Environment monitoring sensors for future nuclear power plants

The next generation of nuclear power plants should not be limited to only detecting, locating, and identifying equipment faults but also smart and able to identify sensor degradation. For example, temperature sensors for new generation of nuclear power plants will progressively replace those currently in use because new power plants are required to operate at higher temperatures than the current generation (that is, with outlet temperature up to and beyond 1000o C) to improve efficiency. The challenges posed by the higher temperature environments render the current temperature sensing technologies inadequate. In order to maintain the safety and reliability in the long-term for such plants it is essential that new environmental (temperature for example) measurement sensors and methods for in-situ measurement are investigated and developed. Therefore, future nuclear plants require a smart integrated approach for monitoring, control, fault detection and diagnosis of all plant components such as sensors, actuators, control devices and other equipment. In this paper some research challenges and recommendations are raised in the area of environment monitoring sensors for future nuclear power plants.