European collaborations for safe and efficient dismantling: digital twins, ontology and data exchange

Abstract

Due to economic considerations and political decisions, an increasing number of nuclear facilities is to be dismantled in the coming decades. The large number of nuclear decommissioning projects must comply with the reliability and safety requirements in order to make the dismantling operations more efficient, safer and more cost-effective. This paper gives an overview of European coordinated efforts to develop and demonstrate the use of digital tools and methods for safe and efficient decommissioning activities through the projects PLEIADES (PLatform based on Emerging and Interoperable Applications for enhanced Decommissioning processES) and DORADO (Digital twins and Ontology for Robot Assisted Decommissioning Operations). Achieved by the end of 2023, the PLEIADES project defined a common ontology specifically designed for nuclear decommissioning projects. It developed a central server for combining data while ensuring compatibility and it provided the first pilot integration of digital decommissioning and waste management support tools. PLEIADES demonstrated the usefulness and efficiency of this concept using data of three real nuclear sites. Starting in the second half of 2024, the DORADO project will continue this work by creating a holistic digital data-driven platform as a BIM/DT (Building-Information-Model/Digital-Twin) and by integrating new digital tools into a coherent suite customized for decommissioning applications. Eight digital technologies will be integrated, including point-cloud data, 3D models and change detection, sensors data fusion, ALARA (As Low as Reasonably Achievable) dose estimation, robot mission optimization, and smart voice assistant interface.