scholarly journals Risk-Informed Approach to Safety Operation of Units of Nuclear Power Plants

10.12737/189 ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-19
Author(s):  
Ершов ◽  
G. Ershov ◽  
Антонов ◽  
Aleksandr Antonov ◽  
Морозова ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Probabilistic Methods ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Widespread Application ◽  
Safety Assurance ◽  
Safety Operation ◽  
Method Approach

Safety assurance of NPP units operation is the top priority objective for operating and regulatory organizations. For the purpose of NPP safety assurance deterministic and probabilistic methods the main advantages of which are combined into risk-informed method (approach) are traditionally utilized. Nowadays the risk-informed approach has a widespread application in the riskinformed decision-making process.

A Framework and Model for Assessing the Design Point Performance, Off-Design Point Performance, Control, Economics and Risks of Brayton Helium Gas Turbine Cycles for Generation IV Nuclear Power Plants

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold Gad-Briggs ◽  
Pericles Pilidis ◽  
Theoklis Nikolaidis
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Design Point ◽  
Load Following ◽  
Gen Iv ◽  
Cycle Efficiency

A framework – NuTERA (Nuclear Techno-Economic and Risk Assessment) has been developed to set out the requirements for evaluating Generation IV (Gen IV) Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) at the design conceptual stage. The purpose of the framework is to provide guidelines for future tools that are required to support the decision-making process on the choice of Gen IV concepts and cycle configurations. In this paper, the underpinning of the framework has been demonstrated to enable the creation of an analyses tool, which evaluates the design of an NPP that utilises helium closed Brayton gas turbine cycles. The tool at the broad spectrum focuses on the component and cycle design, Design Point (DP) and Off-Design Point (ODP) performance, part power and load following operations. Specifically, the design model has been created to provide functionalities that look at the in-depth sensitivities of the design factors and operation that affect the efficiency of an NPP such as temperature and pressure ratios, inlet cycle temperatures, component efficiencies, pressure losses. The ODP performance capabilities include newly derived component maps for the reactor, intercooler and recuperator for long term Off-Design (OD) operation. With regard to short term OD, which is typically driven by changes in ambient conditions, the ability to analyse the cycle load following capabilities are possible. An economic model has also been created, which calculates the component costs and the baseline economic evaluation. An incorporated risk model quantifies the performance, operational, financial and design impact risks. However, the tool is able to optimise the NPP cycle configuration based on the best economics using the Levelised Unit Electricity Cost (LUEC) as a measure. The tool has been used to demonstrate a typical decision-making process on 2 Gen IV helium closed gas turbine cycles, which apply to the Gas-cooled Fast Reactors (GFRs) and Very-High Temperature Reactors (VHTRs). The cycles are the Simple Cycle Recuperator (SCR) and Intercooled Cycle Recuperator (ICR). The tool was able to derive the most efficient cycle configurations for the ICR (53% cycle efficiency) and SCR (50% cycle efficiency). Based on these efficiency figures, the baseline LUEC ($/MWh) for the year 2020 is $62.13 for the ICR and $61.84 for the SCR. However, the inclusion of the cost of contingencies due to risks and the subsequent economic optimisation resulted in a cost of $69.70 and $69.80 for the ICR and SCR respectively.

Naturalistic Decision Making and Organizational Learning in Nuclear Power Plants: Negotiating Meaning Between Managers and Problem Investigation Teams

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 1037-1057 ◽  
Author(s):  
John S. Carroll ◽  
Sachi Hatakenaka ◽  
Jenny W. Rudolph
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Organizational Learning ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Management Support ◽  
Naturalistic Decision Making ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Analytical Skills ◽  
Learning And Change

We explore the linkages between naturalistic decision making, which examines decisions in context, and team and organizational learning, which examines how feedback from decisions affects context. We study 27 problem investigation teams in three nuclear power plants, a setting that combines complex team decisions with organizational learning. Further, managers who commission the teams and receive team reports are a key aspect of context for the teams and a critical conduit for organizational learning and change. Questionnaires were given to both team members and manager recipients of written team reports, and team reports were coded for qualities of their analyses and recommendations. We find that team members value reports in which the team discovered causes or lessons that could be used in other contexts, whereas managers appreciate reports with logical corrective actions from teams with investigation experience. Teams with managers or supervisors as team members are better able to reach shared understanding with their manager customers. Teams with more diverse departmental backgrounds produce deeper and more creative analyses. Teams need access to information and analytical skills in order to learn effectively, but they also need management support and boundary-spanning skills in order to diffuse their learning.

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