Plant Life Management for Safe Long Term Operation
For the past couple of decades there has been a change of emphasis in the world nuclear power from that of building new Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) to that of taking measures to optimize the life cycle of operational plants. National approaches in many countries showed an increase of interest in Plant Life Management (PLiM) for safe long term operation, both in terms of plant service life assurance and in optimizing the service or operational life of NPP.
The safety considerations of a NPP are paramount and those requirements have to be met to obtain and to extend/renew the operating license. To achieve the goal of the long term safe, economic and reliable operation of the plant, PLiM programme is essential. Some countries already have advanced PLiM programmes while others still have none. The PLiM objective is to identify all that factors and requirements for the overall plant life cycle. The optimization of these requirements would allow for the minimum period of the investment return and maximum of the revenue from the sell of the produced electricity.
Recognizing the importance of this issue and in response to the requests of the Member States the IAEA Division of Nuclear Power implements the Sub-programme on ”Engineering and Management Support for Competitive Nuclear Power”. Three projects within this sub-programme deal with different aspects of the NPP life cycle management with the aim to increase the capabilities of interested Member States in implementing and maintenance of the competitive and sustainable nuclear power.
Although all three projects contain certain issues of PLiM, there is one specific project on guidance on engineering and management practices for optimization of NPP service life. This particular project deals with different specific issues of PLiM including aspects of ageing phenomena and their monitoring, issues of control and instrumentation, maintenance and operation issues, economic evaluation of PLiM including guidance on its earlier shut down and decommissioning.
Technical Meetings and Conferences
Technical Committee Meeting with the Technical Working Group members on Life Management of Nuclear Power Plant (TWG-LMNPP), 16-18 March 2009, Vienna, Austria
Power Uprate and Side Effects, held in February 2007, Oskarham, Sweden
Technical Working Group meeting on Life Management of Nuclear Power Plant (TWG-LMNPP), February 2007
Development of Technical Guidelines
Consultancy Meeting to update the Steam Generator Ageing Management TECDOC, 15-18 June 2009, Vienna
Material Sciences of Metallic Structures of Stress Corrosion Cracking in Nuclear Power Plant
Methodology for Risked Informed in-service inspection programmes of in Nuclear Power Plant
Water Chemistry, Corrosion Control for Secondary Side of WWER
Technical Cooperation Projects Activities
National Workshop on Digital I&C Application and Upgrade of Technical specification for I&C modernization for Atucha II NPP, February 2009, Atucha II site, Argentina
Regional Workshop on Outage Management and Optimization, 8-12 September 2008, Tianwan, China
Regional Workshop on Stress Corrosion Cracking, 5-8 May 2008, Veracruz, Mexico
Other Activities
Publication in international aspects on Power Uprating and Side Effects in Nuclear Power Plant in the journal of Nuclear Technology
Participation in Workshop on Continued Operations Beyond 60 Years in Nuclear Power Plant
