Recent events in Japan have focused renewed attention on the safe operation of light water reactor (LWR) nuclear power plants (NPPs). A central issue in safe, long-term operations of existing and planned NPPs is the early detection and monitoring of significant materials degradation. Materials aging and degradation in passive components is expected to be the key factor in determining the operational life of an NPP and may limit long-term operations in the current LWR fleet. Methods for detecting and assessing the degradation state in NPP structural materials, followed by approaches to estimate the remaining useful life (RUL) of the component, are therefore necessary for safe, long-term operations. This paper explores advanced diagnostic and prognostic approaches to detecting material degradation, and then determining RUL given the current material state.
Revised: July 25, 2014 |
Published: June 1, 2011
Citation
Ramuhalli P., R.M. Meyer, L.J. Bond, J.W. Griffin, and C.H. Henager. 2011.Integrated Diagnostic and Prognostic Tools for Residual Life Estimation in Aging Nuclear Power Plant Components. In International Symposium on Future I&C for Nuclear Power Plants, Cognitive Systems Engineering in Process Control, International Symposium on Symbiotic Nuclear Power Systems, August 21-25, 2011, Daejeon, Korea. Melville, New York:American Institute of Physics.PNNL-SA-80627.