POLICY ISSUE

(Notation Vote)

August 29, 2005 SECY-05-0156

FOR: The Commissioners

FROM: Luis A. Reyes 

Executive Director for Operations /RA/

SUBJECT: UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION PARTICIPATION

IN THE ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND

DEVELOPMENT HALDEN REACTOR PROJECT DURING 2006–2008

PURPOSE:

The purposes are (1) to inform the Commission of the results of the agency’s past participation

in the Halden Reactor Project (HRP) sponsored by the Organization for Economic Cooperation

and Development (OECD); (2) to inform the Commission of the staff’s plans to continue

participating in the project during 2006–2008; and (3) to provide the Commission

recommendation for the approval of continued funding of the HRP.

SUMMARY:

The OECD Halden Reactor Project (HRP) is a cooperatively funded international research and

development project that operates under the auspices of the OECD’s Nuclear Energy Agency

(NEA) with the sponsorship of 19 countries, including the United States (Attachment 1). The

international organizations actively participating in the Halden project represent a cross-section

of the nuclear community: licensing and regulatory interests, national research organizations,

reactor and fuel vendors, and utilities. The research programs at the HRP address five areas of

interest to the NRC including: (1) nuclear fuels; (2) nuclear reactor materials; performance; (3)

the testing, development, and analysis of digital instrumentation and control (I&C) systems; (4)

human factors research; and (5) human reliability analysis (HRA). Participation in HRP

facilitates cooperation and information exchange with the participating countries. Additionally,

participation provides an opportunity to effectively and efficiently use NRC research funds, by

combining these funds with those of the other signatories and associate parties. The HRP

CONTACT: Julius J. Persensky, RES

301-415-6759

The Commissioners -3-

budget is approximately $45 million (M) over the 3-year period of 2006–2008 or approximately

$15M per year. The NRC’s contribution remains at $1.0M per year, which is the same level of

contribution since 2001.

BACKGROUND:

The NRC and its predecessor have participated in the HRP since its inception in 1958. During

this period, the NRC has received the benefit of numerous research products from this

internationally funded cooperative effort. Attachment 2 provides a listing of Halden reports for

the 2003-2004 time period. The Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) has copies of

these reports, which can also be accessed through the NRC’s Technical Library. The staff

plans to continue to participate in the project for the 2006–2008 agreement period because of

the benefits received and the ability to effectively and efficiently use agency resources.

The NRC uses products and information generated by the HRP to develop and extend the

applicability of analytical tools and as the technical basis for regulatory positions. For example,

the staff last year entered an exhibit in the Catawba mixed-oxide (MOX) hearing that showed

hundreds of MOX data points from Halden, thus effectively refuting the contention that the data

base for MOX fuel was inadequate. The HRP also has provided irradiation of specimens that

were subsequently tested under NRC contract at Argonne National Laboratory in support of

user need requests (e.g., environmentally-assisted cracking of boiling water reactor (BWR)

vessel internal components) by the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR). The

HRP has expanded its research effort in digital systems safety and analysis, providing a

technical basis for realistic safety decisions in the instrumentation and controls arena. HRP

products have contributed to developing regulatory review guidance for evaluating staffing of

advanced reactors, which serves as a basis for a user need request from NRR.

The HRP includes the Halden Boiling Water Reactor (HBWR), which currently operates at 18 to

20 Megawatts (MW) and is contained within a mountain in Halden, Norway. Norwegian

authorities have licensed the reactor for operation until 2008. The reactor is fully dedicated to

instrumented in-reactor testing of fuel and reactor materials. It also delivers steam to a nearby

paper factory. Since its initial startup, the reactor facility has been progressively updated and

has now become one of the most versatile test reactors in the world. In the course of this

development, more than 300 in-reactor experiments have been performed. The joint program

focuses on fuel performance and materials safety considerations using the large number of

experimental channels in the core that are capable of handling many test rigs simultaneously.

The HRP includes a reconfigurable simulator control room that facilitates I&C, human factors

and human reliability research. This simulator is one of only two Western style light water

reactor reconfigurable simulators that are available to the NRC for human factors research. 

The other simulator is a 1000-MW CE-PWR simulator in South Korea. The HRP facilities

include the Halden Man-Machine Laboratory (HAMMLAB), which contains a pressurized water

reactor (PWR) simulator based on the Fessenheim Plant in France, and a BWR simulator

based on the 1160-MW Forsmark-3 Plant in Sweden. The HRP has access to qualified

operators who are familiar with these plant designs and can serve as test subjects. The

HAMMLAB has a prototype advanced control room with an integrated surveillance and control 
The Commissioners -4-

1

Halden Board of Management, "Views on the Long-Term Direction of the OECD Halden

Reactor Project," Nuclear Energy Agency, December 2004.

system, which is used as a test bed for exploring human-machine issues regarding the role of

the operator and interactions with advanced automated controls. The control room simulator is

easily reconfigured to include various display and control systems as well as automated

features and computer operated support systems (COSS). The HAMMLAB also has extensive

data collection capabilities. In addition, the HRP has become an international leader in the

application of virtual environments in the nuclear arena in the areas of training, work planning

and control room design, as well as use of virtual environments for research purposes. This

technology has been used as a cost-efficient way to design control rooms for nuclear and other

process control applications. These facilities are augmented by the largest human factors

research staff in the international nuclear community.

The Halden Board of Management has presented its views on the long-term direction of the

OECD Reactor Project1

. The Board structured its review and recommendations with respect to

the 10-year plan for the Halden Project. The plan discusses the technical and organizational

infrastructure, boundary conditions and needs, fuel and materials program, and

Man-Technology-Organization (MTO) program.

As part of this 10-year vision, experimental in-reactor capabilities will continue to be performed

using the HBWR. The HBWR is licensed through 2008 and has a projected lifetime beyond

2030. A new building hosting the simulator-based HAMMLAB and an upgraded Virtual Reality

(VR) Center was built in 2003. HAMMLAB is the main vehicle for the MTO research which

examines human factors issues.

DISCUSSION:

The research programs at the HRP address five areas of specific interest to the NRC, including:

(1) nuclear fuels; (2) nuclear reactor materials performance; (3) the testing, development, and

analysis of digital instrumentation and control (I&C) systems; (4) human factors research; and

(5) human reliability analysis (HRA). These programs are structured to respond to the needs of

all member organizations within the international nuclear community. The following subsections

briefly describe the benefits derived by the NRC from past and continued participation in the

HRP for each area of work. Attachment 3 provides a more detailed discussion of these areas

along with examples of regulatory products.

Nuclear Fuels

Fuel damage criteria and computer codes that describe fuel rod behavior are used in reactor

safety analyses. Criteria and codes are used to ensure fuel integrity during normal operation,

including anticipated transients, and to ensure that postulated accidents do not evolve into core

melt scenarios. These criteria and computer codes were originally developed from a database

of mostly low-burnup fuel with Zircaloy cladding. The HRP fuel program is addressing the

effects on this database of longer fuel burnup times, new materials that are being used to 

achieve high burnups, and MOX fuel that will be used for plutonium disposition in the United

States. Data from the HRP fuel program have been employed directly in recent reviews of

industry fuel behavior codes. These data are also essential for updating the NRC's fuel codes
The Commissioners -5-

and materials properties library, which are used to audit industry analyses. The fuel properties

and codes are also used in assessment of spent fuel storage and transportation.

Nuclear Reactor Materials Performance

The HRP has done neutron irradiation of test specimens for NRC research programs, notably

research program on the environmentally assisted cracking of light-water reactors (LWRs)

program that is ongoing at Argonne National Laboratory. The crack initiation, fracture

toughness, and crack growth rate data from this program are being generated specifically in

response to NRR user need requests about environmentally assisted degradation of PWR

(NRR-2003-001) and BWR (NRR-2002-026) internals, components and piping. Results are

applied, for example, in evaluating stress-corrosion cracking events of core components and

aging management of reactor internals. In addition, the test results and analyses reported by

the HRP continue to be of great use in validating the NRC’s program results and extending the

agency’s overall understanding of irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking mechanisms

and mitigation. For example, HRP tests will attempt to verify the stress corrosion cracking

mitigation effectiveness of BWR hydrogen water chemistry. Participation in the Halden

Programme Group has enabled the NRC to reduce the high cost of irradiation and testing

through the sharing of costs with other signatories.

Instrumentation and Controls

Historically, HRP's I&C research has focused on the front end of the software development

cycle, primarily in the areas of formal methods for review of requirements, and integration of

diagnostics into plant control systems. As a result of activities to develop operational support

systems for the Halden reactor, commercial reactor applications, and the HAMMLAB, HRP has

acquired the skills and knowledge to develop and test digital systems. Over the past 3 years,

HRP has expanded its research efforts in the area of digital system safety. The Project's next

three-year research program focuses on software systems dependability issues related to the

engineering and architecture of digital safety systems. Some of the metrics of dependability are

reliability, safety, and security, and the HRP program will investigate the importance of these

parameters at various points in a system's life cycle. Specific areas of research are

Requirements Engineering, Fault Tolerance, Pre-Developed Software, and Integrated Tool

Environments. Also, HRP will establish a software engineering laboratory - the SElab - which

will be an organizational unit that provides the systems and resources needed to support

research, development, assessment, consultancy, and training related to safety-oriented

software engineering. The staff has interacted with HRP on the development of the next

three-year program, which has resulted in HRP aligning its work with the recently revised NRC

Digital System Research Plan, FY2005 - FY2009, particularly with regard to outputs. With

renewed focus on measurable products (e.g., software tools, review guidance, and objective

acceptance criteria), the staff believes that the research products generated from the HRP

research over the next few years will aid the NRC in establishing the technical bases for

realistic safety decisions regarding current and new digital system designs and technologies for

safety-related applications. The agency's continued cooperation with HRP will allow access to

technical information on these systems, as well as access to operational experience from

European reactor operators and vendors, thereby leveraging the agency's digital I&C resources

as it establishes a technical basis for reviewing these advanced systems.
The Commissioners -6-

Human Factors

Experiments related to human error, human performance, teamwork and the effects of

computer-driven interfaces are conducted in the HAMMLAB using both the control room

simulators and the virtual environment capability. The HAMMLAB facilities, which are unlike

anything found in the United States, include a simulator that can be driven by either a PWR or

BWR model, a prototype reconfigurable advanced control room with an integrated surveillance

and control system, data collection facilities, and capabilities in virtual and augmented

environments. The results of HRP research have served as a part of the technical basis for

regulatory guidance in areas such as alarm systems, hybrid control rooms, display navigation,

and development of measures of human performance. This research was done in response to

user needs from NRR. The results of HRP human factors research have been integrated into

the basis of a current revision to Chapter 18, “Human Factors Engineering,” of the Standard

Review Plan (NUREG-0800); NUREG-0700, Rev.2., “Human-System Interface Design Review

Guidelines;” NUREG-0711, Rev.2., “Human Engineering Program Review Model;” and most

recently, NUREG-1791, “Guidance for Assessing Exemption Requests from the Nuclear Power

Plant Licensed Operator Staffing Requirements of 10 CFR 50.54(m).” These guidance

documents are for use in reviewing changes to control stations at current reactors, for licensing

reviews of new reactors, license amendment requests, and plant inspections. Future Halden

human factors research will continue to contribute to the technical basis for human factors

guidance especially for new reactor designs, as well as the NRC's HRA efforts, as described

below.

Human Reliability Analysis

During the current 3-year agreement period the HRP has greatly enhanced its capability in the

area of HRA. The HRP offers a strong capability in terms of the facilities, experience, and

expertise to conduct simulator experiments. This capability supports HRA model development

and testing through collection of human failure event data. This work will be used to provide

insights into future revisions of NUREG-1792, “Good Pratices for Implementing Human

Reliability Analysis (HRA)” and its companion document (in development) on HRA methods

evaluation. These documents will be used by regulatory reviewers to assess HRAs that are

submitted in support of risk-informed licensing actions. In particular, the HRP experimental

studies have been designed to develop objective measures of performance-shaping factors

used in HRAs to account for factors that influence human performance under accident

conditions. Furthermore, the HRP experiments will address issues related to specific accident

sequences that are of regulatory importance, such as steam generator tube rupture. The data

from HRP experiments will be incorporated into Human Event Repository and Analysis (HERA),

which the NRC is developing at the Idaho National Laboratory. The NRC staff is working

closely with the HRP staff to ensure that research conducted in the HAMMLAB will be riskinformed and will result in data and information that the NRC can use to improve HRA

development and quantification.
The Commissioners -7-

OTHER RELATED HALDEN WORK:

In the past the HRP has worked with the NRC Technical Training Center (TTC) to enhance the

NRC training simulators and build on the TTC's graphical user interfaces using the

Halden-developed Picasso system. The TTC has recently asked the HRP to assist in the

replacement of the NRC's BWR/4 Simulator display system with a system running on

Windows-based PCs using the latest version of Picasso. The TTC's Nuclear Engineering

Workstation Simulator (NEWS), a classroom training tool originally developed with HRP

assistance, continues to be utilized during training and is upgraded by NRC personnel using the

latest version of Picasso.

On the industry side Halden is working with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the

Callaway Plant, and the Nuclear Engineering Department at the University of Illinois on a case

study involving the application of CREATE to develop a Callaway Plant virtual control room

model as part of the modernization of the Callaway main control room. Halden is also

collaborating with EPRI to support an EPRI virtual reality effort by providing a virtual reality (VR)

demonstration on a compact disc (CD) to be distributed as part of an EPRI report. The CD

demonstration will help utilities identify applications for which VR technology may be beneficial

in the near term. The NRC may need to consider the acceptability of VR as a basis for design

changes at current reactors and for new design reactors. 

RESOURCES:

The cost of the NRC’s participation in the HRP during the 2006–2008 agreement period will be

$1.0M per year. Funds are budgeted in the proposed FY 2006 and FY 2007 budget. Funding

for FY 2008 will be addressed during the FY 2008 PBPM process.

Approximately 1 FTE per year is budgeted in RES to work on HRP-related efforts in the FY

2006 and FY 2007 budgets, and will be addressed for FY 2008 in the PBPM process. This

ensures that experimental results obtained from the HRP experiments are appropriately

incorporated into regulatory activities. Additionally, this enhances interaction among NRC,

HRP, and other contractors’ staff.

COORDINATION:

The Office of the Chief Financial Officer has reviewed this paper for resource implications and

has no objections. The Office of the General Counsel has no legal objection to this paper. The

Office of International Programs has no objections to this paper.
The Commissioners -8-

RECOMMENDATION:

The work done at the HRP helps to meet the NRC’s goals of maintaining safety and regulatory

effectiveness. The experiments and analyses at Halden are used to develop technical bases

for realistic safety decisions. In addition, HRP’s work helps to prepare the agency for the future

by evaluating safety issues involving current and new designs and technologies. Sharing the

costs of the program with other signatories is an efficient use of NRC research resources. The

staff recommends continued participation in the HRP and requests approval for continued

funding.

/RA Martin J. Virgilio Acting For/

Luis A. Reyes 

Executive Director 

 for Operations

Attachments:

1. Members of the Halden Reactor Project

2. Listing of Halden Reports for 2003-2004

3. Extended Summary of NRC Involvement 

 in the Halden Reactor Project
The Commissioners -7-

RECOMMENDATION:

The work done at the HRP helps to meet the NRC’s goals of maintaining safety and regulatory

effectiveness. The experiments and analyses at Halden are used to develop technical bases

for realistic safety decisions. In addition, HRP’s work helps to prepare the agency for the future

by evaluating safety issues involving current and new designs and technologies. Sharing the

costs of the program with other signatories is an efficient use of NRC research resources. The

staff recommends continued participation in the HRP and requests approval for continued

funding.

/RA Martin J. Virgilio Acting For/

Luis A. Reyes 

Executive Director 

 for Operations

Attachments:

1. Members of the Halden Reactor Project

2. Listing of Halden Reports for 2003-2004

3. Extended Summary of NRC Involvement 

 in the Halden Reactor Project

RES#2005150

OAR in ADAMS? (Y or N) Y ADAMS ACCESSION NO.: ML051920316 TEMPLATE NO. SECY-012 

Publicly Available? (Y or N) N DATE OF RELEASE TO PUBLIC SENSITIVE? N 

To receive a copy of this document, indicate in the box: "C" = Copy without enclosures "E" = Copy with enclosures "N" = No

copy

OFFICE MEB MEB PRAB BC: MEB DD:DET

NAME AWilson BGrimmel JPersensky RCroteau MCunningham

DATE 6/28/05 6/28/05 6/28/05 6/28/05 7/25/05

OFFICE DET D:DRAA D:DSARE PMPDAS AD:RES

NAME RBarrett/MC

for

CAder FEltawila P. Kleene JWiggins

8/9/05 7/15/05 7/20/05 6/30/05 8/10/05

OFFICE D:RES CFO OGC DEDMRS OIP 

NAME CPaperiello JFunches KCyr MVirgilio JDunn-Lee

8/10/05 8/1/05 8/3/05 08/29/05 8/4/05

OFFICE EDO

NAME LReyes

DATE 08/29/05

 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY
Attachment 1

MEMBERS OF THE HALDEN REACTOR PROJECT

The members of the Halden Reactor Project include both signatory members and associated

party members, as listed below. Representatives from signatory members may vote on issues

brought before the Halden Board of Management and the Halden Program Group. 

Representatives from associated party members may attend meetings of the Halden Board of

Management and the Halden Program Group, but have no vote on issues addressed by those

bodies.

SIGNATORY MEMBERS

1. The Norwegian Institutt for Energiteknikk

2. Belgian Nuclear Research Center

3. RISO National Laboratory, Denmark

4. Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry (VTT)

5. Electricite de France

6. Gesellschaft fur Anlagen-und Reaktorsicherheit, Germany

7. Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI)

8. Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI)

9. Spanish Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas

10. Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI)

11. Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate

12. British Nuclear Fuels plc., United Kingdom

13. U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

ASSOCIATED PARTY MEMBERS

14. Nuclear Regulatory Agency, Bulgaria

15. Nuclear Research Institute, Czech Republic

16. Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), France

17. Hungarian Atomic Energy Research Institute

18. Russian Research Center, Kurchatov Institute

19. Slovakian Nuclear Power Plant Research Institute, Slovak Republic

20. Westinghouse Electric Company, USA

21. Electric Power Research Institute, USA

22. Global Nuclear Fuel - Americas

MEMBER & ASSOCIATE COUNTRIES

1. Argentina

2. Belgium

3. Czech Republic

4. Denmark

5. Finland

6. France

7. Germany

8. Hungary

9. Italy

10. Japan

11. Korea

12. Norway

13. Russia

14. Slovak Republic

15. Spain

16. Sweden

17. Switzerland

18. United Kingdom

19. United States
-1- Attachment 2

Listing of Halden Reports for 2003-2004

REPORTING IN THE FUEL AND MATERIALS AREA 2003 - 2004

Ch. 2 Report No. Fuel High Burnup Capabilities in Normal Operating Conditions

HPR-362/7 B.C. Oberländer, M. Sobieska, M. Espeland, H.K. Jenssen (IFE):

"Post irradiation examination of two MOX fuel rods re-irradiated in

IFA-648/629.3".

HPR-362/8 H.K. Jenssen, B.C. Oberländer, M. Sobieska, M. Espeland (IFE):

"Post-irradiation examination of two high burnup UO2 fuel rods,

with and without gadolinia, irradiated in rig IFA-515".

HWR-729 A. Horvath:

"The MOX fuel behaviour test IFA-597.4/5/6/7: Summary of in-pile

fuel temperature and gas release data".

HWR-755 H. Horn:

"In-reactor creep of various fuel claddings: Results from IFA-663".

HWR-761 B. Volkov, V. Lestinen:

"Review of WWER fuel behaviour compared with PWR fuel in

IFA-503".

HWR-763 P. Blair, J. Wright:

"The IMF/MOX comparative test, IFA-651.1: Results after four

cycles of irradiation".

HWR-764 J. Wright:

"The SBR MOX and UO2 comparison test in gas flow rig IFA-633:

Results after seven cycles of irradiation".

HWR-765 J.A. Turnbull:

"The high initial rating experiment: IFA-677; A review of important

phenomena and predictions of its behaviour".

HWR-767 T. Tverberg, J.C. Kim, B. Volkov:

"Qualification of in-pile power and data on UO2-Gd2O3 fuel

performance in IFA-636".

HWR-769 H. Koike, N. Murakami, E. Kolstad, T. Tverberg:

"Ramp tests with two high burnup UO2 fuel rods in IFA-629.4".

Ch. 3 Report No. Fuel Response to Transients

HWR-762 V. Lestinen:

"LOCA testing at Halden, first experiment IFA-650.1".

HWR-766 P. Blair, J. Wright:

"The high burnup disk irradiation test, IFA-655: Results after three

cycles of irradiation".

Ch. 4 Report No. Fuel Reliability Issues
-2-

HPR-362/3 P. Bennett:

"Results from the second cycle of the PWR crud deposition test

(IFA-665.2)".

HPR-362/5 B. Beverskog:

"PWR fuel crud; theoretical aspects".

HWR-727 A. Horvath:

"Results from the 1st - 4th interim inspections of coupons and fuel

rods from the PWR corrosion and hydriding test IFA-638".

HWR-731 P. Bennett:

"Results from the first cycle of the PWR crud deposition test

(IFA-665.1)".

Ch. 5 Report No. Plant Lifetime Assessments

HPR-362/4 T.M. Karlsen:

"In-pile results from crack initiation test (IFA-660) and crack growth

tests (IFA-657 and IFA-658)".

HPR-362/9 J.P. Foster, T.M. Karlsen, R. Van Nieuwenhove:

"Irradiation stress relaxation test status and update".

HWR-725 T.M. Karlsen:

Minutes of Halden IASCC Review Meeting 1st November 2002".

HWR-730 P. Bennett:

"In-core ECP and conductivity measurements in IFAs-648, -657,

-658, -660".

HWR-770 T.M. Karlsen, A. Horvath;

"Final report on the in-pile crack growth behaviour of irradiated

compact tension specimens in IFA-639".

HWR-771 T.M. Karlsen:

"Minutes from IASCC review meeting 12 May 2004".

2003-2004 Papers and Reports in the MTO Area

Ch. 6 Report No. Human Performance

HWR-724 P.Ø. Braarud, A. Bye, E. Lois, G. Andresen, S. Collier, M. Larsen,

K. Laumann, J.T. Ludvigsen, S. Massaiu, E. Nystad, Halden

Project:

"The Halden Reactor Workshop Meeting on Review of Methods

and R&D Needs to Address Issues Related to Human Reliability

Assessment".

HWR-757 K. Laumann, J.T. Ludvigsen, P.Ø. Braarud, H. Svengren, Halden

Project:

"Effects of Task Complexity on Operators' Performance in Eight

Medium LOCA Scenarios (Recovery Experiment 2002)"
-3-

HWR-758 P.Ø. Braarud, K. Laumann, H. Svengren, Halden Project:

"Task Complexity and Plant Conditions Experiment 2003"

HWR-756 J.T. Ludvigsen, S. Collier, H. Svengren, Halden Project:

"Contextually Anchored Scenario Transcripts (CAST): A Framework

for Describing the Context of 

Experimental Scenarios"

HWR-759 G. Andresen, H. Svengren, J. Heimdal, S. Nilsen, J.E. Hulsund, R.

Bisio, X. Debroise, Halden Project:

"Procedure Automation: The Effect of Automated Procedure

Execution on Situation Awareness and Human 

Performance"

Paper A.B.M. Skjerve, S. Strand, G. Skraaning Jr., Halden Project:

"Extended Teamwork: Team Performance in Highly Automated

Nuclear Power Plants"

HWR-760 S. Massaiu, A.B.M. Skjerve, G. Skraaning Jr., S. Strand, I. Wærø,

Halden Project:

"Studying Human-automation Interactions: Methodological Lessons

Learned from the Human-centred Automation 

Experiments 1997-2001"

HPR-361 G. Skraaning Jr., Halden Project:

"Experimental Control Versus Realism: Methodological Solutions

for Simulator Studies in Complex Operating 

Environments"

HPR-360 A. Drøivoldsmo, Halden Project:

"New Tools and Technology for the Study of Human Performance

in Simulator Experiments"

HWR-747 S. Nilsen, R. Bisio, J.T. Ludvigsen, Halden Project:

"Knowledge Management in the NPP Domain"

Paper J.T. Ludvigsen, Halden Project:

"Organisational Learning - Literature Review and Plans for 2004"

Ch. 7 Report No. Control Room Engineering and HSI Design and Evaluation

Paper T. Gunnarsson, OKG, J.E. Farbrot, Halden Project:

"The Control Room Upgrade in the Oskarshamn 1 Modernisation

Project"

HWR-750 Ø. Veland, Halden Project: 

"State-of-the-Art Report on Ecological Interface Design"

HWR-752 G. Andresen, M. Friberg, A. Teigen, Halden Project, D. Pirus, EdF:

"Function-oriented Display System: Background and First

Prototypes"

Paper R. Welch, A.O. Braseth, Ø. Veland, Halden Project:

"Information Rich Display Design "
-4-

Paper C. Nihlwing, H. Svengren,Halden Project:

"Innovative Displays for BWR Process Surveillance"

HWR-754 J. Heimdal, G. Skraaning jr., P.Ø. Braarud, Halden Project:

"Integrated System Validation: Status and Research Needs"

HWR-751 N. Førdestrømmen, Halden Project:

"Task-based Displays - Rationale, Design, User Test and

Assessment "

HWR-753 Ø. Veland, Halden Project:

"Workshop Meeting on "Innovative Human-System Interfaces and

their Evaluation", 1st - 2nd September 2003"

Ch. 8 Report No. Virtual and Augmented Reality Applications and Wireless

Technology 

HWR-732 A. Drøivoldsmo, A. Olsen, S. Helgar, Halden Project, M. Reigstad,

NTNU:

"Distributed Decision Making and Wearable Computing"

HWR-733 A. Drøivoldsmo, P. Johansen, A. Olsen, S. Helgar, Halden Project,

O.M. Strand, M. Reigstad, NTNU:

"Interaction and Control in Wearable Computing"

HWR-734 A. Sebok, E. Nystad, Halden Project:

"Training in Virtual Reality: A Comparison of Technology Types"

HWR-720 A. Sebok, S. Helgar, E. Nystad, Halden Project:

"Navigation in Desktop Virtual Environments: An Evaluation and

Lessons-Learned During Experimental and 

Usability Studies"

HWR-735 E. Nystad, A. Sebok, G. Meyer, Halden Project:

"Validation of Radiation Dose Estimations in VRdose: Comparing

Estimated Doses with Observed Radiation Doses

Ch. 9 Report No. Plant Operation and Maintenance Support

HWR-706 S. Figedy, Halden Project:

"Computational Intelligence Possibilities in the Loose Part

Monitoring System".

HWR-741 

HWR-742

A. Kirschner, M. Hoffmann, Halden Project:

"Peano NNPLS: Advancements in 2002-2003" and

M. Hoffmann, F. S. Gran, H. P-J. Thunem, Halden Project:

"On-line Monitoring for Calibration Reduction" 

Paper P. F. Fantoni, Halden Project, G. A. Zanetta, L. Gregori, CESI:

"The Use of PEANO for On-line Monitoring of Fossile Power Plants"

HWR-743 D. Roverso, Halden Project:

"The XCNN Flow Meter - A Combined Cross-Correlation and

Neural Network Model"
-5-

HWR-745 H. P-J. Thunem, Halden Project:

"Knowledge-based Vision -The Initial Phase"

HWR-746 P. F. Fantoni, Halden Project:

"NPP Wire System Aging Assessment and Condition Monitoring:

State-of-the-Art Report"

HWR-744 D. Roverso, J.E. Farbrot, F. S. Gran, M. Hoffmann, Halden Project:

"Condition Monitoring and Diagnostic Systems Integration - Guiding

Principles and Practical Examples"

HWR-749 S. Sunde, J. Bánáti, Halden Project:

"Robust Data Reconciliation with TEMPO"

Paper Cs. Major, KFKI, S. Sunde, J. Bánáti, Halden Project, J. Végh,

KFKI, M. Ignits, Paks NPP:

"Application of TEMPO for Modelling a VVER-440 Secondary

Circuit"

Paper J. Porsmyr, A. Hornæs, K.T. Hansen, Halden Project, A.Ionov, V.

Adeev, S. Burlov, Kola NPP:

"User Experiences Using the Operator Support Systems SCORPIO

and SPDS at Kola NPP"

Paper

Paper

J. Porsmyr, T. Bodal, W.H. Beere, Halden Project, Y. Kobayashi, T.

Maeda, TEPCO Systems Corporation:

"SCORPIO-BWR: Status and Future Plans", and

J. Porsmyr, H.Ø. Kvilesjø, Halden Project, M. Ijiri, K. Miyawaki,

Yonden Engineering Corporation:

"A Study of the Advancement of a Reactor Core Design

Environment"

HWR-748 R. Bisio, J.E. Hulsund, S. Nilsen, Halden Project:

"Computer-Assisted Procedure Maintenance"

Ch. 10 Report No. System Safety and Reliability

HWR-694 R. Winther, M. Kristiansen, Halden Project:

"Safe Use of Pre-developed Software in Critical Systems -

State-of-the-Art Report"

HWR-705 R. Fredriksen, A. P-J. Thunem, Halden Project:

"The Halden Reactor Project Workshop Meeting on Review of

Methods and R&D Needs to address Issues related to Risk &

Safety Assessment of Digital Systems"

HWR-728 N. Salabashyan, Halden Project:

"Standard-based Criteria for the Evaluation of Documentation of a

Computer Based System".

Paper G. Dahll, Halden Project:

"Joint Activities on Software Safety between TÜV-Nord, GRS/ISTec

and the Halden Project"
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HWR-737 A. P-J. Thunem, H. P-J. Thunem, F. S. Gran, Halden Project:

"Application of PEANO and ALADDIN in Fault Detection and

Diagnosis of Real-Time Software"

HWR-738 T. Sivertsen, Halden Project:

"PetriNets - Part 1: Concepts and Application Areas"

HWR-739 G. Dahll, Halden Project:

"Error Propagation/Error Containment - A Survey"

HWR-736 A. P-J. Thunem, Halden Project:

"Capability-oriented Agent Theory and its Applications in

Dependable Engineering of Systems and Processes"

HWR-740 B.A. Gran, R. Fredriksen, A. P-J. Thunem, Halden Project:

"Model-based Risk Assessment - the CORAS Framework"

Paper A. Helminen, VTT Industrial Systems, B.A. Gran, M. Kristiansen, R.

Winther, Halden Project:

"Use of Operational Data for the Assessment of Pre-existing

Software"

Paper T. Sivertsen, R. Fredriksen, A. P-J. Thunem, Halden Project, J-E.

Holmberg, J. Valkonen, O. Ventä, VTT Industrial Systems, J-O.

Andersson, Ringhals:

"Traceability and Communication of Requirements in Digital I&C

Systems Development - The TACO Project"

HWR-726 T. Sivertsen, Halden Project:

"Effective Quality Auditing"

List of Public Reports from HRP MTO in 2003-2004

Ch. 6 Report No. Human Performance

IFE/HR/E-2003/014 “The Man without a Face, and other Stories about Human-Centred

Automation in Nuclear Process Control”. G. Skraaning Jr., A.B.M.

Skjerve. Paper presented at HCI International 2003, 22-27 June

2003, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

IFE/HR/E-2003/022 “A Classification of Validation Criteria for New Operational Design

Concepts in Nuclear Process Control”. A.B.M. Skjerve and G.

Skraaning. Paper presented at the SEGHOF Workshop

“Modifications at Nuclear Power Plants - Operating Experience,

Safety Significance and the Role of Human Factors &

Organisation”, Paris, France, 6-8 October, 2003

IFE/HR/E-2003/028 “Experiments in the Halden Human-Machine Laboratory

(HAMMLAB) investigating Human Reliability”. G. Andresen, P.Ø.

Braarud, A. Bye, F. Øwre. Paper presented at EUROSAFE 2003,

Paris, 25th-26th November 2003.
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IFE/HR/E-2004/003 “Design and Evaluation of Virtual Reality Systems: A Process to

ensure Usability”. A. Sebok, E. Nystad. Paper presented at the

Virtual Reality Design and Evaluation Workshop 2004, Nottingham,

UK, 22nd-23rd January, 2004.

IFE/HR/E-2004/004 “”Function Allocation: Which Methods, When?”” A. Bye, E. Nystad,

A. Drøivoldsmo. Paper presented at CSEPC, Japan, October 2004.

IFE/HR/E-2004/005 “”Task Complexity as a Factor for Human Reliability Assessment”

P.Ø. Braarud, K. Laumann, H. Svengren. Paper presented at

PSAM7/ESREL’04 Conference, 14.-18. June, 2004, Berlin.

IFE/HR/E-2004/006 “Improving the Empirical Basis for Human Reliability Assessment

by Simulators Experiments” A. Bye, P.Ø. Braarud. Paper presented

at PSAM7/ESREL’04 Conference, 14.-18. June, 2004, Berlin. 

IFE/HR/E-2004/008 “Methods for Design of Human Automation Interaction” A. Bye.

Paper presented at the Fourth American Nuclear Society

Internantional Topical Meeting on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation,

Controls and Human-Machine Interface Technologies (NPIC&HMIT

2004), Colombus, Ohio, September 2004.

IFE/HR/E-2004/028 “Usability Evaluation of the HAMBO Alarm System”. M. Kaarstad.

2004-11-09.

Ch. 7 Report No. Design and Evaluation of Human System Interface and Control

rooms 

IFE/HR/E-2004/010 “Status and Further Plans for the Halden MMS Activities”, F. Øwre,

G. Andresen, A. Drøivoldsmo, N. Førdestrømmen, C. Nielwing, H.

Svengren, Ø. Veland. Paper presented at “The 6th International

Conference on Nuclear Thermal Hydraulics, Operations and Safety

(NUTHOS-6), Nara, Japan, October 4-8, 2004.

Ch. 8 Report No. Virtual Reality for Design, Planning and Training

IFE/HR/E-2003/002 “Using Wearable Equipment for an Augmented Presentation of

Radiation”. A. Drøivoldsmo, T. Johnsen, M.N. Louka, M. Reigstad.

Paper presented at the EPRI Wireless Conference, Orlando,

Florida, 2002-11-19 - 11-21

IFE/HR/E-2003/003 “Using wearable equipment for an augmented presentation of

radiation”. A. Drøivoldsmo, T. Johnsen, M.N. Louka, M. Reigstad.

Paper presented at the EPRI Wireless Conference, Orlando,

Florida, 19-21 November 2002.

Ch. 9 Report No. Operation and Maintenace in a Competitive Electricity Market

IFE/HR/E-2003/004 “Development and Validation of Steam Generator Models for

Thermal Performance Monitoring”. J. Bánáti, S. Sunde. Paper

presented at the 11th International Conference on Nuclear

Engineering, Tokyo, Japan, April 20-23, 2003 ICONE11-36392.
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IFE/HR/E-2003/009 “An Algorithm for generating Modular Hierarchical Neural Network

Classifiers: a Step towards larger Scale Applications”. D. Roverso.

Paper presented at the AeroSense conference, Orlando, Florida,

USA, 21-25 April, 2003.

IFE/HR/E-2003/010 “Fault Diagnosis with the Aladdin Transient Classifiers”. D.

Roverso. Paper presented at the AeroSense conference, Orlando,

Florida, USA, 21-25 April, 2003.

IFE/HR/E-2003/015 “The Use of NNPLS Algorithm for On-line Calibraiton Monitoring”.

A. Kirschner. Paper presented at EUSFLAT 2003, Zittau, Germany

10th-12th September, 2003. 

IFE/HR/E-2004/001 “”Enhancing Cross-Correlation Analysis with Artificial Neural

Networks for Nuclear Power Plant Feedwater Flow Measurement”

D. Roverso, D. Ruan. Paper printed in Real-LTime Systems - Vol.

27, no 1 (May 2004), pp 85-96

IFE/HR/E-2004/002 “Artificial Intelligence Techniques for On-Line Monitoring of Fossil

Power Plants”. P. Fantoni, L. Gregori, G.A. Zanetta. Paper

presented at IMTC 2004 - Instrumentation and Measurement

Technology Conference, Como, Italy, 18-20 May, 2004.

IFE/HR/E-2004/009 “On-line Calibration Monitoring with PEANO”, M. Hoffmann. Paper

presented at NPIC/HMIT 2004, Columbus, Ohio, 19th-22nd

September, 2004.

IFE/HR/E-2004/015 “On-Line Early Fault Detection & Diagnosis with the Aladdin

Transient Classifier”, D. Roverso, To appear in Proceeding of

NPIC&HMIT-2004, the 4th American Nuclear Society International

Topical Meeting on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Control and

Human-Machine Interface Technologies, September 19-22, 2004,

Columbus, Ohio.

IFE/HR/E-2004/016 “Human Factors Engineering Guidance for Computerized Operator

Support Systems HSI Design”, D. Roverso, Ø. Berg, P.F. Fantoni,

J.E. Farbrot, M. Hoffmann, S.R. Nilsen, J.O. Porsmyr, and S.

Sunde. To appear in Proceeding of NPIC&HMIT-2004, the 4th

American Nuclear Society International Topical Meeting on Nuclear

Plant Instrumentation, Control and Human-Machine Interface

Technologies, September 19-22, 2004, Columbus, Ohio.

IFE/HR/E-2004/017 “An Approach to Incorporate the Operator Actions in the Simulation

of Accident Sequences”. A. Expósito, J.A. Quiroga, A. Ibarra, J.

Hortal, J-E. Hulsund, R. Bisio, S. Nilsen. Paper presented at the

International Conference Nuclear Energy for New Europa 2004,

Portoroz, Slovenia, September 6-9, 2004.

IFE/HR/E-2004/022 “On-line Monitoring Sytems Integration - Challenges and

Prospects”. D. Roverso. Paper presented at the IAEA Technical

Meeting - Increasing Instrument Calibration Interval through OnLine Monitoring Technologies, 27th-29th September 2004, Halden,

Norway.
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IFE/HR/E-2004/029 “Human-Machine Communication”. J.E. Farbrot, Chr. Nihlwing, H.

Svengren. Paper presented at: ”Digital Leittechnik und

Computereinsatz in KKW-Prozessen”, 2nd-3rd December, BruggWindisch, Switzerland.

Ch. 10 Report No. Digital System Safety report

IFE/HR/E-2003/012 “The HALDEN Open Dependability Demonstrator”. B.A. Gran, R.

Fredriksen, R. Winther, S. Mathisen. Published in Safety and

Reliability - Bedford and van Gelder (eds), Swets & Zeitlinger,

Lisse, The Netherlands, 2003. ISBN 90-5809-551-7.

IFE/HR/E-2003/013 “Experiences from Application of Model-based Risk Assessment”.

R. Fredriksen, B.A. Gran, K. Stølen, I. Djordjevic. Published in

Safety and Reliability - Bedford and van Gelder (eds), Swets &

Zeitlinger, Lisse, The Netherlands, 2003. ISBN 90-5809-551-7.

IFE/HR/E-2003/016 “Modelling of Knowledge Intensive Computerised Systems Based

on Capability-Oriented Agent Theory (COAT)”. A. P-J. Thunem.

Paper presented at KIMAS’03, Boston, USA, 30th September - 3rd

October, 2003.

IFE/HR/E-2003/017 “Fuzzy-Neuro Risk Assessment of Distributed Real-Time Systems

Through Formal and Object-Oriented Systms Modelling”. A. P-J.

Thunem. Paper presented at EUSFLAT’03, Zittau, Germany 10th12th October, 2003.

IFE/HR/E-2003/025 “The Need for Risk Assesment of Health Care Information

Systems”. B.A. Gran. Presented at Tromsø Telemedicine

Conference, 15-17 June 2003, Tromsø, Norway.

IFE/HR/E-2003/026 ”CORAS a Modell-based Approach for Risk Assessment”. B.A.

Gran. Tutorial presented at the Workshop on Informatin Security in

the Health Care Sector in Tromsø 18 September 2003.

IFE/HR/E-2003/027 “The CORAS Methodology for Model-based Risk Assessment”.

B.A. Gran. Tutorial presented at Safecomp 2003, 23 September,

Edinburgh, Scotland.

IFE/HR/E-2003/031 ”A Framework for Dependable Development Process of Complex

Computerised Systems”. A. P-J. Thunem. Paper presented at

PSAM7 - ESREL’04, Berlin, Germany, June 14-18, 2004.

IFE/HR/E-2003/032 “An Information Retrieval Terminology for Model-Based Risk

Assessment”. A. P-J. Thunem, R. Fredriksen, B.A. Gran. Paper

presented at PSAM7 - ESREL’04, Berlin, Germany, June 14-18,

2004.

IFE/HR/E-2003/033 ”Fault Detection in Real-Time Software Systems using Neuro-Fuzzy

Tools for Signal Validation and Diagnosis”. H. P-J. Thunem, A. P-J.

Thunem. Paper presented at PSAM7 - ESREL’04, Berlin, Germany,

June 14-18, 2004.
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IFE/HR/E-2004/020 “An Approach for Model-Based Risk Assessment”. B.A. Gran, R.

Fredriksen, A. P-J. Thunem. Paper presented at SAFECOMP 2004,

Sept. 21-24, Potsdam, Germany. Published in Computer Safety,

Reliability, and Security (LNCS 3219). Heisel, M. Liggesmeyer, P.

Wittmann, S. (Eds). pp 311-324, Springer Berlin-Heidelberg, 2004.

IFE/HR/E-2004/021 ”Undefinedness vs. Underspecification in Halden ASL”. T.

Sivertsen. Published in Nordic Journal of Computing 11 (2004), 12-

34.

IFE/HR/E-2004/030 “An Information Retrieval Terminology for Model-Based Risk

Assessment”. A. P-J. Thunem, R. Fredriksen, B.A. Gran. Presented

in the joint PSAM 7-ESREL’04 International Conference, Berlin, 14-

18, 2004. Printed in the conference proceedings, ISBN 1-85233-

827-X, pp 418-423.

IFE/HR/E-2004/033 “Fault Detection in Real-Time Software Systems using Neuro-Fuzzy

Tools for Signal Validation and Diagnosis”. H. P-J. Thunem, A. P-J.

Thunem. Presented in the joint PSAM 7-ESREL’04 International

Conference, Berlin, 14-18, 2004. Printed in the conference

proceedings, ISBN 1-85233-827-X, pp1858-1863.

IFE/HR/E-2004/034 “A Framework for Dependable Development Process of Complex

Computerised Systems”. A. P-J. Thunem. Presented in the joint

PSAM 7-ESREL’04 International Conference, Berlin, 14-18, 2004.

Printed in the conference proceedings, ISBN 1-85233-827-X, pp

902-907.

IFE/HR/E-2004/035 “Computerised Systems’ Availability, Safety and Security Research

at the OECD Halden Reactor Project”. A. P-J. Thunem. Presented

in the Fourth American Nuclear Society International Topical

Meeting on Nuclear Plant Instrumentation, Controls and HumanMachine Interface Technologies (NPIC&HMIT 2004), Columbus,

Ohio, September 19-22, 2004. Published in the conference

proceedings, pp 1740-1746
-1- Attachment 2

EXTENDED SUMMARY OF NRC INVOLVEMENT IN THE HALDEN REACTOR PROJECT

This attachment discusses in detail ongoing and planned work at the Halden Reactor Project

(HRP) in the areas of nuclear fuel, nuclear reactor materials performance, instrumentation and

controls (I&C), human factors, and human reliability analysis (HRA) and how the work has been

used at the NRC.

NUCLEAR FUELS

Fuel damage criteria and computer codes that describe fuel rod behavior are used in reactor

safety analyses. These criteria and codes are used to ensure that significant fuel damage does

not occur during normal operation, including anticipated transients, and that postulated

accidents do not evolve into core melt scenarios. These criteria and computer codes were

originally developed from a database of mostly low-burnup fuel with Zircaloy cladding. Effects

of high burnup (i.e., above 40 GWd/t) were noticed about a decade ago and research was

initiated to investigate the burnup effects. As burnups in commercial reactors continue to

increase and new fuel rod cladding alloys (like ZIRLO and M5) are introduced to reduce

normally occurring corrosion, the adequacy of regulatory criteria and evaluation models must be

assessed to confirm their continued appropriateness. If the criteria and models are found to be

inadequate or nonconservative, they must be modified in a way that the NRC finds acceptable.

One series of HRP fuel tests is of high interest to the NRC's current effort to revise the cladding

embrittlement criteria in 10 CFR 50.46. The in-pile loss of coolant accident (LOCA) test series

was designed in such a way that the results will be complementary to related investigations

elsewhere, particularly NRC sponsored tests in a hot cell at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). 

The Halden tests will focus on in-reactor effects that are different from those obtained in

out-of-reactor tests. 

NRC licensees use computer codes to calculate detailed fuel rod behavior for several important

aspects of their safety analyses. The NRC reviews and approves those codes before they are

actually used in the safety analyses, and the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research

(RES) maintains a similar but independent code, known as FRAPCON-3, for use in studies and

in auditing licensees’ results. Recently, the NRC issued NUREG/CR-6534 Vol4 "FRAPCON-3

Updates, Including Mixed-Oxide Fuel Properties" that made extensive use of experimental data

from the HRP. These data demonstrate that the code used by NRC staff is adequate for a wide

variety of fuel designs and reactor conditions.
-2- Attachment 3

By February 2004 memorandum, RES responded to the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

(NRR) User Need regarding a Duke Energy proposal to use mixed-oxide (MOX) lead test

assemblies (LTA) at the Catawba reactor. The response made use of fission gas release data

from Halden tests to confirm computer analyses of the LTA behavior. During the MOX Hearing

in July, the NRC staff responded to Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League claims that data

were limited. Extensive use of Halden fuel centerline thermocouple data were presented.
-3-

In FY-06, a RES contractor (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) will review Halden data for

enhanced helium production from mixed-oxide and integral burnable poison fuel rods (e.g.,

MOX Fuel Behavior Test IFA-597, HWR-729; Thermal and Gas Release Data, HWR-712). 

This will include not only production, but also helium adsorption (from initial fill gas) and release

at high burnup due to helium concentration buildup in the fuel.

During the next 3 years, the HRP will work on the following fuel-related activities:

1 Fuel High-Burnup Capabilities in Normal Operating Conditions

1.01 Performance of gadolinia fuel

1.02 VVER fuel behavior

1.03 Thermal and fission gas release behavior of mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel

1.04 Tests on inert matrix fuel (IMF)

1.05 Thermal, fission gas release, and pellet-cladding-mechanical-interaction (PCMI)

behavior of LWR fuel at high burnup

1.06 Power cycling behavior of high-burnup fuel

1.07 Fission gas release from fuel with high initial rating

1.08 Iodine release and gap inventory

1.09 Tolerable internal pressure in pressurized and boiling water reactor (PWR and BWR)

rods in normal operation

1.10 Cladding creep under variable loading conditions

1.11 Post-irradiation examination

2 Fuel Response to Transients

2.01 Rim fuel investigations during reactivity transients

2.02 Loss of coolant

2.03 Axial gas transport in high burnup fuel

3 Fuel Reliability Issues

3.01 Cladding corrosion and hydriding

3.02 CRUD deposition and axial offset effects

3.03 Localized corrosion

Each of the above activities involves one or more individual test rigs (assemblies or loops) in

separate locations in the HRP reactor. Thus, it can be seen that very large amounts of data are

emerging from the fuel program at the HRP. The HRP provides basic fuel performance data for

regulators, manufacturers, and utilities around the world. The NRC’s codes rely on results from

HRP, and it would be difficult to make any progress in assessing fuel design and safety without

participating in this project. Fuel rod behavior codes have not been validated for extended

burnups. Testing of a wide range of features to support development and validation at these

higher burnups is covered in the above list of activities for the next agreement period of the

HRP.

NUCLEAR REACTOR MATERIALS

The NRC’s relationship with the materials testing aspects of the Halden reactor program is at a

crossroads. For almost ten years, our principal contractor in the irradiation-assisted stress
-4-

corrosion cracking (IASCC) area, ANL, has been providing Halden with ready-to-test

specimens, which are irradiated to specific levels [up to about 3 displacements per atom (dpa)],

and return shipped to Argonne for subsequent testing and examination. These test specimen

irradiations supported research associated with environmentally-assisted cracking of light water

reactor (LWR) materials. The test specimens include tensile specimens, for slow strain rate

tensile tests indicating cracking susceptibility, and specimens for determining fracture

toughness and crack growth rate. Testing and post-test evaluation of these specimens is being

carried out at ANL in simulated LWR environments, and is expected to continue through 2005.

Planned research addresses issues relating to BWR materials degradation, which is

characterized by radiation damage in the range of 0 - 10 dpa. In the last five years, the

Argonne program has produced NUREG/CR-6687, “Irradiation-Assisted Stress Corrosion

Cracking of Model Austenitic Stainless Steel Alloys,” and NUREG/CR-6826, “Fracture

Toughness and Crack Growth Rates of Irradiated Austenitic Stainless Steels,” describing the

results of testing of these Halden-irradiated specimens. Two additional NUREG/CRs (Refs. 1,

2) are in the final stages of publication. Three additional NUREG/CRs are scheduled for receipt

during the remaining fiscal year.

The last shipment of specimens from Halden to Argonne was completed in January 2005. At

this point and including the January 2005 shipment, Argonne has all of the irradiated test

specimens needed for the duration of the current scope and milestones. No additional

irradiations are planned at the Halden reactor for supplying specimens to RES-funded

programs. From this point forward, NRC's benefits from participation in the Halden program in

this area will derive primarily from our continuing receipt of IASCC data generated from the

Halden IASCC program itself, which is increasing in size and scope. The HRP is performing

in-core IASCC crack initiation and crack growth rate tests. These tests involve the use of

pre-irradiated specimens under constant loading, in environments simulating reactor coolant

chemistries, such as PWR water, BWR normal water chemistry, and BWR hydrogen water

chemistry. In this way, any potential synergism between the reactor coolant environment and

radiation exposure is replicated. The test matrix includes three materials (304, 304L, 347) and

a range of fluences (7.0x1019 to 2.5x1022 n/cm2). Secondly, Halden engineers are in the

leading stages of an aggressive program for the development and validation of in-reactor

instrumentation for assessment of water quality and corrosion potential at, or near the in-core

region. The instrumentation studies are very helpful adjuncts to the IASCC program, since they

provide valuable information on the corrosion potential of the simulated coolant in the test loop. 

Results of both programs are transmitted to NRC by the Halden Work Report (HWR)-series of

Halden reports, as well as by presentations at meetings attended by NRC staff.

As a member of the Halden Programme Group, the NRC receives copies of Halden Project

reports, summarizing results of work funded in aggregate by Halden Programme Group

members. The reports provide essential information for comparison with ANL test data and for

extension of the NRC's understanding of radiation-induced material degradation. Reports have

included summaries of IASCC crack initiation and crack growth rate data, as well as

microstructural characterization of irradiated materials and oxide films. The stress corrosion

cracking data that we have, and will continue to receive will provide valuable input to

deliverables for user need requests about environmentally assisted degradation of PWR (NRR2003-001) and BWR (NRR-2002-026) internals, components and piping.
-5-

In addition, the NRC's membership in the HRP program complements the agency's

membership in the Cooperative IASCC Research (CIR) program, an international cooperative

group administered by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The HRP will share test

results with CIR from a proposed series of in-core tests, as an in-kind contribution for

membership in CIR. These reports can be shared freely with CIR members because all seven

full members of the CIR program are also Halden Programme Group members. Also, the NRC

presents findings from its contractors' work on IASCC, including tests on HRP-irradiated

specimens, as a part of the NRC's commitment to participation in CIR.

INSTRUMENTATION & CONTROLS

The HRP has a recognized presence in the U.S. nuclear community. For example, the NRC

has in the past used HRP operational support systems for development of new training support

systems and simulator upgrades at the NRC's Technical Training Center (TTC) in Chattanooga,

Tennessee. These HRP-developed tools have supported the upgrading of several full-scope

reactor simulators. Another example is HRP's work in the area of instrumentation surveillance

and monitoring techniques based on advanced decision algorithms(e.g., fuzzy logic, neural

networks), which are now of interest to U.S plants. In 2000, the NRC issued a safety evaluation

report (SER 93653) approving a predictive approach proposed by EPRI for online monitoring for

calibration reduction. The HRP Process Evaluation and Analysis by Neural Operators (PEANO)

system (a neuro-fuzzy expert system) has also been evaluated by several U.S. plants for

application of this methodology. Other areas of research which HRP is involved include core

monitoring, condition monitoring of electrical cables, early fault detection, optimization of plant

performance and maintenance, and computerized procedures. Many of these systems have

been evaluated for use by U.S. plants. HRP work on cable condition monitoring was recently

the subject of an international workshop at Zurzach, Switzerland, in September 2004.

The Halden Reactor Project is currently developing a complementary, in situ condition

monitoring technique for electrical cables which is based upon the NRC/FAA-Boeing initiative

for a diagnostic and condition monitoring method for installed cable systems in operating

nuclear power plants. This technique, when proven effective, can be used to determine the

current condition of the wire system and detect incipient defects before failures can occur. 

Another objective is the prediction of remaining useful life, including the establishment of

acceptance criteria. The completed phase 1 of the project included collection of aged cable

samples from the HBWR reactor and the development of the Line Resonance Analysis (LIRA)

method. Phase 2 (2005/2006) will continue the development of LIRA methodology, conduct

tests with naturally and artificially aged cables, and setup collaborative work with other

organizations. Phase 3 (2006-2008) of the project will test cable samples with different

insulation material, and investigate the effectiveness of the method to detect and locate thermal

hot spots, localized defects, discontinuities in electric properties, and on-line tests during plant

operation.

Over time the HRP has expanded its research efforts in digital systems safety. The HRP's

early research in the area of digital system safety and analysis focused on the front end of the

software development cycle, primarily in the areas of formal methods for review of

requirements, and integration of diagnostics into plant control systems, including systems

based on artificial intelligence (neural networks, fuzzy logic, etc). In the current 3-year research

program (i.e., the 2003 - 2005 research cycle), the HRP modeled its program on the NRC's
-6-

"Research Plan for Digital Instrumentation and Control," SECY-01-0155, dated August 15,

2001. Specifically, the HRP structured its research similar to the NRC to ensure complementary

effort on systems aspects of digital systems, software quality assurance, digital system

reliability, and risk assessment of digital systems. HRP has demonstrated expertise in risk

assessment of human-system interfaces and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) systems, both of

which hold significant interest for the NRC. HRP's research to date has been of value to the

NRC by providing the needed research and operational data to support development of a

technical basis for advanced, software-based systems should they be proposed for use by U.S.

licensees.

The products and tools created during the next few years will be useful for establishing the

technical bases for realistic safety decisions pertaining to software-based digital systems,

thereby preparing the NRC for future safety issues involving current and new digital system

designs and technologies for safety-related applications. The Project's next three-year

research program focuses on software systems dependability issues related to the engineering

and architecture of digital safety systems. Some of the metrics of dependability are reliability,

safety, and security, and the HRP plan will investigate the importance of these parameters at

various points in a system's life cycle. Specific areas of research are Requirements

Engineering, Fault Tolerance, Pre-Developed Software, and Integrated Tool Environments. 

Also, HRP will establish a software engineering laboratory - the SElab - which will be an

organizational unit that provides the systems and resources needed to support research,

development, assessment, consultancy and training related to safety-oriented software

engineering. Some examples of the SElab's utility are: to maintain and continually improve a

baseline software process; to apply the baseline process in empirical research on relevant

software engineering issues; serve as a training facility on issues researched on, e.g., software

quality management, software process improvement, auditing; to facilitate collaboration with

other laboratories, internally at the Halden Project and externally; to support development of

tools useful to software engineering; and to facilitate controlled experiments with methods,

techniques, and tools to evaluate their potentials and risks. Given the NRC's focus on software

quality in the Digital System Research Plan, FY2005 - FY2009, the HRP's 2006 - 2008 research

program will again focus on research issues complementary to NRC's efforts.

The NRC staff has provided feedback to the HRP on its 2006 - 2008 research program,

resulting in HRP aligning its work with the recently revised NRC Digital System Research Plan,

FY2005 - FY2009, particularly with regard to outputs and outcomes. The NRC has placed

emphasis on obtaining measurable products for all of the research projects it undertakes, such

as software tools, practical and useful review guidance, and objective acceptance criteria. 

Because the HRP has responded favorably to NRC's feedback by incorporating many of NRC's

suggestions into its own research program, the NRC staff believes that the research products

generated from the HRP research over the next few years will aid the NRC in establishing the

technical bases for realistic safety decisions regarding current and new digital system designs

and technologies for safety-related applications. The agency's continued cooperation with HRP

will allow access to technical information on these systems, as well as access to operational

experience from European reactor operators and vendors, thereby leveraging the agency's

digital I&C resources as it establishes a technical basis for reviewing these advanced systems.

Through various communications and interactions, the NRC staff has developed confidence

that the HRP project can provide valuable support in the I&C area. Additionally, participation in
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the HRP allows the NRC to develop a collaborative research program with other countries. 

Although the NRC continues to improve its ability to interact with the HRP and positively

influence the direction of research in this area, extensive interaction with the HRP staff is

needed to ensure that products can be effectively integrated into the NRC's regulatory

programs. Many other participants have assigned full-time staff, referred to as secondees, to

the project. The NRC has never had a "secondee" at the HRP in this field.

HUMAN FACTORS

A primary goal of the RES human factors program is to provide the regulatory staff with tools,

developed from the best available technical bases, necessary to accomplish their licensing and

monitoring tasks. The ultimate goal is to minimize the human error contribution to the risk

associated with the design, construction, operation, testing, and maintenance of nuclear

facilities. The human performance research efforts at the HRP contribute to this goal and

ultimately to reactor safety. The research efforts develop an improved technical basis for

realistic safety decisions that will prepare the agency for the future by evaluating safety issues

involving the introduction of new technology into existing control rooms and issues related to

new reactor designs and technologies.

The NRC uses HRP-generated products and information to develop and extend the applicability

of analytical tools for use in assessing those aspects of nuclear facility design, construction,

operation, testing, and maintenance that effect human performance, as well as to develop the

technical basis for regulatory guidance. The results of human factors research and

experiments performed in the HRP Man-Machine Laboratory (HAMMLAB) have provided

the technical basis for regulatory guidance or confirmatory research in areas such as alarm

systems, computerized procedures, hybrid control rooms, display navigation, control room

staffing, and measures of human performance. Additionally, the research results contribute to

NRC’s risk-informed regulatory activities by providing data and information for HRA.

The NRC used HRP products as a basis for review guidance on alarm processing, filtering,

integration, and prioritization (NUREG/CR-6684, “Advanced Alarm Systems: Revision of

Guidance and It’s Technical Basis”). HRP research has also developed technical bases for

guidance on function allocation, human-centered automation, computer-based procedure

functionality and approaches to procedure step tracking, use of large screen displays, display

navigation, and hybrid control room reviews, which were all incorporated into NUREG-0700,

Rev.2., "Human-System Interface Design Review Guidelines." Additionally, the HRP conducted

a study on staffing for advanced reactors. The results of this study serve as a basis for

developing guidance (NUREG-1791, "Guidance for Assessing Exemption Requests from the

Nuclear Power Plant Licensed Operator Staffing Requirements of 10CFR 50.54(m)." ) in

response to an NRR User Need on the evaluation of exemption requests to the staffing

requirements of 10 CFR 50.54(m). Other recent guidance documents that have been based in

part on HRP research include: Chapter 18, “Human Factors Engineering,” of the Standard

Review Plan (NUREG-0800); and NUREG-0711, Rev.2., Human Engineering Program Review

Model. These guidance documents were developed in response to NRR user needs and are

for use in reviewing changes to control stations at current reactors and for licensing reviews of

new reactors, for license amendment reviews, and for inspections. Recently, some of these

guidance documents have been used: to review NEI-04-01, "Draft Industry Guideline for

Combined License Applicants Under 10 CFR Part 52, Rev. D."; in an inspection related to a
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deviation from plant's fire protection plan; to support proposed rulemaking and an associated

Regulatory Guide related to crediting manual actions in place of certain physical barriers; and to

support licensing of a fuel fabrication facility for the Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and

Safeguards (NMSS). 

An important aspect of participation in the HRP is that it gives the NRC access to facilities that

are otherwise unavailable in the United States, as well as, to extensive amounts of experimental

human factors data. It also allows the NRC to interact with human factors professionals from

the nuclear community around the world. The HRP is the only cooperative international

program of this magnitude in the human factors arena in the nuclear industry. With the

resources available at the HRP, it is possible to collect experimental simulator data that will

serve as the technical bases for human factors guidelines used in the review of changes to

current control stations and for the review of advanced reactor applications.

A primary benefit of the HRP is the availability of one of only two Western style light water

reactor reconfigurable simulators that are available to the NRC for human factors research. 

(The other simulator is a 1000-MW CE-PWR simulator in South Korea.) The HAMMLAB

contains a PWR simulator based on the French Fessenheim 900-MW plant and a BWR

simulator based on the 1160-MW Swedish Forsmark-3 plant. The HRP has easy access to

qualified operators who are familiar with these plant designs and can serve as test subjects for

human factors experiments, which also provide data and information for human reliability

studies. This facility has also allowed the performance of other NRC work to evaluate the use

of human performance simulation against human performance in the simulator environment. 

This resulted in a peer reviewed article in the international journal Cognition, Technology, and

Work on “Predicting nuclear power plant operator performance using discrete event simulation”

(Yow, et.al., 2005). These facilities are augmented by the largest human factors research staff

in the international nuclear arena.

Because the HAMMLAB control room is reconfigurable and highly automated, it is one of the

most comprehensive facilities in the world for performing experimental research on issues

regarding the human-system interfaces for advanced technology in nuclear power plant control

rooms. Research performed in the HAMMLAB will be of continuing interest as the NRC

increases its focus on advanced reactors. The HRP staff have developed an extensive

capability in the development and operation of simulators. This capability can be employed in

developing simulation facilities for new reactor designs and concepts of operations for modular

reactors. The capability is also being applied to enhancement of the BWR/4 simulator at the

NRC’s TTC using Halden’s Picasso program to improve the graphical user interface. 

HAMMLAB includes a modifiable prototype advanced control room with an integrated

surveillance and control system, which is used as a test bed for exploring human factors issues

regarding the role of the operator and interactions with advanced automated controls. Further,

the data collected for human factors research can provide input to HRA and I&C work. Synergy

can be achieved among the areas of human factors, I&C, and HRA through the data collection

and interpretation activities of this project.

The HRP has also developed a world class capability in the area of virtual and augmented

environments, which are useful, cost-efficient tools for applications such as control room

design, outage planning, training, and decommissioning, as well as for research. As the U.S.

industry begins to use the virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality tools, the NRC will have to

determine how to assess the application of VR to licensing issues, such as, control room design
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and operator licensing. For instance, Halden is working with EPRI, the Callaway Plant, and the

Nuclear Engineering Department at the University of Illinois on a case study involving the

application of CREATE to develop a Callaway Plant virtual control room model as part of the

modernization of the Callaway main control room. 

In the 2006-2008 program in human factors and human reliability, the HRP proposes to

investigate the context concept, task complexity factors, sustained workload as a performance

shaping factor, with an aim to provide data for the estimation of probabilities of human failure

events for post accident operation. Furthermore, HRP plans to investigate work practices in

computer-based control rooms and team co-operation in new operational settings. 

They will also address issues of importance both to current nuclear power plant (NPP) control

rooms and future advanced reactor control centers, by developing and evaluating Human

System Interfaces (HSIs) that deliver relevant data and information in comprehensible and

understandable formats and present the data and information in a manner that does not cause

mental overload or confusion. Their overall goal is to work towards a unified HSI design

concept including advanced HSIs. The HRP proposes to continue its work providing practical

and efficient methods supporting the control center design and evaluation process. They also

propose to establish a simulator-based test-bed in the Halden Man-Technology-Organization

(MTO)-lab, building on and complementing the simulation capabilities already present in the

laboratory. The purpose is to investigate design characteristics for new advanced reactor

control rooms/centers. 

HRP research in the virtual environments area will address virtual reality techniques which can 

support early human factors design input in control room design projects. Another proposal is

to improve the Project's radiation visualization methods to visualize the distribution of the

radiation levels in 3D space. The VR-based training element will concentrate on

computer-supported cooperative work and multi-user systems to support training of teams. 

The HRP will follow technology advances carefully, explore candidate technologies for best

utilization, and identify potential weaknesses and safety concerns associated with different

solutions. The prioritized areas are sensor validation, condition monitoring, early fault

detection, diagnostics, prognostics, and new regimes for integrated advanced control. The

proposed work will include assessment of various technological proposals and development of

prototypes for evaluation. Experience will be collected in the framework of the MTO-lab with

demonstration of integrated systems solutions. 

As a member of the Halden Programme Group, the NRC receives copies of HRP reports,

summarizing results of work funded in aggregate by Halden Programme Group members. 

Upcoming reports will provide essential information in the areas of technical basis for HSI

review guidance, design guidelines for hybrid control rooms, and advanced control room design

and development process. This information will be used as a technical basis for developing

future guidance and also to support confirmatory research for existing guidance. Also, the HRP

has supported a joint effort by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and EPRI Nuclear Energy

Plant Optimization (NEPO) project to develop design guidelines for control room upgrades. 

The NRC will need to review those guidelines as they are applied in the U.S. nuclear industry.

HUMAN RELIABILITY ANALYSIS

Human reliability analysis is performed as part of probabilistic risk analysis (PRA) to support

risk-informed regulatory decision making. Given the increasing importance of the role of PRA
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in regulatory decision making, it is necessary to use HRA methods, tools, and data that can, for

a given risk-informed decision, adequately account for the human contribution to risk. 

However, HRA is viewed by experts as the one area that contributes significantly to the

uncertainties of PRA results. The quality of available HRA data is a major concern for the

practitioners and decision makers. Data are needed not only for estimating of human failure

event probabilities but also to improve the models used by the various HRA methods. The

OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI)

Working Group, WG Risk, which both the NRC and Halden support, has a task that focuses on

HRA data needs.

Because of its long history in performing studies on topics related to human factors, Halden has

the capability, facilities, and expertise to conduct simulator experiments and collect data that

can be applied to HRA modeling and quantification issues. During the last 3 years, HRP

devoted considerable efforts on designing and executing experiments related to human actions

modeled in PRA accident sequences. Initial results demonstrated the usefulness of the HRP

experiments for HRA from many perspectives: 

• From the HRA perspective, the initial results indicate that experimental work can

generate information needed to improve HRA methods in terms of underlying theories

as well as actual quantitative models employed to focus the analysis on the most risksignificant issues. For example, initial results demonstrated the experimenter’s ability to

make interesting manipulations of performance shaping factors (PSFs) (e.g., time

pressure and information load) to see their effects on performance and determine which

PSFs (and combination of) can be more pervasive than others. Also, these results

demonstrated that analysts can use simulator studies to perform comparisons of

predicted and observed behaviors and explain the difference. 

• From a safety perspective, the results indicate a high degree of confidence in

performing human actions under conditions typically modeled in PRA. The results also

provide evidence of a high degree of success as well as evidence of less optimal

behavior in challenging scenarios. Further, they provide indications for their relative

likelihood and help explain contributing factors to both types of behaviors. Therefore,

the results could be used to improve safety in NPPs by identifying potential

“vulnerabilities,” e.g., crew communications, work allocation, decision making,

procedures, and training. 

• These studies can also have an impact on the overall PRA quality. For example the

BWR results indicate that scenario-specific insights (e.g., challenges in dealing with loss

of offsite power) and situation-specific insights (e.g., complications associated with

establishing low pressure injection system during medium loss-of-coolant-accident) can

be derived for use in PRAs. Also, the BWR study indicates that simulators can be used

to better understand the contribution of human performance to the initiating event

frequency, typically not practiced today. (Currently, when estimating initiating event

frequencies, the human-introduced initiating events are treated as random events and

are directly combined with equipment-induced initiating events)

During the next three years, Halden intends to continue the current line of research, further

investigating “complexity,’ and related PSFs, and exploring different “crew characteristics.” 

HRP also intends to collect error data generated during simulator studies and analyze them to

identify how crews are led to make mistakes. Another major task for next 3 years is for HRP to
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improve its methodology for performing HRA work, document it and distribute it to signatory

countries for comment. The methodology will address issues related to validation and

generalization of the experimental results and approaches for resolving them, possibly by

repeating the experiments in different settings. It appears that Halden is committed to fully

support experiments in various settings.

Furthermore, Halden intends to load new and archival data into the NRC’s Human Repository

and Analysis (HERA) database, so that HERA can be used as a gateway for Halden’s HRA

studies to other signatory counties. It appears that Halden has committed the resources

needed to accomplish this; Halden has temporarily assigned staff to the Idaho National

Laboratory to work on this objective. 

While simulators provide an ideal environment for conducting studies of crew performance

under conditions similar to those modeled in a PRA/HRA, thus far, they have been underutilized

for this purpose. Halden facilities and expertise are unique for these types of NPP studies. 

However, Halden has only recently incorporated into their long-term planning, work addressing

HRA needs and therefore it needs the continued support of signatory countries to succeed in

this area. Since the Halden workshop on HRA (November 2002), the NRC has had strong

interactions with HRP staff to ensure that the results of this work will indeed address HRA

issues. Interactions included working with Halden to identify scenarios of interest for HRA,

review and comment on proposed experiments, and PRA/HRA technology transfer through staff

visits (both at Halden and at the NRC) and staff exchanges. It is noted that Halden has been

very forthcoming in committing resources and attention needed to these activities. These

efforts appear to produce the desired results. This work will be used to provide insights into

future revisions of NUREG-1792, “Good Practices for Implementing Human Reliability Analysis

(HRA)” and it’s companion document (in development) on HRA methods evaluation. These

documents will be used by regulatory reviewers to assess HRAs that are submitted in support

of risk-informed licensing actions. 
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References

1. “Crack Growth Rates of Irradiated Austenitic Stainless Steel Weld Heat Affected Zone in

BWR Environments,” ANL 04/20, O.K. Chopra, B. Alexandreanu, E.E. Gruber, R.S.

Daum, and W.J. Shack, to be published August 2005

2. “Irradiation-Assisted Stress Corrosion Cracking Behavior of Austenitic Stainless Steels

Applicable to LWR Core Internals,” ANL 04/10, H.M. Chung and W.J. Shack, to be

published in August 2005.