INTEGRATED NPP LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT
As utilities within Member States struggle to become more competitive while continuing to maintain a high degree of safety, the need for an integrated management approach is becoming more evident for decisions on licence renewal. The main objective of an integrated life management programme is to maintain a safe and competitive nuclear power plant from the design and development phases to the decommissioning phase. The concept involves engineering, technological, economic and managerial actions that would allow NPPs to compete successfully throughout their service life.
It is time to address plant life management (PLiM) and ageing issues in terms of long term operation (LTO) and licence renewal (LR) aspects. In dealing with ageing and obsolescence, one has to consider how to proceed to address this question not only from a plant operational and safety standpoint, but also in the context of plant economics in terms of the cost of electricity production, including initial and recurring capital costs.
Based on input from previous years the decision making process must integrate risks and results of continuous improvements to optimize the management of plant service life to facilitate PLiM programme for long term operation. This project will promote activities to assist Member States in maintaining a safe and competitive NPP while planning and managing work to minimize the lifetime cost of ownership, including the eventual payment for all accumulated liabilities.
The project will contribute to the exchange of experience and the application of advancements in science and technology such as better prediction of material degradation through the development of guidance on good engineering and management practices in the subject areas. This is a new project but recognizes that activities from the previous budget cycle may relate to the subject area and these are expanded as appropriate to cover the transition from one budget cycle to the next. Many challenges face utilities in the use of information technology and information management to capture and record data through the life cycle of the nuclear power plant.
Current Activities
Develop guidelines on material sciences of metallic structures for IGSCC and IASCC in 2007
Prepare a TECDOC on guidance on the methodology for risked informed ISI programmes of NPPs
Consult with Member States and hold a regular meeting of the Technical Working Group on Life Management of NPPs (TWG-LMNPP) in 2007
Recent Achievements
Draft TECDOC on Implementation Strategies and Tools for Condition Based Maintenance
Draft TECDOC on Strategy for assessment of WWER steam generator tube integrity
Technical proceedings on Material Degradation and Related Managerial Issues at Nuclear Power Plants.
Improvement of In-Service Inspection in Nuclear Power Plants ; IAEA-TECDOC-1400
