NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Control, Instrumentation, and Electrical Systems in Nuclear Power Plants

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Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) have been identified as a key strategic area of research and development by Natural Resources Canada, which released a detailed SMR Roadmap in November 2018. Two proposed roles for SMRs are in remote communities, and mining and oil/gas sites. In these types of applications, no traditional power grid is present, and often renewable energy resources also constitute desirable sources of energy. To ensure the safe and reliable operation of SMRs in conjunction with diverse types of renewable energy systems in an off-grid environment, it is important that we have reliable and robust Instrumentation & Control (I&C) systems. Instrumentation & control systems are the brain and nervous systems for SMRs, and also enable the integration and operation with other types of energy systems to form a microgrid. In the previous three terms of the NSERC/UNENE Industrial Research Chair (IRC) program, Dr. Jin Jiang has excelled in the areas of modeling, control, and wireless technologies for performance monitoring for nuclear power plants. He has also established a strong research program in microgrids based on renewable energy resources. Two state-of-the-art labs are established to support research in these fields. The goal of the research in the fourth term of this IRC program is to further leverage the experience gained, and the infrastructure established, over the last 15 years to carry out much needed research on I&C for SMRs and the integration of SMRs into renewable energy microgrids, and to continue training of HQPs for Canadian industry by developing their leadership qualities and innovation skills. The proposed research is divided into three themes: (1) Control & Operation of SMRs; (2) Monitoring of Health and Operating Status of SMRs; and (3) Integration of SMRs with Different Energy Sources in off-grid Microgrids. Under each theme, there are 3 projects. It is expected that the research will make significant original contributions in this strategic area for Canada and will also train 18 HQPs over the next 5 years.