Light Water Sustainability Program: Optimizing Information Automation Using a New Method Based on System-Theoretic Process Analysis

This report describes the interim progress for research supporting the design and optimization of information automation systems for nuclear power plants. Much of the domestic nuclear fleet is currently focused on modernizing technologies and processes, including transitioning toward digitalization in the control room and elsewhere throughout the plant, along with a greater use of automation, artificial intelligence, robotics, and other emerging technologies. While there are significant opportunities to apply these technologies toward greater plant safety, efficiency, and overall cost-effectiveness, optimizing their design and avoiding potential safety and performance risks depends on ensuring that human-performance-related organizational and technical design issues are identified and addressed. This report describes modeling tools and techniques, based on sociotechnical system theory, to support these design goals and their application in the current research effort. The report is intended for senior nuclear energy stakeholders, including regulators, corporate management, and senior plant management. We have developed and employed a method to design an optimized information automation ecosystem (IAE) based on the systems-theoretic constructs underlying sociotechnical systems theory in general and the Systems-Theoretic Accident Modeling and Processes (STAMP) approach in particular. We argue that an IAE can be modeled as an interactive information control system whose behavior can be understood in terms of dynamic control and feedback relationships amongst the system’s technical and organizational components. Up to this point, we have employed a Causal Analysis based on STAMP (CAST) technique to examine a performance- and safety-related incident at an industry partner’s plant that involved the unintentional activation of an emergency diesel generator. This analysis provided insight into the behavior of the plant’s current information control structure within the context of a specific, significant event. Our ongoing analysis is focused on identifying near-term process improvements and longer-term design requirements for an optimized IAE system. The latter analyses will employ a second STAMP-derived technique, System-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA). STPA is a useful modeling tool for generating and analyzing actual or potential information control structures. Finally, we have begun modeling plantwide organizational relationships and processes. Organizational system modeling will supplement our CAST and STPA findings and provide a basis for mapping out a plantwide information control architecture. CAST analysis findings indicate an important underlying contributor to the incident under investigation, and a significant risk to information automation system performance, was perceived schedule pressure, which exposed weaknesses in interdepartmental coordination between and within responsible plant organizations and challenged the resilience of established plant processes, until a human caused the initiating event. These findings are discussed in terms of their risk to overall system performance and their implications for information automation system resilience and brittleness. We present two preliminary information automation models. The proactive issue resolution model is a test case of an information automation concept with significant near-term potential for application and subsequent reduction in significant plant events. The IAE model is a more general representation of a broader, plantwide information automation system. From our results, we have generated a set of preliminary system-level requirements and safety constraints. These requirements will be further developed over the remainder of our project in collaboration with nuclear industry subject matter experts and specialists in the technical systems under consideration. Additionally, we will continue to pursue the system analyses initiated in the first part of our effort, with a particular emphasis on STPA as the main tool to identify weak or weakening ontrol structures that affect the resilience of organizations and programs. Our intent is to broaden the scope of the analysis from an individual use case to a related set of use cases (e.g., maintenance tasks, compliance tasks) with similar human-system performance challenges. This will enable more generalized findings to refine the Proactive Issue Resolution and IAE models, as well as their system-level requirements and safety constraints. We will use organizational system modeling analyses to supplement STPA findings and model development. We conclude the report with a set of summary recommendations and an initial draft list of system-level requirements and safety constraints for optimized information automation systems

Jätevedenpuhdistamojen prosessinohjauksen ja operoinnin kehittäminen data-analytiikan avulla: esimerkkejä teollisuudesta ja kansainvälisiltä puhdistamoilta

Instrumentation, control and automation are central for operation of municipal wastewater treatment plants. Treatment performance can be further improved and secured by processing and analyzing the collected process and equipment data. New challenges from resource efficiency, climate change and aging infrastructure increase the demand for understanding and controlling plant-wide interactions. This study aims to review what needs, barriers, incentives and opportunities Finnish wastewater treatment plants have for developing current process control and operation systems with data analytics. The study is conducted through interviews, thematic analysis and case studies of real-life applications in process industries and international utilities. Results indicate that for many utilities, additional measures for quality assurance of instruments, equipment and controllers are necessary before advanced control strategies can be applied. Readily available data could be used to improve the operational reliability of the process. 14 case studies of advanced data processing, analysis and visualization methods used in Finnish and international wastewater treatment plants as well as Finnish process industries are reviewed. Examples include process optimization and quality assurance solutions that have proven benefits in operational use. Applicability of these solutions for identified development needs is initially evaluated. Some of the examples are estimated to have direct potential for application in Finnish WWTPs. For other case studies, further piloting or research efforts to assess the feasibility and cost-benefits for WWTPs are suggested. As plant operation becomes more centralized and outsourced in the future, need for applying data analytics is expected to increase.Prosessinohjaus- ja automaatiojärjestelmillä on keskeinen rooli modernien jätevedenpuhdistamojen operoinnissa. Prosessi- ja laitetietoa paremmin hyödyntämällä prosessia voidaan ohjata entistä tehokkaammin ja luotettavammin. Kiertotalous, ilmastonmuutos ja infrastruktuurin ikääntyminen korostavat entisestään tarvetta ymmärtää ja ohjata myös eri osaprosessien välisiä vuorovaikutuksia. Tässä työssä tarkastellaan tarpeita, esteitä, kannustimia ja mahdollisuuksia kehittää jätevedenpuhdistamojen ohjausta ja operointia data-analytiikan avulla. Eri sidosryhmien näkemyksiä kartoitetaan haastatteluilla, joiden tuloksia käsitellään temaattisen analyysin kautta. Löydösten perusteella potentiaalisia ratkaisuja kartoitetaan suomalaisten ja kansainvälisten puhdistamojen sekä prosessiteollisuuden jo käyttämistä sovelluksista. Löydökset osoittavat, että monilla puhdistamoilla tarvitaan nykyistä merkittävästi kattavampia menetelmiä instrumentoinnin, laitteiston ja ohjauksen laadunvarmistukseen, ennen kuin edistyneempien prosessinohjausmenetelmien käyttöönotto on mahdollista. Operoinnin toimintavarmuutta ja luotettavuutta voitaisiin kehittää monin tavoin hyödyntämällä jo kerättyä prosessi- ja laitetietoa. Työssä esitellään yhteensä 14 esimerkkiä puhdistamoilla ja prosessiteollisuudessa käytössä olevista prosessinohjaus- ja laadunvarmistusmenetelmistä. Osalla ratkaisuista arvioidaan sellaisenaan olevan laajaa sovelluspotentiaalia suomalaisilla jätevedenpuhdistamoilla. Useiden ratkaisujen käyttöönottoa voitaisiin edistää pilotoinnilla tai jatkotutkimuksella potentiaalisten hyötyjen ja kustannusten arvioimiseksi. Jo kerättyä prosessi- ja laitetietoa hyödyntävien ratkaisujen kysynnän odotetaan tulevaisuudessa lisääntyvän, kun puhdistamojen operointi keskittyy ja paineet kustannus- ja energiatehokkuudelle kasvavat

Power Management for Energy Systems

The thesis deals with control methods for flexible and efficient power consumption in commercial refrigeration systems that possess thermal storage capabilities, and for facilitation of more environmental sustainable power production technologies such as wind power. We apply economic model predictive control as the overriding control strategy and present novel studies on suitable modeling and problem formulations for the industrial applications, means to handle uncertainty in the control problems, and dedicated optimization routines to solve the problems involved. Along the way, we present careful numerical simulations with simple case studies as well as validated models in realistic scenarios. The thesis consists of a summary report and a collection of 13 research papers written during the period Marts 2010 to February 2013. Four are published in international peer-reviewed scientific journals and 9 are published at international peer-reviewed scientific conferences

Multivariate statistical analysis of Hall-Héroult reduction cells : investigation and monitoring of factors affecting performance

Les cuves d'électrolyse utilisées pour la production aluminium sont soumises à des variations de la qualité des matières premières, à des perturbations diverses encourues en cours de production ou en cours de démarrage. Il est connu que ces perturbations ont un impact sur la durée de vie des cuves ainsi que sur l'efficacité de production, métallurgique et énergétique. L'amélioration des performances passe nécessairement par une meilleure compréhension des sources de variations. Plusieurs travaux ont été présentés jusqu'à présent par le biais d'études univariées entre les différents facteurs et les performances. Cependant, dans ces études, le comportement des cuves n'est pas étudié de manière multivariée, ce qui ne permet pas d'étudier les interactions entre les différentes variables. Cette thèse propose d'étudier les facteurs affectant les performances des cuves d'électrolyse, précisément la duré de vie, le rendement Faraday et la consommation énergétique, par le biais de méthodes statistiques multivariées (PCA et PLS). Premièrement, il est démontré que la durée de vie des cuves est expliquée à 72% en utilisant l'information provenant des préchauffages, des démarrages et de l'opération transitoire, démontrant ainsi l'effet de ces étapes sur la durée de vie des cuves. Cette étude est suivie d'une analyse des facteurs affectant l'efficacité de courant et la consommation énergétique des cuves. L'effet de la qualité de l'alumine, des anodes, des variables manipulées, et des variables d'états des cuves permet d'expliquer 50% des variations des performances. Cette étude démontre l'importance du contrôle de la hauteur de bain. Ainsi, une étude approfondie des facteurs affectant la hauteur de bain est effectuée. La composition du produit de recouvrement des anodes a un impact majeur sur la hauteur de bain. Malheureusement, il est présentement impossible de bien effectuer le suivi et le contrôle de cette composition puisque seulement quelques échantillons sont analysés quotidiennement. Afin de palier à ce manque, cette thèse présente une nouvelle approche, basée sur l'analyse d'image, pour prédire la composition du produit de recouvrement. Cette application faciliterait le suivi et le contrôle de la composition, ce qui améliorerait le contrôle de la hauteur de bain permettant ainsi d'améliorer les performances des cuves

Control Architecture Modeling for Future Power Systems

Uncontrollable power generation, distributed energy resources, controllable demand, etc. are fundamental aspects of energy systems largely based on renewable energy supply. These technologies have in common that they contradict the conventional categories of electric power system operation. As their introduction has proceeded incrementally in the past, operation strategies of the power system could be adapted. For example much more wind power could be integrated than originally anticipated, largely due to the flexibility reserves already present in the power system, and the possibility of interregional electricity exchange. However, at the same time, it seems that the overall system design cannot keep up by simply adapting in response to changes, but that also new strategies have to be designed in anticipation. Changes to the electricity markets have been suggested to adapt to the limited predictability of wind power, and several new control strategies have been proposed, in particular to enable the control of distributed energy resources, including for example, distributed generation or electric vehicles. Market designs addressing the procurement of balancing resources are highly dependent on the operation strategies specifying the resource requirements. How should one decide which control strategy and market configuration is best for a future power system? Most research up to this point has addressed single isolated aspects of this design problem. Those of the ideas that fit with current markets and operation concepts are lucky; they can be evaluated on the present design. But how could they be evaluated on a potential future power system? Approaches are required that support the design and evaluation of power system operation and control in context of future energy scenarios. This work addresses this challenge, not by providing a universal solution, but by providing basic modeling methodology that enables better problem formulation and by suggesting an approach to addressing the general chicken/egg problem of planning and re-design of system operation and control. The dissertation first focuses on the development of models, diagrams, that support the conceptual design of control and operation strategies, where a central theme is the focus on modeling system goals and functions rather than system structure. The perspective is then shifted toward long-term energy scenarios and adaptation of power system operation, considering the integration of energy scenario models with the re-design of operation strategies. The main contributions in the first part are, firstly, by adaptation of an existing functional modeling approach called Multilevel Flow Modeling (MFM) to the power systems domain, identifying the means-ends composition of control levels and development of principles for the consistent modeling of control structures, a formalization of control-as-a-service; secondly, the formal mapping of fluctuating and controllable resources to a multi-scale and multi-stage representation of control and operation structures; and finally the application to some concrete study cases, including a present system balancing, and proposed control structures such as Microgrids and Cells. In the second part, the main contributions are the outline of a formation strategy, integrating the design and model-based evaluation of future power system operation concepts with iterative energy scenario development. Finally, a new modeling framework for development and evaluation of power system operation in context of energy-storage based power system balancing is introduced.<br/

Advanced decision support through real-time optimization in the process industry

En la industria de procesos se puede obtener un aumento de la eficiencia de las plantas de producción, bien mediante la sustitución de procesos o equipos antiguos por otros más modernos y eficientes, o bien operando de forma más eficiente las instalaciones actuales en lugar de realizar grandes inversiones con tiempos de amortización inciertos. Si nos centramos en esta segunda línea de acción, hoy en día la toma de decisiones es conceptualmente más compleja que en el pasado, debido al rápido crecimiento que ha tenido la tecnología últimamente y a que los sistemas de comunicación han generado un gran número de alternativas entre las que se ha de elegir. Además, una decisión incorrecta o subóptima, con la complejidad estructural de los problemas actuales, a menudo resulta en un aumento de los costes a lo largo de la cadena de producción. A pesar de ello, el uso de sistemas de apoyo a la toma de decisiones (DSS) sigue siendo atípico en las industrias de procesos debido a los esfuerzos que se requieren en términos de desarrollo y mantenimiento de modelos matemáticos y al desafío de formulaciones matemáticas complejas, los exigentes requisitos computacionales y/o la difícil integración con la infraestructura de control o planificación existente. Esta tesis contribuye en la reducción de estas barreras desarrollando formulaciones eficientes para la optimización en tiempo real (RTO) en una planta industrial. En particular, esta tesis busca mejorar la operación de tres secciones interconectadas de una fábrica de producción de fibra de viscosa: una red de evaporación, una de sistema de enfriamiento y una red de recuperación de calor.Departamento de Ingeniería de Sistemas y AutomáticaDoctorado en Ingeniería Industria

Identifying and Detecting Attacks in Industrial Control Systems

The integrity of industrial control systems (ICS) found in utilities, oil and natural gas pipelines, manufacturing plants and transportation is critical to national wellbeing and security. Such systems depend on hundreds of field devices to manage and monitor a physical process. Previously, these devices were specific to ICS but they are now being replaced by general purpose computing technologies and, increasingly, these are being augmented with Internet of Things (IoT) nodes. Whilst there are benefits to this approach in terms of cost and flexibility, it has attracted a wider community of adversaries. These include those with significant domain knowledge, such as those responsible for attacks on Iran’s Nuclear Facilities, a Steel Mill in Germany, and Ukraine’s power grid; however, non specialist attackers are becoming increasingly interested in the physical damage it is possible to cause. At the same time, the approach increases the number and range of vulnerabilities to which ICS are subject; regrettably, conventional techniques for analysing such a large attack space are inadequate, a cause of major national concern. In this thesis we introduce a generalisable approach based on evolutionary multiobjective algorithms to assist in identifying vulnerabilities in complex heterogeneous ICS systems. This is both challenging and an area that is currently lacking research. Our approach has been to review the security of currently deployed ICS systems, and then to make use of an internationally recognised ICS simulation testbed for experiments, assuming that the attacking community largely lack specific ICS knowledge. Using the simulator, we identified vulnerabilities in individual components and then made use of these to generate attacks. A defence against these attacks in the form of novel intrusion detection systems were developed, based on a range of machine learning models. Finally, this was further subject to attacks created using the evolutionary multiobjective algorithms, demonstrating, for the first time, the feasibility of creating sophisticated attacks against a well-protected adversary using automated mechanisms

Book of abstracts of the 10th International Chemical and Biological Engineering Conference: CHEMPOR 2008

This book contains the extended abstracts presented at the 10th International Chemical and Biological Engineering Conference - CHEMPOR 2008, held in Braga, Portugal, over 3 days, from the 4th to the 6th of September, 2008. Previous editions took place in Lisboa (1975, 1889, 1998), Braga (1978), Póvoa de Varzim (1981), Coimbra (1985, 2005), Porto (1993), and Aveiro (2001). The conference was jointly organized by the University of Minho, “Ordem dos Engenheiros”, and the IBB - Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering with the usual support of the “Sociedade Portuguesa de Química” and, by the first time, of the “Sociedade Portuguesa de Biotecnologia”. Thirty years elapsed since CHEMPOR was held at the University of Minho, organized by T.R. Bott, D. Allen, A. Bridgwater, J.J.B. Romero, L.J.S. Soares and J.D.R.S. Pinheiro. We are fortunate to have Profs. Bott, Soares and Pinheiro in the Honor Committee of this 10th edition, under the high Patronage of his Excellency the President of the Portuguese Republic, Prof. Aníbal Cavaco Silva. The opening ceremony will confer Prof. Bott with a “Long Term Achievement” award acknowledging the important contribution Prof. Bott brought along more than 30 years to the development of the Chemical Engineering science, to the launch of CHEMPOR series and specially to the University of Minho. Prof. Bott’s inaugural lecture will address the importance of effective energy management in processing operations, particularly in the effectiveness of heat recovery and the associated reduction in greenhouse gas emission from combustion processes. The CHEMPOR series traditionally brings together both young and established researchers and end users to discuss recent developments in different areas of Chemical Engineering. The scope of this edition is broadening out by including the Biological Engineering research. One of the major core areas of the conference program is life quality, due to the importance that Chemical and Biological Engineering plays in this area. “Integration of Life Sciences & Engineering” and “Sustainable Process-Product Development through Green Chemistry” are two of the leading themes with papers addressing such important issues. This is complemented with additional leading themes including “Advancing the Chemical and Biological Engineering Fundamentals”, “Multi-Scale and/or Multi-Disciplinary Approach to Process-Product Innovation”, “Systematic Methods and Tools for Managing the Complexity”, and “Educating Chemical and Biological Engineers for Coming Challenges” which define the extended abstracts arrangements along this book. A total of 516 extended abstracts are included in the book, consisting of 7 invited lecturers, 15 keynote, 105 short oral presentations given in 5 parallel sessions, along with 6 slots for viewing 389 poster presentations. Full papers are jointly included in the companion Proceedings in CD-ROM. All papers have been reviewed and we are grateful to the members of scientific and organizing committees for their evaluations. It was an intensive task since 610 submitted abstracts from 45 countries were received. It has been an honor for us to contribute to setting up CHEMPOR 2008 during almost two years. We wish to thank the authors who have contributed to yield a high scientific standard to the program. We are thankful to the sponsors who have contributed decisively to this event. We also extend our gratefulness to all those who, through their dedicated efforts, have assisted us in this task. On behalf of the Scientific and Organizing Committees we wish you that together with an interesting reading, the scientific program and the social moments organized will be memorable for all.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Proceedings of the 10th International Chemical and Biological Engineering Conference - CHEMPOR 2008

This volume contains full papers presented at the 10th International Chemical and Biological Engineering Conference - CHEMPOR 2008, held in Braga, Portugal, between September 4th and 6th, 2008.FC