Engineers from Purdue University (Indiana, USA) are developing a new system that can multiply the effectiveness of inspection checks on the integrity of nuclear reactors through the use of artificial intelligence systems (AI). In an article published in the scientific journal IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, scientists talked about the naïve Bayes machine learning framework, an ultra-accurate neural network that can effectively detect cracks in reactors based on the analysis of individual video frames.
“Regular inspections of the components of nuclear power plants are extremely important for ensuring their safe operation,” said Muhammad Jahanshahi, an associate professor at the Lail School of Civil Engineers at Purdue University.
“However, current methods are usually very time consuming, very tedious, and often face a subjective assessment, since the analysis of video materials for cracks in reactors is mainly carried out by human technicians.”
Purdue’s automatic analysis system uses a database that contains images of about 300,000 different cracks and other texture features. The effectiveness of testing reactor systems remains high even in the case when the element of the reactor in need of inspection is under water, which, as a rule, occurs because the water in the reactors is used for cooling. This system reduces the risks to human health. The neural network analyzes each centimeter of each frame in search of cracks, and then monitors each crack from one frame to another using the data fusion algorithm.
“Joint data processing improves the adequacy and efficiency of further decisions taken,” continues Jahanshahi, noting that the neural network shows an efficiency of 98.3 percent in the determination of cracks, which is significantly higher than using other, even the most modern methods and approaches.
As the world continues to move toward renewable energy sources, nuclear energy is increasingly becoming not a major, but rather an alternative, albeit a reliable choice. The impossibility of abandoning atomic energy can be explained, if only by the fact that solar or wind power stations have a number of limitations and their effectiveness primarily depends on the weather operating conditions in which they are located.
One of the main directions of modern physics is the search for the so-called "holy grail" of renewable energy - the possibility of using nuclear fusion to meet all our energy needs. Despite the fact that researchers have achieved very good results in stabilizing and supporting the nuclear fusion reaction, we are not yet ready to rely on this source of energy. Therefore, at the moment, the only available and safest way to use the energy of the atom is still the method of nuclear fission, which many researchers from all over the world are now working to further increase safety and efficiency. For example, experts observe the development of so-called liquid-salt reactors, where the basis of the coolant is a mixture of molten salts, which can operate at high temperatures, while remaining at low pressure, thereby reducing mechanical stresses and increasing safety and durability.
The article is based on materials .
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