Foundations for Knowledge Management Practices for the Nuclear Fusion Sector

Transcription

1 Third International Conference on Nuclear Knowledge Management. Challenges and Approaches IAEA headquarter, Vienna, Austria 7 11 November 2016 Foundations for Knowledge Management Practices for the Nuclear Fusion Sector ANTONIO BOTRUGNO ENEA, Dipartimento FSN, C. R. Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, Frascati (Roma), Italia. 1

2 OUTLOOK 1. Introduction to Nuclear Fusion Energy. 2. Analysis of emerging challenges for fusion. 3. Selected cases: 1) safety standards and licensing regulations 2) data preservation. 4. A wider perspective: the potential role of an integrated Knowledge Management approach in the Fusion Sector. 2

3 1 Introduction to Nuclear Fusion Energy The World Fusion Program is focused on the production of energy from the Deuterium-Tritium Fusion Reaction. Potential Benefits of Fusion Energy No greenhouse gases (no CO 2 emission) No long-lived radioactive waste (only tritium management, and activation of the reactor structure) No proliferation risk (no usage or generation of weapons material) Intrinsic safety reactor operations (no risk of accidents) 3

4 Scientific Approaches to Fusion Energy exploitation Fusion Plasma science research is pursuing two main approaches to achieve ignition of thermonuclear plasma: Magnetic Confinement and Inertial Confinement. Magnetic Confinement: In magnetic fusion, hundreds of cubic metres of DT plasma (up to 1000 m 3 ) are confined by strong magnetic fields (5 6 T) reducing heat loss. Inertial Confinement: In inertial fusion, lasers are focused onto the surface of a pellet of DT fuel to reach appropriate density and temperature for fusion reactions. 4 Website: Website:

5 Scientific and Technological challenges for a Fusion Power Plant The Scientific and Technological needs towards the realization of a commercial fusion power plant are well known. 1. Plasma regimes of operation (high power density, steady state, plasma control) 2. Heat and particle exhaust 3. Power production and extraction 4. Tritium self-sufficiency (production, extraction) 5. Neutron resistant materials 6. Tokomak sub-systems (plasma heating) 7. Safety of a FPP (material activation) 8. Competitive cost of Electricity 5

6 Nuclear Fusion R&D Programs The identified scientific and technological issues have driven the planning of worldwide R&D roadmaps - An exceptional international program on fusion science and technology is planned to take place in the next forty years: The Joint European Torus (JET) The ITER is being constructed The next step device (DEMO) is in its conceptual phase More than 60 tokamaks are operational (plus Stellarators, Component Test Facilities) 6 most of them in developing countries.

7 The ITER project Fusion Community: Members of ITER: China, the European Union (plus Switzerland), India, Japan, Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States (35 countries). Fusion Economy: The cost of ITER construction, according to the ITER council: Construction costs approximately 18 billion euro. Operation (20 years) costs approximately 500 million euro/year. Deactivation costs approximately 300 million euro. Decommissioning costs approximately 530 million euro. 7

8 2 Analysis of emerging challenges 1/2 Emerging challenges in the fusion sector are mainly related to the management of resources and knowledge. They can be better addressed by looking at appropriate methodologies and tools in the thematic areas of knowledge management. Global fusion activities are now in a major transformation phase: from a science-driven approach to a technology- and industry-driven approach. from the R to R&D phase for the realization of future fusion devices. from the DD to the DT plasma operations which need severe nuclear licensing to operate. to the substantial involvement of the industrial sector. 8

9 Analysis of emerging challenges 2/2 Knowledge Management challenges are already recognized at managerial level! Scientific and technical barriers include plasma physics and materials engineering, as well as the lack of appropriate harmonised European codes and standards, which may also delay the necessary developments. The availability of suitably trained scientists and engineers may pose problems over the long term. Furthermore, as fusion is now moving from R to the R&D phase, intellectual property rights (IPR) is also an issue that will need addressing properly From 2013 Technology Map of the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan - Report EUR EN, (2013) 9

10 3 A selected case: safety standards and licensing regulations DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM: Future fusion installations require quality control and safety assessment (approximately reactor-scale) robust and costly regulations to operate. ITER has been the first fusion device subjected to the review of a nuclear regulator. Significant problems was encountered in interpreting and applying fission-related regulations for ITER. STRATEGY: Develop new fusion-specific regulations for constructing and operating fusion devices, to be integrated in the design phase of a fusion installation. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Establish international recommendations on managing regulatory processes for the fusion sector. It requires coordinate effort among governments, regulatory bodies, fusion experts. Support the Sustainable Development of Regulatory Competences base on both the ITER regulation process and the fission sector expertise: train a new type of specialists 10

11 A selected case: preservation of scientific data DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM: Our understanding of burning plasma is essentially a phenomenological understanding. Scientific analyses of huge amounts of data are published in specialized journals. After a certain period raw data is no longer accessible but it is still essential for further scientific investigation and improvement of operations. STRATEGY: Appropriate knowledge preservation tools in order to maintain usability of scientific data even in the period of post-operation of a fusion device and mitigate the risk of knowledge loss. KNOWELEDGE MANAGEMENT: Establish of a web based interface with a database, a retrieval system, and a visualization system for tokamak devices. Regulatory for relevant set of information to be preserved. Define links between category of data ( physical properties, operational proprieties, diagnostics measurements ) Establish the standard format for data storage 11 Implementing the database, the retrieval systems and the web-based interface.

12 3 A wider perspective: an integrated KM approach for the Fusion Sector An integrated KM approach in the fusion sector to avoid gaps in managerial competences and to address all KM-related issues in order to assure a sustainable development of national and international long-term fusion program. Long R&D programme on Fusion (> 40 years); Long-life of fusion facilities (long-term information management strategy, including generational knowledge transfer from know-why to know-how) Huge amount of data acquisition (preserving data with databases) International cooperation Utilization of the same facility by international teams (different cultures, different codes and standards) (communities of practices) Need for regulation and integration of safety standards in the design of fusion installation (tritium and high neutron fluxes) Advanced nuclear technologies; fast and continuous innovation! (sustain and facilitate innovation) Growth of Fusion Industry (technological transfer, safety, security, knowledge protection, policy) (intellectual property management) 12

13 Knowledge Management approach: Fusion vs Fission Different scopes: Energy production vs scientific and technological results: different type of economy different type of activities (fast producing data and new knowledge, continuous innovation) Different Human Resources Development Different safety procedures (different radioactivity and risk of accidents) Different security systems (different proliferation risk) Extraordinary international collaboration on the same facility KM on Fusion needs the development of its own KM methods! 13

14 The potential role of the IAEA The role of the IAEA may be to provide a framework in order to Stimulate, support and coordinate the development of KM practices for the Nuclear Fusion Sector The IAEA has key competences: On-going programs for Fusion Science and Technologies development. Expertise in promoting best KM practices. Extensive contacts with fusion community, governors and regulatory bodies. Collaboration agreement with ITER (since 2008). 14

15 QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? THANK YOU

16 NKM practices involve Methods, Procedures and Documentation All stages of the knowledge cycle: identification, sharing, protection, dissemination, preservation, transfer and creation of new knowledge Tacit (in people s heads) and Explicit (digital or paper based) knowledge. People s experiences, understanding abilities Infrastructures Technological tools Instrumentations 16

17 and affect Competence in performing actions, decision making Human resource management Security and safety Collaborative work Sharing of data information and knowledge Personal Communication skills Information and communication technology Document management systems Data management systems Corporate and national strategies. Training and development Risk of loss of knowledge 17

18 to increase efficiency in different areas: Safety - Achieve safe operation and maintenance of all nuclear facilities (by sharing operational experiences, increasing collaboration, identifying critical knowledge) Economy - Achieve gains in the economy and operational performance (by effective management of the resource knowledge, by organizing and making knowledge accessible, by reducing the risk of losing knowledge) Security - Achieve responsible use of facilities (by properly identifying and protecting nuclear knowledge, data and information from improper use) Innovation - Facilitate innovation (by creating new knowledge and processes, by sharing knowledge) Sustainability Transfer nuclear knowledge from one generation to the next one. (by preserve existing knowledge, by reducing the risk of losing knowledge) 18

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