IEC TR 63468:2023

IEC TR 63468 ®
Edition 1.0 2023-05
TECHNICAL
REPORT
colour
inside
Nuclear facilities – Instrumentation and control, and electrical power systems –
Artificial Intelligence applications
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IEC TR 63468 ®
Edition 1.0 2023-05
TECHNICAL
REPORT
colour
inside
Nuclear facilities – Instrumentation and control, and electrical power systems –

Artificial Intelligence applications

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 27.120.20; ICS 35.020 ISBN 978-2-8322-6901-5

– 2 – IEC TR 63468:2023 © IEC 2023
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 4
INTRODUCTION . 6
1 Scope . 8
2 Normative references . 8
3 Terms and definitions . 8
4 Abbreviated terms . 13
5 AI overview from a nuclear perspective . 14
5.1 Brief history of AI . 14
5.2 Major concepts of AI . 15
5.2.1 AI definition . 15
5.2.2 Levels of intelligence and autonomy . 16
5.2.3 Data processing and specifications . 18
5.2.4 Symbolic and sub-symbolic approaches . 19
5.3 Specific fields of AI applications . 27
5.3.1 Data mining . 27
5.3.2 Natural language processing . 27
5.3.3 Computer vision . 28
5.4 Challenges of AI applications in nuclear facilities . 28
5.4.1 General . 28
5.4.2 Trustworthiness . 28
5.4.3 AI verification and validation . 29
6 Some potential nuclear AI applications . 29
6.1 General . 29
6.2 Virtual sensors . 29
6.3 Intelligent control . 30
6.4 Ageing management . 30
6.5 Preventive maintenance . 30
6.6 Anomaly detection . 31
6.7 Operational decision support. 31
6.8 Cyber security . 31
6.9 Human factor engineering . 32
7 Proposed structure for SC 45A AI standards . 32
7.1 General . 32
7.2 Key criteria for structure design . 32
7.2.1 Technical coverage. 32
7.2.2 Hierarchical levels . 33
7.2.3 Entry point documents . 33
7.2.4 Reference to other standards . 33
7.3 Structure of AI standard series . 33
8 Near-term development priorities . 34
9 Organizational challenges and recommendation . 35
9.1 Cross-cutting characteristics of nuclear AI standards . 35
9.2 Organizational challenges . 36
9.3 Recommendations . 36
9.3.1 General . 36
9.3.2 Title and scope of the proposed new working group . 37

9.3.3 Liaison with external organizations . 37
Annex A (informative) AI applications beyond the SC 45A scope . 38
A.1 General . 38
A.2 Nuclear research and development . 38
A.2.1 Overview . 38
A.2.2 Material property prediction . 38
A.2.3 Thermal-fluid phenomena . 38
A.3 Nuclear reactor system design . 39
A.3.1 Overview . 39
A.3.2 Steam explosion analysis . 39
A.3.3 Thermal fatigue analysis . 39
A.3.4 DNBR prediction . 39
A.3.5 Fuel assembly design . 40
A.4 Nuclear project construction . 40
A.4.1 Overview . 40
A.4.2 Monitoring concrete quality . 40
A.4.3 Non-destructive testing . 40
A.5 Plant operation and maintenance . 41
A.5.1 Overview . 41
A.5.2 Accident identification . 41
A.5.3 Transient identification . 41
A.5.4 Fuel management . 42
A.5.5 Component inspection . 42
A.5.6 Water chemistry management. 42
A.5.7 Reactor uprate support . 42
A.5.8 Physical protection . 43
A.5.9 Probabilistic risk assessments . 43
Bibliography . 44

Figure 1 – Brief history of AI . 15
Figure 2 – Functional view of a nuclear AI system. 16
Figure 3 – Major approaches to AI . 20
Figure 4 – Machine learning pipeline (workflow) . 23
Figure 5 – Major approaches to machine learning . 24
Figure 6 – Proposed structure for SC 45A AI standards . 34

Table 1 – Example of autonomy levels for nuclear facilities (Referring to the
categorization scheme of autonomy levels from SAE) . 18
Table 2 – Working groups of IEC SC 45A. 35
Table 3 – Cross-cutting between nuclear AI applications and SC 45A working groups . 35
Table 4 – Cross-cutting between general AI topics and SC 45A working groups. 36

– 4 – IEC TR 63468:2023 © IEC 2023
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
NUCLEAR FACILITIES – INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL, AND
ELECTRICAL POWER SYSTEMS – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
APPLICATIONS
FOREWORD
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Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as
...