Research efforts support Carolinas nuclear industry.

• Position: POWERING RESEARCH

Gaining access to the components of a nuclear power plant for maintenance or repair is an ongoing challenge, since current inspection requirements didn't exist when many were designed and built in the 1960s and '70s. To jump that hurdle. Palo Alto. Calif-based Electric Power Research Institute teamed with industry leaders in the Carolinas' Nuclear Cluster to develop a small robot--called a concrete crawler--that can climb the sides of structures such as hydroelectric dams, nuclear containments and cooling towers. It's outfitted with nondestructive evaluation devices to inspect components for cracks and other problems without harming them.

In the past. inspections required erecting scaffolding and sending workers up to have a look. A prototype crawler from Ithaca, N.Y.-based International Climbing Machines Inc.. which won a request for proposal to commercialize the idea, was recently successfully tested on a hydroelectric dam on the Niagara River, which flows along the border connecting Ontario. Canada, and New York.

A robust network of academic and research centers has grown with the nuclear cluster, supporting research. development and innovation while educating the scientists, engineers and technicians needed to ensure the industry continues to flourish here.

EPRI supports its members--government agencies to utilities--by training and certifying specialists on nondestructive evaluation technology. Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy Corp., for example. recently asked the lab to review NDE data gathered during maintenance at the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant near Raleigh, N.C.. to prioritize tasks during future inspections. says lab director Greg Selby. While examining data, an EPRI technician noticed indications of a possible defect that had been overlooked. Duke shut down the plant to fix the problem.

One of the best examples of this network is the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center, which opened in fall 2012 as part of UNC Charlotte's William States Lee School of Engineering. Nuclear industry leaders, including Dhiaa Jamil, Duke Energy executive vice president and president of Duke Energy Nuclear, were "very instrumental to getting EPIC started," says EPIC Director Johan Enslin. Jamil now chairs EPIC's advisory board.

UNC Charlotte does not have a nuclear engineering program, but EPIC offers energy-focused classes for engineers-in-training, as well as a graduate-level certificate in nuclear engineering. Nuclear engineering...