be less than one year.
Licensing Readiness	3	The technology is in use at a nuclear site and is ready for wide operational deployment.
Technology Readiness	3	No changes are required for implementation. This technology has already been implemented at a nuclear power plant.
Implementation Proficiency	2	Requires site specific experience with digital technologies, including coding for the specific application. A systematic engineering approach should be taken while implementing camera-based analog gauge position readers.