Safety and Performance in Current Safety and Performance in Current NPPsNPPs
Application of Advanced Technology to Application of Advanced Technology to Improve Plant PerformanceImprove Plant Performance
Prepared by:H.M. Hashemian, President
Analysis and Measurement Services CorporationAMS Technology Center
9119 Cross Park DriveKnoxville, Tennessee 37923
USA
Presented at:International Conference on
Opportunities and Challenges for Water Cooled Reactors in 21st Century
Vienna International CentreInternational Atomic Energy Agency
Vienna, Austria
27-30 October 2009
A Gold Mine is Hidden in Every Nuclear A Gold Mine is Hidden in Every Nuclear Power PlantPower Plant
• What is it ?
• Where is it ?
• How to get to it ?
2H.M. Hashemian
OpportunitiesOpportunities
• Improve safety, reliability, availability, and productivity
• Optimize maintenance, predict when equipment may fail, or if the process has anomalies
• Support aging management, license renewal, long life operation
• Contribute to power uprates, shorter outages, and longer cycles
All These Can Be Done
Passively, Remotely, and While the Plant is Operating !
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Terminology/AnalogyTerminology/Analogy
• Instrumentation• Visual Inspection• Acoustic Monitoring
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Calibration
What is the Gold Mine?What is the Gold Mine?
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Applies to Conventional & Advanced Applies to Conventional & Advanced LWRsLWRs, , HWRsHWRs, , HTGRsHTGRs, , LMFBRsLMFBRs, Gen , Gen
IV, and even Research ReactorsIV, and even Research Reactors
What Can We Do With It?What Can We Do With It?
• Measure vibration of reactor internals• Identify blockages, voids, and leaks• Detect venturi fouling• Verify the calibration and response time of I&C systems• Develop passive fluid flow measurement system• Monitor for degradation of neutron instrumentation
systems• Determine core stability margin• Identify temperature coefficient of reactivity• Detect water chemistry changes and valve problems
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Reactor Internal Vibration Measurement Reactor Internal Vibration Measurement by Neutron Noise Analysisby Neutron Noise Analysis
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APS
D
1E-7
1E-5
1E-3
1E-1
18 300 6 12 24
NI-42
Rea
ctor
ves
sel
RX
cool
ant p
ump
Cor
e ba
rrel
she
ll m
ode
Ther
mal
shi
eld
Cor
e ba
rrel
bea
m m
ode
Fuel
ass
embl
y
Ther
moh
ydra
ulic
fluct
uatio
ns
1E-9
Core Barrel
Reactor Vessel
Sensing Line Blockages Can Be Sensing Line Blockages Can Be DangerousDangerous
1.E-04
1.E-03
1.E-02
1.E-01
1.E+00
1.E+01
1.E+02
0.01 0.1 1
PSD
Frequency (Hz)
Blocked PressureTransmitter Sensing Line
Cleared Pressure Transmitter Sensing Line
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Partially Blocked
Completely Blocked
Detect RCP LeakDetect RCP Leak
F
F
F
F
Letdown Flow
Charging Flow
Seal Injection
Seal Return
Charging Pump A
Charging Pump B
RCPRx
Pzr
SG
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Charging Flow
Letdown Flow
Seal Injection Flow
Seal Return Flow
T1 T2
Time
Flow
Charging Flow
Letdown Flow
Seal Injection Flow
Seal Return Flow
T1 T2
Time
Flow
VolumeControl
Tank
Chemical and VolumeControl System (CVCS)
VenturiVenturi Fouling is Detectable and Fouling is Detectable and Quantifiable Quantifiable
100
101
102
103
0 100 200 300 400 500
Time (Days at Full Power)
Rea
ctor
Pow
er (%
)
Indicated Power
Actual Power
Venturi Fouling
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Venturi Fouling Can Waste More
than 2% of the Reactor Power
Venturi Fouling Can Waste More
than 2% of the Reactor Power
ChallengesChallenges
• Sufficient data is not always available from existing sensors
• Process sensors do not always have high fidelity•••
• Advanced sensors and techniques are not yet widely available for in-situ or on-line monitoring of material degradation (vessel, cables, etc.)
•••
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What Is The Lesson?What Is The Lesson?
• Sample Data Fast (e.g. 1000 Hz) and store it• Add wireless sensors • Build these technologies in NPPs of today and
tomorrow• Work on sensors and technology for material
degradation monitoring•••
14H.M. Hashemian