MARVEL Reactor Digital Engineering Developments

The Microreactor Applications Research Validation and EvaLuation reactor project has introduced a new generation of engineers to the processes required to transform a reactor design from an idea on paper to what will be an approved, constructed, and operational nuclear power system. Much as there have been advances in materials, analysis, and evaluation methodologies over the 50 years since the last reactor was built at Idaho National Laboratory, so too has the technology for managing the engineering process advanced. Digital engineering tools and methods have improved coordination between previously siloed engineering disciplines, streamlined data management processes, and brought forward insights and improvements that might otherwise emerge after design, where changes are much more costly. While the development of tools and techniques to support the full digital engineering vision is ongoing, this project’s design processes provide valuable demonstrations and validations of key aspects and illuminate further areas for implementation in subsequent projects. These aspects include integrated systems modeling, augmented reality visualization, integrated requirements management, and digital twin simulations.