Development of an evaluation method for optimization of maintenance strategy in commercial plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ito, Satoshi; Shiraishi, Natsuki; Yuki, Kazuhisa; Hashizume, Hidetoshi

2006-01-01

In this study, a new simulation method is developed for optimization of maintenance strategy in NPP as a multiple-objective optimization problem (MOP). The result of operation is evaluated as the average of the following three measures in 3,000 trials: Cost of Electricity (COE) as economic risk, Frequency of unplanned shutdown as plant reliability, and Unavailability of Regular Service System (RSS) and Engineering Safety Features (ESF) as safety measures. The following maintenance parameters are considered to evaluate several risk in plant operation by changing maintenance strategy: planned outage cycle, surveillance cycle, major inspection cycle, and surveillance cycle depending on the value of Fussel-Vesely importance measure. By using the Decision-Making method based on AHP, there are individual tendencies depending on individual decision-maker. Therefore this study could be useful for resolving the problem of maintenance optimization as a MOP. (author)

Plant operator performance evaluation system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ujita, Hiroshi; Fukuda, Mitsuko; Kubota, Ryuji.

1989-01-01

A plant operator performance evaluation system to analyze plant operation records during accident training and to identify and classify operator errors has been developed for the purpose of supporting realization of a training and education system for plant operators. A knowledge engineering technique was applied to evaluation of operator behavior by both even-based and symptom-based procedures, in various situations including event transition due to multiple failures or operational errors. The system classifies the identified errors as to their single and double types based on Swain's error classification and the error levels reflecting Rasmussen's cognitive level, and it also evaluates the effect of errors on plant state and then classifies error influence, using 'knowledge for phenomena and operations', as represented by frames. It has additional functions for analysis of error statistics and knowledge acquisition support of 'knowledge for operations'. The system was applied to a training analysis for a scram event in a BWR plant, and its error analysis function was confirmed to be effective by operational experts. (author)

Human event observations in the individual plant examinations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lois, E.; Forester, J.

1994-01-01

A main objective of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Individual Plant Examination (IPE) Insights Program is to document significant safety insights relative to core damage frequency (CDF) for the different reactor and containment types and plant designs as indicated in the IPEs. The Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) is a critical component of the Probabilistic Risk Assessments (PRAs) which were done for the IPEs. The determination and selection of human actions for incorporation into the event and fault tree models and the quantification of their failure probabilities can have an important impact on the resulting estimates of CDF and risk. Therefore, two important goals of the NRCs IPE Insights Program are (1) to determine the extent to which human actions and their corresponding failure probabilities influenced the results of the IPEs and (2) to identify which factors played significant roles in determining the differences and similarities in the results of the HRA analyses across the different plants. To obtain the relevant information, the NRCs IPE database, which contains information on plant design, CDF, and containment performance obtained from the IPEs, was used in conjunction with a systematic examination of the HRA results from the IPEs

Procedural and submittal guidance for the individual plant examination of external events (IPEEE) for severe accident vulnerabilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, J.T.; Chokshi, N.C.; Kenneally, R.M.; Kelly, G.B.; Beckner, W.D.; McCracken, C.; Murphy, A.J.; Reiter, L.; Jeng, D.

1991-06-01

Based on a Policy statement on Severe Accidents, the licensee of each nuclear power plant is requested to perform an individual plant examination. The plant examination systematically looks for vulnerabilities to severe accidents and cost-effective safety improvements that reduce or eliminate the important vulnerabilities. This document presents guidance for performing and reporting the results of the individual plant examination of external events (IPEEE). The guidance for reporting the results of the individual plant examination of internal events (IPE) is presented in NUREG-1335. 53 refs., 1 figs., 2 tabs

Integrating plant ecological responses to climate extremes from individual to ecosystem levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Felton, Andrew J; Smith, Melinda D

2017-06-19

Climate extremes will elicit responses from the individual to the ecosystem level. However, only recently have ecologists begun to synthetically assess responses to climate extremes across multiple levels of ecological organization. We review the literature to examine how plant responses vary and interact across levels of organization, focusing on how individual, population and community responses may inform ecosystem-level responses in herbaceous and forest plant communities. We report a high degree of variability at the individual level, and a consequential inconsistency in the translation of individual or population responses to directional changes in community- or ecosystem-level processes. The scaling of individual or population responses to community or ecosystem responses is often predicated upon the functional identity of the species in the community, in particular, the dominant species. Furthermore, the reported stability in plant community composition and functioning with respect to extremes is often driven by processes that operate at the community level, such as species niche partitioning and compensatory responses during or after the event. Future research efforts would benefit from assessing ecological responses across multiple levels of organization, as this will provide both a holistic and mechanistic understanding of ecosystem responses to increasing climatic variability.This article is part of the themed issue 'Behavioural, ecological and evolutionary responses to extreme climatic events'. © 2017 The Author(s).

A methodology for nuclear power plant operational events evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araujo, Jeferson

2015-01-01

Operational events are normal occurrences in industrial plants and in nuclear power plants. The evaluation of operational events gains importance when it comes specifically to nuclear power plants due to the proportions that the impact and the consequences of these events may cause to the installation itself, their workers, the external area of the nuclear installation, the environment and to the public in general. These consequences, for the operation of these facilities can range from very little, until the consequences that lead to accidents and can cause significant impacts. Operational events may be associated or have influence in many fields of knowledge, such as operation, maintenance, engineering, Radiological Protection, physical protection, chemistry, Human or Organizational Factors and external events, among others. The accident at the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant, shows the importance of exhausting all the studies concerning operational events in order to improve the operational safety of nuclear plants, considering all the causes and possible consequences. In this context, the evaluation of operational events discipline emerges as an important and relevant tool to contribute to the maintenance and/or improvement of the operational safety of nuclear installations. Not without reason the nuclear industry actively participates in programs of exchange of operational experience, where relevant events are thoroughly evaluated and discussed in specific forums, such as power plant operators, regulators and/or joint technical meetings, always with the purpose to prevent, minimize or mitigate its consequences. Any evaluation of operational events passes necessarily by an in-depth study of the circumstances of the event, culminating with the identification of your cause and proposition of corrective actions to prevent recurrence of similar events. Additionally, the events should not be studied individually, but evaluated within a temporal context in order

A methodology for nuclear power plant operational events evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Araujo, Jeferson, E-mail: jeferson@cnen.gov.br [Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CGRC/CNEN), Rio de janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao Geral de Reatores e do Ciclo de Combustivel; Costa, Sergio Dias, E-mail: sergiodiascosta@hotmail.com [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2015-07-01

Operational events are normal occurrences in industrial plants and in nuclear power plants. The evaluation of operational events gains importance when it comes specifically to nuclear power plants due to the proportions that the impact and the consequences of these events may cause to the installation itself, their workers, the external area of the nuclear installation, the environment and to the public in general. These consequences, for the operation of these facilities can range from very little, until the consequences that lead to accidents and can cause significant impacts. Operational events may be associated or have influence in many fields of knowledge, such as operation, maintenance, engineering, Radiological Protection, physical protection, chemistry, Human or Organizational Factors and external events, among others. The accident at the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant, shows the importance of exhausting all the studies concerning operational events in order to improve the operational safety of nuclear plants, considering all the causes and possible consequences. In this context, the evaluation of operational events discipline emerges as an important and relevant tool to contribute to the maintenance and/or improvement of the operational safety of nuclear installations. Not without reason the nuclear industry actively participates in programs of exchange of operational experience, where relevant events are thoroughly evaluated and discussed in specific forums, such as power plant operators, regulators and/or joint technical meetings, always with the purpose to prevent, minimize or mitigate its consequences. Any evaluation of operational events passes necessarily by an in-depth study of the circumstances of the event, culminating with the identification of your cause and proposition of corrective actions to prevent recurrence of similar events. Additionally, the events should not be studied individually, but evaluated within a temporal context in order

Evaluation of uncertainties in benefit-cost studies of electrical power plants. II. Development and application of a procedure for quantifying environmental uncertainties of a nuclear power plant. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sullivan, W.G.

1977-07-01

Steam-electric generation plants are evaluated on a benefit-cost basis. Non-economic factors in the development and application of a procedure for quantifying environmental uncertainties of a nuclear power plant are discussed. By comparing monetary costs of a particular power plant assessed in Part 1 with non-monetary values arrived at in Part 2 and using an evaluation procedure developed in this study, a proposed power plant can be selected as a preferred alternative. This procedure enables policymakers to identify the incremental advantages and disadvantages of different power plants in view of their geographic locations. The report presents the evaluation procedure on a task by task basis and shows how it can be applied to a particular power plant. Because of the lack of objective data, it draws heavily on subjectively-derived inputs of individuals who are knowledgeable about the plant being investigated. An abbreviated study at another power plant demonstrated the transferability of the general evaluation procedure. Included in the appendices are techniques for developing scoring functions and a user's manual for the Fortran IV Program

Individual plant examination program: Perspectives on reactor safety and plant performance. Part 6, appendices A, B, and C

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-12-01

This report provides perspectives gained by reviewing 75 Individual Plant Examination (IPE) submittals pertaining to 108 nuclear power plant units. IPEs are probabilistic analyses that estimate the core damage frequency (CDF) and containment performance for accidents initiated by internal events (including internal flooding, but excluding internal fire). The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, reviewed the WE submittals with the objective of gaining perspectives in three major areas: (1) improvements made to individual plants as a result of their IPEs and the collective results of the IPE program, (2) plant-specific design and operational features and modeling assumptions that significantly affect the estimates of CDF and containment performance, and (3) strengths and weaknesses of the models and methods used in the IPEs. These perspectives are gained by assessing the core damage and containment performance results, including overall CDF, accident sequences, dominant contributions to component failure and human error, and containment failure modes. In particular, these results are assessed in relation to the design and operational characteristics of the various reactor and containment types, and by comparing the IPEs to probabilistic risk assessment characteristics. Methods, data, boundary conditions, and assumptions used in the IPEs are considered in understanding the differences and similarities observed among the various types of plants

Cytotoxicity evaluation of sixteen Nigerian medicinal plant extracts ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

As part of our evaluation of plants from the Nigerian ethnobotany,sixteen extracts from fourteen medicinal plants were evaluated for toxicity and inhibition of tumour cell growth using human rhabdomyosarcoma(RD) cell line. The plant samples were extracted by maceration in methanol at room temperature and were ...

Individual plant examination: Submittal guidance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-08-01

Based on a Policy Statement on Severe Accidents Regarding Future Designs and Existing Plants, the performance of a plant examination is requested from the licensee of each nuclear power plant. The plant examination looks for vulnerabilities to severe accidents and cost-effective safety improvements that reduce or eliminate the important vulnerabilities. This document delineates guidance for reporting the results of that plant examination. 38 refs., 2 tabs

Integrated Plant Safety Assessment, Systematic Evaluation Program, Palisades Plant (Docket No. 50-255)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-11-01

This report documents the review completed under the SEP for those issues that required refined engineering evaluations or the continuation of ongoing evaluations after the Final IPSAR for the Palisades Plant was issued. The review has provided for (1) an assessment of the significance of differences between current technical positions on selected safety issues and those that existed when the Palisades Plant was licensed, (2) a basis for deciding on how these differences should be resolved in an integrated plant review, and (3) a documented evaluation of plant safety when the supplement to the Final IPSAR and the Safety Evaluation Report for converting the license from a provisional to a full-term license have been issued. The Final IPSAR and its supplement will form part of the bases for considering the conversion of the provisional operating license to a full-term operating license

Predatory Mite Attraction to Herbivore-induced Plant Odors is not a Consequence of Attraction to Individual Herbivore-induced Plant Volatiles

Science.gov (United States)

De Bruijn, Paulien J. A.; Sabelis, Maurice W.

2008-01-01

Predatory mites locate herbivorous mites, their prey, by the aid of herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPV). These HIPV differ with plant and/or herbivore species, and it is not well understood how predators cope with this variation. We hypothesized that predators are attracted to specific compounds in HIPV, and that they can identify these compounds in odor mixtures not previously experienced. To test this, we assessed the olfactory response of Phytoseiulus persimilis, a predatory mite that preys on the highly polyphagous herbivore Tetranychus urticae. The responses of the predatory mite to a dilution series of each of 30 structurally different compounds were tested. They mites responded to most of these compounds, but usually in an aversive way. Individual HIPV were no more attractive (or less repellent) than out-group compounds, i.e., volatiles not induced in plants fed upon by spider-mites. Only three samples were significantly attractive to the mites: octan-1-ol, not involved in indirect defense, and cis-3-hexen-1-ol and methyl salicylate, which are both induced by herbivory, but not specific for the herbivore that infests the plant. Attraction to individual compounds was low compared to the full HIPV blend from Lima bean. These results indicate that individual HIPV have no a priori meaning to the mites. Hence, there is no reason why they could profit from an ability to identify individual compounds in odor mixtures. Subsequent experiments confirmed that naive predatory mites do not prefer tomato HIPV, which included the attractive compound methyl salicylate, over the odor of an uninfested bean. However, upon associating each of these odors with food over a period of 15 min, both are preferred. The memory to this association wanes within 24 hr. We conclude that P. persimilis possesses a limited ability to identify individual spider mite-induced plant volatiles in odor mixtures. We suggest that predatory mites instead learn to respond to prey

Economic evaluation of bids for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1976-01-01

The purpose of the guidebook is to assist an organisation responsible for a nuclear power project in evaluating and establishing an economic order of merit among competing bids. An approximate overall time schedule for a first nuclear power plant project is provided. A schematic outline of technical bid evaluation is given. The basic procedure of economic bid evaluation is outlined, e.g. evaluation of the present worth of all cost items of plant capital investment, of the nuclear cycle, of O and M costs (operation and maintenance costs), and of economic corrections. All these cost items are evaluated for the economic life of the plant and corrected for escalation where applicable

Procedure for cogeneration plant evaluation in Italy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bollettini, U.; Savelli, D.

1992-01-01

This paper develops a step-by-step approach to the evaluation of cogeneration plants for on-site power generation. The aim is to allow prospective cogeneration plant owners to build energy/cost efficient plants and to be able to make a proper assessment of eligible financial assistance which may be obtained through the provisions of energy conservation normatives and laws set up by the Italian National Energy Plan. The approach has three principal phases - the verification of the availability of the required human resources able to perform the plant evaluation (engineering, legal and business consultants), an energy/viability audit of any existing energy plant considered for retrofitting and, finally, the identification of the best technical/economic cogeneration alternative. The programmed set of evaluation tasks includes the determination of optimal contracts with ENEL (the Italian National Electricity Board), especially for the case of excess power to be ceded to the national grid, and the making of comparisons with reference cogeneration systems whose relative design/cost data are stored in existing computerized data bases

Evaluation and comparison of predictive individual-level general surrogates.

Science.gov (United States)

Gabriel, Erin E; Sachs, Michael C; Halloran, M Elizabeth

2018-07-01

An intermediate response measure that accurately predicts efficacy in a new setting at the individual level could be used both for prediction and personalized medical decisions. In this article, we define a predictive individual-level general surrogate (PIGS), which is an individual-level intermediate response that can be used to accurately predict individual efficacy in a new setting. While methods for evaluating trial-level general surrogates, which are predictors of trial-level efficacy, have been developed previously, few, if any, methods have been developed to evaluate individual-level general surrogates, and no methods have formalized the use of cross-validation to quantify the expected prediction error. Our proposed method uses existing methods of individual-level surrogate evaluation within a given clinical trial setting in combination with cross-validation over a set of clinical trials to evaluate surrogate quality and to estimate the absolute prediction error that is expected in a new trial setting when using a PIGS. Simulations show that our method performs well across a variety of scenarios. We use our method to evaluate and to compare candidate individual-level general surrogates over a set of multi-national trials of a pentavalent rotavirus vaccine.

In Situ 3D Segmentation of Individual Plant Leaves Using a RGB-D Camera for Agricultural Automation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chunlei Xia

2015-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present a challenging task of 3D segmentation of individual plant leaves from occlusions in the complicated natural scene. Depth data of plant leaves is introduced to improve the robustness of plant leaf segmentation. The low cost RGB-D camera is utilized to capture depth and color image in fields. Mean shift clustering is applied to segment plant leaves in depth image. Plant leaves are extracted from the natural background by examining vegetation of the candidate segments produced by mean shift. Subsequently, individual leaves are segmented from occlusions by active contour models. Automatic initialization of the active contour models is implemented by calculating the center of divergence from the gradient vector field of depth image. The proposed segmentation scheme is tested through experiments under greenhouse conditions. The overall segmentation rate is 87.97% while segmentation rates for single and occluded leaves are 92.10% and 86.67%, respectively. Approximately half of the experimental results show segmentation rates of individual leaves higher than 90%. Nevertheless, the proposed method is able to segment individual leaves from heavy occlusions.

Plant operator performance evaluation based on cognitive process analysis experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ujita, H.; Fukuda, M.

1990-01-01

This paper reports on an experiment to clarify plant operators' cognitive processes that has been performed, to improve the man-machine interface which supports their diagnoses and decisions. The cognitive processes under abnormal conditions were evaluated by protocol analyses interviews, etc. in the experiment using a plant training simulator. A cognitive process model is represented by a stochastic network, based on Rasmussen's decision making model. Each node of the network corresponds to an element of the cognitive process, such as observation, interpretation, execution, etc. Some observations were obtained as follows, by comparison of Monte Carlo simulation results with the experiment results: A process to reconfirm the plant parameters after execution of a task and feedback paths from this process to the observation and the task definition of next task were observed. The feedback probability average and standard deviation should be determined for each incident type to explain correctly the individual differences in the cognitive processes. The tendency for the operator's cognitive level to change from skill-based to knowledge-based via rule-based behavior was observed during the feedback process

Reliability evaluation of emergency AC power systems based on operating experience at U.S. nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baranowsky, P. W. [U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States)

1986-02-15

The reliability of emergency AC power Systems has been under study at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and by its contractors for several years. This paper provides the results of work recently performed to evaluate past U.S. nuclear power plant emergency AC power System reliability performance using system level data. Operating experience involving multiple diesel generator failures, unavailabilities, and simultaneous occurrences of failures and out of service diesel generators were used to evaluate reliability performance at individual nuclear power plants covering a 9 year period from 1976 through 1984. The number and nature of failures and distributions of reliability evaluation results are provided. The results show that plant specific performance varied considerably during the period with a large number achieving high reliability performance and a smaller number accounting for lower levels of reliability performance. (author)

Effect of plant-animal interactions on individual performance and population dynamics of Scorzonera hispanica

OpenAIRE

Červenková, Zita

2016-01-01

The population dynamics of plants with regard to plant-animal interactions is a remarkably complex topic. To look into how individual life stages are influenced in different directions by various animals is beyond the scope of a single paper. For each of the studies described below, I and my co-authors attempted to collect data that would cover as much of the plant life cycle as possible, focusing on interactions between plants and different animals during the flowering period and their conse...

Individual model evaluation and probabilistic weighting of models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atwood, C.L.

1994-01-01

This note stresses the importance of trying to assess the accuracy of each model individually. Putting a Bayesian probability distribution on a population of models faces conceptual and practical complications, and apparently can come only after the work of evaluating the individual models. Moreover, the primary issue is open-quotes How good is this modelclose quotes? Therefore, the individual evaluations are first in both chronology and importance. They are not easy, but some ideas are given here on how to perform them

Energy saving and consumption reducing evaluation of thermal power plant

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Xiu; Han, Miaomiao

2018-03-01

At present, energy saving and consumption reduction require energy saving and consumption reduction measures for thermal power plant, establishing an evaluation system for energy conservation and consumption reduction is instructive for the whole energy saving work of thermal power plant. By analysing the existing evaluation system of energy conservation and consumption reduction, this paper points out that in addition to the technical indicators of power plant, market activities should also be introduced in the evaluation of energy saving and consumption reduction in power plant. Ttherefore, a new evaluation index of energy saving and consumption reduction is set up and the example power plant is calculated in this paper. Rresults show that after introducing the new evaluation index of energy saving and consumption reduction, the energy saving effect of the power plant can be judged more comprehensively, so as to better guide the work of energy saving and consumption reduction in power plant.

Review of existing experimental approaches for the clinical evaluation of the benefits of plant food supplements on cardiovascular function.

Science.gov (United States)

Meoni, Paolo; Restani, Patrizia; Mancama, Dalu T

2013-06-01

We conducted a survey of the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) PubMed database to identify methods most commonly used for the evaluation of the effect of plant food supplements on the cardiovascular system and their relevance to the regulatory status of these products. Particularly, our search strategy was aimed at the selection of studies concerning the clinical evaluation of the beneficial effects of the most commonly studied plant food supplements acting on the cardiovascular system. Following the screening of 3839 papers for inclusion criteria, 48 published reports were retained for this review. Most studies included in this review used a double blind controlled design, and evaluated the effect of plant food supplements on individuals affected by a disease of the cardiovascular system. The majority of the studies were found to be of low methodological quality on the Jadad scale, mainly because of inadequate reporting of adverse events and of patient withdrawals. In comparison, measures used for the evaluation of benefits included mostly cardiovascular risk factors as recommended in international guidelines and in accordance with principles laid down for the evaluation of health claims in food. The risk factors most frequently evaluated belonged to the category of "lipid function and levels", "heart function" and "blood pressure". For the absolute majority of the studies, the study period did not exceed one month. This review highlights critical factors to be considered in the design of studies evaluating the health effects of plant food supplements on the cardiovascular system. Between others, the inclusion of healthy individuals, better reporting and description of the characteristics of the product used could improve the quality and relevance of these studies.

Issues evaluation process at Rocky Flats Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, L.C.

1992-01-01

This report describes the issues evaluation process for Rocky Flats Plant as established in July 1990. The issues evaluation process was initiated February 27, 1990 with a Charter and Process Overview for short-term implementation. The purpose of the process was to determine the projects required for completion before the Phased Resumption of Plutonium Operations. To determine which projects were required, the issues evaluation process and emphasized risk mitigation, based on a ranking system. The purpose of this report is to document the early design of the issues evaluation process to record the methodologies used that continue as the basis for the ongoing Issues Management Program at Rocky Flats Plant

Method of safety evaluation in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuraszkiewicz, P.; Zahn, P.

1988-01-01

A novel quantitative technique for evaluating safety of subsystems of nuclear power plants based on expert estimations is presented. It includes methods of mathematical psychology recognizing the effect of subjective factors in the expert estimates and, consequently, contributes to further objectification of evaluation. It may be applied to complementing probabilistic safety assessment. As a result of such evaluations a characteristic 'safety of nuclear power plants' is obtained. (author)

Problems of nuclear power plant safety evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suchomel, J.

1977-01-01

Nuclear power plant safety is discussed with regard to external effects on the containment and to the human factor. As for external effects, attention is focused on shock waves which may be due to explosions or accidents in flammable material transport and storage, to missiles, and to earthquake effects. The criteria for evaluating nuclear power plant safety in different countries are shown. Factors are discussed affecting the reliability of man with regard to his behaviour in a loss-of-coolant accident in the power plant. Different types of PWR containments and their functions are analyzed, mainly in case of accident. Views are discussed on the role of destructive accidents in the overall evaluation of fast reactor safety. Experiences are summed up gained with the operation of WWER reactors with respect to the environmental impact of the nuclear power plants. (Z.M.)

Microclimate and Individual Variation in Pollinators: Flowering Plants are More than Their Flowers

OpenAIRE

Herrera, Carlos M.

1995-01-01

Variation in pollinator composition at the individual plant level is an important prerequisite for plant specialization on pollinators that does not seem to have been investigated previously. I studied variation in pollinator composition in a southeastern Spanish population of the insect-pollinated shrub Lavandula latifolia (Labiatae) and examined its correlates, with particular reference to the distinction between factors intrinsic (flower morphology, nectar standing crop, size of floral dis...

The Development of a Plant Risk Evaluation (PRE) Tool for Assessing the Invasive Potential of Ornamental Plants

OpenAIRE

Conser, Christiana; Seebacher, Lizbeth; Fujino, David W.; Reichard, Sarah; DiTomaso, Joseph M.

2015-01-01

Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) methods for evaluating invasiveness in plants have evolved rapidly in the last two decades. Many WRA tools exist, but none were specifically designed to screen ornamental plants prior to being released into the environment. To be accepted as a tool to evaluate ornamental plants for the nursery industry, it is critical that a WRA tool accurately predicts non-invasiveness without falsely categorizing them as invasive. We developed a new Plant Risk Evaluation (PRE) too...

Seismic evaluation of existing nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-01-01

The IAEA nuclear safety standards publications address the site evaluation and the design of new nuclear power plants (NPPs), including seismic hazard assessment and safe seismic design, at the level of the Safety Requirements as well as at the level of dedicated Safety Guides. It rapidly became apparent that the existing nuclear safety standards documents were not adequate for handling specific issues in the seismic evaluation of existing NPPs, and that a dedicated document was necessary. This is the purpose of this Safety Report, which is written in the spirit of the nuclear safety standards and can be regarded as guidance for the interpretation of their intent. Worldwide experience shows that an assessment of the seismic capacity of an existing operating facility can be prompted for the following: (a) Evidence of a greater seismic hazard at the site than expected before, owing to new or additional data and/or to new methods; (b) Regulatory requirements, such as periodic safety reviews, to ensure that the plant has adequate margins for seismic loads; (c) Lack of anti-seismic design or poor anti-seismic design; (d) New technical finding such as vulnerability of some structures (masonry walls) or equipment (relays), other feedback and new experience from real earthquakes. Post-construction evaluation programmes evaluate the current capability of the plant to withstand the seismic concern and identify any necessary upgrades or changes in operating procedures. Seismic qualification is distinguished from seismic evaluation primarily in that seismic qualification is intended to be performed at the design stage of a plant, whereas seismic evaluation is intended to be applied after a plant has been constructed. Although some guidelines do exist for the evaluation of existing NPPs, these are not established at the level of a regulatory guide or its equivalent. Nevertheless, a number of existing NPPs throughout the world have been and are being subjected to review of their

Criticality safety evaluation in Tokai Reprocessing Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shirai, Nobutoshi; Nakajima, Masayoshi; Takaya, Akikazu; Ohnuma, Hideyuki; Shirouzu, Hidetomo; Hayashi, Shinichiro; Yoshikawa, Koji; Suto, Toshiyuki

2000-04-01

Criticality limits for equipments in Tokai Reprocessing Plant which handle fissile material solution and are under shape and dimension control were reevaluated based on the guideline No.10 'Criticality safety of single unit' in the regulatory guide for reprocessing plant safety. This report presents criticality safety evaluation of each equipment as single unit. Criticality safety of multiple units in a cell or a room was also evaluated. The evaluated equipments were ones in dissolution, separation, purification, denitration, Pu product storage, and Pu conversion processes. As a result, it was reconfirmed that the equipments were safe enough from a view point of criticality safety of single unit and multiple units. (author)

Individual plant examination program: Perspectives on reactor safety and plant performance. Parts 2--5: Final report; Volume 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-12-01

This report provides perspectives gained by reviewing 75 Individual Plant Examination (IPE) submittals pertaining to 108 nuclear power plant units. IPEs are probabilistic analyses that estimate the core damage frequency (CDF) and containment performance for accidents initiated by internal events. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviewed the IPE submittals with the objective of gaining perspectives in three major areas: (1) improvements made to individual plants as a result of their IPEs and the collective results of the IPE program, (2) plant-specific design and operational features and modeling assumptions that significantly affect the estimates of CDF and containment performance, and (3) strengths and weaknesses of the models and methods used in the IPEs. These perspectives are gained by assessing the core damage and containment performance results, including overall CDF, accident sequences, dominant contributions to component failure and human error, and containment failure modes. Methods, data, boundary conditions, and assumptions used in the IPEs are considered in understanding the differences and similarities observed among the various types of plants. This report is divided into three volumes containing six parts. Part 1 is a summary report of the key perspectives gained in each of the areas identified above, with a discussion of the NRC's overall conclusions and observations. Part 2 discusses key perspectives regarding the impact of the IPE Program on reactor safety. Part 3 discusses perspectives gained from the IPE results regarding CDF, containment performance, and human actions. Part 4 discusses perspectives regarding the IPE models and methods. Part 5 discusses additional IPE perspectives. Part 6 contains Appendices A, B and C which provide the references of the information from the IPEs, updated PRA results, and public comments on draft NUREG-1560 respectively

Individual plant examination program: Perspectives on reactor safety and plant performance. Part 1: Final summary report; Volume 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-12-01

This report provides perspectives gained by reviewing 75 Individual Plant Examination (IPE) submittals pertaining to 108 nuclear power plant units. IPEs are probabilistic analyses that estimate the core damage frequency (CDF) and containment performance for accidents initiated by internal events. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviewed the IPE submittals with the objective of gaining perspectives in three major areas: (1) improvements made to individual plants as a result of their IPEs and the collective results of the IPE program, (2) plant-specific design and operational features and modeling assumptions that significantly affect the estimates of CDF and containment performance, and (3) strengths and weaknesses of the models and methods used in the IPEs. These perspectives are gained by assessing the core damage and containment performance results, including overall CDF, accident sequences, dominant contributions to component failure and human error, and containment failure modes. Methods, data, boundary conditions, and assumptions used in the IPEs are considered in understanding the differences and similarities observed among the various types of plants. This report is divided into three volumes containing six parts. Part 1 is a summary report of the key perspectives gained in each of the areas identified above, with a discussion of the NRC's overall conclusions and observations. Part 2 discusses key perspectives regarding the impact of the IPE Program on reactor safety. Part 3 discusses perspectives gained from the IPE results regarding CDF, containment performance, and human actions. Part 4 discusses perspectives regarding the IPE models and methods. Part 5 discusses additional IPE perspectives. Part 6 contains Appendices A, B and C which provide the references of the information from the IPEs, updated PRA results, and public comments on draft NUREG-1560 respectively

Individual plant examination program: Perspectives on reactor safety and plant performance. Parts 2--5: Final report; Volume 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-12-01

This report provides perspectives gained by reviewing 75 Individual Plant Examination (IPE) submittals pertaining to 108 nuclear power plant units. IPEs are probabilistic analyses that estimate the core damage frequency (CDF) and containment performance for accidents initiated by internal events. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviewed the IPE submittals with the objective of gaining perspectives in three major areas: (1) improvements made to individual plants as a result of their IPEs and the collective results of the IPE program, (2) plant-specific design and operational features and modeling assumptions that significantly affect the estimates of CDF and containment performance, and (3) strengths and weaknesses of the models and methods used in the IPEs. These perspectives are gained by assessing the core damage and containment performance results, including overall CDF, accident sequences, dominant contributions to component failure and human error, and containment failure modes. Methods, data, boundary conditions, and assumptions used in the IPEs are considered in understanding the differences and similarities observed among the various types of plants. This report is divided into three volumes containing six parts. Part 1 is a summary report of the key perspectives gained in each of the areas identified above, with a discussion of the NRC`s overall conclusions and observations. Part 2 discusses key perspectives regarding the impact of the IPE Program on reactor safety. Part 3 discusses perspectives gained from the IPE results regarding CDF, containment performance, and human actions. Part 4 discusses perspectives regarding the IPE models and methods. Part 5 discusses additional IPE perspectives. Part 6 contains Appendices A, B and C which provide the references of the information from the IPEs, updated PRA results, and public comments on draft NUREG-1560 respectively.

Manufacturing plant performance evaluation by discrete event simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosli Darmawan; Mohd Rasid Osman; Rosnah Mohd Yusuff; Napsiah Ismail; Zulkiflie Leman

2002-01-01

A case study was conducted to evaluate the performance of a manufacturing plant using discrete event simulation technique. The study was carried out on animal feed production plant. Sterifeed plant at Malaysian Institute for Nuclear Technology Research (MINT), Selangor, Malaysia. The plant was modelled base on the actual manufacturing activities recorded by the operators. The simulation was carried out using a discrete event simulation software. The model was validated by comparing the simulation results with the actual operational data of the plant. The simulation results show some weaknesses with the current plant design and proposals were made to improve the plant performance. (Author)

Economic evaluation of the integrated SMART desalination plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, Young Dong; Lee, Man Kye; Yeo, Ji Won; Kim, Hee Chul; Chang, Moon Hee

2001-04-01

In this study, an economic evaluation methodology of the integrated SMART desalination plant was established and the economic evaluation of SMART was performed. The plant economics was evaluated with electricity generation costs calculated using approximate estimates of SMART cost data and the result was compared with the result calculated using the SMART design data and estimated bulk materials. In addition, a series of sensitivity studies on the power generation cost was performed for the main economic parameters of SMART Power credit method was used for the economic analysis of the integrated SMART desalination plant. Power credit method is a widely used economic analysis method for the cogeneration plant when the major portion of the energy is used for the electricity generation. In the case of using SMART fot power generation only, the result shows that the electricity generation cost of SMART is higher than that of the alternative power options. However, it can be competitive with the other power options in the limited cases, especially with the gas fired combined plant. In addition, an economic analysis of the integrated SMART desalination plant coupled with MED was performed. The calculated water production cost is in the range of 0.56 approx. 0.88($/m 3 ) for the plant availability of 80% or higher, which is close to the study results presented by the various other countries. This indicates that SMART can be considered as a competitive choice for desalination among various alternative energy sources

Economic evaluation of the integrated SMART desalination plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hwang, Young Dong; Lee, Man Kye; Yeo, Ji Won; Kim, Hee Chul; Chang, Moon Hee

2001-04-01

In this study, an economic evaluation methodology of the integrated SMART desalination plant was established and the economic evaluation of SMART was performed. The plant economics was evaluated with electricity generation costs calculated using approximate estimates of SMART cost data and the result was compared with the result calculated using the SMART design data and estimated bulk materials. In addition, a series of sensitivity studies on the power generation cost was performed for the main economic parameters of SMART Power credit method was used for the economic analysis of the integrated SMART desalination plant. Power credit method is a widely used economic analysis method for the cogeneration plant when the major portion of the energy is used for the electricity generation. In the case of using SMART fot power generation only, the result shows that the electricity generation cost of SMART is higher than that of the alternative power options. However, it can be competitive with the other power options in the limited cases, especially with the gas fired combined plant. In addition, an economic analysis of the integrated SMART desalination plant coupled with MED was performed. The calculated water production cost is in the range of 0.56 approx. 0.88($/m{sup 3}) for the plant availability of 80% or higher, which is close to the study results presented by the various other countries. This indicates that SMART can be considered as a competitive choice for desalination among various alternative energy sources.

Seismic re-evaluation of Heavy Water Plant, Kota

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parulekar, Y.M.; Reddy, G.R.; Vaze, K.K.; Kushwaha, H.S.

2003-10-01

This report deals with seismic re-evaluation of Heavy Water Plant, Kota. Heavy Water Plant, Kota handles considerable amount of H 2 S gas, which is very toxic. During the original design stage as per IS 1893-1966 seismic coefficient for zone-I was zero. Therefore earthquake and its effects were not considered while designing the heavy water plant structures. However as per IS 1893 (1984) the seismic coefficient for zone-I is 0.01 g. Hence seismic re-evaluation of various structures of the heavy water plant is carried out. Analysis of the heavy water plant structures was carried out for self weight, equipment load and earthquake load. Pressure loading was also considered in case of H 2 S storage tanks. Soil structure interaction effect was considered in the analysis. The combined stresses in the structures due to earthquake and dead load were checked with the allowable stresses. (author)

Classification of emotions by multivariate analysis and individual differences of nuclear power plant operators` emotion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hasegawa, Naoko; Yoshimura, Seiichi [Central Research Inst. of Electric Power Industry, Tokyo (Japan)

1999-03-01

The purpose of this study is the development of a simulation model which expresses operators` emotion under plant emergency. This report shows the classification of emotions by multivariate analysis and investigation results conducted to clarify individual differences of activated emotion influenced by personal traits. Although a former investigation was conducted to classify emotions into five basic emotions proposed by Johnson-Laird, the basic emotions was not based on real data. For the development of more realistic and accurate simulation model, it is necessary to recognize basic emotion and to classify emotions into them. As a result of analysis by qualification method 3 and cluster analysis, four basic clusters were clarified, i.e., Emotion expressed towards objects, Emotion affected by objects, Pleasant emotion, and Surprise. Moreover, 51 emotions were ranked in the order according to their similarities in each cluster. An investigation was conducted to clarify individual differences in emotion process using 87 plant operators. The results showed the differences of emotion depending on the existence of operators` foresight, cognitive style, experience in operation, and consciousness of attribution to an operating team. For example, operators with low self-efficacy, short experience or low consciousness of attribution to a team, feel more intensive emotion under plant emergency and more affected by severe plant conditions. The model which can express individual differences will be developed utilizing and converting these data hereafter. (author)

Classification of emotions by multivariate analysis and individual differences of nuclear power plant operators' emotion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasegawa, Naoko; Yoshimura, Seiichi

1999-01-01

The purpose of this study is the development of a simulation model which expresses operators' emotion under plant emergency. This report shows the classification of emotions by multivariate analysis and investigation results conducted to clarify individual differences of activated emotion influenced by personal traits. Although a former investigation was conducted to classify emotions into five basic emotions proposed by Johnson-Laird, the basic emotions was not based on real data. For the development of more realistic and accurate simulation model, it is necessary to recognize basic emotion and to classify emotions into them. As a result of analysis by qualification method 3 and cluster analysis, four basic clusters were clarified, i.e., Emotion expressed towards objects, Emotion affected by objects, Pleasant emotion, and Surprise. Moreover, 51 emotions were ranked in the order according to their similarities in each cluster. An investigation was conducted to clarify individual differences in emotion process using 87 plant operators. The results showed the differences of emotion depending on the existence of operators' foresight, cognitive style, experience in operation, and consciousness of attribution to an operating team. For example, operators with low self-efficacy, short experience or low consciousness of attribution to a team, feel more intensive emotion under plant emergency and more affected by severe plant conditions. The model which can express individual differences will be developed utilizing and converting these data hereafter. (author)

Evaluating complementary networks of restoration plantings for landscape-scale occurrence of temporally dynamic species.

Science.gov (United States)

Ikin, Karen; Tulloch, Ayesha; Gibbons, Philip; Ansell, Dean; Seddon, Julian; Lindenmayer, David

2016-10-01

Multibillion dollar investments in land restoration make it critical that conservation goals are achieved cost-effectively. Approaches developed for systematic conservation planning offer opportunities to evaluate landscape-scale, temporally dynamic biodiversity outcomes from restoration and improve on traditional approaches that focus on the most species-rich plantings. We investigated whether it is possible to apply a complementarity-based approach to evaluate the extent to which an existing network of restoration plantings meets representation targets. Using a case study of woodland birds of conservation concern in southeastern Australia, we compared complementarity-based selections of plantings based on temporally dynamic species occurrences with selections based on static species occurrences and selections based on ranking plantings by species richness. The dynamic complementarity approach, which incorporated species occurrences over 5 years, resulted in higher species occurrences and proportion of targets met compared with the static complementarity approach, in which species occurrences were taken at a single point in time. For equivalent cost, the dynamic complementarity approach also always resulted in higher average minimum percent occurrence of species maintained through time and a higher proportion of the bird community meeting representation targets compared with the species-richness approach. Plantings selected under the complementarity approaches represented the full range of planting attributes, whereas those selected under the species-richness approach were larger in size. Our results suggest that future restoration policy should not attempt to achieve all conservation goals within individual plantings, but should instead capitalize on restoration opportunities as they arise to achieve collective value of multiple plantings across the landscape. Networks of restoration plantings with complementary attributes of age, size, vegetation structure, and

Safety indicators as a tool for operational safety evaluation of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araujo, Jefferson Borges; Melo, Paulo Fernando Ferreira Frutuoso e; Schirru, Roberto

2009-01-01

Performance indicators have found a wide use in the conventional and nuclear industries. For the conventional industry, the goal is to optimize production, reducing loss of time with accidents, human error and equipment downtimes. In the nuclear industry, nuclear safety is an additional goal. This paper presents a general methodology to the establishment, selection and use of safety indicators for a two loop PWR plant, as Angra 1. The use of performance indicators is not new. The NRC has its own methodology and the IAEA presents methodology suggestions, but there is no detailed documentation about indicators selection, criteria and bases used. Additionally, only the NRC methodology performs a limited integrated evaluation. The study performed identifies areas considered critical for the plant operational safety. For each of these areas, strategic sub-areas are defined. For each strategic sub-area, specific safety indicators are defined. These proposed Safety Indicators are based on the contribution to risk considering a quantitative risk analysis. For each safety indicator, a goal, a bounded interval and proper bases are developed, to allow for a clear and comprehensive individual behavior evaluation. On the establishment of the intervals and boundaries, a probabilistic safety study, operational experience, international and national standards and technical specifications were used. Additionally, an integrated evaluation of the indicators, using expert systems, was done to obtain an overview of the plant general safety. This evaluation uses well-defined and clear rules and weights for each indicator to be considered. These rules were implemented by means of a computational language, on a friendly interface, so that it is possible to obtain a quick response about operational safety. This methodology can be used to identify situations where the plant safety is challenged, by giving a general overview of the plant operational condition. Additionally, this study can

Standard guide for in-plant performance evaluation of automatic pedestrian SNM monitors

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

1997-01-01

1.1 This guide is affiliated with Guide C1112 on special nuclear material (SNM) monitors, Guide C1169 on laboratory performance evaluation, and Guide C1189 on calibrating pedestrian SNM monitors. This guide to in-plant performance evaluation is a comparatively rapid way to verify whether a pedestrian SNM monitor performs as expected for detecting SNM or SNM-like test sources. 1.1.1 In-plant performance evaluation should not be confused with the simple daily functional test recommended in Guide C1112. In-plant performance evaluation takes place less often than daily tests, usually at intervals ranging from weekly to once every three months. In-plant evaluations are also more extensive than daily tests and may examine both a monitor's nuisance alarm record and its detection sensitivity for a particular SNM or alternative test source. 1.1.2 In-plant performance evaluation also should not be confused with laboratory performance evaluation. In-plant evaluation is comparatively rapid, takes place in the monitor...

Resolving the role of plant glutamate dehydrogenase: II. Physiological characterization of plants overexpressing the two enzyme subunits individually or simultaneously.

Science.gov (United States)

Tercé-Laforgue, Thérèse; Bedu, Magali; Dargel-Grafin, Céline; Dubois, Frédéric; Gibon, Yves; Restivo, Francesco M; Hirel, Bertrand

2013-10-01

Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH; EC 1.4.1.2) is able to carry out the deamination of glutamate in higher plants. In order to obtain a better understanding of the physiological function of GDH in leaves, transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) plants were constructed that overexpress two genes from Nicotiana plumbaginifolia (GDHA and GDHB under the control of the Cauliflower mosiac virus 35S promoter), which encode the α- and β-subunits of GDH individually or simultaneously. In the transgenic plants, the GDH protein accumulated in the mitochondria of mesophyll cells and in the mitochondria of the phloem companion cells (CCs), where the native enzyme is normally expressed. Such a shift in the cellular location of the GDH enzyme induced major changes in carbon and nitrogen metabolite accumulation and a reduction in growth. These changes were mainly characterized by a decrease in the amount of sucrose, starch and glutamine in the leaves, which was accompanied by an increase in the amount of nitrate and Chl. In addition, there was an increase in the content of asparagine and a decrease in proline. Such changes may explain the lower plant biomass determined in the GDH-overexpressing lines. Overexpressing the two genes GDHA and GDHB individually or simultaneously induced a differential accumulation of glutamate and glutamine and a modification of the glutamate to glutamine ratio. The impact of the metabolic changes occurring in the different types of GDH-overexpressing plants is discussed in relation to the possible physiological function of each subunit when present in the form of homohexamers or heterohexamers.

Individual species-area relationship of woody plant communities in a heterogeneous subtropical monsoon rainforest.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Cheng-Han; Lin, Yi-Ching; Wiegand, Thorsten; Nakazawa, Takefumi; Su, Sheng-Hsin; Hsieh, Chih-Hao; Ding, Tzung-Su

2015-01-01

The spatial structure of species richness is often characterized by the species-area relationship (SAR). However, the SAR approach rarely considers the spatial variability of individual plants that arises from species interactions and species' habitat associations. Here, we explored how the interactions of individual plants of target species influence SAR patterns at a range of neighborhood distances. We analyzed the data of 113,988 woody plants of 110 species from the Fushan Forest Dynamics Plot (25 ha), northern Taiwan, which is a subtropical rainforest heavily influenced by typhoons. We classified 34 dominant species into 3 species types (i.e., accumulator, repeller, or no effect) by testing how the individual species-area relationship (i.e., statistics describing how neighborhood species richness changes around individuals) of target species departs (i.e., positively, negatively, or with no obvious trend) from a null model that accounts for habitat association. Deviation from the null model suggests that the net effect of species' interactions increases (accumulate) or decreases (repel) neighborhood species richness. We found that (i) accumulators were dominant at small interaction distances (30 m); (iii) repellers were rarely detected; and (iv) large-sized and abundant species tended to be accumulators. The findings suggest that positive species interactions have the potential to accumulate neighborhood species richness, particularly through size- and density-dependent mechanisms. We hypothesized that the frequently disturbed environment of this subtropical rainforest (e.g., typhoon-driven natural disturbances such as landslides, soil erosion, flooding, and windthrow) might create the spatial heterogeneity of species richness and promote positive species interactions.

Molecular interrogation of the feeding behaviour of field captured individual insects for interpretation of multiple host plant use.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James P Hereward

Full Text Available The way in which herbivorous insect individuals use multiple host species is difficult to quantify under field conditions, but critical to understanding the evolutionary processes underpinning insect-host plant relationships. In this study we developed a novel approach to understanding the host plant interactions of the green mirid, Creontiades dilutus, a highly motile heteropteran bug that has been associated with many plant species. We combine quantified sampling of the insect across its various host plant species within particular sites and a molecular comparison between the insects' gut contents and available host plants. This approach allows inferences to be made as to the plants fed upon by individual insects in the field. Quantified sampling shows that this "generalist" species is consistently more abundant on two species in the genus Cullen (Fabaceae, its primary host species, than on any other of its numerous listed hosts. The chloroplast intergenic sequences reveal that C. dilutus frequently feeds on plants additional to the one from which it was collected, even when individuals were sampled from the primary host species. These data may be reconciled by viewing multiple host use in this species as an adaptation to survive spatiotemporally ephemeral habitats. The methodological framework developed here provides a basis from which new insights into the feeding behaviour and host plant relationships of herbivorous insects can be derived, which will benefit not only ecological interpretation but also our understanding of the evolution of these relationships.

Evaluation criteria for enhanced solar–coal hybrid power plant performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Yawen; Hong, Hui; Jin, Hongguang

2014-01-01

Attention has been directed toward hybridizing solar energy with fossil power plants since the 1990s to improve reliability and efficiency. Appropriate evaluation criteria were important in the design and optimization of solar–fossil hybrid systems. Two new criteria to evaluate the improved thermodynamic performances in a solar hybrid power plant were developed in this study. Correlations determined the main factors influencing the improved thermodynamic performances. The proposed criteria can be used to effectively integrate solar–coal hybridization systems. Typical 100 MW–1000 MW coal-fired power plants hybridized with solar heat at approximately 300 °C, which was used to preheat the feed water before entering the boiler, were evaluated using the criteria. The integration principle of solar–coal hybrid systems was also determined. The proposed evaluation criteria may be simple and reasonable for solar–coal hybrid systems with multi-energy input, thus directing system performance enhancement. - Highlights: • New criteria to evaluate the solar hybrid power plant were developed. • Typical solar–coal hybrid power plants were evaluated using the criteria. • The integration principle of solar–coal hybrid systems was determined. • The benefits of the solar–coal hybrid system are enhanced at lower solar radiation

TOXICOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF REALISTIC EMISSIONS OF SOURCE AEROSOLS (TERESA): APPLICATION TO POWER PLANT-DERIVED PM2.5

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Annette C. Rohr; Petros Koutrakis; John Godleski

2011-03-31

(BAL) fluid cytology and biochemistry; (3) blood cytology; (4) in vivo oxidative stress in heart and lung tissue; and (5) heart and lung histopathology. In addition, at one plant, cardiac arrhythmias and heart rate variability (HRV) were evaluated in a rat model of myocardial infarction. Statistical analyses included analyses of variance (ANOVA) to determine differences between exposed and control animals in response to different scenario/plant combinations; univariate analyses to link individual scenario components to responses; and multivariate analyses (Random Forest analyses) to evaluate component effects in a multipollutant setting. Results from the power plant studies indicated some biological responses to some plant/scenario combinations. A number of significant breathing pattern changes were observed; however, significant clinical changes such as specific irritant effects were not readily apparent, and effects tended to be isolated changes in certain respiratory parameters. Some individual exposure scenario components appeared to be more strongly and consistently related to respiratory parameter changes; however, the specific scenario investigated remained a better predictor of response than individual components of that scenario. Bronchoalveolar lavage indicated some changes in cellularity of BAL fluid in response to the POS and PONS scenarios; these responses were considered toxicologically mild in magnitude. No changes in blood cytology were observed at any plant or scenario. Lung oxidative stress was increased with the POS scenario at one plant, and cardiac oxidative stress was increased with the PONS scenario also at one plant, suggesting limited oxidative stress in response to power plant emissions with added atmospheric constituents. There were some mild histological findings in lung tissue in response to the P and PONS scenarios. Finally, the MI model experiments indicated that premature ventricular beat frequency was increased at the plant studied

Modeling the growth of individuals in plant populations: local density variation in a strand population of Xanthium strumarium (Asteraceae).

Science.gov (United States)

Weiner, J; Kinsman, S; Williams, S

1998-11-01

We studied the growth of individual Xanthium strumarium plants growing at four naturally occurring local densities on a beach in Maine: (1) isolated plants, (2) pairs of plants ≤1 cm apart, (3) four plants within 4 cm of each other, and (4) discrete dense clumps of 10-39 plants. A combination of nondestructive measurements every 2 wk and parallel calibration harvests provided very good estimates of the growth in aboveground biomass of over 400 individual plants over 8 wk and afforded the opportunity to fit explicit growth models to 293 of them. There was large individual variation in growth and resultant size within the population and within all densities. Local crowding played a role in determining plant size within the population: there were significant differences in final size between all densities except pairs and quadruples, which were almost identical. Overall, plants growing at higher densities were more variable in growth and final size than plants growing at lower densities, but this was due to increased variation among groups (greater variation in local density and/or greater environmental heterogeneity), not to increased variation within groups. Thus, there was no evidence of size asymmetric competition in this population. The growth of most plants was close to exponential over the study period, but half the plants were slightly better fit by a sigmoidal (logistic) model. The proportion of plants better fit by the logistic model increased with density and with initial plant size. The use of explicit growth models over several growth intervals to describe stand development can provide more biological content and more statistical power than "growth-size" methods that analyze growth intervals separately.

Design and evaluation of warning systems: application to nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pe Benito-Claudio, C.

1986-01-01

This study starts by defining and explaining key concepts about warning, both as a process and a system. Thereafter, it presents a quantitative, probabilistic, and decision-oriented methodology for designing and evaluating a warning system. It illustrates the methodology for the case of rare, controllable, and potentially disastrous technological events, such as accidents in nuclear power plants. The methodology covers and links the three principal components of a warning system - signal (which is mainly technical), warning dissemination, and warning response (which are mainly social) - thereby allowing the relative evaluation of technological and social measures for reducing risks. Analytical principles and techniques of risk and decision analyses are applied. It defines a probabilistic performance measure to characterize each component of a warning system, and a value measure to assess the overall effectiveness of the system. An important aspect of this work is the integration, into one analytical model, of the results of engineering studies, such as probabilistic risk assessments of nuclear power plants, and of empirical findings on human response to warning in sociological research. The models, calculations, and sensitivity analyses are done with influence diagrams that are both intuitive and mathematical. This work puts particular emphasis on the study of behavioral response of individuals to warning

Chemistry evaluation in French EDF Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacquier, Hervé

2014-01-01

The Nuclear Production Division of EDF is comprised of 19 power stations (58 PWR reactors) and 2 national engineering organisations. Nuclear Inspection (IN) is an internal assessment unit of the EDF Nuclear Production Directorate. At the request of the Directorate, it carries out periodic evaluations of all the units of the division. The evaluation of the nuclear sites (EGE: Overall Excellence Assessment) is carried out every 4 years, an intermediate evaluation is also carried out between each EGE. These evaluations are independent of the WANO and IAEA evaluations. Exchanges are carried out between Nuclear Inspection and the other international operators (for example, USA (INPO), England, China...) to share site evaluation methods. These evaluations are carried out by a team of 30 inspectors, reinforced during each evaluation by 10 peers who come from the various French nuclear sites. Nuclear Inspection produces a performance standards document for each FUNCTIONAL AREA, which is based on the requirements of the company. On the whole, 13 areas are evaluated during each inspection, in particular: Management, Operations, Maintenance, Engineering and Chemistry. The area of reactor plant chemistry has been evaluated since 2009. The Chemistry performance standards document is written from the EDF internal requirements and international references. During site evaluations, all the performance standards are assessed for compliance. The Chemistry performance standards document is comprised of 3 topics: Management of plant chemistry, The respect of the chemical and radiochemical specifications, The condition of the laboratories and the sampling lines, measuring equipment, and chemical products. The evaluations carried out make it possible to define strengths and weaknesses which the sites must address. After each evaluation, the assessment is presented to the site management and to the director of EDF Nuclear Production. For 4 years these evaluations have allowed progress to

Evaluation of nuclear power plant operator's ability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Li; He Xuhong; Zhao Bingquan

2004-01-01

Based on the quantitative research on nuclear power plant (NPP) operator's psychological characteristics and performance, the Borda's method of fuzzy mathematics combined with the character of operator's task is used to evaluate their abilities. The result provides the reference for operator's reliability research and psychological evaluation. (author)

Research on psychological evaluation method for nuclear power plant operators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fang Xiang; He Xuhong; Zhao Bingquan

2007-01-01

The qualitative and quantitative psychology evaluation methods to the nuclear power plant operators were analyzed and discussed in the paper. The comparison analysis to the scope and result of application was carried out between method of outline figure fitted and method of fuzzy synthetic evaluation. The research results can be referenced to the evaluation of nuclear power plant operators. (authors)

Development of life evaluation technology for nuclear power plant components

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Young Jin [Sungkyunkwan Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kwon, J. D. [Yeungnam Univ., Gyeongsan (Korea, Republic of); Kang, K. J. [Chonnam National Univ., Gwangju (Korea, Republic of)] (and others)

2001-03-15

This research focuses on development of reliable life evaluation technology for nuclear power plant (NPP) components, and is divided into two parts, development of life evaluation systems for pressurized components and evaluation of applicability of emerging technology to operating plants. For the development of life evaluation system for nuclear pressure vessels, the following seven topics are covered: development of expert systems for integrity assessment of pressurized components, development of integrity evaluation systems of steam generator tubes, prediction of failure probability for NPP components based on probabilistic fracture mechanics, development of fatigue damage evaluation technique for plant life extension, domestic round robin analysis for pressurized thermal shock of reactor vessels, domestic round robin analysis of constructing P--T limit curves for reactor vessels, and development of data base for integrity assessment. For evaluation of applicability of emerging technology to operating plants, on the other hand, the following eight topics are covered: applicability of the Leak-Before-Break analysis to Cast S/S piping, collection of aged material tensile and toughness data for aged Cast S/S piping, finite element analyses for load carrying capacity of corroded pipes, development of Risk-based ISI methodology for nuclear piping, collection of toughness data for integrity assessment of bi-metallic joints, applicability of the Master curve concept to reactor vessel integrity assessment, measurement of dynamic fracture toughness, and provision of information related to regulation and plant life extension issues.

Periodical in-service inspection as part of individual program of quality assurance of steam generators and pressurizers of WWER 440 nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawalec, M.

1982-01-01

The manufacturers of equipment for nuclear power plants in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic are obligated to process so-called individual programs of quality assurance in order to secure the quality of selected equipment in nuclear power. These programmes should include the evaluation of the design of the individual equipments with regard to the implementation of in-service inspection. The main problems are discussed related to the processing of the program of quality assurance for the steam generator and pressurizer. To solve these problems it is necessary that the general project designer should make a classification of the components according to safety categories and that the manufacturers should determine the weak points of the design on the basis of an analysis of the design of individual component nodes. On the basis of such an analysis it is then necessary to evaluate the existing design of the scale of in-service inspections and to decide whether or not new inspection methods should be added. (Z.M.)

Study on a quantitative evaluation method of equipment maintenance level and plant safety level for giant complex plant system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aoki, Takayuki

2010-01-01

In this study, a quantitative method on maintenance level which is determined by the two factors, maintenance plan and field work implementation ability by maintenance crew is discussed. And also a quantitative evaluation method on safety level for giant complex plant system is discussed. As a result of consideration, the following results were obtained. (1) It was considered that equipment condition after maintenance work was determined by the two factors, maintenance plan and field work implementation ability possessed by maintenance crew. The equipment condition determined by the two factors was named as 'equipment maintenance level' and its quantitative evaluation method was clarified. (2) It was considered that CDF in a nuclear power plant, evaluated by using a failure rate counting the above maintenance level was quite different from CDF evaluated by using existing failure rates including a safety margin. Then, the former CDF was named as 'plant safety level' of plant system and its quantitative evaluation method was clarified. (3) Enhancing equipment maintenance level means an improvement of maintenance quality. That results in the enhancement of plant safety level. Therefore, plant safety level should be always watched as a plant performance indicator. (author)

Water hammer in USA nuclear power plants and it's evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Shuqian.

1987-01-01

The results of evaluations about the water hammer events in USA nuclear power plants in recent years are summarily reported. The evaluations included underlying causes and frequency of water hammer events, damages incurred and systems affected. Through the evaluations about water hammer events and on the basis of past operation experiences in nuclear power plants, the design and operational modifications to prevent or mitigate water hammer events were presented. The NRC's current opinions relating to the water hammer problems are summarized, the importance of water hammer events for nuclear power plants construction in China is indicated

Evaluation of construction cost of pyro-partitioning plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kinoshita, Kensuke; Kurata, Masateru; Inoue, Tadashi

1999-01-01

This study was conducted to evaluate the construction cost of a pyro-partitioning plant. The plant capacity was chosen to accommodate processing of the HLLW generated by PUREX reprocessing of 800 ton of spent LWR fuel. The block flow diagram and mass balance obtained from our previous experimental data were used to produce a detailed process-flow diagram and to design the plant. In this evaluation, the plant was estimated to cover an area of about 90 m x 70 m, and to cost $576 million for construction. This study shows that the cost of process equipments, such as reaction vessels, accountability tanks and so on, is just about 13% of total construction cost. On the other hand, the cost of process robots and the equipments for key measurement point (KMP) is major part in the cost of in-cell equipment. So it is clear that the construction cost can be reduced by reducing the number of material balance area (MBA) and KMP. (author)

Next Generation Nuclear Plant Project Evaluation of Siting a HTGR Co-generation Plant on an Operating Commercial Nuclear Power Plant Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demick, L.E.

2011-01-01

This paper summarizes an evaluation by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Project of siting a High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) plant on an existing nuclear plant site that is located in an area of significant industrial activity. This is a co-generation application in which the HTGR Plant will be supplying steam and electricity to one or more of the nearby industrial plants.

Next Generation Nuclear Plant Project Evaluation of Siting a HTGR Co-generation Plant on an Operating Commercial Nuclear Power Plant Site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

L.E. Demick

2011-10-01

This paper summarizes an evaluation by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Project of siting a High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) plant on an existing nuclear plant site that is located in an area of significant industrial activity. This is a co-generation application in which the HTGR Plant will be supplying steam and electricity to one or more of the nearby industrial plants.

Plants status monitor: Modelling techniques and inherent benefits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breeding, R.J.; Lainoff, S.M.; Rees, D.C.; Prather, W.A.; Fickiessen, K.O.E.

1987-01-01

The Plant Status Monitor (PSM) is designed to provide plant personnel with information on the operational status of the plant and compliance with the plant technical specifications. The PSM software evaluates system models using a 'distributed processing' technique in which detailed models of individual systems are processed rather than by evaluating a single, plant-level model. In addition, development of the system models for PSM provides inherent benefits to the plant by forcing detailed reviews of the technical specifications, system design and operating procedures, and plant documentation. (orig.)

Bid Preparation and Evaluation for Nuclear Power Plant Project Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Idris Taib, Mohd Khairulezwan Abdul Manan and Nur Farizan Amadzun

2011-01-01

Bid preparation and evaluation is one of the main activities in Nuclear Power Plant Project management. International Atomic Energy Agency guide and Korean experience was studied for Malaysian requirement in realization of first Nuclear Power Plant. Several aspects shall be taken into consideration such as political scenario, financial capabilities, sitting, human resource, technologies, fuel supplies and decommissioning for long term exceeded hundred years. Bidding process and activities is proposed for our country requirement. The main activities included but unlimited to Bid Invitation Specification, Bid Evaluation Process, Technical Evaluation, Economic Bid Evaluation and Contracting. On the end of day, Malaysia need safe and reliable Nuclear Power Plant. Malaysian Economic Transformation Programme also get benefit from spin-off localization products and services as well as Technology Transfer Programme. (author)

Micronutrients evaluation in Bidens pilosa L., a plant applied in diabetes treatments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goncalves, Rodolfo D.M.R.; Silva, Paulo S.C. da, E-mail: rdmrg89@usp.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2015-07-01

Diabetes mellitus is a disease that has increasingly affected individuals over the last years. World Health Organization estimates that the worldwide number of diabetes cases will rise from 171 million in 2000 to 366 million in 2030. Besides the therapy with pharmaceutical drugs, many diabetic patients use medicinal plants to control the glycemic levels. This herb has anti-diabetic action due to the presence of organic compounds and micronutrients. Among the plants applied in diabetes treatment, Bidens pilosa L., popularly known in Brazil as picao preto, belongs to the family of Asteraceaes, grows fast and is globally distributed. The aim of this study was evaluate the concentration of Cr, Fe, Mg, Mn, V and Zn in aerial parts of Bidens pilosa samples, as well as its growth substrate by means of instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). The samples were separated into two groups named control and treatment. During the plant development, micronutrient solution, containing Cr, Fe, Mg, Mn, V and Zn, was added to the treatment group. It was observed that micronutrient solution added to the Biden pilosa samples may had contributed to the preferentially absorption of Fe, Mg and V, as well as to decrease Zn absorption. (author)

Micronutrients evaluation in Bidens pilosa L., a plant applied in diabetes treatments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goncalves, Rodolfo D.M.R.; Silva, Paulo S.C. da

2015-01-01

Diabetes mellitus is a disease that has increasingly affected individuals over the last years. World Health Organization estimates that the worldwide number of diabetes cases will rise from 171 million in 2000 to 366 million in 2030. Besides the therapy with pharmaceutical drugs, many diabetic patients use medicinal plants to control the glycemic levels. This herb has anti-diabetic action due to the presence of organic compounds and micronutrients. Among the plants applied in diabetes treatment, Bidens pilosa L., popularly known in Brazil as picao preto, belongs to the family of Asteraceaes, grows fast and is globally distributed. The aim of this study was evaluate the concentration of Cr, Fe, Mg, Mn, V and Zn in aerial parts of Bidens pilosa samples, as well as its growth substrate by means of instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). The samples were separated into two groups named control and treatment. During the plant development, micronutrient solution, containing Cr, Fe, Mg, Mn, V and Zn, was added to the treatment group. It was observed that micronutrient solution added to the Biden pilosa samples may had contributed to the preferentially absorption of Fe, Mg and V, as well as to decrease Zn absorption. (author)

Compilation and evaluation of radioecological data on soil/plant transfer in consideration of local variabilities in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cierjacks, A.; Albers, B.

2004-01-01

Publications on soil-to-plant transfer factors (TFs) for radiocesium, radiostrontium, plutonium and iodine-129 in Germany were evaluated. Over 100 publications with relevant TFs were identified, whereof 54 were intensively analyzed and rated according to quality criteria. A database was created which gives a comprehensive survey of the transfer factors, important related soil and plant parameters and peculiarities of sampling and analyses. For better comparability, TFs were standardized and expressed in units of [Bq kg -1 plant dry matter / Bq kg -1 soil dry matter]. To enable statistical analyses, soil and plant parameters were standardized, too. Standardization also prepares data as input for modelling. The database contains 4800 records which represent singular and aggregated values of more than 7300 samples taken in Germany. Mean values of individual combinations radionuclide/crop can be queried easily using a special software module. Additional information about the experimental design, nuclide contents in plants and soil, important parameters and detailed remarks allow a classification of each record

A re-evaluation of nuclear plant offsite power supplies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

William E Berger; Robert E Henry

2005-01-01

Full text of publication follows: De-regulation of the electric power industry has resulted in separate ownership of the transmission and power generation facilities as well as a revised format for operating the transmission facilities. Currently we see the transfer of large blocks of bulk power between markets which can impact the voltage regulation at the offsite power supply. Where Nuclear Plant operations once knew with a large degree of certainty the operating range of the system supplying the offsite power supply, this may no longer be the case and more challenges to the safety systems could result. These challenges may manifest themselves as either a loss of offsite power or voltage levels approaching the degraded level setpoints. In this paper we will first explore what challenges are caused by deregulation and how they impact offsite power supply operations. Next we will incorporate the knowledge grained regarding accidents and consequences from the Individual Plant Evaluations (IPE's) to see how the offsite power supply could be operated to mitigate the challenges and extend the capacity of the auxiliary power system. Various scenarios will be examined using the Modular Accident Analysis Program (MAAP) as an integral plant model. MAAP simulations that include both the plant thermal hydraulic responses and corresponding electric power demand are presented to demonstrate the impact of alternate approaches to offsite power system operation. The original design phase of the offsite and onsite power distribution system was based on a criterion relating to the starting of all safety loads if a safety injection signal was present independent of the accident or its progression. The IPE and risk informed insights that are readily available today will be applied in the re-analyses of the offsite distribution system response. (authors)

Evaluation of economical at a uranium enrichment demonstration plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugitsue, Noritake

2001-01-01

In this report, the economy of technical achievement apply in the uranium enrichment demonstration plant is evaluated. From the evaluation, it can be concluded that the expected purpose was achieved because there was a definite economic prospect to commercial plant. The benefit analysis of thirteen years operation of the uranium enrichment demonstration plant also provides a financial aspect of the uranium enrichment business. Therefore, the performance, price and reliability of the centrifuge is an important factor in the uranium enrichment business. And the continuous development of a centrifuge while considering balance with the development cost is necessary for the business in the future. (author)

Effect of dietary cholesterol and plant sterol consumption on plasma lipid responsiveness and cholesterol trafficking in healthy individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Alphonse, Peter A S; Ramprasath, Vanu; Jones, Peter J H

2017-01-01

Dietary cholesterol and plant sterols differentially modulate cholesterol kinetics and circulating cholesterol. Understanding how healthy individuals with their inherent variabilities in cholesterol trafficking respond to such dietary sterols will aid in improving strategies for effective cholesterol lowering and alleviation of CVD risk. The objectives of this study were to assess plasma lipid responsiveness to dietary cholesterol v. plant sterol consumption, and to determine the response in rates of cholesterol absorption and synthesis to each sterol using stable isotope approaches in healthy individuals. A randomised, double-blinded, crossover, placebo-controlled clinical trial (n 49) with three treatment phases of 4-week duration were conducted in a Manitoba Hutterite population. During each phase, participants consumed one of the three treatments as a milkshake containing 600 mg/d dietary cholesterol, 2 g/d plant sterols or a control after breakfast meal. Plasma lipid profile was determined and cholesterol absorption and synthesis were measured by oral administration of [3, 4-13C] cholesterol and 2H-labelled water, respectively. Dietary cholesterol consumption increased total (0·16 (sem 0·06) mmol/l, P=0·0179) and HDL-cholesterol (0·08 (sem 0·03) mmol/l, P=0·0216) concentrations with no changes in cholesterol absorption or synthesis. Plant sterol consumption failed to reduce LDL-cholesterol concentrations despite showing a reduction (6 %, P=0·0004) in cholesterol absorption. An over-compensatory reciprocal increase in cholesterol synthesis (36 %, P=0·0026) corresponding to a small reduction in absorption was observed with plant sterol consumption, possibly resulting in reduced LDL-cholesterol lowering efficacy of plant sterols. These data suggest that inter-individual variability in cholesterol trafficking mechanisms may profoundly impact plasma lipid responses to dietary sterols in healthy individuals.

Technological, economic and sustainability evaluation of power plants using the analytic hierarchy process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chatzimouratidis, Athanasios I.; Pilavachi, Petros A.

2009-01-01

Complexity of power plant evaluation is steadily rising, as more criteria are involved in the overall assessment while evaluation data change rapidly. Apart from evaluating several aspects of power plants separately, a multicriteria analysis based on hierarchically structured criteria is necessary, so as to address the overall assessment of power plants according to the technological, economic and sustainability aspects. For this reason, in this paper, ten types of power plant are evaluated using nine end node criteria properly structured under the Analytical Hierarchy Process. Moreover, pairwise comparisons allow for accurate subjective criteria weighting. According to the scenario based on the subjective criteria weighting, emphasis is laid on sustainability driving renewable energy power plants at the top of the overall ranking, while nuclear and fossil fuel power plants rank in the last five positions. End node criteria contribution to each power plant and power plant performance per end node criterion is presented for all types of power plant and end node criteria. (author)

Gas Reactor International Cooperative program. Pebble bed reactor plant: screening evaluation. Volume 2. Conceptual balance of plant design

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1979-11-01

This report consists of three volumes which describe the design concepts and screening evaluation for a 3000 MW(t) Pebble Bed Reactor Multiplex Plant (PBR-MX). The Multiplex plant produces both electricity and transportable chemical energy via the thermochemical pipeline (TCP). The evaluation was limited to a direct cycle plant which has the steam generators and steam reformers in the primary circuit. This volume describes the conceptual balance-of-plant (BOP) design and was prepared by United Engineers and Constructors, Inc. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The major emphasis of the BOP study was a preliminary design of an overall plant to provide a basis for future studies.

Gas Reactor International Cooperative program. Pebble bed reactor plant: screening evaluation. Volume 2. Conceptual balance of plant design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-11-01

This report consists of three volumes which describe the design concepts and screening evaluation for a 3000 MW(t) Pebble Bed Reactor Multiplex Plant (PBR-MX). The Multiplex plant produces both electricity and transportable chemical energy via the thermochemical pipeline (TCP). The evaluation was limited to a direct cycle plant which has the steam generators and steam reformers in the primary circuit. This volume describes the conceptual balance-of-plant (BOP) design and was prepared by United Engineers and Constructors, Inc. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The major emphasis of the BOP study was a preliminary design of an overall plant to provide a basis for future studies

Evaluation of different hedging strategies for commodity price risks of industrial cogeneration plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palzer, Andreas; Westner, Günther; Madlener, Reinhard

2013-01-01

In this paper, we design and evaluate eight different strategies for hedging commodity price risks of industrial cogeneration plants. Price developments are parameterized based on EEX data from 2008 to 2011. The probability distributions derived are used to determine the value-at-risk (VaR) of the individual strategies, which are in a final step combined in a mean-variance portfolio analysis for determining the most efficient hedging strategy. We find that the strategy adopted can have a marked influence on the remaining price risk. Quarter futures are found to be particularly well suited for reducing market price risk. In contrast, spot trading of CO 2 certificates is found to be preferable compared to forward market trading. Finally, portfolio optimization shows that a mix of various hedging strategies can further improve the profitability of a heat-based cogeneration plant. - Highlights: • Evaluation of commodity price risk hedging strategies for industrial cogeneration. • Value-at-risk analysis of eight different hedging strategies. • Mean-variance portfolio analysis for determining the optimal hedging strategy mix. • A mix of hedging strategies further improves profitability of heat-based CHP

Evaluation of seismic hazards for nuclear power plants. Safety guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

The main objective of this Safety Guide is to provide recommendations on how to determine the ground motion hazards for a plant at a particular site and the potential for surface faulting, which could affect the feasibility of construction and safe operation of a plant at that site. The guidelines and procedures presented in this Safety Guide can appropriately be used in evaluations of site suitability and seismic hazards for nuclear power plants in any seismotectonic environment. The probabilistic seismic hazard analysis recommended in this Safety Guide also addresses the needs for seismic hazard analysis of external event PSAs conducted for nuclear power plants. Many of the methods and processes described may also be applicable to nuclear facilities other than power plants. Other phenomena of permanent ground displacement (liquefaction, slope instability, subsidence and collapse) as well as the topic of seismically induced flooding are treated in Safety Guides relating to foundation safety and coastal flooding. Recommendations of a general nature are given in Section 2. Section 3 discusses the acquisition of a database containing the information needed to evaluate and address all hazards associated with earthquakes. Section 4 covers the use of this database for construction of a seismotectonic model. Sections 5 and 6 review ground motion hazards and evaluations of the potential for surface faulting, respectively. Section 7 addresses quality assurance in the evaluation of seismic hazards for nuclear power plants

Intergrated plant safety assessment. Systematic evaluation program. Palisades plant, Consumers Power Company, Docket No. 50-255. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-10-01

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has published its Final Integrated Plant Safety Assessment Report (IPSAR) (NUREG-0820), under the scope of the Systematic Evaluation Program (SEP), for Consumers Power Company's Palisades Plant located in Covert, Van Buren County, Michigan. The SEP was initiated by the NRC to review the design of older operating nuclear reactor plants to reconfirm and document their safety. This report documents the review completed under the SEP for the Palisades Plant. The review has provided for (1) as assessment of the significance of differences between current technical positions on selected safety issues and those that existed when the Palisades Plant was licensed, (2) a basis for deciding on how these differences should be resolved in an integrated plant review, and (3) a documented evaluation of plant safety when all supplements to the Final IPSAR and the Safety Evaluation Report for converting the license from a provisional to a full-term license have been issued. The report also addresses the comments and recommendations made by the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards in connection with its review of the Draft Report, issued in April 1982

Human action perspectives based on individual plant examination results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forester, J.; Thompson, C.; Drouin, M.; Lois, E.

1996-01-01

This paper provides perspectives on human actions gained from reviewing 76 individual plant examination (IPE) submittals. Human actions found to be important in boiling water reactors (BWRs) and in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) are presented and the events most frequently found important are discussed. Since there are numerous factors that can influence the quantification of human error probabilities (HEPs) and introduce significant variability in the resulting HEPs (which in turn can influence which events are found to be important), the variability in HEPs for similar events across IPEs is examined to assess the extent to which variability in results is due to real versus artifactual differences. Finally, similarities and differences in human action observations across BWRs and PWRs are examined

Applicability of the proposed evaluation method for social infrastructures to nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ichimura, Tomiyasu

2015-01-01

This study proposes an evaluation method for social infrastructures, and verifies the applicability of the proposed evaluation method to social infrastructures by applying it to nuclear power plants, which belong to social infrastructures. In the proposed evaluation method for social infrastructures, the authors chose four evaluation viewpoints and proposed common evaluation standards for the evaluation indexes obtained from each viewpoint. By applying this system to the evaluation of nuclear power plants, the evaluation index examples were obtained from the evaluation viewpoints. Furthermore, when the level of the common evaluation standards of the proposed evaluation method was applied to the evaluation of the activities of nuclear power plants based on the regulations, it was confirmed that these activities are at the highest level. Through this application validation, it was clarified that the proposed evaluation method for social infrastructures had certain effectiveness. The four evaluation viewpoints are 'service,' 'environment,' 'action factor,' and 'operation and management.' Part of the application examples to a nuclear power plant are as follows: (1) in the viewpoint of service: the operation rate of the power plant, and operation costs, and (2) in the viewpoint of environment: external influence related to nuclear waste and radioactivity, and external effect related to cooling water. (A.O.)

Genetic Programming for Medicinal Plant Family Identification System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Indra Laksmana

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Information about medicinal plants that is available in text documents is generally quite easy to access, however, one needs some efforts to use it. This research was aimed at utilizing crucial information taken from a text document to identify the family of several species of medicinal plants using a heuristic approach, i.e. genetic programming. Each of the species has its unique features. The genetic program puts the characteristics or special features of each family into a tree form. There are a number of processes involved in the investigated method, i.e. data acquisition, booleanization, grouping of training and test data, evaluation, and analysis. The genetic program uses a training process to select the best individual, initializes a generate-rule process to create several individuals and then executes a fitness evaluation. The next procedure is a genetic operation process, which consists of tournament selection to choose the best individual based on a fitness value, the crossover operation and the mutation operation. These operations have the purpose of complementing the individual. The best individual acquired is the expected solution, which is a rule for classifying medicinal plants. This process produced three rules, one for each plant family, displaying a feature structure that distinguishes each of the families from each other. The genetic program then used these rules to identify the medicinal plants, achieving an average accuracy of 86.47%.

Integrated plant safety assessment. Systematic evaluation program, Big Rock Point Plant (Docket No. 50-155). Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-05-01

The Systematic Evaluation Program was initiated in February 1977 by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to review the designs of older operating nuclear reactor plants to reconfirm and document their safety. The review provides (1) an assessment of how these plants compare with current licensing safety requirements relating to selected issues, (2) a basis for deciding how these differences should be resolved in an integrated plant review, and (3) a documented evaluation of plant safety when the supplement to the Final Integrated Plant Safety Assessment Report has been issued. This report documents the review of the Big Rock Point Plant, which is one of ten plants reviewed under Phase II of this program. This report indicates how 137 topics selected for review under Phase I of the program were addressed. It also addresses a majority of the pending licensing actions for Big Rock Point, which include TMI Action Plan requirements and implementation criteria for resolved generic issues. Equipment and procedural changes have been identified as a result of the review

Study on Economic Evaluation of Nuclear Power Plant's SSC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yun, Eun-Sub; Park, Young-Sheop

2007-01-01

As the operating year of nuclear power plant increases, more improvement plans on degraded SSCs(Structure, System, and Component) are suggested. Because of safety concern, the maintenance and replacing cost of nuclear power plant's SSCs are usually high and it can be a burden to financial control. To satisfy both safety and economic problems, systematic and efficient plans are needed. For this reason, KHNP is now developing the LTAM (Long Term Asset Management) program to establish the long term improvement plans for SSCs, from safety and economic point of views. Actually LTAM program is one of the steps of INPO ER (Equipment Reliability) process. In USA, EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute) has developed the LCM (Life Cycle Management) program and it was applied to some nuclear power plants. In this program, several alternatives are candidated. Then, economic evaluation is applied to each alternative. The result of economic evaluation affects to the final alternative decision. In this study, EPRI's economic evaluation method is reviewed

Development and validation of a heuristic model for evaluation of the team performance of operators in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Sa Kil; Byun, Seong Nam; Lee, Dhong Hoon

2011-01-01

Highlights: → We develop an estimation model for evaluation of the team performance of MCR. → To build the model, we extract team performance factors through reviewing literatures and identifying behavior markers. → We validate that the model is adaptable to the advanced MCR of nuclear power plants. → As a result, we find that the model is a systematic and objective to measure team performance. - Abstract: The global concerns about safety in the digital technology of the main control room (MCR) are growing as domestic and foreign nuclear power plants are developed with computerized control facilities and human-system interfaces. In a narrow space, the digital technology contributes to a control room environment, which can facilitate the acquisition of all the information needed for operation. Thus, although an individual performance of the advanced MCR can be further improved; there is a limit in expecting an improvement in team performance. The team performance depends on organic coherence as a whole team rather than on the knowledge and skill of an individual operator. Moreover, a good team performance improves communication between and within teams in an efficient manner, and then it can be conducive to addressing unsafe conditions. Respecting this, it is important and necessary to develop methodological technology for the evaluation of operators' teamwork or collaboration, thus enhancing operational performance in nuclear power plant at the MCR. The objectives of this research are twofold: to develop a systematic methodology for evaluation of the team performance of MCR operators in consideration of advanced MCR characteristics, and to validate that the methodology is adaptable to the advanced MCR of nuclear power plants. In order to achieve these two objectives, first, team performance factors were extracted through literature reviews and methodological study concerning team performance theories. Second, the team performance factors were identified and

Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Activity of Some Medicinal Plants ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Purpose: To evaluate the anti-enterobacterial potential of nine ethnobotanically selected plants traditionally used in different parts of India for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders such as cholera, diarrhea or dysentery. Methods: The methanol extracts of these plants were screened for antibacterial activity against 11 ...

An evaluation method of fault-tolerance for digital plant protection system in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jun Seok; Kim, Man Cheol; Seong, Poong Hyun; Kang, Hyun Gook; Jang, Seung Cheol

2005-01-01

In recent years, analog based nuclear power plant (NPP) safety related instrumentation and control (I and C) systems have been replaced to modern digital based I and C systems. NPP safety related I and C systems require very high design reliability compare to the conventional digital systems so that reliability assessment is very important. In the reliability assessment of the digital system, fault tolerance evaluation is one of the crucial factors. However, the evaluation is very difficult because the digital system in NPP is very complex. In this paper, the simulation based fault injection technique on simplified processor is used to evaluate the fault-tolerance of the digital plant protection system (DPPS) with high efficiency with low cost

Exergoeconomic Evaluation of a Modern Ultra-Supercritical Power Plant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lingnan Wu

2012-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the exergoeconomic analysis was conducted to an existing ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant in China to understand the cost-formation process, to evaluate the economic performance of each component and to find possible solutions for more cost-effective designs. The total revenue requirement (TRR and the specific exergy costing (SPECO methods were applied for economic analysis and exergy costing, respectively. Quantitative balances of exergy and exergetic costs as well as necessary auxiliary equations for both individual component and the overall system were established. The results show that the exergoeconomic factors of the furnace and heat exchangers at low temperature levels, including air preheater and low-pressure feedwater preheaters, are rather small; while those of other components are relatively large. Moving more heat absorption into furnace to use the effective radiation heat transfer, increasing the air preheating temperature and adding more low pressure feedwater preheaters can be promising solutions for future design.

Evaluation of radiological impact of habitual atmospheric releases in the surroundings of the Juragua nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez Rodriguez, J.M.; Rosales, I.

1993-01-01

The considerations and fundamental data used to evaluate the individual doses to the population living within an area of 40 km in the surroundings of Juragua nuclear power plant are presented. Recognized dispersion models (Pasquill modified) and models of dose calculations due to continuous habitual air releases composed of gases and aerosols (47 radionuclides) are used for the calculations.The following ways are taken into account for evaluation: a)irradiation of the cloud, b)irradiation of contaminated ground, c)inhalation, d) ingestion of agro-products. The iso line maps of concentrations and fundamental doses for the site are shown

Systematic safety evaluation of old nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dredemis, G.; Fourest, B.

1984-01-01

The French safety authorities have undertaken a systematic evaluation of the safety of old nuclear power plants. Apart from a complete revision of safety documents (safety analysis report, general operating rules, incident and accident procedures, internal emergency plan, quality organisation manual), this examination consisted of analysing the operating experience of systems frequently challenged and a systematic examination of the safety-related systems. This paper is based on an exercise at the Ardennes Nuclear Power Plant which has been in operation for 15 years. This paper also summarizes the main surveys and modifications relating to this power plant. (orig.)

Integrated plant safety assessment: systematic evaluation program. Haddam Neck Plant, Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company. Docket No. 50-213

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-03-01

The Systematic Evaluation Program was initiated in February 1977 by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to review the designs of older operating nuclear reactor plants to confirm and document their safety. The review provides: (1) an assessment of how these plants compare with current licensing safety requirements relating to selected issues, (2) a basis for deciding on how these differences should be resolved in an integrated plant review, and (3) a documented evaluation of plant safety. This report documents the review of Haddam Neck Plant, operated by Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company. The Haddam Neck Plant is one of 10 plants reviewed under Phase II of this program. This report indicates how 137 topics selected for review under Phase I of the program were addressed. Equipment and procedural changes have been identified as a result of the review

Forensic Evaluation of Deaf Individuals: Challenges and Strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Pollard, Robert Q; Berlinski, Brian T

2017-01-01

Forensic evaluation of deaf individuals presents unique challenges due to many examinees' fund of information deficits, potential for language deprivation, and examiners' frequent lack of creativity regarding communication methods. This article describes challenges most frequently encountered in competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility evaluations and offers strategies for overcoming them. The value of employing multiple communication methods, especially the use of illustrations, is emphasized. Suggestions also are offered regarding preparing evaluation reports and effectively communicating "key deaf fundamentals" to legal personnel. Encouragement is offered for qualified, sign-fluent professionals to engage in forensic work.

Evaluation of air cleaning system concepts for emergency use in LMFBR plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hilliard, R.K.; McCormack, J.D.; Postma, A.K.

1976-12-01

Nineteen different air cleaning concepts are arranged into twenty-four systems and evaluated for use as accident mitigating systems in LMFBR plants. Both single, low-leakage containment plants and once-through operation applicable to containment/confinement plants are considered. Plant characteristics affecting air cleaning requirements are defined for 1000 MW(e) plants and a sodium and radiological release term is postulated. The accident conditions under which the emergency air cleaning system (EACS) must function is established by use of SOFIRE-II and HAA-3B computer codes. Criteria are developed for evaluating the various systems and for assigning comparative ratings. The numerical ratings are combined with information on cost and development potential to arrive at recommendations for the most promising systems. The conclusion is made that reliable and effective systems are feasible for use as engineered safety features for LMFBR plants, but that development effort is required for all the air cleaning concepts evaluated

Seismic re-evaluation of piping systems of heavy water plant, Kota

CERN Document Server

Mishra, R; Soni, R S; Venkat-Raj, V

2002-01-01

Heavy Water Plant, Kota is the first indigenous heavy water plant built in India. The plant started operation in the year 1985 and it is approaching the completion of its originally stipulated design life. In view of the excellent record of plant operation for the past so many years, it has been planned to carry out various exercises for the life extension of the plant. In the first stage, evaluation of operation stresses was carried out for the process critical piping layouts and equipment, which are connected with 25 process critical nozzle locations, identified based on past history of the plant performance. Fatigue life evaluation has been carried out to fmd out the Cumulative Usage Factor, which helps in arriving at a decision regarding the life extension of the plant. The results of these exercises have been already reported separately vide BARC/200I /E/O04. In the second stage, seismic reevaluation of the plant has been carried out to assess its ability to maintain its integ:rity in case of a seismic e...

Introducing PCTRAN as an evaluation tool for nuclear power plant emergency responses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, Yi-Hsiang; Shih, Chunkuan; Chiang, Show-Chyuan; Weng, Tung-Li

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► PCTRAN is integrated with an atmospheric dispersion algorithm. ► The improved PCTRAN acts as an accident/incident simulator and a data exchange system. ► The software helps the responsible organizations decide the rescue and protective actions. ► The evaluation results show the nuclear power plant accident and its off-site dose consequences. ► The software can be used for nuclear power plant emergency responses. - Abstract: Protecting the public from radiation exposure is important if a nuclear power plant (NPP) accident occurs. Deciding appropriate protective actions in a timely and effective manner can be fulfilled by using an effective accident evaluation tool. In our earlier work, we have integrated PCTRAN (Personal Computer Transient Analyzer) with the off-site dose calculation model. In this study, we introduce PCTRAN as an evaluation tool for nuclear power plant emergency responses. If abnormal conditions in the plant are monitored or observed, the plant staffs can distinguish accident/incident initiation events. Thus, the responsible personnel can immediately operate PCTRAN and set up those accident/incident initiation events to simulate the nuclear power plant transient or accident in conjunction with off-site dose distributions. The evaluation results consequently help the responsible organizations decide the rescue and protective actions. In this study, we explain and demonstrate the capabilities of PCTRAN for nuclear emergency responses, through applying it to simulate the postulated nuclear power plant accident scenarios.

A method for evaluation of UV and biologically effective exposures to plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paris, A.V.; Southern Queensland Univ., Toowoomba, QLD; Wong, J.C.F.; Galea, V.

1996-01-01

This paper presents a method for evaluating the UV and biologically effective exposures to a plant canopy during the irradiation of soybean with supplemental levels of UV radiation in a greenhouse study. The method employs four materials as dosimeters that allow evaluation of the UV spectra. The exposures evaluated at three growth stages were less by factors of 0.44, 0.49 and 0.56 compared to the ambient exposures. At the end of the irradiation period, the ambient biologically effective exposure for generalized plant response was higher by 180% compared to that calculated over the canopy. This is the magnitude of the error in UV studies that provide the ambient exposure as a measure of the UV incident on the plant. Additionally, the difference between the ambient and canopy exposures varied during the growth stages. These results indicate that the dosimetric technique applied to evaluating the UV exposures over a plant canopy is a more accurate representation of the UV exposure incidence on a plant than any obtained by measuring the ambient exposures only. (Author)

Brine Shrimp Toxicity Evaluation Of Some Tanzanian Plants Used ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Plants which are used by traditional healers in Tanzania have been evaluated to obtain preliminary data of their toxicity using the brine shrimps test. The results indicate that 9 out of 44 plant species whose extracts were tested exhibited high toxicity with LC50 values below 20μg/ml. These include Aloe lateritia Engl.

Technical evaluation of bids for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-01-01

In continuation of its efforts to provide comprehensive and impartial guidance to Member States facing the need to introduce nuclear power, the International Atomic Energy Agency is issuing this guidebook as part of a series of guidebooks and codes of practice and, in particular, as a necessary supplement to 'Economic Evaluation of Bids for Nuclear Power Plants: A Guidebook', published by the IAEA in 1976 as Technical Reports Series No.175. The present publication is intended for project managers and senior engineers of electric utilities who are concerned with the evaluation of bids for a nuclear power project. It assumes that the reader has a good knowledge of the technical characteristics of nuclear power plants and of nuclear power project implementation. Its purpose is to provide the information necessary to organize, guide and supervise the technical evaluation of bids for a nuclear power project. It goes without saying that the technical staff carrying out the evaluation must have prior technical experience which cannot be provided by a guidebook

Evaluation of Risk Metrics for KHNP Reference Plants Using the Latest Plant Specific Data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeon, Ho Jun; Hwang, Seok Won; Ghi, Moon Goo

2010-01-01

As Risk-Informed Applications (RIAs) are actively implemented in the nuclear industry, an issue associated with the technical adequacy of the Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) arises in its data sources. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) PRA standard suggests the use of component failure data that represent the as-built and as-operated plant conditions. Furthermore, the peer reviews for the KHNP reference plants stated that the component failure data should be updated to reflect the latest plant specific data available. For ensuring the technical adequacy in PSA data elements, we try to update component failure data to reflect the as-operated plant conditions, and a trend analysis of the failure data is implemented. In addition, by applying the updated failure data to the PSA models of the KHNP reference plants, the risk metrics of Core Damage Frequency (CDF) and Large Early Release Frequency (LERF) are evaluated

Development of life evaluation technology for nuclear power plant components

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Young Jin; Kim, Yun Jae; Choi, Jae Boong [Sungkyunkwan Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)] (and others)

2002-03-15

This project focuses on developing reliable life evaluation technology for nuclear power plant components, and is divided into two parts, development of a life evaluation system for nuclear pressure vessels and evaluation of applicability of emerging technology to operating plants. For the development of life evaluation system for nuclear pressure vessels, the following seven topics are covered in this project: defect assessment method for steam generator tubes, development of fatigue monitoring system, assessment of corroded pipes, domestic round robin analysis for constructing P-T limit curve for RPV, development of probabilistic integrity assessment technique, effect of aging on strength of dissimilar welds, applicability of LBB to cast stainless steel, and development of probabilistic piping fracture mechanics.

Dynamic testing of nuclear power plant structures: an evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weaver, H.J.

1980-02-01

Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) evaluated the applications of system identification techniques to the dynamic testing of nuclear power plant structures and subsystems. These experimental techniques involve exciting a structure and measuring, digitizing, and processing the time-history motions that result. The data can be compared to parameters calculated using finite element or other models of the test systems to validate the model and to verify the seismic analysis. This report summarizes work in three main areas: (1) analytical qualification of a set of computer programs developed at LLL to extract model parameters from the time histories; (2) examination of the feasibility of safely exciting nuclear power plant structures and accurately recording the resulting time-history motions; (3) study of how the model parameters that are extracted from the data be used best to evaluate structural integrity and analyze nuclear power plants

Use of nondestructive evaluation methods to improve power plant availability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weber, R.M.

1985-01-01

On an ever-increasing basis, utilities are relying on nondestructive evaluation (NDE) as a management and planning tool. In addition to the conventional ASME Code and Technical Specification-required examinations, progressive utilities are utilizing NDE sampling programs to monitor existing conditions and search for potential situations affecting plant safety and reliability. Improved NDE detection and sizing procedures give management personnel the accurate information needed to make the ''go/no go'' decisions on repair programs which can significantly affect plant availability. As the burden of regulatory-imposed inspection requirements increases, plant personnel are increasingly cognizant that NDE is a significant factor in their plant's outage schedule. Whether an outage is scheduled or forced, NDE becomes part of each plant's program to assure the safety and reliability of its critical components. Knowledge and planning of NDE application is important because of the time expended in examination performance and subsequent data evaluation. Managers who are knowledgeable in NDE application can effectively improve plant availability by scheduling NDE as an integral part of their maintenance programs. Examination results can then be used in making decisions directly affecting availability

Evaluation of Foreign Investment in Power Plants using Real Options

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, Moritoshi; Zhou, Yicheng

This paper proposes new methods for evaluating foreign investment in power plants under market uncertainty using a real options approach. We suppose a thermal power plant project in a deregulated electricity market. One of our proposed methods is that we calculate the cash flow generated by the project in a reference year using actual market data to incorporate periodic characteristics of energy prices into a yearly cash flow model. We make the stochastic yearly cash flow model with the initial value which is the cash flow in the reference year, and certain trend and volatility. Then we calculate the real options value (ROV) of the project which has abandonment options using the yearly cash flow model. Another our proposed method is that we evaluate foreign currency/domestic currency exchange rate risk by representing ROV in foreign currency as yearly pay off and exchanging it to ROV in domestic currency using a stochastic exchange rate model. We analyze the effect of the heat rate and operation and maintenance costs of the power plant on ROV, and evaluate exchange rate risk through numerical examples. Our proposed method will be useful for the risk management of foreign investment in power plants.

Individual class evaluation and effective teaching characteristics in integrated curricula.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Jung Eun; Kim, Na Jin; Song, Meiying; Cui, Yinji; Kim, Eun Ju; Park, In Ae; Lee, Hye In; Gong, Hye Jin; Kim, Su Young

2017-12-12

In an integrated curriculum, multiple instructors take part in a course in the form of team teaching. Accordingly, medical schools strive to manage each course run by numerous instructors. As part of the curriculum management, course evaluation is conducted, but a single, retrospective course evaluation does not comprehensively capture student perception of classes by different instructors. This study aimed to demonstrate the need for individual class evaluation, and further to identify teaching characteristics that instructors need to keep in mind when preparing classes. From 2014 to 2015, students at one medical school left comments on evaluation forms after each class. Courses were also assessed after each course. Their comments were categorized by connotation (positive or negative) and by subject. Within each subject category, test scores were compared between positively and negatively mentioned classes. The Mann-Whitney U test was performed to test group differences in scores. The same method was applied to the course evaluation data. Test results for course evaluation showed group difference only in the practice/participation category. However, test results for individual class evaluation showed group differences in six categories: difficulty, main points, attitude, media/contents, interest, and materials. That is, the test scores of classes positively mentioned in six domains were significantly higher than those of negatively mentioned classes. It was proved that individual class evaluation is needed to manage multi-instructor courses in integrated curricula of medical schools. Based on the students' extensive feedback, we identified teaching characteristics statistically related to academic achievement. School authorities can utilize these findings to encourage instructors to develop effective teaching characteristics in class preparation.

Seismic re-evaluation of French nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrieu, R.

1995-01-01

After a presentation of the seismic inputs which have been taken into account in the design of the French Nuclear Power Plants, the re-assessed values of these inputs are shown. Some considerations about the specificity of the French PWR program with regard to the standardisation of plants are given together with the present objectives of seismic re-evaluations. Finally the main results of the seismic re-analysis being performed for the Phenix Fast Reactor are considered. (author)

Plant communication: mediated by individual or blended VOCs?

Science.gov (United States)

Ueda, Hirokazu; Kikuta, Yukio; Matsuda, Kazuhiko

2012-02-01

Plants emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as a means to warn other plants of impending danger. Nearby plants exposed to the induced VOCs prepare their own defense weapons in response. Accumulated data supports this assertion, yet much of the evidence has been obtained in laboratories under artificial conditions where, for example, a single VOC might be applied at a concentration that plants do not actually experience in nature. Experiments conducted outdoors suggest that communication occurs only within a limited distance from the damaged plants. Thus, the question remains as to whether VOCs work as a single component or a specific blend, and at which concentrations VOCs elicit insect and pathogen defenses in undamaged plants. We discuss these issues based on available literature and our recent work, and propose future directions in this field.

Performance evaluations of a geothermal power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coskun, C.; Oktay, Z.; Dincer, I.

2011-01-01

Thermodynamic analysis of an operational 7.5 MWe binary geothermal power plant in Tuzla-Turkey is performed, through energy and exergy, using actual plant data to assess its energetic and exergetic performances. Eight performance-related parameters, namely total exergy destruction ratio, component exergy destruction ratio, dimensionless exergy destruction, energetic renewability ratio, exergetic renewability ratio, energetic reinjection ratio, exergetic reinjection ratio and improvement potential are investigated. Energy and exergy losses/destructions for the plant and its units are determined and illustrated using energy and exergy flow diagrams. The largest energy and exergy losses occur in brine reinjection unit. The variation of the plant energy efficiency is found between 6% and 12%. Exergy efficiency values change between 35 and 49%. The annual average energy and exergy efficiencies are found as 9.47% and 45.2%, respectively. - Highlights: → Investigation of a geothermal system energetically and exergetically. → Performance assessment of the system through energy and exergy efficiencies. → Utilization of temperature distribution in exergy calculations. → Evaluation of eight energetic and exergetic parameters for the system.

Nuclear power plant simulation facility evaluation methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haas, P.M.; Carter, R.J.; Laughery, K.R. Jr.

1985-01-01

A methodology for evaluation of nuclear power plant simulation facilities with regard to their acceptability for use in the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) operator licensing exam is described. The evaluation is based primarily on simulator fidelity, but incorporates some aspects of direct operator/trainee performance measurement. The panel presentation and paper discuss data requirements, data collection, data analysis and criteria for conclusions regarding the fidelity evaluation, and summarize the proposed use of direct performance measurment. While field testing and refinement of the methodology are recommended, this initial effort provides a firm basis for NRC to fully develop the necessary methodology

Uncertainty Evaluation with Multi-Dimensional Model of LBLOCA in OPR1000 Plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jieun; Oh, Deog Yeon; Seul, Kwang-Won; Lee, Jin Ho [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

KINS has used KINS-REM (KINS-Realistic Evaluation Methodology) which developed for Best- Estimate (BE) calculation and uncertainty quantification for regulatory audit. This methodology has been improved continuously by numerous studies, such as uncertainty parameters and uncertainty ranges. In this study, to evaluate the applicability of improved KINS-REM for OPR1000 plant, uncertainty evaluation with multi-dimensional model for confirming multi-dimensional phenomena was conducted with MARS-KS code. In this study, the uncertainty evaluation with multi- dimensional model of OPR1000 plant was conducted for confirming the applicability of improved KINS- REM The reactor vessel modeled using MULTID component of MARS-KS code, and total 29 uncertainty parameters were considered by 124 sampled calculations. Through 124 calculations using Mosaique program with MARS-KS code, peak cladding temperature was calculated and final PCT was determined by the 3rd order Wilks' formula. The uncertainty parameters which has strong influence were investigated by Pearson coefficient analysis. They were mostly related with plant operation and fuel material properties. Evaluation results through the 124 calculations and sensitivity analysis show that improved KINS-REM could be reasonably applicable for uncertainty evaluation with multi-dimensional model calculations of OPR1000 plants.

Emergy Evaluation of a Swedish Nuclear Power Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kindberg, Anna

2007-03-01

Today it is common to evaluate and compare energy systems in terms of emission of greenhouse gases. However, energy systems should not only reduce their pollution but also give a large energy return. One method used to measure energy efficiency is emergy (embodied energy, energy memory) evaluation, which was developed by the system ecologist Howard T. Odum. Odum defines emergy as the available energy of one kind previously used up directly and indirectly to make a service or product. Both work of nature and work of human economy in generating products and services are calculated in terms of emergy. Work of nature takes the form of natural resources and work of human economy includes labour, services and products used to transform natural resources into something of value to the economy. The quotient between work of nature and work of human economy gives the emergy return on investment of the investigated product. With this in mind the present work is an attempt to make an emergy evaluation of a Swedish nuclear power plant to estimate its emergy return on investment. The emergy return on investment ratio of a Swedish nuclear power plant is calculated to approximately 11 in this diploma thesis. This means that for all emergy the Swedish economy has invested in the nuclear power plant it gets 11 times more emergy in return in the form of electricity generated by nuclear power. The method used in this work may facilitate future emergy evaluations of other energy systems

Emergy Evaluation of a Swedish Nuclear Power Plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kindberg, Anna

2007-03-15

Today it is common to evaluate and compare energy systems in terms of emission of greenhouse gases. However, energy systems should not only reduce their pollution but also give a large energy return. One method used to measure energy efficiency is emergy (embodied energy, energy memory) evaluation, which was developed by the system ecologist Howard T. Odum. Odum defines emergy as the available energy of one kind previously used up directly and indirectly to make a service or product. Both work of nature and work of human economy in generating products and services are calculated in terms of emergy. Work of nature takes the form of natural resources and work of human economy includes labour, services and products used to transform natural resources into something of value to the economy. The quotient between work of nature and work of human economy gives the emergy return on investment of the investigated product. With this in mind the present work is an attempt to make an emergy evaluation of a Swedish nuclear power plant to estimate its emergy return on investment. The emergy return on investment ratio of a Swedish nuclear power plant is calculated to approximately 11 in this diploma thesis. This means that for all emergy the Swedish economy has invested in the nuclear power plant it gets 11 times more emergy in return in the form of electricity generated by nuclear power. The method used in this work may facilitate future emergy evaluations of other energy systems.

Pressurized thermal shock evaluation of the Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 Nuclear Power Plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abbott, L [ed.

1985-09-01

An evaluation of the risk to the Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 nuclear power plant due to pressurized thermal shock (PTS) has been completed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) with the assistance of several other organizations. This evaluation was part of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission program designed to study the PTS risk to three nuclear plants, the other two plants being Oconee Unit 1 and H.B. Robinson Unit 2. The specific objectives of the program were to (1) provide a best estimate of the frequency of a through-the-wall crack in the pressure vessel at each of the three plants, together with the uncertainty in the estimated frequency and its sensitivity to the variables used in the evaluation; (2) determine the dominant overcooling sequences contributing to the estimated frequency and the associated failures in the plant systems or in operator actions; and (3) evaluate the effectiveness of potential corrective measures.

Pressurized thermal shock evaluation of the Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 Nuclear Power Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbott, L.

1985-09-01

An evaluation of the risk to the Calvert Cliffs Unit 1 nuclear power plant due to pressurized thermal shock (PTS) has been completed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) with the assistance of several other organizations. This evaluation was part of a Nuclear Regulatory Commission program designed to study the PTS risk to three nuclear plants, the other two plants being Oconee Unit 1 and H.B. Robinson Unit 2. The specific objectives of the program were to (1) provide a best estimate of the frequency of a through-the-wall crack in the pressure vessel at each of the three plants, together with the uncertainty in the estimated frequency and its sensitivity to the variables used in the evaluation; (2) determine the dominant overcooling sequences contributing to the estimated frequency and the associated failures in the plant systems or in operator actions; and (3) evaluate the effectiveness of potential corrective measures

Problems in the context evaluation of individualized courses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Plomp, T.; van der Meer, A.W.J.

1977-01-01

From 1970 to 1974 an Individualized Study System (ISS) for mathematics courses for first year engineering students was developed. Because of changes in the curriculum, new courses had to be developed from August 1974. The context evaluation of these new courses (ISS-calculus) consisted mainly of the

Development of supplier evaluation model applying in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yonggang; Fang Chunfa

2006-01-01

It is essential for the safe and stable operations of Nuclear Power Plants that various resources in the supply chain are effectively managed. Supplier is a significant resource of nuclear entities serving as an extension of the operation process. Scientific and radiation evaluation of the performance of suppliers is of vital importance to an effective and high quality supply chain. This paper establishes an advance and practical supplier evaluation system that is applicable for the operational nuclear power plants, based on the analysis of the current operation status of Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station against its targeted objectives, the acquisition of relevant practices home and abroad and the benchmarking with advanced peers, in order to enhance the core competence of nuclear power plant. (authors)

Plutonium Finishing Plant safety evaluation report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

The Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) previously known as the Plutonium Process and Storage Facility, or Z-Plant, was built and put into operation in 1949. Since 1949 PFP has been used for various processing missions, including plutonium purification, oxide production, metal production, parts fabrication, plutonium recovery, and the recovery of americium (Am-241). The PFP has also been used for receipt and large scale storage of plutonium scrap and product materials. The PFP Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) was prepared by WHC to document the hazards associated with the facility, present safety analyses of potential accident scenarios, and demonstrate the adequacy of safety class structures, systems, and components (SSCs) and operational safety requirements (OSRs) necessary to eliminate, control, or mitigate the identified hazards. Documented in this Safety Evaluation Report (SER) is DOE's independent review and evaluation of the PFP FSAR and the basis for approval of the PFP FSAR. The evaluation is presented in a format that parallels the format of the PFP FSAR. As an aid to the reactor, a list of acronyms has been included at the beginning of this report. The DOE review concluded that the risks associated with conducting plutonium handling, processing, and storage operations within PFP facilities, as described in the PFP FSAR, are acceptable, since the accident safety analyses associated with these activities meet the WHC risk acceptance guidelines and DOE safety goals in SEN-35-91

Performance objectives and criteria for plant evaluations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-04-01

Maintenance organization and administration should ensure effective implementation and control of maintenance activities. The criteria are: A. The organizational structure is clearly defined. B. Staffing and resources are sufficient to accomplish assigned tasks. C. Responsibilities and authority of each management, supervisory, and professional position are clearly defined. D. Personnel clearly understand their authority, responsibilities, accountabilities, and interfaces with supporting groups. E. Administrative controls are employed for maintenance activities important to plant safety and reliability. F. Performance appraisals are effectively utilized to enhance individual performance

Evaluation of robotic inspection systems at nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, J.R.; Eversole, R.E.; Farnstrom, K.A.; Harvey, H.W.; Martin, H.L.

1984-03-01

This report presents and demonstrates a cost-effective approach for robotics application (CARA) to surveillance and inspection work in existing nuclear power plants. The CARA was developed by the Remote Technology Corporation to systematically determine the specific surveillance/inspection tasks, worker hazards, and access or equipment placement restraints in each of the many individual rooms or areas at a power plant. Guidelines for designing inspection robotics are included and are based upon the modular arrangement of commercially-available sensors and other components. Techniques for maximizing the cost effectiveness of robotics are emphasized in the report including: selection of low-cost robotic components, minimal installation work in plant areas, portable systems for common use in different areas, and standardized robotic modules. Factors considered as benefits are reduced radiation exposure, lower man-hours, shorter power outage, less waste material, and improved worker safety concerns. A partial demonstration of the CARA methodology to the Sequoyah (PWR) and Browns Ferry (BWR) Plants is provided in the report along with specific examples of robotic installations in high potential areas

Nuclear criticality safety evaluation of large cylinder cleaning operations in X-705, Portsmouth Gaseous diffusion Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheaffer, M.K.; Keeton, S.C.; Lutz, H.F.

1995-06-01

This report evaluates nuclear criticality safety for large cylinder cleaning operations in the Decontamination and Recovery Facility, X-705, at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. A general description of current cleaning procedures and required hardware/equipment is presented, and documentation for large cylinder cleaning operations is identified and described. Control parameters, design features, administrative controls, and safety systems relevant to nuclear criticality are discussed individually, followed by an overall assessment based on the Double Contingency Principle. Recommendations for enhanced safety are suggested, and issues for increased efficiency are presented

Promoting excellence in nuclear power plant training in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mangin, A.M.

1983-01-01

The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) was formed in late 1979 by U.S. nuclear utilities to enhance the operational safety and reliability of their nuclear plants. One of INPO's major functions is to promote excellence in industry training and qualification programs. To accomplish this objective, INPO develops and uses guidelines and evaluation criteria to assist utilities in developing and implementing high quality training and education programs. The training guidelines permit utilities to develop performance-based programs which meet their specific need with minimal duplication of effort. INPO regularly evaluates each utility's training programs and practices in the plant evaluation and accreditation processes using criteria based on the training guidelines. In the accreditation process, INPO examines training programs and training organizations to determine whether they have the potential to produce individuals qualified to perform assigned tasks. During plant evaluations, INPO examines the implementation of the programs and their effectiveness in producing qualified individuals. After each accreditation review and plant evaluation, INPO recommends improvements and follows up to ensure they are made. (author)

Seismic re-evaluation of piping systems of heavy water plant, Kota

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mishra, Rajesh; Soni, R.S.; Kushwaha, H.S.; Venkat Raj, V.

2002-05-01

Heavy Water Plant, Kota is the first indigenous heavy water plant built in India. The plant started operation in the year 1985 and it is approaching the completion of its originally stipulated design life. In view of the excellent record of plant operation for the past so many years, it has been planned to carry out various exercises for the life extension of the plant. In the first stage, evaluation of operation stresses was carried out for the process critical piping layouts and equipment, which are connected with 25 process critical nozzle locations, identified based on past history of the plant performance. Fatigue life evaluation has been carried out to fmd out the Cumulative Usage Factor, which helps in arriving at a decision regarding the life extension of the plant. The results of these exercises have been already reported separately vide BARC/200I /E/O04. In the second stage, seismic reevaluation of the plant has been carried out to assess its ability to maintain its integ:rity in case of a seismic event. The aim of this exercise is to assess the effects of the maximum probable earthquake at the plant site on the various systems and components of the plant. This exercise is further aimed at ensuring the adequacy of seismic supports to maintain the integrity of the system in case of a seismic event and to suggest some retrofitting measures, if required. Seismic re-evaluation of the piping of Heavy Water Plant, Kota has been performed taking into account the interaction effects from the connected equipment. Each layout has been qualified using the latest provisions of ASME Code Section III, Subsection ND wherein the earthquake loading has been considered as a reversing dynamic load. The maximum combined stresses for all the layouts due to pressure, weight and seismic loadings have been found to be well within the code allowable limit. Therefore, it has been concluded that during a maximum probable seismic event, the possibility of pipe rupture can be safely

Concept design of overall evaluation system for nuclear plant life extension, (1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takao, Takeshi

1989-01-01

In this report the frameworks of the plans for the Overall Evaluation System and the 8 systems concerning the plant Life extension are discussed. Main results are as follows. 1) The extension period decision subsystem supported by the AI techniques and Fuzzy theory will be added to the Overall Evaluation System. By using this subsystem the plant lives will be overall evaluated. 2) The range of the data collection for constructing the plant operation and maintenance data base is covered by, i) Operation data in the typical plant start/stop cycling, ii) Operation data at the representative point of the period, iii) All data of the repair and replacement. 3) The degradation monitoring and diagnosing system will be constructed for the expert system based on the knowledge base using the elastic wave theorem. (author) 74 refs

Entropy generation minimization: A practical approach for performance evaluation of temperature cascaded co-generation plants

KAUST Repository

Myat, Aung; Thu, Kyaw; Kim, Youngdeuk; Saha, Bidyut Baran; Ng, K. C.

2012-01-01

We present a practical tool that employs entropy generation minimization (EGM) approach for an in-depth performance evaluation of a co-generation plant with a temperature-cascaded concept. Co-generation plant produces useful effect production sequentially, i.e., (i) electricity from the micro-turbines, (ii) low pressure steam at 250 °C or about 8-10 bars, (iii) cooling capacity of 4 refrigeration tones (Rtons) and (iv) dehumidification of outdoor air for air conditioned space. The main objective is to configure the most efficient configuration of producing power and heat. We employed entropy generation minimization (EGM) which reflects to minimize the dissipative losses and maximize the cycle efficiency of the individual thermally activated systems. The minimization of dissipative losses or EGM is performed in two steps namely, (i) adjusting heat source temperatures for the heat-fired cycles and (ii) the use of Genetic Algorithm (GA), to seek out the sensitivity of heat transfer areas, flow rates of working fluids, inlet temperatures of heat sources and coolant, etc., over the anticipated range of operation to achieve maximum efficiency. With EGM equipped with GA, we verified that the local minimization of entropy generation individually at each of the heat-activated processes would lead to the maximum efficiency of the system. © 2012.

Entropy generation minimization: A practical approach for performance evaluation of temperature cascaded co-generation plants

KAUST Repository

Myat, Aung

2012-10-01

We present a practical tool that employs entropy generation minimization (EGM) approach for an in-depth performance evaluation of a co-generation plant with a temperature-cascaded concept. Co-generation plant produces useful effect production sequentially, i.e., (i) electricity from the micro-turbines, (ii) low pressure steam at 250 °C or about 8-10 bars, (iii) cooling capacity of 4 refrigeration tones (Rtons) and (iv) dehumidification of outdoor air for air conditioned space. The main objective is to configure the most efficient configuration of producing power and heat. We employed entropy generation minimization (EGM) which reflects to minimize the dissipative losses and maximize the cycle efficiency of the individual thermally activated systems. The minimization of dissipative losses or EGM is performed in two steps namely, (i) adjusting heat source temperatures for the heat-fired cycles and (ii) the use of Genetic Algorithm (GA), to seek out the sensitivity of heat transfer areas, flow rates of working fluids, inlet temperatures of heat sources and coolant, etc., over the anticipated range of operation to achieve maximum efficiency. With EGM equipped with GA, we verified that the local minimization of entropy generation individually at each of the heat-activated processes would lead to the maximum efficiency of the system. © 2012.

Tsunami hazard assessment on nuclear power plant site evaluation accordance on DS 417

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhmad Khusyairi

2011-01-01

Nuclear power plant site evaluation should conduct the hazard evaluation on tsunami. Global climate changes and particularly extreme meteorology and hydrology phenomena have an impact on the structure, systems and important components related to safety. Therefore, IAEA makes efforts to revise the IAEA Safety Standard Series NS-G 3.4, Meteorological Events in Site Evaluation for Nuclear Power Plants and IAEA safety standard series NS-G 3.5 Flood Hazard For Nuclear Power Plants On Coastal And River Sites, in order to provide protection against the public and the environment safety due to operation of nuclear power plants. There are two methods used in assessing tsunami hazard, probabilistic and deterministic methods. In the tsunami hazard assessment, some necessary information and data should be obtained to determine the basic design of tsunami hazard during designing nuclear power plants, especially the cooling system design. Flooding caused tsunami must be evaluated to determine the site protection system. Furthermore, There must be an evaluation on either coincident event or meteorological simultaneously tsunami event that caused the worst effect on the site. Therefore, the protection of the site from extreme tsunami can be planned. (author)

Individual external monitoring system for gamma and X ray evaluation of the individual dose equivalent 'HP(10)', utilizing a photographic dosimetry technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santoro, Christiana; Filho, Joao Antonio

2008-01-01

Full text: Individual monitoring evaluates external sources of ionizing radiation X, γ, β and n, to which workers are occupationally exposed, for ensuring safe and acceptable radiological conditions in their places of employment. The dose received by workers should attend the limits authorized by national regulatory organs. Nowadays, there are two radiometric unit systems, based on resolutions of the National Nuclear Energy Commission (NNEC) and the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU); in the conventional (NNEC) system, the doses received by workers are evaluated through the individual dose H x , where dosemeters used on surface of thorax are calibrated in terms of air kerma; in the recent system (ICRU), the doses are evaluated through the individual dose equivalent H P (d), where dosemeters are calibrated in terms of dose from phantom. The recent system improves the method of evaluation, by taking into account the scattering effect and absorption of radiation in the human body. This work adapts a photographic dosimetry service to the recent ICRU publications, for evaluation of individual monitoring, in function of the individual dose equivalent H P (10) of strong penetrating radiation. For this, a methodology based on linear programming and determination of calibration curves is used for radiation capacities, wide (W) and narrow (N) spectra, as described by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 4037-1, 1995). These calibration curves offer better accuracy in the determination of doses and energy, which will improve the quality of the service given to society. The results show that the values of individual dose equivalent, evaluated at intervals of 0.2 to 200 mSv, have lower significant uncertainties (10%) than those recommended by the ICRP 75, for individual monitoring; therefore, the evaluation system for developed doses attends the new recommendations proposed by International Commissions. From what has been

Operating experience review for nuclear power plants in the Systematic Evaluation Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mays, G.T.; Harrington, K.H.

1982-01-01

The Systematic Evaluation Program Branch (SEPB) of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is conducting the Systematic Evaluation Program (SEP) whose purpose is to determine the safety margins of the design and operation of the eleven oldest operating commercial nuclear power plants in the United States. This paper describes the methodology and results of the operational experience review portion of the SEP evaluation. SEPB will combine the results from these operational reviews with other safety topic evaluations to perform an integrated assessment of the SEP plants

Uncovering patterns of interest in useful plants. Frequency analysis of individual students’ interest types as a tool for planning botany teaching units

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Pany

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The paper presented examines how useful plants can help counteracting “plant blindness” – a phenomenon leading people to overlook plants in everyday-life. Recent research indicates that people are most likely interested in useful plants, hence this group of plants could be used to trigger interest in botanical content in general. This study has investigated the structure of interest in five subgroups of useful plants (medicinal plants, stimulant herbal drugs, spice plants, edible plants, and ornamental plants. For this purpose, the FEIN-questionnaire (Fragebogen zur Erhebung des Interesses an Nutzpflanzen = Questionnaire acquiring interest in useful plants was filled in by N = 1299 pupils from grade 5 to 12. Data analysis shows (for all age groups and both genders that medicinal plants and stimulant herbal drugs trigger high interest while spice plants, edible plants and ornamental plants raise only lower interest. However, mean values do not allow conclusions on individual level (e.g. in a school class. In order to gain information about the interest structure in a specific target group teachers deal with in practice, we have analysed the interests on individual level using frequency analysis of different interest types. Results show that stimulant herbal drugs seem to strongly polarize students, whereas medicinal plants are interesting for almost the whole sample. Eventually, medicinal plants turned out to be well suited to introduce botanical content by means of plants catching the interest of as many students as possible. Therefore, medicinal plants should be established as flagships counteracting plant blindness.

PKI solar thermal plant evaluation at Capitol Concrete Products, Topeka, Kansas

Science.gov (United States)

Hauger, J. S.; Borton, D. N.

1982-07-01

A system feasibility test to determine the technical and operational feasibility of using a solar collector to provide industrial process heat is discussed. The test is of a solar collector system in an industrial test bed plant at Capitol Concrete Products in Topeka, Kansas, with an experiment control at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque. Plant evaluation will occur during a year-long period of industrial utilization. It will include performance testing, operability testing, and system failure analysis. Performance data will be recorded by a data acquisition system. User, community, and environmental inputs will be recorded in logs, journals, and files. Plant installation, start-up, and evaluation, are anticipated for late November, 1981.

Exergoeconomic evaluation of a KRW-based IGCC power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsatsavonis, G.; Lin, L.; TawFik, T.; Gallaspy, D.T.

1991-01-01

This paper reports on a study supported by the US Department of Energy, in which several design configurations of Kellogg-Rust-Westinghouse (KRW)-based Integrated Gasification-Combined-Cycle (IGCC) power plants were developed. One of these configurations was analyzed from the exergoeconomic (thermoeconomic) viewpoint. The detailed exergoeconomic evaluation identified several changes for improving the cost effectiveness of this IGCC design configuration. Based on the cost information supplied by the M.W. Kellogg Company, an attempt was made to calculate the economically optimal exergetic efficiency for some of the most important plant components. This information is currently used in plant optimization studies

Evaluation of an ethnopharmacologically selected Bhutanese medicinal plants for their major classes of phytochemicals and biological activities.

Science.gov (United States)

Wangchuk, Phurpa; Keller, Paul A; Pyne, Stephen G; Taweechotipatr, Malai; Tonsomboon, Aunchalee; Rattanajak, Roonglawan; Kamchonwongpaisan, Sumalee

2011-09-01

As many as 229 medicinal plants have been currently used in the Bhutanese Traditional Medicine (BTM) as a chief ingredient of polyherbal formulations and these plants have been individually indicated for treating various types of infections including malaria, tumor, and microbial. We have focused our study only on seven species of these plants. We aim to evaluate the antiplasmodial, antimicrobial, anti-Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and cytotoxicity activities of the seven medicinal plants of Bhutan selected using an ethno-directed bio-rational approach. This study creates a scientific basis for their use in the BTM and gives foundation for further phytochemical and biological evaluations which can result in the discovery of new drug lead compounds. A three stage process was conducted which consisted of: (1) an assessment of a pharmacopoeia and a formulary book of the BTM for their mode of plant uses; (2) selecting 25 anti-infective medicinal plants based on the five established criteria, collecting them, and screening for their major classes of phytochemicals using appropriate test protocols; and (3) finally analyzing the crude extracts of the seven medicinal plants, using the standard test protocols, for their antiplasmodial, antimicrobial, anti-Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and cytotoxicity activities as directed by the ethnopharmacological uses of each plant. Out of 25 medicinal plants screened for their major classes of phytochemicals, the majority contained tannins, alkaloids and flavonoids. Out of the seven plant species investigated for their biological activities, all seven of them exhibited mild antimicrobial properties, five plants gave significant in vitro antiplasmodial activities, two plants gave moderate anti-Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense activity, and one plant showed mild cytotoxicity. Meconopsis simplicifolia showed the highest antiplasmodial activity with IC(50) values of 0.40 μg/ml against TM4/8.2 strain (a wild type chloroquine and

An evaluation of the optimum timing for planting short rotation coppice

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turnbull, D.J.; Jefferies, R.; Parfitt, R.

2004-07-01

This report summarises the results of a project to determine the optimum timing for planting, evaluate problems due to late planting in the spring, and to study the planting of willows at different times during the autumn. Details are given of the site installation, previous research on the effect of planting date and storage, and assessment of the establishment and biomass productivity and the viability of cuttings in long-term storage. Charts illustrating biomass productivity are presented, and long-term storage of willow cuttings for autumn planting is discussed.

Evaluation of Visual and Landscape Impacts of Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Algohary, S.A.

2007-01-01

The nuclear power plant is a huge structure, and in terms of both size and function may result in an unacceptable visual conflict in both local and wider environment. Also, it has major implications in terms of physical, social, economic, environmental and impact on people. The environmental impacts include the visual and landscape aspects of these plants. This paper outlines the main general ideas of the architecture aspects of nuclear power plants, nuclear reactors. Also, it discusses the site selection considerations: Finally, it introduces an approach for the evaluation of visual and landscape impacts of nuclear power plants

Integrated Plant Safety Assessment: Systematic Evaluation Program. Haddam Neck Plant, Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company, Docket No. 50-213. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-01-01

The Systematic Evaluation Progam was initiated in February 1977 by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission review the designs of older operating nuclear reactor plants to confirm and document their safety. The review provides: (1) an assessment of how these plants compare with curent licensing safety requirements relating to selected issues, (2) a basis for deciding on how these differences should be resolved in an integrated plant review, and (3) a documented evaluation of plant safety. This report documents the review of Haddam Neck Plant, operated by Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company. The Haddam Neck Plant is one of 10 plants reviewed under Phase II of this program. This report indicates how 137 topics selected for review under Phase I of the program were addressed. Equipment and procedural changes have been identified as a result of the review

Evaluating decommissioning costs for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacDonald, R.R.

1980-01-01

An overview is presented of the economic aspects of decommissioning of large nuclear power plants in an attempt to put the subject in proper perspective. This is accomplished by first surveying the work that has been done to date in evaluating the requirements for decommissioning. A review is presented of the current concepts of decommissioning and a discussion of a few of the uncertainties involved. This study identifies the key factors to be considered in the econmic evaluation of decommissioning alternatives and highlights areas in which further study appears to be desirable. 12 refs

Study on post-earthquake plant evaluation and communication (Annual safety research report, JFY 2010)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iijima, Toru; Taoka, Hideto; Yamada, Hiroyuki; Sano, Kyoko

2011-01-01

The aims of this study are to establish a post-earthquake plant evaluation method and to develop a communication system for the improving seismic safety regulations as well as encouraging public communication. The Miyagiken-oki earthquake in 2005, Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant shut down automatically. Subsequently, JNES started development of post-earthquake plant evaluation and communication system based on the experience of the cross-check analysis for Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant. The Niigata-ken Chuetsu-oki Earthquake in 2007, the plant situation was not transmitted promptly. The loss of information sharing between local community and related organizations caused the public anxiety. The importance of plant information transmission as well as seismic information gathering were recognized. The proposal for the solution of the information issues were performed by government committee. In this study, the evaluation method for soundness of the main structure and equipment after earthquake event were updated. Moreover, procedure of the post-earthquake plant soundness evaluation and multi-functional seismic information system were developed. In addition, the implementation strategy of the easy-to -understand information dissemination to the public and transparent communication methodology was examined by the Industry-Academia-Government cooperation in the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa region. (author)

In vitro evaluation of traditionally used Surinamese medicinal plants for their potential anti-leishmanial efficacy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mans, D. R. A.; Beerens, T.; Magali, I.; Soekhoe, R. C.; Schoone, G. J.; Oedairadjsingh, K.; Hasrat, J. A.; van den Bogaart, E.; Schallig, H. D. F. H.

2016-01-01

Plant-based preparations are extensively used in Surinamese folk medicine for treating leishmaniasis, but often without a scientific rationale. To evaluate 25 Surinamese medicinal plants for their potential efficacy against leishmaniasis. Concentrated plant extracts were evaluated for their effect

Evaluation of the impact on the environment of thermal power plant releases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roussel, C.; Bertrand, R.; Garnier, G.; Berard, P.; Archimbaud, M.

1983-01-01

The aim of this study is to compare the impact on the environment of oil and coal fired power plants, and of nuclear plants. The impact is evaluated by the level of the air pollution around the plant. But the selected pollutants (Sulfur oxides, Nitrogen oxides, Trace elements, organic compounds) are not specific of the pollution produced by the power plant. Therefore, we measured the specific emission of the plant by a continuous sampling in the stack gases. To evaluate the contribution of the plant to the global pollution, a series of diffusion tests was run to measure the atmospheric transfer between the stack and the monitoring system. Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) was added to the stack plume and its concentration was measured in the environment continuously at the monitoring stations, and by a mobile network for tracing the movement of the plume due to a shift in wind direction. Thereby the impact of other sources could be estimated [fr

On the network protocol performance evaluation for large scale communication system of nuclear plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, K. S.; Lee, T. H.; Kim, H. R.; Kim, D. H.; Ku, I. S.

1998-01-01

Computer technology has been dramatically advanced and it is now natural to apply digital network technology into nuclear plants. Communication architecture for nuclear plant defines the coordination of safety reactor control, balance of plant, subsystem utilities, and plant monitoring functions, and how they are connected and their user interface to guarantee plant performance and guarantee safety requirements. Therefore, to implement a digital network for control and monitoring systems of advanced nuclear plant needs systematic design and evaluation procedures because of responsive and hard real-time process characteristics of nuclear plant. In this paper, we evaluate several digital network protocols in terms of network delay, link failure effects to hard real-time requirements with full scale traffic

Probabilistic safety assessment technology for commercial nuclear power plant security evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liming, J.K.; Johnson, D.H.; Dykes, A.A.

2004-01-01

Commercial nuclear power plant physical security has received much more intensive treatment and regulatory attention since September 11, 2001. In light of advancements made by the nuclear power industry in the field of probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) for its power plants over that last 30 years, and given the many examples of successful applications of risk-informed regulation at U. S. nuclear power plants during recent years, it may well be advisable to apply a 'risk-informed' approach to security management at nuclear power plants from now into the future. In fact, plant PSAs developed in response to NRC Generic Letter 88-20 and related requirements are used to help define target sets of critical plant safety equipment in our current security exercises for the industry. With reasonable refinements, plant PSAs can be used to identify, analyze, and evaluate reasonable and prudent approaches to address security issues and associated defensive strategies at nuclear power plants. PSA is the ultimate scenario-based approach to risk assessment, and thus provides a most powerful tool in identifying and evaluating potential risk management decisions. This paper provides a summary of observations of factors that are influencing or could influence cost-effective or 'cost-reasonable' security management decision-making in the current political environment, and provides recommendations for the application of PSA tools and techniques to the nuclear power plant operational safety response exercise process. The paper presents a proposed framework for nuclear power plant probabilistic terrorist risk assessment that applies these tools and techniques. (authors)

Evaluation of regulatory processes affecting nuclear power plant early site approval and standardization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-12-01

This report presents the results of a survey and evaluation of existing federal, state and local regulatory considerations affecting siting approval of power plants in the United States. Those factors that may impede early site approval of nuclear power plants are identified, and findings related to the removal of these impediments and the general improvement of the approval process are presented. A brief evaluation of standardization of nuclear plant design is also presented

Evaluation of effectiveness of inservice inspection in aging PWR plants based on PSA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hanafusa, Hidemitsu; Irie, Takashi; Suyama, Takeshi [Institute of Nuclear Safety Systems Inc., Mihama, Fukui (Japan); Morota, Hidetsugu [Computer Software Development Co., Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

2001-09-01

By making use of a probabilistic fracture mechanics (PFM) code which had been improved to be able to evaluate the influence of thermal aging embrittlement of cast stainless steel, we evaluated the fracture probability of welding parts of the piping of the pressurized water reactor plants in Japan and the core damage frequency by the fracture. In addition, we ranked the welding parts by the safety significance and evaluated the effectiveness of inservice inspection (ISI). As a result, it is seen that the risk increases about 25% for extending the plant life from 40 to 60 years without ISI. However, the influence of the risk on the plant life becomes negligible, when the ISI is performed adequately. This assessment is useful to plan efficient inspection and test programs of a plant under limited resources, because it is available to rank piping segments by the safety significance and to evaluate the effectiveness of inspection and test quantitatively. (author)

Study on integrity evaluation of structures associated with nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2013-08-15

The 3.11 Tohoku District -off the Pacific Ocean Earthquake and tsunami made us observations of tsunami height in large exceedance of the design, and besides it gave the most damages to several nuclear power plants facing the Pacific Ocean at source area of the earthquake. Particularly, at Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the great tsunami caused the simultaneous failure on several plant's equipment and components, which escalated into the core damage. Considering these background, the objective of this research is to enhance fundamental technology relative to integrity evaluation of SSC's (System, Structure, components) targeting external events such as earthquakes and tsunamis. Specifically, it is performed to develop structure evaluation methods against tsunami, to develop seismic isolation system, and to enhance non-liner analysis methods for building and so on. In viewpoint of the other external events except earthquake and tsunami, it was performed to develop impact analysis methods on building and outdoor structure against swept things caused by tornadoes. After that on the basis of these developments, it is performed to draw up guidelines such as the base isolation structure review guide, and the structure design and risk evaluation guide against tsunami, which are to be used in cross-check analysis targeting integrity evaluation of nuclear power plant's structures against external events such as earthquakes and tsunamis. (author)

Study on integrity evaluation of structures associated with nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

The 3.11 Tohoku District -off the Pacific Ocean Earthquake and tsunami made us observations of tsunami height in large exceedance of the design, and besides it gave the most damages to several nuclear power plants facing the Pacific Ocean at source area of the earthquake. Particularly, at Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the great tsunami caused the simultaneous failure on several plant's equipment and components, which escalated into the core damage. Considering these background, the objective of this research is to enhance fundamental technology relative to integrity evaluation of SSC's (System, Structure, components) targeting external events such as earthquakes and tsunamis. Specifically, it is performed to develop structure evaluation methods against tsunami, to develop seismic isolation system, and to enhance non-liner analysis methods for building and so on. In viewpoint of the other external events except earthquake and tsunami, it was performed to develop impact analysis methods on building and outdoor structure against swept things caused by tornadoes. After that on the basis of these developments, it is performed to draw up guidelines such as the base isolation structure review guide, and the structure design and risk evaluation guide against tsunami, which are to be used in cross-check analysis targeting integrity evaluation of nuclear power plant's structures against external events such as earthquakes and tsunamis. (author)

The evaluation of uptake of tritiated methane to the plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kakiuchi, Hideki; Andoh A, Mariko; Amano, Hikaru

2003-01-01

The experiment of the exposure of tritiated methane (CH 3 T) to plants was carried. Plants were put in the airtight container that CH 3 T gas was added. The amount of light that it irradiated plants was changed, and the amounts of photosynthesis as the metabolic change activities of the plants were adjusted, and processes of assimilation to the plant of CH 3 T were evaluated under a constant temperature. The leaves in the container and the inside gas were collected in every interval, and tritium concentrations in the samples were determined. It is observed that CH 3 T concentration in the container decreased under both the light and dark conditions. On changing from dark to light condition, there was no change in the decreasing tendency of the CH 3 T concentration. These show that tritiated methane would be taken in the plants without the photosynthesis process, but through the oxidation by microorganism on plants. (author)

Developments of integrity evaluation technology for pressurized components in nuclear power plant and IT based integrity evaluation system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Young Jin; Choi, Jae Boong; Shim, Do Jun [Sungkyunkwan Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)] (and others)

2003-03-15

The objective of this research is to develop an efficient evaluation technology and to investigate applicability of newly-developed technology, such as internet-based cyber platform, to operating power plants. Development of efficient evaluation systems for Nuclear Power Plant components, based on structural integrity assessment techniques, are increasingly demanded for safe operation with the increasing operating period of Nuclear Power Plants. The following five topics are covered in this project: development of assessment method for wall-thinned nuclear piping based on pipe test; development of structural integrity program for steam generator tubes with cracks of various shape; development of fatigue life evaluation system for mam components of NPP; development of internet-based cyber platform and integrity program for primary components of NPP; effect of aging on strength of dissimilar welds.

DESIGNAND EVALUATION OF TETRA-PAK CONTAINERS' RECYCLING PLANT ON A SMALLSCALE

OpenAIRE

Inche Mitma, Jorge; Vergiú Canto, Jorge|; Mavila Hinojoza, Daniel; Godoy Martínez, Manuel; Chung Pinzás, Alfonso

2014-01-01

This study deals about the design and evaluation of Tetra Pak containers' recycling plant on a small scale. The basic Plant Engineering was found from the information gathered. Some aspects included were: product design, process design, equipment design and costs evaluation, with the aim of determining its technical, economical and environmental capability for its implementation. El estudio trata sobre el diseño y evaluación de una planta de reciclaje de envases tetra pak a pequeña escala....

Fusing probability density function into Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence for the evaluation of water treatment plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Chowdhury, Shakhawat

2013-05-01

The evaluation of the status of a municipal drinking water treatment plant (WTP) is important. The evaluation depends on several factors, including, human health risks from disinfection by-products (R), disinfection performance (D), and cost (C) of water production and distribution. The Dempster-Shafer theory (DST) of evidence can combine the individual status with respect to R, D, and C to generate a new indicator, from which the overall status of a WTP can be evaluated. In the DST, the ranges of different factors affecting the overall status are divided into several segments. The basic probability assignments (BPA) for each segment of these factors are provided by multiple experts, which are then combined to obtain the overall status. In assigning the BPA, the experts use their individual judgments, which can impart subjective biases in the overall evaluation. In this research, an approach has been introduced to avoid the assignment of subjective BPA. The factors contributing to the overall status were characterized using the probability density functions (PDF). The cumulative probabilities for different segments of these factors were determined from the cumulative density function, which were then assigned as the BPA for these factors. A case study is presented to demonstrate the application of PDF in DST to evaluate a WTP, leading to the selection of the required level of upgradation for the WTP.

FBR Plant Engineering Center annual report 2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-12-01

This annual report shows the last year's R and D activities of currently-reorganized FBR Plant Engineering Center, which was established on April 1, 2009. FBR Safety Technology Center was founded on April 1, 2013 by the consolidation of both the activities of 'former FBR Plant Engineering Center' and a portion of 'FBR Safety Evaluation Unit, Advanced Nuclear System Research and Development Directorate', especially concentrating on safety evaluations and analyses for severe accidents. As for FBR safety technology, it is necessary to continuously make an effort for compliance with new safety regulations in preparation for 'Monju' to restart, for safety enhancement evaluation and for safety technology upgrading. In this context, the new organization was founded in order to reinforce the safety evaluation capability, which will surely and steadily promote FBR safety-technology related activities. As a result, FBR Plant Engineering Center was abolished. This report summarizes the R and D activities at the former FBR Plant Engineering Center, aiming at contributing to the commercialization by using operation experiences and technology development results derived from the actual reactor 'Monju'. The activities are divided into five areas of operation-and-maintenance engineering, sodium engineering, reactor-core-and-fuel engineering, plant engineering, and safety engineering. This annual report is intended for a report of the activities of individual researcher in the center rather than that of the progress of the center as a whole. This will clarify the individual themes, progresses and problems of each researcher, which will, hopefully, facilitate communication with the outside researchers. (author)

Evaluation of Some Allergic Mediators in Elderly Individuals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bahgat, M.M.; Michael, M.I.

2014-01-01

Aging is a physiological process characterized by decreasing adaptation of the individual and accentuation of certain mechanisms e.g. arteriosclerotic plaque formation, oxidative stress and autoimmune diseases. Therefore, the present study was planned to evaluate immuno senescence on some allergic mediators in healthy individuals. Twenty-four male volunteers arranged into three groups according to their age were participated in this study. After their permission, personal and family history, full clinical examination and several laboratory confirmatory tests were determined to assure their healthy condition. Forty-eight h later another blood specimen was withdrawn where, complete blood picture, total immunoglobulin E (IgE), interleukin-4 (IL4), interleukin-5 (IL5) and γ-interferon (γ-INF) were estimated. Regarding the allergic mediators estimated in the present study, the third geriatric group had relative eosinophilia, positive correlation between IgE and γ-INF and high significant decrease in IgE and IL5. These results led to the conclusion that the immuno senescence in this group of individuals did not lead to any allergic related conditions and the impairment of functions associated with aged immune response most probably had no role on the prevalence of allergic disease in elderly individuals.

Integrated plant-safety assessment, Systematic Evaluation Program: Big Rock Point Plant (Docket No. 50-155)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-09-01

The Systematic Evaluation Program was initiated in February 1977 by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to review the designs of older operating nuclear reactor plants to reconfirm and document their safety. This report documents the review of the Big Rock Point Plant, which is one of ten plants reviewed under Phase II of this program. This report indicates how 137 topics selected for review under Phase I of the program were addressed. It also addresses a majority of the pending licensing actions for Big Rock Point, which include TMI Action Plan requirements and implementation criteria for resolved generic issues. Equipment and procedural changes have been identified as a result of the review

Evaluation of methods for seismic analysis of nuclear fuel reprocessing plants, part 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tokarz, F.J.; Murray, R.C.; Arthur, D.F.; Feng, W.W.; Wight, L.H.; Zaslawsky, M.

1975-01-01

Currently, no guidelines exist for choosing methods of structural analysis to evaluate the seismic hazard of nuclear fuel reprocessing plants. This study examines available methods and their applicability to fuel reprocessing plant structures. The results of this study should provide a basis for establishing guidelines recommending methods of seismic analysis for evaluating future fuel reprocessing plants. The approach taken is: (1) to identify critical plant structures and place them in four categories (structures at or near grade; deeply embedded structures; fully buried structures; equipment/vessels/attachments/piping), (2) to select a representative structure in each of the first three categories and perform static and dynamic analysis on each, and (3) to evaluate and recommend method(s) of analysis for structures within each category. The Barnwell Nuclear Fuel Plant is selected as representative of future commercial reprocessing plants. The effect of site characteristics on the structural response is also examined. The response spectra method of analysis combined with the finite element model for each category is recommended. For structures founded near or at grade, the lumped mass model could also be used. If a time history response is required, a time-history analysis is necessary. (U.S.)

Economic evaluation of nuclear plant project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tolba, Adel.

1988-01-01

The present work is an attempt to prepare a ''fair price'' estimate to serve as bench mark in the course of economic evaluation of bids to construct nuclear power plants. The methodology of determining the present value of all capital investment is used. Running costs of nuclear fuel, operation, and maintenance are also determined. As a result, levelized energy cost is calculated. Sensitivity analysis for different parameters has been conducted, and the results of which are included in this paper

Simulation-based man-machine interface evaluation for plant maintenance facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakagawa, Takashi; Kitamura, Masashi; Nakatani, Yoshio; Umeda, Yoshikazu

1998-01-01

Although a lot of human errors has occurred in the maintenance of power plants, systematic approaches to the reduction of human error are not sufficient compared with those applied to operations. The authors propose a new method of evaluating and analyzing human interface design from the viewpoint of human error reduction, and have implemented the method on the DIAS system. This system consists of maintenance personnel and equipment interface simulators, and it generates a dynamic interaction between humans and the working environment. The DIAS system can calculate the human error rate and their weighted calculations according to dangerousness, the influence on the equipment, and the influence on the plant of each task by THERP, and can carry out the dynamic analysis of the panel selection error index if there is similar equipment in the neighborhood, the working time, the distance of movement, and the distance of eye movement. The authors applied this system to evaluate the interface design of actual Transformer Protection Relay Panels and their layout in a room in a nuclear power plant. Our customer accepted our evaluation and proposals modifying the panel design. (author)

Power plant asset market evaluations: Forecasting the costs of power production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lefton, S A; Grunsrud, G P [Aptech Engineering Services, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA (United States)

1999-12-31

This presentation discusses the process of evaluating and valuing power plants for sale. It describes a method to forecast the future costs at a power plant using a portion of the past fixed costs, variable energy costs, and most importantly the variable cycling-related wear-and-tear costs. The presentation then discusses how to best determine market share, expected revenues, and then to forecast plant future costs based on future expected unit cycling operations. The presentation concludes with a section on recommendations to power plant buyers or sellers on how to manage the power plant asset and how to increase its market value. (orig.) 4 refs.

Power plant asset market evaluations: Forecasting the costs of power production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lefton, S.A.; Grunsrud, G.P. [Aptech Engineering Services, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA (United States)

1998-12-31

This presentation discusses the process of evaluating and valuing power plants for sale. It describes a method to forecast the future costs at a power plant using a portion of the past fixed costs, variable energy costs, and most importantly the variable cycling-related wear-and-tear costs. The presentation then discusses how to best determine market share, expected revenues, and then to forecast plant future costs based on future expected unit cycling operations. The presentation concludes with a section on recommendations to power plant buyers or sellers on how to manage the power plant asset and how to increase its market value. (orig.) 4 refs.

Power plant asset market evaluations: Forecasting the costs of power production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lefton, S.A.; Grunsrud, G.P.

1998-01-01

This presentation discusses the process of evaluating and valuing power plants for sale. It describes a method to forecast the future costs at a power plant using a portion of the past fixed costs, variable energy costs, and most importantly the variable cycling-related wear-and-tear costs. The presentation then discusses how to best determine market share, expected revenues, and then to forecast plant future costs based on future expected unit cycling operations. The presentation concludes with a section on recommendations to power plant buyers or sellers on how to manage the power plant asset and how to increase its market value. (orig.) 4 refs

Standard guide to In-Plant performance evaluation of Hand-Held SNM monitors

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

1999-01-01

1.1 This guide is one of a series on the application and evaluation of special nuclear material (SNM) monitors. Other guides in the series are listed in Section 2, and the relationship of in-plant performance evaluation to other procedures described in the series is illustrated in Fig. 1. Hand-held SNM monitors are described in of Guide C1112, and performance criteria illustrating their capabilities can be found in Appendix X1. 1.2 The purpose of this guide to in-plant performance evaluation is to provide a comparatively rapid procedure to verify that a hand-held SNM monitor performs as expected for detecting SNM or alternative test sources or to disclose the need for repair. The procedure can be used as a routine operational evaluation or it can be used to verify performance after a monitor is calibrated. 1.3 In-plant performance evaluations are more comprehensive than daily functional tests. They take place less often, at intervals ranging from weekly to once every three months, and derive their result fr...

Overview of internal dose evaluation in the radiopharmaceutical production plant at IPEN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Todo, Alberto S.; Gerulis, Eduardo; Cardoso, Joaquim C.S.; Rodrigues Junior, Orlando

2015-01-01

The internal dosimetry program at the Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares, IPEN, is accomplished in two steps: the activity measurements are performed at the In Vivo Monitoring Laboratory and subsequently the data analysis and the dose evaluation are carried out by the Dose Calculation Group according to the ICRP models. The objective of this study is to take the whole body and thyroid monitoring results recorded from 2005 to 2015 to see whether the internal contamination control procedure for workers were suitable even with the increase in the radiopharmaceutical production. The study were based in a research called “Search of Variables” for the operations carried out in the restricted areas of radiopharmaceutical production plant, taking into account the dose distribution data for all the tasks recorded by the radioprotection service. This methodology aims to identify and determine the principal variables that impact on the worker's dose. The results were presented for the following variables: individual occupationally exposed, operation variable, area/cell, type of task of operation, which depend on the variable dose. In spite of growth rate in the production of radiopharmaceutical, this study has shown that the improvements in the plant have contributed to the dose reduction of the workers. (author)

Performance evaluation of effluent treatment plant for automobile industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ansari, Farid [Department of Applied Science and Humanities, PDM College of Engineering, Bahadurgarh (Haryana) (India); Pandey, Yashwant K. [School of Energy and Environmental Studies, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore (India); Kumar, P.; Pandey, Priyanka [Department of Environmental Science, Post Graduate College Ghazipur (IN

2013-07-01

The automobile industry’s wastewater not only contains high levels of suspended and total solids such as oil, grease, dyestuff, chromium, phosphate in washing products, and coloring, at various stages of manufacturing but also, a significant amount of dissolved organics, resulting in high BOD or COD loads. The study reveals the performance, evaluation and operational aspects of effluent treatment plant and its treatability, rather than the contamination status of the real property. The Results revealed that the treated effluent shows most of the parameters are within permissible limits of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), India and based on the site visits, discussion with operation peoples, evaluation of process design, treatment system, existing effluent discharge, results of sample analyzed and found that effluent treatment plant of automobile industry are under performance satisfactory.

Technology data for energy plants. Individual heating plants and energy transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2012-05-15

The present technology catalogue is published in co-operation between the Danish Energy Agency and Energinet.dk and includes technology descriptions for a number of technologies for individual heat production and energy transport. The primary objective of the technology catalogue is to establish a uniform, commonly accepted and up-to-date basis for the work with energy planning and the development of the energy sector, including future outlooks, scenario analyses and technical/economic analyses. The technology catalogue is thus a valuable tool in connection with energy planning and assessment of climate projects and for evaluating the development opportunities for the energy sector's many technologies, which can be used for the preparation of different support programmes for energy research and development. The publication of the technology catalogue should also be viewed in the light of renewed focus on strategic energy planning in municipalities etc. In that respect, the technology catalogue is considered to be an important tool for the municipalities in their planning efforts. (LN)

Comparative evaluation of power plants with CO2 capture. Thermodynamic, economic and environmental performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrakopoulou, Fontina

2011-01-01

CCS (Carbon Capture and Sequestration) in the energy sector is seen as a bridge technology for CO 2 mitigation, due to the ever-growing environmental impact of anthropogenic-emitted greenhouse gases. In this work, eight power plant concepts using CO 2 capture technologies are assessed based on their efficiency, economic feasibility and environmental footprint. Exergy-based analyses are used for evaluating the considered power plants through comparison with a reference plant without CO 2 capture. While conventional exergy-based analyses provide important information that can lead to improvements in plant performance, additional insight about individual components and the interactions among equipment can aid further assessment. This led to the development of advanced exergy-based analyses, in which the exergy destruction, as well as the associated costs and environmental impacts are split into avoidable/unavoidable and endogenous/exogenous parts. Based on the avoidable parts, the potential for improvement is revealed, while based on the endogenous/exogenous parts, the component interactions are obtained. Among the examined plants with CO 2 capture, the most efficient are those working with oxy-fuel technology. An exergoeconomic analysis shows a minimum increase in the relative investment cost (in Euro/kW) of 80% for the conventional approach (chemical absorption) and an increase of 86% for the oxy-fuel plant with chemical looping combustion. The latter shows a somewhat decreased environmental impact when compared to that of the reference plant. On the contrary, the plant with chemical absorption results in a higher environmental penalty due to its high efficiency penalty. Therefore, accepting that all assumptions and data related to the calculations of the environmental impacts are reliable, efficiency improvement seems to be a more significant factor in potentially decreasing a plant's environmental impact. With advanced exergy-based analyses, interdependencies

Between-individual comparisons in performance evaluation: a perspective from prospect theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Kin Fai Ellick; Kwong, Jessica Y Y

2005-03-01

This article examines how between-individual comparisons influence performance evaluations in rating tasks. The authors demonstrated a systematic change in the perceived difference across ratees as a result of changing the way performance information is expressed. Study 1 found that perceived performance difference between 2 individuals was greater when their objective performance levels were presented with small numbers (e.g., absence rates of 2% vs. 5%) than when they were presented with large numbers (e.g., attendance rates of 98% vs. 95%). Extending this finding to situations involving trade-offs between multiple performance attributes across ratees, Study 2 showed that the relative preference for 1 ratee over another actually reversed when the presentation format of the performance information changed. The authors draw upon prospect theory to offer a theoretical framework describing the between-individual comparison aspect of performance evaluation.

Management of individual and collective dosimetry at Fessenheim nuclear plant. Evaluation after refueling shutdown

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamarre, D.; Waller, A.

1980-01-01

The principle of dosimetry management chosen by Fessenheim nuclear power station was originally consisted of two phases: - an automatic acquisition of individual doses realized by stylodosimeter readers; - a deferred data processing by computer. The whole system has not been used during the shutdown for the first refuelling of unit number one in view of encountered difficulties with perfecting of automatic readers prototype, this last phase has been replaced by a manual acquisition of doses. The dosimetry data processing has two main objects: - supervision of individual dosimetry for people who work in the nuclear power station; - knowledge of doses assigned for each working and equipment. Moreover, a first dosimetric result of the shutdown for refuelling of unit number one, enables to notice the workings which doses are the most important and written in percentage of total doses: regulatory controls: about 19%; - steam generators working: 16%; - working decontamination and making health physics screen (lock chamber) 10% [fr

Isolation, Characterization, Screening, Formulation and Evaluation of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Puja Kumari

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR are bioresources which may be viewed as a novel and potential tool for providing substantial benefits to the agriculture. Soil is the dynamic living matrix and the major source of food security providing various resources of plant growth and maintaining life processes. PGPR are originally defined as root- colonizing bacteria that cause either plant growth promotion or biological control of plant diseases. Chemical fertilizers are used for killing pathogens, increase crop yield but long term use of chemical fertilizers lead to adverse effect to the soil profile and is the reason for decrease in soil productivity, on the other hand PGPR promote plant growth directly by either facilitating resource acquisition (nitrogen, phosphorus and essential minerals or modulating plant hormone levels, or indirectly by decreasing the inhibitory effects of various pathogens on plant growth and development in the forms of biocontrol agents. PGPR is the indispensable part of rhizosphere biota that when grown in association with the host plants can stimulate the growth of the host. PGPR seemed as successful rhizobacteria in getting established in soil ecosystem due to their high adaptability in a wide variety of environments, faster growth rate and biochemical versatility to metabolize a wide range of natural and xenobiotic compounds. Isolated PGPRs from selective crop rizosphere soil were used for further growth promotion and biocontrol studies in the green house and field. Different studies have been carrying out to develop some new bioformulations and evaluate their efficacy in promoting crop seedlings growth characteristics. Field trials were performed to evaluate selective crops with formulations of several plants PGPR in a production system. The present review highlights the Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria as an alternative of chemical fertilizer for sustainable, environment friendly agriculture.

Searching for an Accurate Marker-Based Prediction of an Individual Quantitative Trait in Molecular Plant Breeding.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Yong-Bi; Yang, Mo-Hua; Zeng, Fangqin; Biligetu, Bill

2017-01-01

Molecular plant breeding with the aid of molecular markers has played an important role in modern plant breeding over the last two decades. Many marker-based predictions for quantitative traits have been made to enhance parental selection, but the trait prediction accuracy remains generally low, even with the aid of dense, genome-wide SNP markers. To search for more accurate trait-specific prediction with informative SNP markers, we conducted a literature review on the prediction issues in molecular plant breeding and on the applicability of an RNA-Seq technique for developing function-associated specific trait (FAST) SNP markers. To understand whether and how FAST SNP markers could enhance trait prediction, we also performed a theoretical reasoning on the effectiveness of these markers in a trait-specific prediction, and verified the reasoning through computer simulation. To the end, the search yielded an alternative to regular genomic selection with FAST SNP markers that could be explored to achieve more accurate trait-specific prediction. Continuous search for better alternatives is encouraged to enhance marker-based predictions for an individual quantitative trait in molecular plant breeding.

Evaluation of power plants in Turkey using Analytic Network Process (ANP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atmaca, Ediz; Basar, Hasan Burak

2012-01-01

Energy is one of the most important parameters of the development of societies. Low cost, clean and secure energy supply is a common issue for all countries. Every country spends commercial and political effort to avoid not having sufficient energy and to ensure an uninterrupted energy supply. This study attempts to determine the suitability of existing power plants in Turkey and the plants that are being considered for establishment in the near future. The alternatives which are being considered are natural gas, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, and coal/lignite energy plants as well as nuclear energy plants. By using the multi-criteria decision making technique of Analytic Network Process (ANP), a multi-criteria evaluations of six different energy plants were performed with respect to the major criteria such as technology and sustainability, economical suitability, life quality and socio-economic impacts. -- Highlights: ► The study attempted to lay out the criteria based on which power plant investments are evaluated. ► In the energy industry in Turkey and in the world, it is considerably difficult to access data on energy. ► This study will provide significant support for people working in the energy area and related decision makers in Turkey. ► The study is also thought to provide benefit decision makers in the world energy industry. ► It can provide great benefit in ensuring the security of the energy to be produced from power plant investments.

Preliminary perspectives gaines from individual plant examination of external events (IPEEE) seismic and fire submittal review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, J.T.; Connell, E.; Chokshi, N.

1997-01-01

As a result of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) initiated Individual plant Examination of External Events (IPEEE) program, every operating nuclear power reactor in the United States has performed an assessment of severe accident due to external events. This paper provides a summary of the preliminary insights gained through the review of 24 IPEEE submittals

Aging Evaluation of Nuclear Power Plant Concrete Structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kitsutaka, Y.; Takesue, N.; Tsukagoshi, M.

2012-01-01

In this paper, method on the aging evaluation in nuclear power plant concrete structures was investigated. Problems on the durability evaluation of reinforced concrete structures were pointed out and an evaluation framework was considered. In view of the importance of evaluating the degree of deterioration of reinforced concrete structures, relationships should be formulated among the number of years elapsed, t, the amount of action of a deteriorative factor, F, the degree of material deterioration, D, and the performance of the structure, P. Evaluation by PDFt diagrams combining these relationships may be effective. A detailed procedure of durability evaluation for a reinforced concrete structure using PDFt concept is presented for the deterioration factors of thermal effect, irradiation, neutralization and penetration of salinity by referring to the recent papers. And the evaluation framework of the deteriorated material constitutive model which can be used for the numerical analysis of the integrity evaluation for the concrete structure was proposed. (author)

Study on post-earthquake plant evaluation and communication (Annual safety research report, JFY 2011)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

The aims of this study are to establish a post-earthquake plant evaluation method and to develop a communication system for the improving seismic safety regulations as well as encouraging public communication. The Miyagiken-oki earthquake in 2005, Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant shut down automatically. Subsequently, JNES started development of post-earthquake plant evaluation and communication system based on the experience of the cross-check analysis for Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant. The Niigata-ken Chuetsu-oki Earthquake in 2007, the plant situation was not transmitted promptly. The loss of information sharing between local community and related organizations caused the public anxiety. The importance of plant information transmission as well as seismic information gathering were recognized. The proposal for the solution of the information issues were performed by government committee, In this study the evaluation method for soundness of the main structure and equipment after earthquake event were updated. Moreover, information dissemination to the public and transparent communication methodology was examined by the Industry-Academia-Government cooperation in the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa region. (author)

Plant operator selection system for evaluating employment candidates' potential for success in electric power plant operations positions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunnette, M.D.

1982-01-01

The Plant Operator Selection System is a battery of tests and questionnaires that can be administered to job candidates in less than three hours. Various components of the battery measure what a job candidate has accomplished in previous educational and work situations, how well a candidate compares with others on a number of important aptitudes or abilities, and whether or not a candidate possesses the kind of personal stability required in power plant operations positions. A job candidate's answers to the tests and questionnaires of the Plant Operator Selection System are scored and converted to an OVERALL POTENTIAL INDEX. Values of the OVERALL POTENTIAL INDEX [OPI] range between 0 and 15. Candidates with high OPI values are much more likely to become effective and successful plant operators than candidates with low OPI values. It is possible to estimate the financial advantages to a company of using the Plant Operator Selection System in evaluating candidates for plant operations jobs

Method discussion of the performance evaluation on nuclear plant cable

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Yongfang; Zhong Weixia; Sun Jiansheng; Liu Jingping

2014-01-01

A stock cable, which is same as the nuclear plant cable in service, was treated by thermal aging. After that, the mechanical property, the flame retardant property, the anti-oxidation were measured, and relationships between them due to the thermal aging were established. By those analysis, evaluating the in-service cable performance in nuclear plant and calculating its remaining life. Furthermore, the feasibility of this method was disscussed. (authors)

78 FR 68020 - Evaluation of Established Plant Pests for Action at Ports of Entry

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-13

.... Kevin Shea, Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 2013-27132 Filed 11-12... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0048] Evaluation of Established Plant Pests for Action at Ports of Entry AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection...

Integrated software system for seismic evaluation of nuclear power plant structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, J.; Graves, H.L.

1993-01-01

The computer software CARES (Computer Analysis for Rapid Evaluation of Structures) was developed by the Brookhaven National Laboratory for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It represents an effort to utilize established numerical methodologies commonly employed by industry for structural safety evaluations of nuclear power plant facilities and incorporates them into an integrated computer software package operated on personal computers. CARES was developed with the objective of including all aspects of seismic performance evaluation of nuclear power structures. It can be used to evaluate the validity and accuracy of analysis methodologies used for structural safety evaluations of nuclear power plants by various utilities. CARES has a modular format, each module performing a specific type of analysis. The seismic module integrates all the steps of a complete seismic analysis into a single package with many user-friendly features such as interactiveness and quick turnaround. Linear structural theory and pseudo-linear convolution theory are utilized as the bases for the development with a special emphasis on the nuclear regulatory requirements for structural safety of nuclear plants. The organization of the seismic module is arranged in eight options, each performing a specific step of the analysis with most of input/output interfacing processed by the general manager. Finally, CARES provides comprehensive post-processing capability for displaying results graphically or in tabular form so that direct comparisons can be easily made. (author)

Individual performance evaluation of the Brazilian Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN): a meta-evaluative study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bezerra, Leonardo Ferreira

2017-01-01

The present study is a summative meta-evaluation that had as objective to evaluate the quality of the process of evaluation of individual performance of the servers of the National Commission of Nuclear Energy, being guided by the scientific curiosity to know to what extent the evaluation of performance the National Commission for Nuclear Energy meets the quality standards disseminated by the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation. The methodology chosen to be used was based on the management approach and had as a guiding principle of the study the elaboration of a framework of criteria considering the aforementioned standards. The criteria established in the criteria framework guided the preparation of the items of the questionnaire sent to the National Commission of Nuclear Energy servers. In addition to the questionnaire, the observation of this author was considered in the context where the phenomenon occurred, which allowed a better reflective analysis of the data collected by the questionnaire. Regarding the results, it can be inferred that the performance evaluation developed at the National Commission of Nuclear Energy can be considered of quality, highlighting the servers' trust for the data, the communication process of the program stages, the credibility of the evaluators, the process of negotiation of goals and adaptability of the instrument over the course of the cycle. However, there are some opportunities for improvement, considering the relevance of evaluation as a tool to improve the performance of the autarchy's servers. Among the points that need to be improved is that there is currently a lack of knowledge about the legal basis and justification of the process of evaluation process by the servers and the lack of clarity regarding the content of the final evaluation report. Among the recommendations of this study, one can consider as the most relevant the need to: disseminate the results of this meta-evaluation to the

Integrated Plant Safety Assessment, Systematic Evaluation Program: Yankee Nuclear Power Station (Docket No. 50-29)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-10-01

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has prepared Supplement 1 to the final Integrated Plant Safety Assessment Report (IPSAR) (NUREG-0825), under the scope of the Systematic Evaluation Program (SEP), for Yankee Atomic Electric Company's Yankee Nuclear Power Station located in Rowe, Massachusetts. The SEP was initiated by the NRC to review the design of older operating nuclear power plants to reconfirm and document their safety. This report documents the review completed under the SEP for those issues that required refined engineering evaluations or the continuation of ongoing evaluations after the Final IPSAR for the Yankee plant was issued. The review has provided for (1) an assessment of the significance of differences between current technical positions on selected safety issues and those that existed when Yankee was licensed, (2) a basis for deciding how these differences should be resolved in an integrated plant review, and (3) a documented evaluation of plant safety. 2 tabs

Individual Evaluation of Judges in Germany

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johannes Riedel

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In Germany, with the exception of the five federal supreme courts, court organization is a responsibility of the Länder (federal states. In some of the Länder, so-called employee profiles (“Anforderungsprofile“ have been established for judicial office. These lists attempt to describe criteria for certain judicial positions. They are applied in the process of promotion but also serve as an indicator for initial appointment.The European picture with respect to individual evaluation of judges is extremely diverse. In preparation for this paper, the author attempted to ascertain the situation in the Council of Europe member states. The results of this survey (to which 23 members of the CCJE have replied are listed in Appendix I.The general difficulty of professional evaluation of judges lies in the limits that have to be observed for constitutional reasons. In Germany, the overall rule of every evaluation is that there has to be a reliable factual basis. The evaluator is under a duty not to omit relevant aspects, to consider all the facts that make part of the picture, not to select arbitrarily but to try to paint a true and full picture of the person who is being evaluated. In the case of judges, it is unacceptable to comment on the core of judicial decision-making. Evaluations may be challenged in the administrative court on grounds of fact as well as on grounds of law. En Alemania, con la excepción de las cinco cortes supremas federales, la organización judicial es responsabilidad de los Länder (estados federales. En algunos de estos Länder, se han establecido los denominados perfiles de empleados (“Anforderungsprofile” para la oficina judicial. Estas listas pretenden describir los criterios para determinados cargos judiciales. Se aplican en los procesos de promoción, pero también sirven como un indicador para el nombramiento inicial.El panorama europeo respecto a la evaluación individual de los jueces es muy diverso. Preparando

A holistic model for evaluating the impact of individual technology-enhanced learning resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Pickering, James D; Joynes, Viktoria C T

2016-12-01

The use of technology within education has now crossed the Rubicon; student expectations, the increasing availability of both hardware and software and the push to fully blended learning environments mean that educational institutions cannot afford to turn their backs on technology-enhanced learning (TEL). The ability to meaningfully evaluate the impact of TEL resources nevertheless remains problematic. This paper aims to establish a robust means of evaluating individual resources and meaningfully measure their impact upon learning within the context of the program in which they are used. Based upon the experience of developing and evaluating a range of mobile and desktop based TEL resources, this paper outlines a new four-stage evaluation process, taking into account learner satisfaction, learner gain, and the impact of a resource on both the individual and the institution in which it has been adapted. A new multi-level model of TEL resource evaluation is proposed, which includes a preliminary evaluation of need, learner satisfaction and gain, learner impact and institutional impact. Each of these levels are discussed in detail, and in relation to existing TEL evaluation frameworks. This paper details a holistic, meaningful evaluation model for individual TEL resources within the specific context in which they are used. It is proposed that this model is adopted to ensure that TEL resources are evaluated in a more meaningful and robust manner than is currently undertaken.

Evaluation of fire probabilistic safety assessment for a PWR plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, C.H.; Lin, T.J.; Kao, T.M.

2001-01-01

The internal fire analysis of the level 1 power operation probability safety assessment (PSA) for Maanshan (PWR) Nuclear Power Plant (MNPP) was updated. The fire analysis adopted a scenario-based PSA approach to systematically evaluate fire and smoke hazards and their associated risk impact to MNPP. The result shows that the core damage frequency (CDF) due to fire is about six times lower than the previous one analyzed by the Atomic Energy Council (AEC), Republic of China in 1987. The plant model was modified to reflect the impact of human events and recovery actions during fire. Many tabulated EXCEL spread-sheets were used for evaluation of the fire risk. The fire-induced CDF for MNPP is found to be 2.1 E-6 per year in this study. The relative results of the fire analysis will provide the bases for further risk-informed fire protection evaluation in the near future. (author)

Reliability evaluation of nuclear power plants by fault tree analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwao, H.; Otsuka, T.; Fujita, I.

1993-01-01

As a work sponsored by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, the Safety Information Research Center of NUPEC, using reliability data based on the operational experience of the domestic LWR Plants, has implemented FTA for the standard PWRs and BWRs in Japan with reactor scram due to system failures being at the top event. Up to this point, we have obtained the FT chart and minimal cut set for each type of system failure for qualitative evaluation, and we have estimated system unavailability, Fussell-Vesely importance and risk worth for components for quantitative evaluation. As the second stage of a series in our reliability evaluation work, another program was started to establish a support system. The aim of this system is to assist foreign and domestic plants in creating countermeasures when incidents occur, by providing them with the necessary information using the above analytical method and its results. (author)

HTGR plant availability and reliability evaluations. Volume II. Appendices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cadwallader, G.J.; Hannaman, G.W.; Jacobsen, F.K.; Stokely, R.J.

1976-12-01

Information is presented in the following areas: methodology of identifying components and systems important for availability studies, failure modes and effects analyses, quantitative evaluations, comparison with experience, estimated cost of plant unavailability, and probabilistic use of interest formulas for rare events

Evaluation of radiological doses to the terrestrial plants around Trombay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ajay Kumar; Singhal, R.K.; Preetha, J.; Joshi, S.N.; Hegde, A.G.

2005-01-01

Existing policies for radiation protection do not provide explicit criteria for the protection of species other than humans, i.e. not for flora and fauna. Concern over this omission is now being widely expressed and moves are under way to evaluate the doses to terrestrial and aquatic biota. During the present work radiological doses (external and internal) to the terrestrial plants were evaluated by estimating the concentration of anthropogenic ( 137 Cs, 90 Sr) and natural radionuclides ( 238 U, 232 Th and 40 K) in the plant leaves and by measuring the external gamma radiation due to different radionuclide. The soil and vegetation sample were collected from fifteen sampling locations around the different locations at Trombay. The samples were processed as per IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) protocol for the estimation of naturally occurring and anthropogenic radionuclides in soil and terrestrial plants. The gamma emitting radionuclides were measured by high resolution gamma (HPGe) spectrometry system. Maximum exposure (external + internal) to the terrestrial plants was observed due to 232 Th while 238 U showed minimum exposure. The average value of radiation exposure to the terrestrial plants for 40 K, 137 Cs, 90 Sr, 238 U and 232 Th was 1555.2 ± 92.4, 691.2 ± 54.3, 2564.1 ± 534.9, 82.5 ±5.2, and 4419.6 ± 1165.5 μGy/y respectively. The radiation exposure (external + internal ) to the terrestrial plants due to all radionuclides was found within the permissible limits (i.e. 10 mGy/d) as per recommended by the United States, Department of Energy (DOE). (author)

System recovery from athletes in team sports with individual use of medicinal plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kozina Zhanneta Leonidovna

2011-11-01

Full Text Available We consider the direction of optimization of adaptive systems. In research was attended by 43 athletes. We determined the content of cortisol, insulin and β-endorphins in the blood. Showing cause injuries of athletes. It is noted that as the growth rates of athletes increases the number and severity of injuries. It is established that the main causes of injury is a conflict between reducing functionality and increasing requirements of the game. Recommended application fee of medicinal plants according to individual characteristics of functional and psycho-physiological condition of athletes. Recommendations on the normalization of the adaptive systems.

Plant neighbor identity influences plant biochemistry and physiology related to defense.

Science.gov (United States)

Broz, Amanda K; Broeckling, Corey D; De-la-Peña, Clelia; Lewis, Matthew R; Greene, Erick; Callaway, Ragan M; Sumner, Lloyd W; Vivanco, Jorge M

2010-06-17

Chemical and biological processes dictate an individual organism's ability to recognize and respond to other organisms. A small but growing body of evidence suggests that plants may be capable of recognizing and responding to neighboring plants in a species specific fashion. Here we tested whether or not individuals of the invasive exotic weed, Centaurea maculosa, would modulate their defensive strategy in response to different plant neighbors. In the greenhouse, C. maculosa individuals were paired with either conspecific (C. maculosa) or heterospecific (Festuca idahoensis) plant neighbors and elicited with the plant defense signaling molecule methyl jasmonate to mimic insect herbivory. We found that elicited C. maculosa plants grown with conspecific neighbors exhibited increased levels of total phenolics, whereas those grown with heterospecific neighbors allocated more resources towards growth. To further investigate these results in the field, we conducted a metabolomics analysis to explore chemical differences between individuals of C. maculosa growing in naturally occurring conspecific and heterospecific field stands. Similar to the greenhouse results, C. maculosa individuals accumulated higher levels of defense-related secondary metabolites and lower levels of primary metabolites when growing in conspecific versus heterospecific field stands. Leaf herbivory was similar in both stand types; however, a separate field study positively correlated specialist herbivore load with higher densities of C. maculosa conspecifics. Our results suggest that an individual C. maculosa plant can change its defensive strategy based on the identity of its plant neighbors. This is likely to have important consequences for individual and community success.

Study on evaluation index system of operational performance of municipal wastewater treatment plants in China

Science.gov (United States)

Xiaoxin, Zhang; Jin, Huang; Ling, Lin; Yan, Li

2018-05-01

According to the undeveloped evaluation method for the operational performance of the municipal wastewater treatment plants, this paper analyzes the policies related to sewage treatment industry based on the investigation of the municipal wastewater treatment plants. The applicable evaluation method for the operational performance was proposed from environmental protection performance, resources and energy consumption, technical and economic performance, production management and main equipment, providing a reliable basis for scientific evaluation of the operation as well as improving the operational performance of municipal wastewater treatment plant.

N Reactor Production Assurance Program blance of plant evaluation: report of findings and conclusions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hurd, E.N.; Bitten, E.J.

1985-03-01

Fourteen tasks were identified by UNC Nuclear Industries for evaluating the life expectancy of N Reactor structures, systems and components in the Balance of Plant portion of the Production Assurance Program. A Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) evaluation team was assigned to each of these fourteen tasks. A uniform set of criteria was used by all teams in evaluating the problems that may be encountered during the extended plant operating lifetime. The overall conclusion is that extended life to those Balance of Plant components and systems studied can be achieved. Problems with the potential for compromising that conclusion are identified, and feasible solutions are provided

Native plant growth promoting bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis and mixed or individual mycorrhizal species improved drought tolerance and oxidative metabolism in Lavandula dentata plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Armada, E; Probanza, A; Roldán, A; Azcón, R

2016-03-15

This study evaluates the responses of Lavandula dentata under drought conditions to the inoculation with single autochthonous arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus (five fungal strains) or with their mixture and the effects of these inocula with a native Bacillus thuringiensis (endophytic bacteria). These microorganisms were drought tolerant and in general, increased plant growth and nutrition. Particularly, the AM fungal mixture and B. thuringiensis maximized plant biomass and compensated drought stress as values of antioxidant activities [superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase APX)] shown. The AMF-bacteria interactions highly reduced the plant oxidative damage of lipids [malondialdehyde (MDA)] and increased the mycorrhizal development (mainly arbuscular formation representative of symbiotic functionality). These microbial interactions explain the highest potential of dually inoculated plants to tolerate drought stress. B. thuringiensis "in vitro" under osmotic stress does not reduce its PGPB (plant growth promoting bacteria) abilities as indole acetic acid (IAA) and ACC deaminase production and phosphate solubilization indicating its capacity to improve plant growth under stress conditions. Each one of the autochthonous fungal strains maintained their particular interaction with B. thuringiensis reflecting the diversity, intrinsic abilities and inherent compatibility of these microorganisms. In general, autochthonous AM fungal species and particularly their mixture with B. thuringiensis demonstrated their potential for protecting plants against drought and helping plants to thrive in semiarid ecosystems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Re-evaluation of Station Blackout in Nuclear Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Eunchan; Shin, Taeyoung [Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-05-15

This paper proposes a reduction of the uncertainty due to the small number of LOOP events and an estimation of the non-recovery probability after a LOOP event where the operators fail to energize a safety bus using the offsite power recovery during an SBO with recent operating experience. In addition, in this analysis, the CDF is re-evaluated through reflecting the enhancement of the Class-1E battery capacity. For newly constructed KHNP plants, the LOOP frequency and non-recovery probability after a LOOP during an SBO were re-evaluated through integrating the KHNP events into generic data containing broader experiences for PSA. For an initiating event frequency, a new LOOP frequency was calculated through a Bayesian update of the KHNP LOOP frequency using NUREG/CR-6890, which reflects the recent trends and has a large data size. For the non-recovery probability estimation, domestic data were added to the American experiences in the NUREG/CR-6890; these data were fitted to a lognormal distribution in order to reduce the uncertainty due to the small size of the KHNP data. Regarding the battery capacity enhancement, the success criteria during an SBO were re-evaluated considering the longer battery duty time. The CDF was recalculated using the resultant available time for operator action. The changed CDF was reduced by approximately 50% compared with the value before battery improvement. In conclusion, it was quantitatively proven that enlarging the battery capacity to manage SBOs positively affected plant safety. In addition, methods to improve data uncertainty due to the small number of experiences were selected in order to evaluate the LOOP frequency and non-recovery probability after a LOOP for future plants. These efforts contribute to obtaining a realistic risk profile and to prioritizing countermeasures and improvements of vulnerabilities for safety.

Evaluation of antagonistic and plant growth promoting activities of chitinolytic endophytic actinomycetes associated with medicinal plants against Sclerotium rolfsii in chickpea.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, S P; Gaur, R

2016-08-01

To evaluate the potential of chitinolytic endophytic Actinomycetes isolated from medicinal plants in order to diminish the collar rot infestation induced by Sclerotium rolfsii in chickpea. Sixty-eight chitinolytic endophytic Actinomycetes were recovered from various medicinal plants and evaluated for their chitinase activity. Among these isolates, 12 were screened for their plant growth promoting abilities and antagonistic potential against Sc. rolfsii. Further, these isolates were validated in vivo for their ability to protect chickpea against Sc. rolfsii infestation under greenhouse conditions. The isolates significantly (P plant mortality (42-75%) of chickpea. On the basis of 16S rDNA profiling, the selected antagonistic strains were identified as Streptomyces diastaticus, Streptomyces fradiae, Streptomyces olivochromogenes, Streptomyces collinus, Streptomyces ossamyceticus and Streptomyces griseus. This study is the first report of the isolation of endophytic Actinomycetes from various medicinal plants having antagonistic and plant growth promoting abilities. The isolated species showed potential for controlling collar rot disease on chickpea and could be useful in integrated control against diverse soil borne plant pathogens. Our investigation suggests that endophytic Actinomycetes associated with medicinal plants can be used as bioinoculants for developing safe, efficacious and environment-friendly biocontrol strategies in the near future. © 2016 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

An fMRI investigation of the effects of culture on evaluations of stigmatized individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Krendl, Anne C

2016-01-01

Certain groups (e.g., women, older adults, and the economically disadvantaged) are universally stigmatized. Numerous studies, however, have identified cross-cultural differences in the attitudes expressed toward stigmatized groups. These differences may potentially be due to existing cross-cultural dissimilarities in social status for some groups. The current study used fMRI to examine whether Chinese and Caucasian-American participants engage the same cognitive and affective mechanisms when perceiving stigmatized individuals with similarly low social status in both cultures (homeless individuals), but different cognitive and/or affective processes when evaluating stigmatized individuals whose status differs across cultures (older adults). Using a social neuroscience approach can provide unique insight into this question because the neural regions involved in cognitive and affective evaluations of stigmatized individuals have been well characterized. Results revealed that Chinese participants and Caucasian-American participants engaged similar patterns of negative affective processing associated with disgust (left anterior insula) when evaluating homeless individuals. Moreover, self-reported negative explicit attitudes toward homeless individuals were associated with increased activity in the insula. However, Chinese participants and Caucasian-American participants engaged increased activity in neural regions associated with status (ventral striatum) when they evaluated older adults. Moreover, self-reported attitudes toward older adults and ventral striatal activity were correlated with the extent to which participants reported being affiliated with their respective cultural traditions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Digitized operator evaluation system for main control room of nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Yu; Yan Shengyuan; Chen Wenlong

2014-01-01

In order to evaluate the human-machine system matching relation of main control room in nuclear power plant accurately and efficiently, the expression and parameters of operator human body model were analyzed, and the evaluation required function of digital operator was determined. Based on the secondary development technology, the digital operator evaluation body model was developed. It could choose generation, gender, operation posture, single/eyes horizon, and left/right hand up to the domain according to the needs of specific evaluation, it was used to evaluate whether display information can be visible and equipment can be touch, and it also has key evaluation functions such as workspace and character visibility at the same time. The examples show that this method can complete the evaluation work of human-machine matching relation for main control room of nuclear power plant accurately, efficiently and quickly, and achieve the most optimal human-machine coordination relationship. (authors)

Integrated plant safety assessment systematic evaluation program. R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation, Docket No. 50-244

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-05-01

The Systematic Evaluation Program was initiated in February 1978 by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to review the designs of older operating nuclear reactor plants to reconfirm and document their safety. The review provides (1) an assessment of how these plants compare with current licensing safety requirements relating to selected issues, (2) a basis for deciding on how these differences should be resolved in an integrated plant review, and (3) a documented evaluation of plant safety. This report documents the review of the R.E. Ginna Nuclear Power Plant (located in Wayne County near Rochester, NY), one of ten plants reviewed under Phase II of this program, and indicates how 137 topics selected for review under Phase I of the program were addressed. Equipment and procedural changes have been identified as a result of the review. It is expected that this report will be one of the bases in considering the issuance of a full-term operating license in place of the existing provisional operating license

MIPS plant genome information resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Spannagl, Manuel; Haberer, Georg; Ernst, Rebecca; Schoof, Heiko; Mayer, Klaus F X

2007-01-01

The Munich Institute for Protein Sequences (MIPS) has been involved in maintaining plant genome databases since the Arabidopsis thaliana genome project. Genome databases and analysis resources have focused on individual genomes and aim to provide flexible and maintainable data sets for model plant genomes as a backbone against which experimental data, for example from high-throughput functional genomics, can be organized and evaluated. In addition, model genomes also form a scaffold for comparative genomics, and much can be learned from genome-wide evolutionary studies.

Solar power plant performance evaluation: simulation and experimental validation

Science.gov (United States)

Natsheh, E. M.; Albarbar, A.

2012-05-01

In this work the performance of solar power plant is evaluated based on a developed model comprise photovoltaic array, battery storage, controller and converters. The model is implemented using MATLAB/SIMULINK software package. Perturb and observe (P&O) algorithm is used for maximizing the generated power based on maximum power point tracker (MPPT) implementation. The outcome of the developed model are validated and supported by a case study carried out using operational 28.8kW grid-connected solar power plant located in central Manchester. Measurements were taken over 21 month's period; using hourly average irradiance and cell temperature. It was found that system degradation could be clearly monitored by determining the residual (the difference) between the output power predicted by the model and the actual measured power parameters. It was found that the residual exceeded the healthy threshold, 1.7kW, due to heavy snow in Manchester last winter. More important, the developed performance evaluation technique could be adopted to detect any other reasons that may degrade the performance of the P V panels such as shading and dirt. Repeatability and reliability of the developed system performance were validated during this period. Good agreement was achieved between the theoretical simulation and the real time measurement taken the online grid connected solar power plant.

Performance evaluation and optimization of fluidized bed boiler in ethanol plant using irreversibility analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nugroho Agung Pambudi

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This research aims to evaluate the performance of a fluidized bed boiler in an ethanol production plant through exergy and irreversibility analysis. The study also includes the optimization of the pre-heater and the deaerator in order to improve the system efficiency. Operational data from the ethanol production plant was collected between 2015 and early 2016. The total exergy derived from the fuel was determined to be 7783 kJ/s, while the exergy efficiency of the system was found to be 26.19%, with 2214 kJ/s used in steam production, while 71.55% was lost to component irreversibility and waste heat from the pre-heater. The exergy efficiencies of individual components of the system such as the boiler, deaerator, and pre-heater were found to be 25.82%, 40.13%, and 2.617%, respectively, with the pre-heater having the lowest efficiency. Thus, the pre-heater has the highest potential to significantly improve the efficiency of the boiler system. The optimization of the pre-heater shows that a rise in temperature in the outlet of the pre-heater positively affects the exergy efficiency of the deaerator.

Technical specifications review of nuclear power plants: a risk-informed evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saldanha, Pedro Luiz da Cruz; Sousa, Anna Leticia; Frutuoso e Melo, Paulo Fernando Ferreira; Duarte, Juliana Pacheco

2012-01-01

The use of risk information by a regulatory body as part of an integrated decision making process addresses the way in which risk information is being used as part of an integrated process in making decisions about safety issues at nuclear plants – commonly referred to as risk-informed decision making. The risk-informed approach aims to integrate in a systematic manner quantitative and qualitative, deterministic and probabilistic safety considerations to obtain a balanced decision. Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) is a methodology that can be applied to provide a structured analysis process to evaluate the frequency and consequences of accidents scenarios in nuclear power plants. Technical Specifications (TS) are specifications regarding the characteristics of nuclear power plants (variables, systems or components) of overriding importance to nuclear safety and radiation protection, which is an integral part of plant operation authorization. Limiting Conditions of Operation (LCO) are the minimum levels of performance or capacity or operating system components required for the safe operation of nuclear plants, as defined in technical specifications. The Maintenance Rule (MR) is a requirement established by the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to check the effectiveness of maintenance carried out in nuclear plants, and plant configuration control. The control of plant configuration is necessary to verify the impact of the maintenance of a safety device out of service on plant safety. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has assessed the role of probabilistic safety analysis in the regulation of nuclear power plants with the following objectives: a) to provide utilities with an approach for developing and implementing nuclear power station risk-managed technical specification programs; and b) to complement and supplement existing successful configuration risk management applications such as MR. This paper focuses on the evaluation of EPRI

Developing a Hierarchical Decision Model to Evaluate Nuclear Power Plant Alternative Siting Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Lingga, Marwan Mossa

A strong trend of returning to nuclear power is evident in different places in the world. Forty-five countries are planning to add nuclear power to their grids and more than 66 nuclear power plants are under construction. Nuclear power plants that generate electricity and steam need to improve safety to become more acceptable to governments and the public. One novel practical solution to increase nuclear power plants' safety factor is to build them away from urban areas, such as offshore or underground. To date, Land-Based siting is the dominant option for siting all commercial operational nuclear power plants. However, the literature reveals several options for building nuclear power plants in safer sitings than Land-Based sitings. The alternatives are several and each has advantages and disadvantages, and it is difficult to distinguish among them and choose the best for a specific project. In this research, we recall the old idea of using the alternatives of offshore and underground sitings for new nuclear power plants and propose a tool to help in choosing the best siting technology. This research involved the development of a decision model for evaluating several potential nuclear power plant siting technologies, both those that are currently available and future ones. The decision model was developed based on the Hierarchical Decision Modeling (HDM) methodology. The model considers five major dimensions, social, technical, economic, environmental, and political (STEEP), and their related criteria and sub-criteria. The model was designed and developed by the author, and its elements' validation and evaluation were done by a large number of experts in the field of nuclear energy. The decision model was applied in evaluating five potential siting technologies and ranked the Natural Island as the best in comparison to Land-Based, Floating Plant, Artificial Island, and Semi-Embedded plant.

The evaluation, design and construction of the uranium plant for Chemwes Limited

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viljoen, E.B.; Bluhm, B.J.; Pilkington, W.; Taylor, J.L.; Robinson, J.E.; Le Grange, P.

1981-01-01

The Chemwes uranium plant was designed and constructed within fifteen months; commissioning started during June 1979, and the plant was producing at design capacity four months later. This account highlights the procedures and methods adopted to bring the plant into production. The description of the various phases includes some details of the early evaluation, and the feasibility and optimization studies; of the financing, project management, design, construction, and commissioning of the plant; and of the training of personnel. Some of the mistakes made and the factors that contributed to the success are also listed [af

Seed yield and quality of pepper plants grown under salt stress ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The effect of salinity on seed yield and quality of pepper plants were evaluated. Plants were grown in five salt levels (electrical conductivity, EC): 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 4.0 to 6.0 dSm-1 in glasshouse. Seed yield was assessed by seed weight/fruit, seed weight/plant and individual seed weight. Seed quality was measured by ...

Seed yield and quality of pepper plants grown under salt stress

African Journals Online (AJOL)

İbrahim Demir

2013-12-04

Dec 4, 2013 ... The effect of salinity on seed yield and quality of pepper plants were evaluated. Plants were grown in five salt levels (electrical conductivity, EC): 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 4.0 to 6.0 dSm-1 in glasshouse. Seed yield was assessed by seed weight/fruit, seed weight/plant and individual seed weight. Seed quality was.

Searching for an Accurate Marker-Based Prediction of an Individual Quantitative Trait in Molecular Plant Breeding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong-Bi Fu

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Molecular plant breeding with the aid of molecular markers has played an important role in modern plant breeding over the last two decades. Many marker-based predictions for quantitative traits have been made to enhance parental selection, but the trait prediction accuracy remains generally low, even with the aid of dense, genome-wide SNP markers. To search for more accurate trait-specific prediction with informative SNP markers, we conducted a literature review on the prediction issues in molecular plant breeding and on the applicability of an RNA-Seq technique for developing function-associated specific trait (FAST SNP markers. To understand whether and how FAST SNP markers could enhance trait prediction, we also performed a theoretical reasoning on the effectiveness of these markers in a trait-specific prediction, and verified the reasoning through computer simulation. To the end, the search yielded an alternative to regular genomic selection with FAST SNP markers that could be explored to achieve more accurate trait-specific prediction. Continuous search for better alternatives is encouraged to enhance marker-based predictions for an individual quantitative trait in molecular plant breeding.

Searching for an Accurate Marker-Based Prediction of an Individual Quantitative Trait in Molecular Plant Breeding

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Yong-Bi; Yang, Mo-Hua; Zeng, Fangqin; Biligetu, Bill

2017-01-01

Molecular plant breeding with the aid of molecular markers has played an important role in modern plant breeding over the last two decades. Many marker-based predictions for quantitative traits have been made to enhance parental selection, but the trait prediction accuracy remains generally low, even with the aid of dense, genome-wide SNP markers. To search for more accurate trait-specific prediction with informative SNP markers, we conducted a literature review on the prediction issues in molecular plant breeding and on the applicability of an RNA-Seq technique for developing function-associated specific trait (FAST) SNP markers. To understand whether and how FAST SNP markers could enhance trait prediction, we also performed a theoretical reasoning on the effectiveness of these markers in a trait-specific prediction, and verified the reasoning through computer simulation. To the end, the search yielded an alternative to regular genomic selection with FAST SNP markers that could be explored to achieve more accurate trait-specific prediction. Continuous search for better alternatives is encouraged to enhance marker-based predictions for an individual quantitative trait in molecular plant breeding. PMID:28729875

Multi-criteria evaluation of wastewater treatment plant control strategies under uncertainty

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Flores Alsina, Xavier; Rodriguez-Roda, Ignasi; Sin, Gürkan

2008-01-01

The evaluation of activated sludge control strategies in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) via mathematical modelling is a complex activity because several objectives; e.g. economic, environmental, technical and legal; must be taken into account at the same time, i.e. the evaluation of the alter...

Development of the system for the estimation of materials flow in pyrochemical reprocessing plant. Characteristic evaluation of the oxide electrowinning plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okamura, Nobuo; Tozawa, Katuhiro; Sato, Koji

2002-07-01

The operation of the plant with the non-aqueous reprocessing technology depends on the materials handling equipment closely. Because the value of decontamination factor of the products in the plant is low, treatment of nuclear materials requires remote operation technology. So the system for the evaluation of materials flow in the plant was built to evaluate the production ability of the plant and to check out the plant operation from the viewpoint of materials flow. The system is only based on information of the treatment abilities of materials handling machines and process installations and the arrangement of process installations in the reprocessing cell that influences a way to operate materials handling machines intensity. Therefore the system can be used to estimate the characteristics of non-aqueous plants that are not in detail design stage. The amount of production and the characteristics of the oxide electrowinning plant (operation term 200days/year, plant capacity 50tHM/year in design) designed in Feasibility Study Phase1 were estimated using the system. The results show that the practical amount of production of the plant design is about 88% of the designed value. To increase the amount of production, it is more useful to speed up materials handling machine time than to install new installation or to give priority to conduct bottleneck processes. It is because materials handling influences the production ability of the plant deeply. (author)

Field Evaluation of Plant Defense Inducers for the Control of Citrus Huanglongbing.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jinyun; Trivedi, Pankaj; Wang, Nian

2016-01-01

Huanglongbing (HLB) is currently the most economically devastating disease of citrus worldwide and no established cure is available. Defense inducing compounds are able to induce plant resistance effective against various pathogens. In this study the effects of various chemical inducers on HLB diseased citrus were evaluated in four groves (three with sweet orange and one with mandarin) in Florida (United States) for two to four consecutive growing seasons. Results have demonstrated that plant defense inducers including β-aminobutyric acid (BABA), 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (BTH), and 2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid (INA), individually or in combination, were effective in suppressing progress of HLB disease. Ascorbic acid (AA) and the nonmetabolizable glucose analog 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DDG) also exhibited positive control effects on HLB. After three or four applications for each season, the treatments AA (60 to 600 µM), BABA (0.2 to 1.0 mM), BTH (1.0 mM), INA (0.1 mM), 2-DDG (100 µM), BABA (1.0 mM) plus BTH (1.0 mM), BTH (1.0 mM) plus AA (600 µM), and BTH (1.0 mM) plus 2-DDG (100 µM) slowed down the population growth in planta of 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus', the putative pathogen of HLB and reduced HLB disease severity by approximately 15 to 30% compared with the nontreated control, depending on the age and initial HLB severity of infected trees. These treatments also conferred positive effect on fruit yield and quality. Altogether, these findings indicate that plant defense inducers may be a useful strategy for the management of citrus HLB.

EVOLUTIONARY AND ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF PLANT STRESS TOLERANCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdulmalik G. Yusufov

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract. Aim. The aim is to study the threshold sensitivity to salinization of the environment of individual isolated structures for evaluating the salt tolerance of plants. Methods. Comparison of the reaction to salinization of seeds, sprouts, epicotyls, leaves, cotyledons and flowers in species of cultural and natural flora. The following parameters were taken into account in the work: the life span, the time and capacity of for mation of roots and buds, and the wet and dry biomass of species. The results were processed by Statara version 3.0 Shareware (Statistic 5.0 by the parameters of the interaction of roots and shoots. Results. Plant individuals are characterized by the presence of structures that differ in specialization and life span. The question of the correspondence of reactions of structures with the salt tolerance of plants needs to be studied. The stability of the individual as an integral system is determined by the interaction of organs and structures with each other and with other components of the complex community. It evolves in the course of evolution by selecting individuals in the formation of stable plant communities. Quantitative methods of autoecology and genetics of populations are used to understand its mechanisms and role. Conclusion. The structure of an individual plant in an isolated culture is characterized by the specific reaction to salinization of the environment. In this case, the reaction of seeds, sprouts and isolated epicotyls corresponds most closely to the stability of the individual under the stress.

Plant neighbor identity influences plant biochemistry and physiology related to defense

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Callaway Ragan M

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Chemical and biological processes dictate an individual organism's ability to recognize and respond to other organisms. A small but growing body of evidence suggests that plants may be capable of recognizing and responding to neighboring plants in a species specific fashion. Here we tested whether or not individuals of the invasive exotic weed, Centaurea maculosa, would modulate their defensive strategy in response to different plant neighbors. Results In the greenhouse, C. maculosa individuals were paired with either conspecific (C. maculosa or heterospecific (Festuca idahoensis plant neighbors and elicited with the plant defense signaling molecule methyl jasmonate to mimic insect herbivory. We found that elicited C. maculosa plants grown with conspecific neighbors exhibited increased levels of total phenolics, whereas those grown with heterospecific neighbors allocated more resources towards growth. To further investigate these results in the field, we conducted a metabolomics analysis to explore chemical differences between individuals of C. maculosa growing in naturally occurring conspecific and heterospecific field stands. Similar to the greenhouse results, C. maculosa individuals accumulated higher levels of defense-related secondary metabolites and lower levels of primary metabolites when growing in conspecific versus heterospecific field stands. Leaf herbivory was similar in both stand types; however, a separate field study positively correlated specialist herbivore load with higher densities of C. maculosa conspecifics. Conclusions Our results suggest that an individual C. maculosa plant can change its defensive strategy based on the identity of its plant neighbors. This is likely to have important consequences for individual and community success.

Evaluation of the potential of ozone as a power plant biocide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mattice, J.S.; Trabalka, J.R.; Adams, S.M.; Faust, R.A.; Jolley, R.L.

1978-09-01

A review of the literature on the chemistry and biological effects of ozone was conducted to evaluate the potential of ozone to function as a power plant biocide. Evaluation of this potential is dependent upon determining the ability of ozone to maintain the integrity of both the condenser cooling system and the associated ecosystem. The well-known bactericidal capacity of ozone and the limited biofouling control studies conducted thus far suggest that ozone can control both slime and macroinvertebrate fouling at power plants. However, full-scale demonstrations of the minimum levels of ozone required and of solution of the practical aspects of application have not been performed.

Evaluation of the Antibacterial Activity of 14 Medicinal Plants in Côte ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Purpose: To evaluate the antibacterial potentials of fourteen ethnobotanically selected plants traditionally used in different parts of Côte d'Ivoire for the treatment of typhoid fever and gastrointestinal disorders. Method: The antimicrobial activity of the extracts of the plant was tested against a collection strain of Salmonella ...

Safety Evaluation for Packaging (onsite) T Plant Canyon Items

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

OBRIEN, J.H.

2000-01-01

This safety evaluation for packaging (SEP) evaluates and documents the ability to safely ship mostly unique inventories of miscellaneous T Plant canyon waste items (T-P Items) encountered during the canyon deck clean off campaign. In addition, this SEP addresses contaminated items and material that may be shipped in a strong tight package (STP). The shipments meet the criteria for onsite shipments as specified by Fluor Hanford in HNF-PRO-154, Responsibilities and Procedures for all Hazardous Material Shipments

Safety Evaluation for Packaging (onsite) T Plant Canyon Items

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

OBRIEN, J.H.

2000-07-14

This safety evaluation for packaging (SEP) evaluates and documents the ability to safely ship mostly unique inventories of miscellaneous T Plant canyon waste items (T-P Items) encountered during the canyon deck clean off campaign. In addition, this SEP addresses contaminated items and material that may be shipped in a strong tight package (STP). The shipments meet the criteria for onsite shipments as specified by Fluor Hanford in HNF-PRO-154, Responsibilities and Procedures for all Hazardous Material Shipments.

Applied Warfighter Ergonomics: A Research Method for Evaluating Military Individual Equipment

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Takagi, Koichi

2005-01-01

The objective of this research effort is to design and implement a laboratory and establish a research method focused on scientific evaluation of human factors considerations for military individual...

Evaluation of cable aging degradation based on plant operating condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jong-Seog

2005-01-01

Extending the lifetime of nuclear power plant [(hereafter referred simply as ''NPP'')] is one of the most important concerns in the world nuclear industry. Cables are one of the long live items which have not been considered to be replaced during the design life of NPP. To extend the cable life beyond the design life, we need to prove that the design life is too conservative compared with the actual aging. Condition monitoring is one of the useful ways for evaluating the aging condition of cable. In order to simulate the natural aging in nuclear power plant, a study on accelerated aging needs to be conducted first. In this paper, evaluations of mechanical aging degradation for cable jacket were performed after accelerated aging under the continuous heating and intermittent heating. Contrary to general expectation, the intermittent heating to cable jacket showed low aging degradation, 50% break-elongation and 60% indenter modulus, compared with continuous heating. With the plant maintenance period of 1 month after every 12 or 18 months operation, we can easily deduce that the life time of cable jacket can be extended much longer than estimated through the general EQ (Environmental Qualification) test, which adopts continuous accelerated aging for determining cable life. Therefore, a systematic approach which considers the actual environment condition of nuclear power plant is required for determining the life of cables. (author)

Evaluation of hazards from industrial activities near nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lannoy, A.; Gobert, T.

1980-01-01

Among the potential hazards which could arise from industrial activity near nuclear power plants, fires and explosions of dangerous products are of particular concern. Indeed, thermal radiation from an adjacent fire could endanger the resistance of a plant's structures. Likewise, an accident explosion would induce an overpressure wave which could affect buildings' integrity. This paper presents the methodology developed by Electricite de France to evaluate the consequences of accidents affecting: - Industrial facilities: refineries, chemical and petrochemical plants, storage areas, pipelines of gaseous, liquid and liquefied materials. - Transportation routes (roads, railways, inland waterways) used to carry dangerous substances (solid explosives, liquid, gaseous or liquefied hydrocarbons). Probabilistic methods have been developed by analysis of actual accident statistics (e.g. risks induced by transportation routes) and realistic and representative accident scenarios have been set up. Five sequences have been identified: Formation of a fluid jet at a breach. Evaporation and possible formation of a liquid layer. Atmospheric dispersion and drift of a gaseous cloud. Heat radiation from fire. Unconfined explosion of a gaseous cloud. This paper gives an overview of the methods and the main assumptions used to deal with each sequence. Those methods, presently applied by Electricite de France, provide a coherent and realistic approach for the evaluation of the risks at nuclear power plants induced by industrial activity. (orig.)

A quantitative and comparative evaluation of the risks from nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vignes, S.; Bertin, M.; Nenot, J.C.

1980-01-01

All the significant data for the assessment of risks from the operation of nuclear power plants was collected and these risks were compared with all the risks of modern life. The scientific bases for the evaluation of individual risks and detriment were defined by UNSCEAR (1977) and by ICRP 26 (1978). In different industries, the risk of death from long term occupational illness is about 130 to 14,000 per million workers. For accidental deaths, the risk is estimated at about 16 to 1,600. The risk for the nuclear industry is lower than 100 per million workers. Comparisons are made with different causes of lethality: deaths from atmospheric pollution (sulfur compounds and dusts) related to fossile fuel combustion; iatrogenic accidents attributed to some drugs used in medicine or to other kind of treatment; calculated mortality for workers exposed to asestosis. The nuclear industr of the safest. The only risk to be considered is the major accident, the probability of which is very low. (H.K.)

Individual radiological monitoring for exposed personnel of Nuclear Fuel Plant at Pitesti

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ivana, T.; Epure, Gh.

2010-01-01

In the activity of nuclear fuel fabrication of CANDU type, based on natural and depleted uranium, individual radiological monitoring of the personnel exposed to ionizing radiation is very carefully approached. For Nuclear Fuel Plant (NFP) facility, where uranium appears in bulk and itemized form, measures for individual radiological monitoring are established by Radiological Safety Manual (MSR) in accordance with national and international legislation. All NFP employees are classified in either category A or category B of exposure to ionizing radiation. The classification is a function of type of activity and magnitude of exposure. All the exposed personnel are monitored for external doses (from gamma radiation) by measuring the equivalent dose H p (10) with monthly frequency. The system used for external individual dosimetric monitoring is based on the thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) of PANASONIC type UD813AS14. The NFP incorporates an in-house dosimetric laboratory notified by Romanian regulatory body CNCAN (National Commission for Control of Nuclear Activities). The workers handling nuclear materials are exposed to internal intake of uranium, mainly by inhalation. For internal doses monitoring is included part of exposed employees working directly with radioactive open sources (pulverulent or liquid nuclear materials), UO 2 sinterable powder, green pellets, sintered pellets, scrap and radioactive effluents. The estimation of internal exposure is made quarterly using the results from radioactive airborne monitors operating in the working places. The internal dose of each person exposed to open sources is calculated taking into account the rate of breathing, the time spent at the work place and the dose-activity coefficient (variable function of uranium absorption rate). The total effective individual dose is obtained by summing the external dose and internal dose (E=E ext +E int ). For conformity, the total effective individual dose (E) is compared with dose

Comprehensive evaluation of coal-fired power plants based on grey relational analysis and analytic hierarchy process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Gang; Yang Yongping; Lu Shiyuan; Li Le; Song Xiaona

2011-01-01

In China, coal-fired power plants are the main supplier of electricity, as well as the largest consumer of coal and water resources and the biggest emitter of SO x , NO x , and greenhouse gases (GHGs). Therefore, it is important to establish a scientific, reasonable, and feasible comprehensive evaluation system for coal-fired power plants to guide them in achieving multi-optimisation of their thermal, environmental, and economic performance. This paper proposes a novel comprehensive evaluation method, which is based on a combination of the grey relational analysis (GRA) and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), to assess the multi-objective performance of power plants. Unlike the traditional evaluation method that uses coal consumption as a basic indicator, the proposed evaluation method also takes water consumption and pollutant emissions as indicators. On the basis of the proposed evaluation method, a case study on typical 600 MW coal-fired power plants is carried out to determine the relevancy rules among factors including the coal consumption, water consumption, pollutant, and GHG emissions of power plants. This research offers new ideas and methods for the comprehensive performance evaluation of complex energy utilisation systems, and is beneficial to the synthesised consideration of resources, economy, and environment factors in system optimising and policy making. - Research highlights: → We proposed a comprehensive evaluation method for coal-fired power plants. → The method is based on the grey relational analysis (GRA). → The method also introduces the idea of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). → The method can assess thermal, economic and environmental performance. → The method can play an active role in guiding power plants' improvements.

Comprehensive evaluation of coal-fired power plants based on grey relational analysis and analytic hierarchy process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu Gang, E-mail: xg2008@ncepu.edu.c [Key Lab of Condition Monitoring and Control for Power Plant Equipment of Ministry of Education, School of Energy Power and Mechanical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206 (China); Yang Yongping, E-mail: yyp@ncepu.edu.c [Key Lab of Condition Monitoring and Control for Power Plant Equipment of Ministry of Education, School of Energy Power and Mechanical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206 (China); Lu Shiyuan; Li Le [Key Lab of Condition Monitoring and Control for Power Plant Equipment of Ministry of Education, School of Energy Power and Mechanical Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206 (China); Song Xiaona [Electromechanical Practice Center, Beijing Information Science and Technology University, Beijing (China)

2011-05-15

In China, coal-fired power plants are the main supplier of electricity, as well as the largest consumer of coal and water resources and the biggest emitter of SO{sub x}, NO{sub x}, and greenhouse gases (GHGs). Therefore, it is important to establish a scientific, reasonable, and feasible comprehensive evaluation system for coal-fired power plants to guide them in achieving multi-optimisation of their thermal, environmental, and economic performance. This paper proposes a novel comprehensive evaluation method, which is based on a combination of the grey relational analysis (GRA) and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), to assess the multi-objective performance of power plants. Unlike the traditional evaluation method that uses coal consumption as a basic indicator, the proposed evaluation method also takes water consumption and pollutant emissions as indicators. On the basis of the proposed evaluation method, a case study on typical 600 MW coal-fired power plants is carried out to determine the relevancy rules among factors including the coal consumption, water consumption, pollutant, and GHG emissions of power plants. This research offers new ideas and methods for the comprehensive performance evaluation of complex energy utilisation systems, and is beneficial to the synthesised consideration of resources, economy, and environment factors in system optimising and policy making. - Research highlights: {yields} We proposed a comprehensive evaluation method for coal-fired power plants. {yields} The method is based on the grey relational analysis (GRA). {yields} The method also introduces the idea of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). {yields} The method can assess thermal, economic and environmental performance. {yields} The method can play an active role in guiding power plants' improvements.

Failure cause and failure rate evaluation on pumps of BWR plants in PSA. Hypothesis testing for typical or plant specific failure rate of pumps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanada, Takahiro; Nakamura, Makoto

2009-01-01

In support of domestic nuclear industry effort to gather and analyze failure data of components concerning nuclear power plants, Nuclear Information Archives (NUCIA) are published for useful information to help PSA. This report focuses on NUCIA pertaining to pumps in domestic nuclear power plants, and provides the reliable estimation on failure rate of pumps resulting from failure cause analysis and hypothesis testing of classified and plant specific failure rate of pumps for improving quality in PSA. The classified and plant specific failure rate of pumps are estimated by analyzing individual domestic nuclear power plant's data of 26 Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) concerning functionally structurally classified pump failures reported from beginning of commercial operation to March 31, 2007. (author)

Survey and scientific evaluation of medicinal plants used by the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Survey and scientific evaluation of medicinal plants used by the Pahan and Teli ... African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines ... the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and using the guided field-walk method.

Development of resilience evaluation method for nuclear power plants. Part 3. Study of evaluation method and applicability of resilience index

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Masaaki; Demachi, Kazuyuki; Miyano, Hiroshi

2017-01-01

We have developed a new index, called the resilience index, that evaluates the dynamic stability of the system safety of a nuclear power plant during a severe accident by considering the ability to recover system safety functions that have become lost in the situation. In this paper, a detailed evaluation procedure for the resilience index is described. The system safety of a pressurized water reactor plant during a severe accident is then assessed according to the resilience index in order to discuss the applicability of the index. We find that the resilience index successfully represents management capability and, therefore, the resilience capability of a nuclear power plant. (author)

Development of resilience evaluation method for nuclear power plants. Part 3. Study on evaluation method and applicability of resilience index

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Masaaki; Demachi, Kazuyuki; Murakami, Kenta

2016-01-01

We have developed a new index, called the resilience index, that evaluates the dynamic stability of the system safety of a nuclear power plant during a severe accident by considering the ability to recover system safety functions that have become lost in the situation. In this paper, a detailed evaluation procedure for the resilience index is described. The system safety of a PWR plant during a severe accident is then assessed according to the resilience index in order to discuss the applicability of the index. We find that the resilience index successfully represents management capability and, therefore, the resilience capability of a nuclear power plant. (author)

St. Louis demonstration final report: refuse processing plant equipment, facilities, and environmental evaluations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fiscus, D.E.; Gorman, P.G.; Schrag, M.P.; Shannon, L.J.

1977-09-01

The results are presented of processing plant evaluations of the St. Louis-Union Electric Refuse Fuel Project, including equipment and facilities as well as assessment of environmental emissions at both the processing and the power plants. Data on plant material flows and operating parameters, plant operating costs, characteristics of plant material flows, and emissions from various processing operations were obtained during a testing program encompassing 53 calendar weeks. Refuse derived fuel (RDF) is the major product (80.6% by weight) of the refuse processing plant, the other being ferrous metal scrap, a marketable by-product. Average operating costs for the entire evaluation period were $8.26/Mg ($7.49/ton). The average overall processing rate for the period was 168 Mg/8-h day (185.5 tons/8-h day) at 31.0 Mg/h (34.2 tons/h). Future plants using an air classification system of the type used at the St. Louis demonstration plant will need an emissions control device for particulates from the large de-entrainment cyclone. Also in the air exhaust from the cyclone were total counts of bacteria and viruses several times higher than those of suburban ambient air. No water effluent or noise exposure problems were encountered, although landfill leachate mixed with ground water could result in contamination, given low dilution rates.

Modeling the individual plants for the planning of the energetic operation of the national interconnected power system; Uma modelagem a usinas individualizadas para o planejamento da operacao energetica do sistema interligado nacional

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marques, T.C.; Cruz Junior, G.; Vinhal, C. [Universidade Federal de Goias (UFG), Goiania, GO (Brazil). Escola de Engenharia Eletrica e de Computacao], Emails: thyago@eeec.ufg.br, gcruz@eeec.ufg.br, vinhal@eeec.ufg.br

2009-07-01

This paper presents an operational policy for the mid term hydrothermal scheduling of the Brazilian Interconnected Power System (BIPS) based on the individual representation of the hydro and thermo power plants, the detailed representation of the plants' features and the indirect representation of the inflow stochasticity through a forecasting model. These characteristics differs the operational policy which is in use nowadays in BIPS, which is based on four interconnected subsystems represented by composite reservoirs. Several case studies are presented to evaluate the performance of the operational policy, from the simple case with a single hydro plant system to the complete case of the whole BIPS under real conditions. For this last case an operational adjustment procedure was implemented to assure the market attendance considering interchange constraints between the subsystems. (author)

Solar power plant performance evaluation: simulation and experimental validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Natsheh, E M; Albarbar, A

2012-01-01

In this work the performance of solar power plant is evaluated based on a developed model comprise photovoltaic array, battery storage, controller and converters. The model is implemented using MATLAB/SIMULINK software package. Perturb and observe (P and O) algorithm is used for maximizing the generated power based on maximum power point tracker (MPPT) implementation. The outcome of the developed model are validated and supported by a case study carried out using operational 28.8kW grid-connected solar power plant located in central Manchester. Measurements were taken over 21 month's period; using hourly average irradiance and cell temperature. It was found that system degradation could be clearly monitored by determining the residual (the difference) between the output power predicted by the model and the actual measured power parameters. It was found that the residual exceeded the healthy threshold, 1.7kW, due to heavy snow in Manchester last winter. More important, the developed performance evaluation technique could be adopted to detect any other reasons that may degrade the performance of the P V panels such as shading and dirt. Repeatability and reliability of the developed system performance were validated during this period. Good agreement was achieved between the theoretical simulation and the real time measurement taken the online grid connected solar power plant.

Evaluation of corrective action data for reportable events at commercial nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mays, G.T.

1991-01-01

805The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved the adoption of cause codes for reportable events as a new performance indicator (PI) in March 1989. Corrective action data associated with the causes of events were to be compiled also. The corrective action data was considered as supplemental information but not identified formally as a performance indicator. In support of NRC, the Nuclear Operations Analysis Center (NOAC) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been routinely evaluating licensee event reports (LERs) for cause code and corrective action data since 1989. The compilation of corrective action data by NOAC represents the first systematic and comprehensive compilation of this type data. The thrust of analyzing the corrective action data was to identify areas where licensees allocated resources to solve problems and prevent the recurrence of personnel errors and equipment failures. The predominant areas of corrective action reported by licensees are to be evaluated by NRC to compare with NRC programs designed to improve plant performance. The set of corrective action codes used to correlate with individual cause codes and included in the analyses were: training, procedural modification, corrective discipline, management change, design modification, equipment replacement/adjustment, other, and unknown. 1 fig

Spatio-temporal evaluation of plant height in corn via unmanned aerial systems

Science.gov (United States)

Varela, Sebastian; Assefa, Yared; Vara Prasad, P. V.; Peralta, Nahuel R.; Griffin, Terry W.; Sharda, Ajay; Ferguson, Allison; Ciampitti, Ignacio A.

2017-07-01

Detailed spatial and temporal data on plant growth are critical to guide crop management. Conventional methods to determine field plant traits are intensive, time-consuming, expensive, and limited to small areas. The objective of this study was to examine the integration of data collected via unmanned aerial systems (UAS) at critical corn (Zea mays L.) developmental stages for plant height and its relation to plant biomass. The main steps followed in this research were (1) workflow development for an ultrahigh resolution crop surface model (CSM) with the goal of determining plant height (CSM-estimated plant height) using data gathered from the UAS missions; (2) validation of CSM-estimated plant height with ground-truthing plant height (measured plant height); and (3) final estimation of plant biomass via integration of CSM-estimated plant height with ground-truthing stem diameter data. Results indicated a correlation between CSM-estimated plant height and ground-truthing plant height data at two weeks prior to flowering and at flowering stage, but high predictability at the later growth stage. Log-log analysis on the temporal data confirmed that these relationships are stable, presenting equal slopes for both crop stages evaluated. Concluding, data collected from low-altitude and with a low-cost sensor could be useful in estimating plant height.

Impact of the legislative environment on an individual operating a photovoltaic power plant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michaela Baranyková

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Operation of a photovoltaic power plant by an individual is a business activity according to a special regulation. For this activity it is necessary to have a “Licence for doing business in energy sectors”, which provides authorisation to do business in this sector and replaces the traditional Trade Licence. The Licence is issued by the Energy Regulatory Office, through which the Organisation Identification Number (Administrative Id. No. is issued.All these issues are however closely associated with the legislative environment, which is very unclear in the Czech Republic, and it is very difficult to estimate in what direction it will develop. In this connection it is appropriate to present a work definition of the term “legislatively uncertain environment”. The issues connected with these topics can be divided into three areas, namely law, accounting and taxes. This environment is highly unstable for the decision making process of an individual, and it is not easy to determine whether the terms and conditions will remain as they are or if they are changed within several months, not speaking about the fact that the recent periods are characterised by the fact that the law regulations use more and more often the principle of retroactivity, and therefore it is not even clear whether the individual makes a decision in the conditions which are set at present or if he or she is retroactively hit by the changes which may be made during a few months and can have a fundamental impact on the individual concerned.

An evaluation of methodology for seismic qualification of equipment, cable trays, and ducts in ALWR plants by use of experience data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bandyopadhyay, K.K.; Kana, D.D.; Kennedy, R.P.; Schiff, A.J.

1997-07-01

Advanced Reactor Corporation (ARC) has developed a methodology for seismic qualification of equipment, cable trays and ducts in Advanced Light Water Reactor plants. A Panel (members of which acted as individuals) supported by the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has evaluated this methodology. The review approach and observations are included in this report. In general, the Panel supports the ARC methodology with some exceptions and provides recommendations for further improvements. 26 refs., 10 figs., 1 tab

An evaluation of methodology for seismic qualification of equipment, cable trays, and ducts in ALWR plants by use of experience data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bandyopadhyay, K.K.; Kana, D.D.; Kennedy, R.P.; Schiff, A.J.

1997-07-01

Advanced Reactor Corporation (ARC) has developed a methodology for seismic qualification of equipment, cable trays and ducts in Advanced Light Water Reactor plants. A Panel (members of which acted as individuals) supported by the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has evaluated this methodology. The review approach and observations are included in this report. In general, the Panel supports the ARC methodology with some exceptions and provides recommendations for further improvements. 26 refs., 10 figs., 1 tab.

Evaluation of Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 1 Technical Specifications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baxter, D.E.; Bruske, S.J.

1985-08-01

This document was prepared for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to assist them in determining whether the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 1 Technical Specifications (T/S), which govern plant systems configurations and operations, are in conformance with the assumption of the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) as amended, and the requirements of the Safety Evaluation Report (SER) as supplemented. A comparative audit of the FSAR as amended, and the SER as supplemented was performed with the Watts Bar T/S. Several discrepancies were identified and subsequently resolved through discussions with the cognizant NRC reviewer, NRC staff reviewers and/or utility representatives. The Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 1 T/S, to the extent reviewed, are in conformance with the FSAR and SER

A toxicity reduction evaluation for an oily waste treatment plant exhibiting episodic effluent toxicity.

Science.gov (United States)

Erten-Unal, M; Gelderloos, A B; Hughes, J S

1998-07-30

A Toxicity Reduction Evaluation (TRE) was conducted on the oily wastewater treatment plant (Plant) at a Naval Fuel Depot. The Plant treats ship and ballast wastes, berm water from fuel storage areas and wastes generated in the fuel reclamation plant utilizing physical/chemical treatment processes. In the first period of the project (Period I), the TRE included chemical characterization of the plant wastewaters, monitoring the final effluent for acute toxicity and a thorough evaluation of each treatment process and Plant operating procedures. Toxicity Identification Evaluation (TIE) procedures were performed as part of the overall TRE to characterize and identify possible sources of toxicity. Several difficulties were encountered because the effluent was saline, test organisms were marine species and toxicity was sporadic and unpredictable. The treatability approach utilizing enhancements, improved housekeeping, and operational changes produced substantial reductions in the acute toxicity of the final effluent. In the second period (Period II), additional acute toxicity testing and chemical characterization were performed through the Plant to assess the long-term effects of major unit process improvements for the removal of toxicity. The TIE procedures were also modified for saline wastewaters to focus on suspected class of toxicants such as surfactants. The TRE was successful in reducing acute toxicity of the final effluent through process improvements and operational modifications. The results indicated that the cause of toxicity was most likely due to combination of pollutants (matrix effect) rather than a single pollutant.

Evaluation of hyperaccumulator plant species grown in metalliferous sites in Albania

Science.gov (United States)

Babani, F.; Civici, N.; Mullaj, A.; Kongjika, E.; Ylli, A.

2007-04-01

Heavy metal contamination of soils causes serious problems to our society. A small number of interesting plant species have been identified that can grow in soils containing high levels of heavy metals, and can also accumulate these metals to high concentrations in the shoot. The heavy metal contents in root, shoot, leaves and flowers of spontaneous plants grown in metalliferous sites in Albania together with the elemental composition of the native soils were determined by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Efficiency of photosynthetic apparatus of analyzed ecotypes was evaluated via chlorophyll fluorescence imaging during induction kinetics. Response of plant root system to the presence of metals, the available pools of metals to plants, effect of plant biomass to phytoextraction, photosynthetic pigment metabolism and chlorophyll fluorescence signature of leaves allowed to characterize hyperaccumulator properties and to detect the variation between selected ecotypes to heavy metal accumulation.

Evaluation of tolerance to soils contaminated with diesel oil in plant species with bioremediation potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petenello, Maria Cristina; Feldman, Susana Raquel.

2012-01-01

Soils contaminated with hydrocarbons or their derivate can be remediated by different methods. Many of them use live organisms such as plants that are able to mineralize these compounds, turning them into more simple molecules, similar to natural molecules. When the use of plants is decided, it is important to employ native plants because they are already adapted to the particular ecological conditions of the site. The response of spartina argentinensis, paspalum atratum, paspalum guenoarun and melilotus albus to the presence of diesel oil was evaluated considering seed germination, plant emergence and biomass production of plants growing on soils experimentally contaminated with different concentrations of diesel oil (1 and 2 %). Although all the parameters evaluated showed the negative impact of the presence of diesel-oil, the plants continued growing; therefore they can be considered useful management options for soil phytoremediation.

Annual stability evaluation of Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-06-01

A stability evaluation of the underground workings of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) was completed by the US Bureau of Mines' WIPP evaluation committee. This work included a critical evaluation of the processes employed at WIPP to ensure stability, an extensive review of available deformation measurements, a 3-day site visit, and interviews with the Department of Energy (DOE) and Westinghouse staff. General ground control processes are in place at WIPP to minimize the likelihood that major stability problems will go undetected. To increase confidence in both short- and long-term stability throughout the site (underground openings and shafts), ground stability monitoring systems, mine layout design, support systems and data analyses must be continuously improved. Such processes appear to be in place at WIPP and are discussed in this paper

Coupling individual kernel-filling processes with source-sink interactions into GREENLAB-Maize.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Yuntao; Chen, Youjia; Zhu, Jinyu; Meng, Lei; Guo, Yan; Li, Baoguo; Hoogenboom, Gerrit

2018-02-13

Failure to account for the variation of kernel growth in a cereal crop simulation model may cause serious deviations in the estimates of crop yield. The goal of this research was to revise the GREENLAB-Maize model to incorporate source- and sink-limited allocation approaches to simulate the dry matter accumulation of individual kernels of an ear (GREENLAB-Maize-Kernel). The model used potential individual kernel growth rates to characterize the individual potential sink demand. The remobilization of non-structural carbohydrates from reserve organs to kernels was also incorporated. Two years of field experiments were conducted to determine the model parameter values and to evaluate the model using two maize hybrids with different plant densities and pollination treatments. Detailed observations were made on the dimensions and dry weights of individual kernels and other above-ground plant organs throughout the seasons. Three basic traits characterizing an individual kernel were compared on simulated and measured individual kernels: (1) final kernel size; (2) kernel growth rate; and (3) duration of kernel filling. Simulations of individual kernel growth closely corresponded to experimental data. The model was able to reproduce the observed dry weight of plant organs well. Then, the source-sink dynamics and the remobilization of carbohydrates for kernel growth were quantified to show that remobilization processes accompanied source-sink dynamics during the kernel-filling process. We conclude that the model may be used to explore options for optimizing plant kernel yield by matching maize management to the environment, taking into account responses at the level of individual kernels. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Antileishmanial, toxicity, and phytochemical evaluation of medicinal plants collected from Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Naseer Ali; Khan, Muhammad Rashid; Nadhman, Akhtar

2014-01-01

Leishmaniasis is an important parasitic problem and is in focus for development of new drugs all over the world. Objective of the present study was to evaluate phytochemical, toxicity, and antileishmanial potential of Jurinea dolomiaea, Asparagus gracilis, Sida cordata, and Stellaria media collected from different areas of Pakistan. Dry powder of plants was extracted with crude methanol and fractionated with n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water solvents in escalating polarity order. Qualitative phytochemical analysis of different class of compounds, that is, alkaloids, saponins, terpenoids, anthraquinones, cardiac glycosides, coumarins, phlobatannins, flavonoids, phenolics, and tannins, was tested. Its appearance was observed varying with polarity of solvent used for fractionation. Antileishmanial activity was performed against Leishmania tropica KWH23 promastigote. Potent antileishmanial activity was observed for J. dolomiaea methanol extract (IC50 = 10.9 ± 1.1 μ g/mL) in comparison to other plant extracts. However, J. dolomiaea "ethyl acetate fraction" was more active (IC50 = 5.3 ± 0.2 μ g/mL) against Leishmania tropica KWH23 among all plant fractions as well as standard Glucantime drug (6.0 ± 0.1 μ g/mL). All the plants extract and its derived fraction exhibited toxicity in safety range (LC50 > 100) in brine shrimp toxicity evaluation assay.

Laboratory evaluation of four medicinal plants as protectants against ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The petroleum ether extract of four medicinal plants; Aristolochia ringens (Vahl), Allium sativum (L), Ficus exasperata (L) and Garcinia kola (H), were evaluated as grain protectant against the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais (Mots) in the laboratory at 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% (w/v) concentrations. Parameters assessed were adult ...

Increasing reliability of nuclear energy equipment and at nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ochrana, L.

1997-01-01

The Institute of Nuclear Energy at the Technical University in Brno cooperates with nuclear power plants in increasing their reliability. The teaching programme is briefly described. The scientific research programme of the Department of Heat and Nuclear Power Energy Equipment in the field of reliability is based on a complex systematic concept securing a high level of reliability. In 1996 the Department prepared a study dealing with the evaluation of the maintenance system in a nuclear power plant. The proposed techniques make it possible to evaluate the reliability and maintenance characteristics of any individual component in a nuclear power plant, and to monitor, record and evaluate data at any given time intervals. (M.D.)

Comparison of methods used to identify superior individuals in genomic selection in plant breeding.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhering, L L; Junqueira, V S; Peixoto, L A; Cruz, C D; Laviola, B G

2015-09-10

The aim of this study was to evaluate different methods used in genomic selection, and to verify those that select a higher proportion of individuals with superior genotypes. Thus, F2 populations of different sizes were simulated (100, 200, 500, and 1000 individuals) with 10 replications each. These consisted of 10 linkage groups (LG) of 100 cM each, containing 100 equally spaced markers per linkage group, of which 200 controlled the characteristics, defined as the 20 initials of each LG. Genetic and phenotypic values were simulated assuming binomial distribution of effects for each LG, and the absence of dominance. For phenotypic values, heritabilities of 20, 50, and 80% were considered. To compare methodologies, the analysis processing time, coefficient of coincidence (selection of 5, 10, and 20% of superior individuals), and Spearman correlation between true genetic values, and the genomic values predicted by each methodology were determined. Considering the processing time, the three methodologies were statistically different, rrBLUP was the fastest, and Bayesian LASSO was the slowest. Spearman correlation revealed that the rrBLUP and GBLUP methodologies were equivalent, and Bayesian LASSO provided the lowest correlation values. Similar results were obtained in coincidence variables among the individuals selected, in which Bayesian LASSO differed statistically and presented a lower value than the other methodologies. Therefore, for the scenarios evaluated, rrBLUP is the best methodology for the selection of genetically superior individuals.

Insights from the U.S. department of Energy plant safety evaluation program of VVER and RBMK reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petri, M.C.; Binder, J.L.; Pasedag, W.F.

2001-01-01

Throughout the years 1990 the U.S. Department of Energy has worked build capability in countries of the former Soviet Union to assess the safety of their VVER and RBMK reactors. Through this Plant Safety Evaluation Program, deterministic and probabilistic analyses have been used to provide a documented plant risk profile to support safe plant operation and to set priorities for safety upgrades. Work has been sponsored at thirteen nuclear power plant sites in eight countries. The Plant Safety Evaluation Program has resulted in immediate and long-term safety benefits for the Soviet-designed nuclear plants. (author)

Balancing effluent quality, economic cost and greenhouse gas emissions during the evaluation of (plant-wide) control/operational strategies in WWTPs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Flores Alsina, Xavier; Arnell, Magnus; Amerlinck, Youri

2014-01-01

The objective of this paper was to show the potential additional insight that result from adding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to plant performance evaluation criteria, such as effluent quality (EQI) and operational cost (OCI) indices, when evaluating (plant-wide) control/operational strategies ...... evaluation criteria to compare and evaluate (plant-wide) control strategies in a WWTP for more informed operational decision making. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.......The objective of this paper was to show the potential additional insight that result from adding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to plant performance evaluation criteria, such as effluent quality (EQI) and operational cost (OCI) indices, when evaluating (plant-wide) control/operational strategies...

Long-term evaluation of individualized marketing programs for travel demand management

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

This research examines the use of individualized marketing as a transportation demand : management (TDM) strategy, using the City of Portlands SmartTrips program. This research : project has two specific aims: (1) to evaluate whether the benefits ...

Integrity evaluation of Alloy 600 RV head penetration tubes in Korean PWR plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Young Hwan; Park, Sung Ho; Hong, Sung Yull; Choi, Kwang Hee

1995-01-01

The structural integrity assessment of Alloy 600 RV head penetration tubes has been an important issue for the economical and reliable operation of power plants. In this paper, an overview of the integrity evaluation program for the RV head penetration tubes in Korean nuclear power plants is presented. Since the crack growth mechanism of the penetration tube is due to the primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) which is mainly related to the stress at the tube, the present paper consists of three primary activities: the stress evaluation, the flaw evaluation, and data generation through material and mechanical tests. (author). 5 refs, 2 figs, 1 tab

Sensitivity analysis of technological, economic and sustainability evaluation of power plants using the analytic hierarchy process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chatzimouratidis, Athanasios I.; Pilavachi, Petros A.

2009-01-01

Technological, economic and sustainability evaluation of power plants by use of the analytic hierarchy process and nine end node criteria for a reference scenario based on subjective criteria weighting has been presented in a previous paper by authors. However, criteria weight variations may substantially modify overall evaluations and rankings of power plants. The current paper presents a sensitivity analysis with four alternative scenarios (sets of criteria weights) compared with the reference scenario. The results show that priority to 'technology and sustainability' favors renewable energy power plants, while priority to 'economic' criteria favors mainly nuclear power plants and less the four types of fossil fuel power plant

Guidelines for the technical evaluation of replacement items in nuclear power plants (NCIG-11)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Craig, W.E.; Fakhar, A.A.; Shulman, M.N.

1989-12-01

This document presents guidelines and supporting information for the technical evaluation of replacement items in nuclear power plants. These guidelines contain six major sections which provide the practical knowledge and a programmatic approach to determine the technical and quality requirements necessary to generate purchase documents to procure the proper replacement items. The technical evaluation methodology includes the following steps. (1) Identification of the need for a technical evaluation. (2) Component/part functional classification procedures. (3) Performance of a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis. (4) Selection of Critical Characteristics for Design Determination. (5) Performance of a ''Like-For-Like'' or ''Alternate'' item Evaluation. (6) Preparation of the Technical and Quality Requirements Specification. Work on this document was initiated in response to the increased emphasis by the utilities owning nuclear power plants and nuclear industry on procurement of replacement items for use in safety related applications at nuclear power plants. 20 refs., 9 figs., 14 tabs

Evaluating and reducing a model of radiocaesium soil-plant uptake

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tarsitano, D.; Young, S.D. [School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD (United Kingdom); Crout, N.M.J., E-mail: neil.crout@nottingham.ac.u [School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD (United Kingdom)

2011-03-15

An existing model of radiocaesium transfer to grasses was extended to include wheat and barley and parameterised using data from a wide range of soils and contact times. The model structure was revised and evaluated using a subset of the available data which was not used for model parameterisation. The resulting model was then used as a basis for systematic model reduction to test the utility of the model components. This analysis suggested that the use of 4 model variables (relating to radiocaesium adsorption on organic matter and the pH sensitivity of soil solution potassium concentration) and 1 model input (pH) are not required. The results of this analysis were used to develop a reduced model which was further evaluated in terms of comparisons to observations. The reduced model had an improved empirical performance and fewer adjustable parameters and soil characteristic inputs. - Research highlights: {yields} A model of plant radiocesium uptake is evaluated and re-parameterised. {yields} The representation of time dependent changes in plant uptake is improved. {yields} Model reduction is applied to evaluate the model structure. {yields} A reduced model is identified which outperforms the previously reported model. {yields} The reduced model requires fewer soil specific inputs.

Evaluation of the Migration Capacity of Zn in the Soil–Plant System

Science.gov (United States)

Anisimov, V. S.; Anisimova, L. N.; Frigidova, L. M.; Dikarev, D. V.; Frigidov, R. A.; Korneev, Yu. N.; Sanzharov, A. I.; Arysheva, S. P.

2018-04-01

The mobility and migration capacity of Zn in the soil-plant system were studied in a series of pot experiments with barley as a test plant. The parameters of Zn accumulation depending on the metal concentrations in soils and soil solutions were estimated by soil and water culture methods. Experiments with barley in water culture were performed on a nutrient (soil) solution extracted from soddy-podzolic soil (Albic Retisol (Loamic, Ochric)) to which Zn2+ was added to reach working concentrations increasing from 0.07 to 430 μM. Different responses of barley plants to changes in the concentration of Zn in the studied soil were identified. Ranges of the corresponding concentrations in the soil and aboveground barley biomass were determined. Parameters of Zn accumulation by test plants were determined depending on the metal content in soddypodzolic soil and the soil solution. A new method was proposed for evaluating the buffer capacity of soils with respect to a heavy metal (Zn) using test plants (BCS(P)Zn). The method was used to evaluate the buffering capacity of loamy sandy soddy-podzolic soil. The considered methodological approach offers opportunities for using data obtained during the agroecological monitoring of agricultural lands with heavy metals (HMs), including the contents of exchangeable HMs and macroelements (C and Mg) in soils and concentrations of HMs and (Ca + Mg) in plants, in the calculation of the buffering capacity of the surveyed soils for HMs.

Evaluation of human error estimation for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haney, L.N.; Blackman, H.S.

1987-01-01

The dominant risk for severe accident occurrence in nuclear power plants (NPPs) is human error. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) sponsored an evaluation of Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) techniques for estimation of human error in NPPs. Twenty HRA techniques identified by a literature search were evaluated with criteria sets designed for that purpose and categorized. Data were collected at a commercial NPP with operators responding in walkthroughs of four severe accident scenarios and full scope simulator runs. Results suggest a need for refinement and validation of the techniques. 19 refs

Root Systems of Individual Plants, and the Biotic and Abiotic Factors Controlling Their Depth and Distribution: a Synthesis Using a Global Database.

Science.gov (United States)

Tumber-Davila, S. J.; Schenk, H. J.; Jackson, R. B.

2017-12-01

This synthesis examines plant rooting distributions globally, by doubling the number of entries in the Root Systems of Individual Plants database (RSIP) created by Schenk and Jackson. Root systems influence many processes, including water and nutrient uptake and soil carbon storage. Root systems also mediate vegetation responses to changing climatic and environmental conditions. Therefore, a collective understanding of the importance of rooting systems to carbon sequestration, soil characteristics, hydrology, and climate, is needed. Current global models are limited by a poor understanding of the mechanisms affecting rooting, carbon stocks, and belowground biomass. This improved database contains an extensive bank of records describing the rooting system of individual plants, as well as detailed information on the climate and environment from which the observations are made. The expanded RSIP database will: 1) increase our understanding of rooting depths, lateral root spreads and above and belowground allometry; 2) improve the representation of plant rooting systems in Earth System Models; 3) enable studies of how climate change will alter and interact with plant species and functional groups in the future. We further focus on how plant rooting behavior responds to variations in climate and the environment, and create a model that can predict rooting behavior given a set of environmental conditions. Preliminary results suggest that high potential evapotranspiration and seasonality of precipitation are indicative of deeper rooting after accounting for plant growth form. When mapping predicted deep rooting by climate, we predict deepest rooting to occur in equatorial South America, Africa, and central India.

Evaluation issues on real-time operating system in nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Y. M.; Jeong, C. H.; Koh, J. S. [Regulatory Research Div., Korea Inst. of Nuclear Safety (Korea, Republic of)

2006-07-01

In the recent few years, using the hard real-time operating system (RTOS) of safety-critical applications has gained increased acceptance in the nuclear safety system. Failure of this software could cause catastrophic consequences for human life. The digital I and C systems of nuclear power plants also have used hard RTOSs which are executing a required mission completely within its deadline. Because the nuclear power plants have to maintain a very high level of safety, the hard RTOS software should be reliable and safe. The RTOS used in safety-critical I and C systems is the base software used for the purpose of satisfying the real-time constraints, So, careful evaluation of its safety and functionality is very important, So far, the nuclear power plants of Korea have adopted commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) RTOS software. But, these days the RTOS embedded in safety grade PLC has been developed by KNICS project controlled by Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy of Korea. Whether COTS RTOS or newly developed RTOS, it must be evaluated its safety and reliability. (authors)

Evaluation issues on real-time operating system in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Y. M.; Jeong, C. H.; Koh, J. S.

2006-01-01

In the recent few years, using the hard real-time operating system (RTOS) of safety-critical applications has gained increased acceptance in the nuclear safety system. Failure of this software could cause catastrophic consequences for human life. The digital I and C systems of nuclear power plants also have used hard RTOSs which are executing a required mission completely within its deadline. Because the nuclear power plants have to maintain a very high level of safety, the hard RTOS software should be reliable and safe. The RTOS used in safety-critical I and C systems is the base software used for the purpose of satisfying the real-time constraints, So, careful evaluation of its safety and functionality is very important, So far, the nuclear power plants of Korea have adopted commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) RTOS software. But, these days the RTOS embedded in safety grade PLC has been developed by KNICS project controlled by Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy of Korea. Whether COTS RTOS or newly developed RTOS, it must be evaluated its safety and reliability. (authors)

Safety goals for commercial nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roe, J.W.

1988-01-01

In its official policy statement on safety goals for the operation of nuclear power plants, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) set two qualitative goals, supported by two quantitative objectives. These goals are that (1) individual members of the public should be provided a level of protection from the consequences of nuclear power plant operation such that individuals bear no significant additional risk to life and health; and (2) societal risks to life and health from nuclear power plant operation should be comparable to or less than the risks of generating electricity by viable competing technologies and should not be a significant addition to other societal risks. As an alternative, this study proposes four quantitative safety goals for nuclear power plants. It begins with an analysis of the NRC's safety-goal development process, a key portion of which was devoted to delineating criteria for evaluating goal-development methods. Based on this analysis, recommendations for revision of the NRC's basic benchmarks for goal development are proposed. Using the revised criteria, NRC safety goals are evaluated, and the alternative safety goals are proposed. To further support these recommendations, both the NRC's goals and the proposed goals are compared with the results of three major probabilistic risk assessment studies. Finally, the potential impact of these recommendations on nuclear safety is described

Development of web-based integrity evaluation system for primary components in a nuclear power plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, S.M.; Kim, J.C.; Choi, J.B.; Kim, Y.J. [SAFE Research Center, Sungkyunkwan Univ., Suwon (Korea); Choi, S.N.; Jang, K.S.; Hong, S.Y. [Korea Electronic Power Research Inst., Daejeon (Korea)

2004-07-01

A nuclear power plant is composed of a number of primary components. Maintaining the integrity of these components is one of the most critical issues in nuclear industry. In order to maintain the integrity of these primary components, a complicated procedure is required including periodical in-service inspection, failure assessment, fracture mechanics analysis, etc. Also, experts in different fields have to co-operate to resolve the integrity issues on the basis of inspection results. This integrity evaluation process usually takes long, and thus, is detrimental for the plant productivity. Therefore, an effective safety evaluation system is essential to manage integrity issues on a nuclear power plant. In this paper, a web-based integrity evaluation system for primary components in a nuclear power plant is proposed. The proposed system, which is named as WEBIES (web-based integrity evaluation system), has been developed in the form of 3-tier system architecture. The system consists of three servers; application program server, user interface program server and data warehouse server. The application program server includes the defect acceptance analysis module and the fracture mechanics analysis module which are programmed on the basis of ASME sec. XI, appendix A. The data warehouse server provides data for the integrity evaluation including material properties, geometry information, inspection data and stress data. The user interface program server provides information to all co- workers in the field of integrity evaluation. The developed system provides engineering knowledge-based information and concurrent and collaborative working environment through internet, and thus, is expected to raise the efficiency of integrity evaluation procedures on primary components of a nuclear power plant. (orig.)

Development of web-based integrity evaluation system for primary components in a nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, S.M.; Kim, J.C.; Choi, J.B.; Kim, Y.J.; Choi, S.N.; Jang, K.S.; Hong, S.Y.

2004-01-01

A nuclear power plant is composed of a number of primary components. Maintaining the integrity of these components is one of the most critical issues in nuclear industry. In order to maintain the integrity of these primary components, a complicated procedure is required including periodical in-service inspection, failure assessment, fracture mechanics analysis, etc. Also, experts in different fields have to co-operate to resolve the integrity issues on the basis of inspection results. This integrity evaluation process usually takes long, and thus, is detrimental for the plant productivity. Therefore, an effective safety evaluation system is essential to manage integrity issues on a nuclear power plant. In this paper, a web-based integrity evaluation system for primary components in a nuclear power plant is proposed. The proposed system, which is named as WEBIES (web-based integrity evaluation system), has been developed in the form of 3-tier system architecture. The system consists of three servers; application program server, user interface program server and data warehouse server. The application program server includes the defect acceptance analysis module and the fracture mechanics analysis module which are programmed on the basis of ASME sec. XI, appendix A. The data warehouse server provides data for the integrity evaluation including material properties, geometry information, inspection data and stress data. The user interface program server provides information to all co- workers in the field of integrity evaluation. The developed system provides engineering knowledge-based information and concurrent and collaborative working environment through internet, and thus, is expected to raise the efficiency of integrity evaluation procedures on primary components of a nuclear power plant. (orig.)

Evaluation of Perry Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 technical specifications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baxter, D.E.; Bruske, S.J.

1985-11-01

This document was prepared for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to assist them in determining whether the Perry Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 Technical Specifications (T/S), which govern plant systems configurations and operations, are in conformance with the requirements of the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) as amended, and the requirements of the Safety Evaluation Report (SER) as supplemented. A comparative audit of the FSAR as amended, and the SER as supplemented was performed with the Perry T/S. Several discrepancies were identified and subsequently resolved through telephone conversations with the staff reviewer and the utility representative. Pending completion of the resolutions noted in Parts 3 and 4 of this report, the Perry Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 T/S, to the extent reviewed, are in conformance with the FSAR and SER

A real option-based simulation model to evaluate investments in pump storage plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muche, Thomas

2009-01-01

Investments in pump storage plants are expected to grow especially due to their ability to store an excess of supply from wind power plants. In order to evaluate these investments correctly the peculiarities of pump storage plants and the characteristics of liberalized power markets have to be considered. The main characteristics of power markets are the strong power price volatility and the occurrence of prices spikes. In this article a valuation model is developed capturing these aspects using power price simulation, optimization of unit commitment and capital market theory. This valuation model is able to value a future price-based unit commitment planning that corresponds to future scope of actions also called real options. The resulting real option value for the pump storage plant is compared with the traditional net present value approach. Because this approach is not able to evaluate scope of actions correctly it results in strongly smaller investment values and forces wrong investment decisions.

Individual aircraft life monitoring: An engineering approach for fatigue damage evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui JIAO

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Individual aircraft life monitoring is required to ensure safety and economy of aircraft structure, and fatigue damage evaluation based on collected operational data of aircraft is an integral part of it. To improve the accuracy and facilitate the application, this paper proposes an engineering approach to evaluate fatigue damage and predict fatigue life for critical structures in fatigue monitoring. In this approach, traditional nominal stress method is applied to back calculate the S-N curve parameters of the realistic structure details based on full-scale fatigue test data. Then the S-N curve and Miner’s rule are adopted in damage estimation and fatigue life analysis for critical locations under individual load spectra. The relationship between relative small crack length and fatigue life can also be predicted with this approach. Specimens of 7B04-T74 aluminum alloy and TA15M titanium alloy are fatigue tested under two types of load spectra, and there is a good agreement between the experimental results and analysis results. Furthermore, the issue concerning scatter factor in individual aircraft damage estimation is also discussed. Keywords: Fatigue damage, Fatigue monitoring, Fatigue test, Scatter factor, S-N curve

Integrated approach methodology: A handbook for power plant assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roush, M.L.; Modarres, M.; Hunt, R.N.M.; Kreps, D.; Pearce, R.

1987-10-01

This handbook is a practical document that provides the principles and steps of a method to help a utility's decision-making process on matters concerning plant safety and economy. It provides a framework for analyzing the manner in which plant equipment and personnel work together to achieve successful operation; also making possible the quantitative evaluation of individual contributors to success in overall plant operation. The methodology does not purport to instruct utilities on the proper way to run a power plant. Rather, it is an analytical tool to aid a utility in using plant data and other hands-on knowledge of its own personnel to solve practical problems

Evaluating impacts of fire management strategies on native and invasive plants using an individual-based model

Science.gov (United States)

Gangur, Alexander N.; Fill, Jennifer M.; Northfield, Tobin D.; van de Wiel, Marco

2017-04-01

The capacity for species to coexist and potentially exclude one another can broadly be attributed to drivers that influence fitness differences (such as competitive ability) and niche differences (such as environmental change). These drivers, and thus the determinants of coexistence they influence, can interact and fluctuate both spatially and temporally. Understanding the spatiotemporal variation in niche and fitness differences in systems prone to fluctuating drivers, such as fire, can help to inform the management of invasive species. In the Cape floristic region of South Africa, invasive Pinus pinaster seedlings are strong competitors in the post-burn environment of the fire-driven Fynbos vegetation. In this, system native Protea spp. are especially vulnerable to unseasonal burns, but seasonal prescribed (Summer) burns are thought to present a high safety risk. Together, these issues have limited the appeal of prescribed burn management as an alternative to costly manual eradication of P. pinaster. Using a spatially-explicit field-of-neighbourhood individual-based model, we represent the drivers of spatiotemporal variation in niche differences (driven by fire regimes) and fitness differences (driven by competitive ability). In doing so, we evaluate optimal fire management strategies to a) control invasive P. pinaster in the Cape floristic region of South Africa, while b) minimizing deleterious effects of management on native Protea spp. The scarcity of appropriate data for model calibration has been problematic for models in invasion biology, but we use recent advances in Approximate Bayesian Computing techniques to overcome this limitation. We present early conclusions on the viability of prescribed burn management to control P. pinaster in South Africa.

Radiological impact of airborne effluents of coal-fired and nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McBride, J.P.; Moore, R.E.; Witherspoon, J.P.; Blanco, R.E.

1977-06-01

Radiological impact of naturally occurring radionuclides in airborne effluents of a model coal-fired steam plant is evaluated assuming a release to the atmosphere of 1 percent of the ash in the coal burned and compared with the impact of radioactive materials in the airborne effluents of model light-water reactors. The principal exposure pathway for radioactive materials released from both types of plants is ingestion of contaminated foodstuffs. For nuclear plants immersion in the airborne effluents is also a significant factor in the dose commitment. Assuming that the coal burned contains 1 ppM uranium and 2 ppM thorium together with their decay products and using the same impact analysis methods used in evaluating nuclear facilities, the maximum individual dose commitments from the coal plant for the whole body and most organs (except the thyroid) are shown to be greater than those from a pressurized-water reactor (PWR) and, with the exception of the bone and kidney doses, less than those from a boiling-water reactor (BWR). With the exception of the bone dose, the maximum individual dose commitments from the coal plant are less than the numerical design guideline limits listed for light-water reactors (LWRs). Population dose commitments from the coal plant are higher than those from either nuclear plant

Core Self-Evaluations and Individual Strategies of Coping with Unemployment among Displaced Spanish Workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Virkes, Tihana; Maslić Seršić, Darja; Lopez-Zafra, Esther

2017-10-30

Unemployment has negative but also positive effects on mental health and general well-being depending on which coping strategies the individual use. Our aim was to determine the contribution of core self-evaluations in explaining the coping strategies of job search and job devaluation, as well as to test the potential moderation effect of job search and mediation effect of job devaluation on the relationship between self core-evaluations and both positive and negative experience of unemployment. One hundred seventy-eight individuals who lost their jobs involuntarily for a longer period than one month completed a questionnaire while attending to employment office. Results show that there is a significant relation between core-self evaluations and job devaluation (.37**). Furthermore, core-self evaluations were positively related to positive experience of unemployment (r = .31; p unemployment (r = .60; p unemployment strategies (job devaluation; β = .26; p unemployment. But, individuals with a longer duration of the current period of unemployment and higher core self-evaluations had a more positive experience of unemployment, and job devaluation partially mediated this relation (SE = .002; p = .038). These results imply that programs interventions should include the improvement of core self-evaluations and the positive experience of unemployed people.

A personal computer code for seismic evaluations of nuclear power plant facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, J.; Graves, H.

1991-01-01

In the process of review and evaluation of licensing issues related to nuclear power plants, it is essential to understand the behavior of seismic loading, foundation and structural properties and their impact on the overall structural response. In most cases, such knowledge could be obtained by using simplified engineering models which, when properly implemented, can capture the essential parameters describing the physics of the problem. Such models do not require execution on large computer systems and could be implemented through a personal computer (PC) based capability. Recognizing the need for a PC software package that can perform structural response computations required for typical licensing reviews, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission sponsored the development of a PC operated computer software package CARES (Computer Analysis for Rapid Evaluation of Structures) system. This development was undertaken by Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) during FY's 1988 and 1989. A wide range of computer programs and modeling approaches are often used to justify the safety of nuclear power plants. It is often difficult to assess the validity and accuracy of the results submitted by various utilities without developing comparable computer solutions. Taken this into consideration, CARES is designed as an integrated computational system which can perform rapid evaluations of structural behavior and examine capability of nuclear power plant facilities, thus CARES may be used by the NRC to determine the validity and accuracy of analysis methodologies employed for structural safety evaluations of nuclear power plants. CARES has been designed to operate on a PC, have user friendly input/output interface, and have quick turnaround. This paper describes the various features which have been implemented into the seismic module of CARES version 1.0

A plan for safety evaluation of tsunamis at the Uljin nuclear power plant site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, H. K.; Lee, D. S.

1999-01-01

The sites of many nuclear and thermal power plants are located along the coast line to obtain necessary cooling water. Therefore, they are vulnerable to coastal disasters like tsunamis. The safety evaluation on tsunamis of the site of Uljin nuclear power plants was performed with the maximum potential earthquake magnitude and related fault parameters in 1986. But according to the results of recent research, the possibility was suggested that the earthquake which has bigger magnitude than was expected is likely to happen in the seismic gaps near Akita, Japan. Therefore, a plan for safety evaluation of tsunamis at the Uljin nuclear power plants was laid out

Evaluation and assessment of nuclear power plant seismic methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernreuter, D.; Tokarz, F.; Wight, L.; Smith, P.; Wells, J.; Barlow, R.

1977-01-01

The major emphasis of this study is to develop a methodology that can be used to assess the current methods used for assuring the seismic safety of nuclear power plants. The proposed methodology makes use of system-analysis techniques and Monte Carlo schemes. Also, in this study, we evaluate previous assessments of the current seismic-design methodology

Evaluation and assessment of nuclear power plant seismic methodology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernreuter, D.; Tokarz, F.; Wight, L.; Smith, P.; Wells, J.; Barlow, R.

1977-03-01

The major emphasis of this study is to develop a methodology that can be used to assess the current methods used for assuring the seismic safety of nuclear power plants. The proposed methodology makes use of system-analysis techniques and Monte Carlo schemes. Also, in this study, we evaluate previous assessments of the current seismic-design methodology.

GROWTH AND ARCHITECTURE OF ROOT SYSTEMS OF PLANTS OF Eucalyptus camaldulensis, E. GRANDIS AND E. PELLITA WERE EVALUATED AFTER THE PLANTING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulo Sérgio dos Santos Leles

2001-01-01

Full Text Available The seedlings were produced according to two methodologies: pressed blocks and stiff plastic tubes. A mixture of decomposed sugar-cane bagasse (60% and industrial sugar-cane plant residues (40% were used as substrate. The blocks were made by pressing the humid substrate in metallic moulds with the dimensions of 60 x 40 x 20 cm (lenght, width and height and pressure of 10 kgf/cm2 for 15 minutes. Under this load the blocks height was reduced to 10 cm. They were placed in wooden boxes with screen bottom. The stiff plastic tubes had circular section 12 cm high, with volume capacity of 50 cm3. The seeds were sown in the blocks 5 cm apart, by means of a spatula. At the end of nursey phase, the seedlings were planted the field. After 2, 6 and 10 months of planting, the height and the diameter at the ground level were evaluated. At the age of 10 months it was also evaluated the number of laterals root and deformatiom cofficient the three plants for treatment. Two months after planting, the plants originated from the pressed blocks showed growth highly signifficant in relation to those of the stiff plastic tubes. At 10 months, of age only Eucalyptus grandis seedlings showed significant difference concerning to height and diameter at the ground level between plants produced by pressed blocks and stiff plastic tubes. For the three species, the pressed blocks seedling showed higher number of lateral roots and smaller number of root deformation coefficents in comparision to the plants from the stiff tubes.

Study on comprehensive evaluation model for nuclear power plant control room layout

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Yiming; Liu Yuan; Fan Huixian

2010-01-01

A comprehensive evaluation model for layout of the main control room of nuclear power plants was proposed. Firstly the design scope and principle for the layout of the main control room were defined based on the standards, and then the index system for the comprehensive evaluation was established. Finally, comprehensive evaluation was carried out for the layout design by applying the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method in the index system. (authors)

Application of a qualified RETRAN model to plant transient evaluation support

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sedano, P.G.; Mata, P.; Alcantud, F.; Serra, J.; Castrillo, F.

1989-01-01

This paper presents the applicability and usefulness of a complete and well qualified plant transient code and model to support in depth evaluation of anomalous plant transients. Analyses of several operational and abnormal transients that ocurred during the first three cycles of Cofrentes (BWR-6) NPP are presented. This application demonstrated the need of a very detailed and adjusted simulation of the control systems as well as the convenience of having as complete as possible data adquisition system. (orig.)

Application of a qualified RETRAN model to plant transient evaluation support

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sedano, P.G.; Mata, P.; Alcantud, F.; Serra, J.

1989-01-01

This paper presents the applicability and usefulness of a complete and well qualified plant transient code and model to support in depth evaluation of anomalous plant transients. Analyses of several operational and abnormal transients occurred during the first three cycles of Cofrentes (BWR-6) NPP are presented. This application remarked the need of a very detailed and adjusted simulation of the control systems as well as the convenience of having an as complete as possible data acquisition system

Development of a web-based fatigue life evaluation system for primary components in a nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seo, Hyong Won; Lee, Sang Min; Choi, Jae Boong; Kim, Young Jin; Choi, Sung Nam; Jang, Ki Sang; Hong, Sung Yull

2004-01-01

A nuclear power plant is composed of a number of primary components. Maintaining the integrity of these components is one of the most critical issues in nuclear industry. In order to maintain the integrity of these primary components, a complicated procedure is required including regular in-service inspection, failure assessment, fracture mechanics analysis, etc. Also, experts in different fields have to co-operate to resolve the integrity issues on the basis of inspection results. This integrity evaluation process usually takes long, and thus, is detrimental for the plant productivity. Therefore, an effective safety evaluation system is essential to manage the integrity issues on a nuclear power plant. In this paper, a web-based fatigue life evaluation system for primary components in nuclear power plant is proposed. This system provides engineering knowledge-based information and concurrent and collaborative working environment through internet, and thus, is expected to raise the efficiency of integrity evaluation procedures on primary components of a nuclear power plant

Performance evaluation and economic analysis of a gas turbine power plant in Nigeria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oyedepo, S.O.; Fagbenle, R.O.; Adefila, S.S.; Adavbiele, S.A.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • We evaluate performance and economic analysis of a gas turbine power plant in Nigeria. • We examine the shortfall of energy generated and compared with the standard value. • Generation loss resulted in revenue loss of the plant. • Improvement in general housekeeping of the plant will improve performance indices. - Abstract: In this study, performance evaluation and economic analysis (in terms of power outage cost due to system downtime) of a gas turbine power plant in Nigeria have been carried out for the period 2001–2010. The thermal power station consists of nine gas turbine units with total capacity of 301 MW (9 × 31.5 MW). The study reveals that 64.3% of the installed capacity was available in the period. The percentage of shortfall of energy generated in the period ranged from 4.18% to 14.53% as against the acceptable value of 5–10%. The load factor of the plant is between 20.8% and 78.2% as against international best practice of 80%. The average availability of the plant for the period was about 64% as against industry best practice of 95%, while the average use factor was about 92%. The capacity factor of the plant ranged from 20.8% to 78.23% while the utilization factor ranged from 85.47% to 95.82%. For the ten years under review, there was energy generation loss of about 35.7% of expected energy generation of 26.411 TW h with consequent plant performance of 64.3%. The study further reveals that the 35.7% of generation loss resulted in revenue loss of about M$251 (approximately b▪40). The simple performance indicator developed to evaluate the performance indices and outage cost for the station can also be applicable to other power stations in Nigeria and elsewhere. Measures to improve the performance indices of the plant have been suggested such as training of operation and maintenance (O and M) personnel regularly, improvement in O and M practices, proper spare parts inventory and improvement in general housekeeping of the

Plant-specific evaluations of Transamerica Delaval diesel engines for nuclear service

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dingee, D.A.; Laity, W.W.; Nesbitt, J.F.

1985-03-01

This paper discusses the approach taken to evlauate the readiness of Transamerica Delaval, Inc. (TDI) diesel generators for nuclear service at five power plants: Catawba, Comanche Peak, Grand Gulf, San Onofre, and Shoreham. TDI engines in these and other nuclear power plants have been the subject of a coordinated effort by 13 nuclear utilities to address reliability and quality issues. The utilities formed the TDI Diesel Generator Owners' Group and prepared a comprehensive plan for requalifying the engines as emergency power sources. Prior to full implementation of the plan by the Owners' Group and final review of the findings by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, several member plants became candidates for operating licenses. The TDI engines in those plants, including the five listed above, were evaluated on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the factors discussed in this paper. 2 refs

Extraction of uranium from seawater: evaluation of uranium resources and plant siting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodman, M.R.; Gordon, L.I.; Chen, A.C.T.

1979-02-01

This report deals with the evaluation of U.S. coastal waters as a uranium resource and with the selection of a suitable site for construction of a large-scale plant for uranium extraction. Evaluation of the resource revealed that although the concentration of uranium is quite low, about 3.3 ppB in seawater of average oceanic salinity, the amount present in the total volume of the oceans is very great, some 4.5 billion metric tons. Of this, perhaps only that uranium contained in the upper 100 meters or so of the surface well-mixed layer should be considered accessible for recovery, some 160 million tonnes. The study indicated that open ocean seawater acquired for the purpose of uranium extraction would be a more favorable resource than rivers entering the sea, cooling water of power plants, or the feed or effluent streams of existing plants producing other products such as magnesium, bromine, or potable and/or agricultural water from seawater. Various considerations led to the selection of a site for a pumped seawater coastal plant at a coastal location. Puerto Yabucoa, Puerto Rico was selected. Recommendations are given for further studies. 21 figures, 8 tables

Extraction of uranium from seawater: evaluation of uranium resources and plant siting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodman, M.R.; Gordon, L.I.; Chen, A.C.T.

1979-02-01

This report deals with the evaluation of U.S. coastal waters as a uranium resource and with the selection of a suitable site for construction of a large-scale plant for uranium extraction. Evaluation of the resource revealed that although the concentration of uranium is quite low, about 3.3 ppB in seawater of average oceanic salinity, the amount present in the total volume of the oceans is very great, some 4.5 billion metric tons. Of this, perhaps only that uranium contained in the upper 100 meters or so of the surface well-mixed layer should be considered accessible for recovery, some 160 million tonnes. The study indicated that open ocean seawater acquired for the purpose of uranium extraction would be a more favorable resource than rivers entering the sea, cooling water of power plants, or the feed or effluent streams of existing plants producing other products such as magnesium, bromine, or potable and/or agricultural water from seawater. Various considerations led to the selection of a site for a pumped seawater coastal plant at a coastal location. Puerto Yabucoa, Puerto Rico was selected. Recommendations are given for further studies. 21 figures, 8 tables.

Evaluation of Power Generation Efficiency of Cascade Hydropower Plants: A Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiahua Wei

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Effective utilization of scarce water resources has presented a significant challenge to respond to the needs created by rapid economic growth in China. In this study, the efficiency of the joint operation of the Three Gorges and Gezhouba cascade hydropower plants in terms of power generation was evaluated on the basis of a precise simulation-optimization technique. The joint operation conditions of the Three Gorges and Gezhouba hydropower plants between 2004 and 2010 were utilized in this research in order to investigate the major factors that could affect power output of the cascade complex. The results showed that the current power output of the Three Gorges and Gezhouba cascade complex had already reached around 90% of the maximum theoretical value. Compared to other influencing factors evaluated in this study, the accuracy of hydrological forecasts and flood control levels can have significant impact on the power generating efficiency, whereas the navigation has a minor influence. This research provides a solid quantitative-based methodology to assess the operation efficiency of cascade hydropower plants, and more importantly, proposes potential methods that could improve the operation efficiency of cascade hydropower plants.

External human induced events in site evaluation for nuclear power plants. Safety guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

The purpose of the present Safety Guide is to provide recommendations and guidance for the examination of the region considered for site evaluation for a plant in order to identity hazardous phenomena associated with human induced events initiated by sources external to the plant. In some cases it also presents preliminary guidance for deriving values of relevant parameters for the design basis. This Safety Guide is also applicable for periodic site evaluation and site evaluation following a major human induced event, and for the design and operation of the site's environmental monitoring system. Site evaluation includes site characterization. Consideration of external events that could lead to a degradation of the safety features of the plant and cause a release of radioactive material from the plant and/or affect the dispersion of such material in the environment. And consideration of population issues and access issues significant to safety (such as the feasibility of evacuation, the population distribution and the location of resources). The process of site evaluation continues throughout the lifetime of the facility, from siting to design, construction, operation and decommissioning. The external human induced events considered in this Safety Guide are all of accidental origin. Considerations relating to the physical protection of the plant against wilful actions by third parties are outside its scope. However, the methods described herein may also have some application for the purposes of such physical protection. The present Safety Guide may also be used for events that may originate within the boundaries of the site, but from sources which are not directly involved in the operational states of the nuclear power plant units, such as fuel depots or areas for the storage of hazardous materials for the construction of other facilities at the same site. Special consideration should be given to the hazardous material handled during the construction, operation and

Meteorological events in site evaluation for nuclear power plants. Safety guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

This Safety Guide provides recommendations and guidance on conducting hazard assessments of extreme and rare meteorological phenomena. It is of interest to safety assessors and regulators involved in the licensing process as well as to designers of nuclear power plants. This Safety Guide was prepared under the IAEA programme for safety standards for nuclear power plants. It supplements the IAEA Safety Requirements publication on Site Evaluation for Nuclear Facilities which is to supersede the Code on the Safety of Nuclear Power Plants: Siting, Safety Series No. 50-C-S (Rev. 1), IAEA, Vienna (1988). The present Safety Guide supersedes two earlier Safety Guides: Safety Series No. 50-SG-S11A (1981) on Extreme Meteorological Events in Nuclear Power Plant Siting, Excluding Tropical Cyclones and Safety Series No. 50-SG-S11B (1984) on Design Basis Tropical Cyclone for Nuclear Power Plants. The purpose of this Safety Guide is to provide recommendations and guidance on conducting hazard assessments of extreme and rare meteorological phenomena. This Safety Guide provides interpretation of the Safety Requirements publication on Site Evaluation for Nuclear Facilities and guidance on how to fulfil these requirements. It is aimed at safety assessors or regulators involved in the licensing process as well as designers of nuclear power plants, and provides them with guidance on the methods and procedures for analyses that support the assessment of the hazards associated with extreme and rare meteorological events. This Safety Guide discusses the extreme values of meteorological variables and rare meteorological phenomena, as well as their rates of occurrence, according to the following definitions: (a) Extreme values of meteorological variables such as air temperature and wind speed characterize the meteorological or climatological environment. And (b) Rare meteorological phenomena

Plant intelligence

Science.gov (United States)

Lipavská, Helena; Žárský, Viktor

2009-01-01

The concept of plant intelligence, as proposed by Anthony Trewavas, has raised considerable discussion. However, plant intelligence remains loosely defined; often it is either perceived as practically synonymous to Darwinian fitness, or reduced to a mere decorative metaphor. A more strict view can be taken, emphasizing necessary prerequisites such as memory and learning, which requires clarifying the definition of memory itself. To qualify as memories, traces of past events have to be not only stored, but also actively accessed. We propose a criterion for eliminating false candidates of possible plant intelligence phenomena in this stricter sense: an “intelligent” behavior must involve a component that can be approximated by a plausible algorithmic model involving recourse to stored information about past states of the individual or its environment. Re-evaluation of previously presented examples of plant intelligence shows that only some of them pass our test. “You were hurt?” Kumiko said, looking at the scar. Sally looked down. “Yeah.” “Why didn't you have it removed?” “Sometimes it's good to remember.” “Being hurt?” “Being stupid.”—(W. Gibson: Mona Lisa Overdrive) PMID:19816094

Antileishmanial, Toxicity, and Phytochemical Evaluation of Medicinal Plants Collected from Pakistan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naseer Ali Shah

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Leishmaniasis is an important parasitic problem and is in focus for development of new drugs all over the world. Objective of the present study was to evaluate phytochemical, toxicity, and antileishmanial potential of Jurinea dolomiaea, Asparagus gracilis, Sida cordata, and Stellaria media collected from different areas of Pakistan. Dry powder of plants was extracted with crude methanol and fractionated with n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water solvents in escalating polarity order. Qualitative phytochemical analysis of different class of compounds, that is, alkaloids, saponins, terpenoids, anthraquinones, cardiac glycosides, coumarins, phlobatannins, flavonoids, phenolics, and tannins, was tested. Its appearance was observed varying with polarity of solvent used for fractionation. Antileishmanial activity was performed against Leishmania tropica KWH23 promastigote. Potent antileishmanial activity was observed for J. dolomiaea methanol extract (IC50=10.9±1.1 μg/mL in comparison to other plant extracts. However, J. dolomiaea “ethyl acetate fraction” was more active (IC50=5.3±0.2 μg/mL against Leishmania tropica KWH23 among all plant fractions as well as standard Glucantime drug (6.0±0.1 μg/mL. All the plants extract and its derived fraction exhibited toxicity in safety range (LC50 >100 in brine shrimp toxicity evaluation assay.

Economic evaluation of Kori and Wolsong Unit 1 plant life extension

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, T. H.; Jeong, I. S.

2002-01-01

24 years have been passed since Kori Unit 1 began its commercial operation, and 19 years have been passed since Wolsong Unit 1 began its commercial operation. As the end point of design life become closer, plant life extension and periodic safety assessment is paid more and more attention to by the utility company. In this paper, the methodologies and results of plant lifetime management economic evaluations of both units have been presented in comparison with Korean standard nuclear power plant 10, 20 and 30 year life extension cases respectively. In addition to that, sensitivity analysis and break even point analysis results are presented with the variables of capacity factor, operation and maintenance cost, and discount rate

Evaluation of nuclear power plant siting by probabilistic assessment of environmental impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vuori, S.

1978-01-01

The work consists of the description of a probabilistic consequence assessment model ARANO, and the individual calculation schemes therein included. This assessment model has been applied to the risk/benefit and cost/benefit analyses of the siting of nuclear power plants. In addition, there have been made some comparisons with the alternative fossil fuelled energy production scenarios. (author)

The development and evaluation of programmatic performance indicators associated with maintenance at nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wreathall, J.; Fragola, J.; Appignani, P.; Burlile, G.; Shen, Y.

1990-05-01

This report summarizes the development and evaluation of programmatic performance indicators of maintenance. These indicators were selected by: (1) creating a formal framework of plant processes; (2) identifying features of plant behavior considered important to safety; (3) evaluating existing indicators against these features; and (4) performing statistical analyses for the selected indicators. The report recommends additional testing. 32 refs., 29 figs., 11 tabs

Study on team evaluation (5). On application of behavior observation-based teamwork evaluation sheet for power plant operator team

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasou, Kunihide; Sugihara, Yoshikuni

2009-01-01

This report discusses the range of application of the behavior observation-based teamwork evaluation sheet. Under the concept of this method, teamwork evaluation sheet is developed, which assumes a certain single failure (failure of feed water transmitter). The evaluation sheets are applied to evaluate team work of 26 thermal power plant operator teams in combined under abnormal operating conditions of failure of feed water transmitter, feed draft fan or steam flow governor. As a result of ANOVA, it finds that there are no differences between 3 kinds of single failure. In addition, the similar analysis is executed to 3 kinds of multiple failures (steam generator tube rapture, loss of coolant accident and loss of secondary coolant accident) under which 7 PWR nuclear power plant operator teams are evaluated. As a result, ANOVA shows no differences between 3 kinds of multiple failures. These results indicate that a behavior observation-based team work evaluation sheet, which is designed for a certain abnormal condition, is applicable to the abnormal conditions that have the same development of abnormal conditions. (author)

Fundamental assessment of tasks of the shift leader in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mansfeld, G.; Birkhofer, A.

1981-01-01

Since the revised version of the regulation governing the qualification of nuclear power plant personnel has been in force - now for two and a half year - the study on hand attempts to give an objective evaluation of the requirements to be made on the level of training and skill of shift supervisors, and to evaluate arguments often brought forward in discussions on shift supervisor qualifications. Since, as the characteristics of training and work differ with every plant operator, the points made in the study cannot be related directly to the individual nuclear power plants. (orig./HSCH) [de

Regulatory evaluation of nuclear power plant on-the-job training programmes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilkinson, J.

1996-01-01

It is now well recognized internationally in the nuclear industry that a Systematic Approach to Training (SAT), as described in IAEA-TECDOC-525, represents the currently most effective method of providing effective, efficient training to Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) personnel. For this reason the Canadian regulator, the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB), has made SAT a requirement for the training of NPP personnel whose job activities could affect plant or public safety. In this respect the AECB recognizes that the SAT process will dictate on-the-job-training (OJT) and the prudent use of Job Performance Measures (JPMs) as the most effective method of providing parts of the required training to some work groups. The AECB has adopted a process of training program evaluation for NPP operations personnel which comprises methods to evaluate all types of training including OJT. This paper describes some variations which have been identified in the conduct of OJT at Canadian utilities. It then presents the three step process established by the AECB to effectively evaluate training programs expertise is required. The concept of utility self-evaluations is introduced. Finally, the importance of consistency on the part of the regulator in following a systematic approach to evaluation through the application of a viable standard is addressed. (author). 2 figs

Gas Reactor International Cooperative program. Pebble bed reactor plant: screening evaluation. Volume 3. Appendix A. Equipment list

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-11-01

This report consists of three volumes which describe the design concepts and screening evaluation for a 3000 MW(t) Pebble Bed Reactor Multiplex Plant (PBR-MX). The Multiplex plant produces both electricity and transportable chemical energy via the thermochemical pipeline (TCP). The evaluation was limited to a direct cycle plant which has the steam generators and steam reformers in the primary circuit. Volume 1 reports the overall plant and reactor system and was prepared by the General Electric Company. Core scoping studies were performed which evaluated the effects of annular and cylindrical core configurations, radial blanket zones, burnup, and ball heavy metal loadings. The reactor system, including the PCRV, was investigated for both the annular and cylindrical core configurations. Volume 3 is an Appendix containing the equipment list for the plant and was also prepared by United Engineers and Constructors, Inc. It tabulates the major components of the plant and describes each in terms of quantity, type, orientation, etc., to provide a basis for cost estimation

Do changes in grazing pressure and the degree of shrub encroachment alter the effects of individual shrubs on understorey plant communities and soil function?

Science.gov (United States)

Soliveres, Santiago; Eldridge, David J

2014-04-01

Shrub canopies in semi-arid environments often produce positive effects on soil fertility, and on the richness and biomass of understorey plant communities. However, both positive and negative effects of shrub encroachment on plant and soil attributes have been reported at the landscape-level. The contrasting results between patch- and landscape-level effects in shrublands could be caused by differences in the degree of shrub encroachment or grazing pressure, both of which are likely to reduce the ability of individual shrubs to ameliorate their understorey environment.We examined how grazing and shrub encroachment (measured as landscape-level shrub cover) influence patch-level effects of shrubs on plant density, biomass and similarity in species composition between shrub understories and open areas, and on soil stability, nutrient cycling, and infiltration in two semi-arid Australian woodlands.Individual shrubs had consistently positive effects on all plant and soil variables (average increase of 23% for all variables). These positive patch-level effects persisted with increasing shrub cover up to our maximum of 50% cover. Heavy grazing negatively affected most of the variables studied (average decline of 11%). It also altered, for some variables, how individual shrubs affected their sub-canopy environment with increasing shrub cover. Thus for species density, biomass and soil infiltration, the positive effect of individual shrubs with increasing shrub cover diminished under heavy grazing. Our study refines predictions of the effects of woody encroachment on ecosystem structure and functioning by showing that heavy grazing, rather than differences in shrub cover, explains the contrasting effects on ecosystem structure and function between individual shrubs and those in dense aggregations. We also discuss how species-specific traits of the encroaching species, such as their height or its ability to fix N, might influence the relationship between their patch

Relationship between Individual External Doses, Ambient Dose Rates and Individuals' Activity-Patterns in Affected Areas in Fukushima following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wataru Naito

Full Text Available The accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on March 11, 2011, released radioactive material into the atmosphere and contaminated the land in Fukushima and several neighboring prefectures. Five years after the nuclear disaster, the radiation levels have greatly decreased due to physical decay, weathering, and decontamination operations in Fukushima. The populations of 12 communities were forced to evacuate after the accident; as of March 2016, the evacuation order has been lifted in only a limited area, and permanent habitation is still prohibited in most of the areas. In order for the government to lift the evacuation order and for individuals to return to their original residential areas, it is important to assess current and future realistic individual external doses. Here, we used personal dosimeters along with the Global Positioning System and Geographic Information System to understand realistic individual external doses and to relate individual external doses, ambient doses, and activity-patterns of individuals in the affected areas in Fukushima. The results showed that the additional individual external doses were well correlated to the additional ambient doses based on the airborne monitoring survey. The results of linear regression analysis suggested that the additional individual external doses were on average about one-fifth that of the additional ambient doses. The reduction factors, which are defined as the ratios of the additional individual external doses to the additional ambient doses, were calculated to be on average 0.14 and 0.32 for time spent at home and outdoors, respectively. Analysis of the contribution of various activity patterns to the total individual external dose demonstrated good agreement with the average fraction of time spent daily in each activity, but the contribution due to being outdoors varied widely. These results are a valuable contribution to understanding realistic individual external doses

Counting to ten milliseconds: low-anger, but not high-anger, individuals pause following negative evaluations.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Michael D; Wilkowski, Benjamin M; Meier, Brian P; Moeller, Sara K; Fetterman, Adam K

2012-01-01

Low-anger individuals are less reactive, both emotionally and behaviourally, to a large variety of situational primes to anger and aggression. Why this is so, from an affective processing perspective, has been largely conjectural. Four studies (total N=270) sought to link individual differences in anger to tendencies exhibited in basic affective processing tasks. On the basis of motivational factors and considerations, it was hypothesised that negative evaluations would differentially activate a psychological alarm system at low levels of anger, resulting in a pause that should be evident in the speed of making subsequent evaluations. Just such a pattern was evident in all studies. By contrast, high-anger individuals did not pause following their negative evaluations. In relation to this affective processing tendency, at least, dramatically different effects were observed among low- versus high-anger individuals. Implications for the personality-processing literature, theories of trait anger, and fast-acting regulatory processes are discussed.

Measurement and evaluation of human factor training in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamasaki, Kenichi

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study is to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of human factor training aimed at awareness and behavioral changes, conducted by electric power company for the nuclear power plant staff. As the first step, the researcher investigated recent trends in training measurement and evaluation methods in the United States. It was found that many instances of training measurement/evaluation had been reported, and that the ROI model was the mainstream method for such measurement and evaluation. However, there had been no instances reported in which the effectiveness of human factor training for plant staff had been measured. The researcher therefore developed a new questionnaire-type of effectiveness measurement/evaluation method, based on the framework of the ROI model. Two-years of research was then conducted, in which the effectiveness of a human factor training program was measured using the newly developed method. This research revealed that participants' overall satisfaction and knowledge/skill acquisition levels were high. The percentage of participants who demonstrated awareness/behavioral change after returning to the workplace increased from 50% at first measurement to 81% at second measurement. It can therefore be concluded that the effectiveness of the second training is greater than that of the first training. Use of the new effectiveness measurement/evaluation method will enable quantification of human factor training effectiveness and help improve training quality. (author)

The evaluation of environmental effects of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oezyurt, M.; Iyit, L.; Seyitogullari, S.

2006-01-01

Energy is today one of the most significant topics in the world. Humans are investigating alternative energy resources due to the fossil energy sources to be exhausted in future. As known, the life of energy resources such as coal and oil is limited. Natural gas will cover the need just for a limited period. On the other hand, developing population will increase the need of energy for the next generation. Therefore, alternative energy has gained much significance in recent years. Nuclear energy is the most criticized energy in public opinion. About 17 pct. of the electric need in the world is being covered by nuclear power plants . This ratio is over 30 pct. in European Union and over 78.2 pct. in France. The most significant risk as regard with environmental pollution is radioactive wastes for these plants. The opposite sides towards nuclear energy claim about the accidents of nuclear power plants and deaths in short and long terms. As long as the security rules are applied, nuclear power plants affect neither human nor environmental health in a detrimental way. The radiation emission scattered by nuclear power plants is very low. In this work, first of all nuclear energy was evaluated from a standpoint of environmental pollution and both positive and negative effects were investigated. As a result, the humanity will have to benefit from all the alternative energy resources , the nuclear energy as well, in order not to live in a dark world. Every technology has its own risks. It seems that if nuclear energy power plants are operated in high technology conditions it will be un given up for humanity

Imaging corn plants with PhytoPET, a modular PET system for plant biology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, S.; Kross, B.; McKisson, J.; McKisson, J. E.; Weisenberger, A. G.; Xi, W.; Zorn, C.; Bonito, G.; Howell, C. R.; Reid, C. D.; Crowell, A.; Cumberbatch, L. C.; Topp, C.; Smith, M. F.

2013-11-01

PhytoPET is a modular positron emission tomography (PET) system designed specifically for plant imaging. The PhytoPET design allows flexible arrangements of PET detectors based on individual standalone detector modules built from single Hamamatsu H8500 position sensitive photomultiplier tubes and pixelated LYSO arrays. We have used the PhytoPET system to perform preliminary corn plant imaging studies at the Duke University Biology Department Phytotron. Initial evaluation of the PhytoPET system to image the biodistribution of the positron emitting tracer {sup 11}C in corn plants is presented. {sup 11}CO{sub 2} is loaded into corn seedlings by a leaf-labeling cuvette and translocation of {sup 11}C-sugars is imaged by a flexible arrangement of PhytoPET modules on each side. The PhytoPET system successfully images {sup 11}C within corn plants and allows for the dynamic measurement of {sup 11}C-sugar translocation from the leaf to the roots.

A True-Color Sensor and Suitable Evaluation Algorithm for Plant Recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmittmann, Oliver; Schulze Lammers, Peter

2017-08-08

Plant-specific herbicide application requires sensor systems for plant recognition and differentiation. A literature review reveals a lack of sensor systems capable of recognizing small weeds in early stages of development (in the two- or four-leaf stage) and crop plants, of making spraying decisions in real time and, in addition, are that are inexpensive and ready for practical use in sprayers. The system described in this work is based on free cascadable and programmable true-color sensors for real-time recognition and identification of individual weed and crop plants. The application of this type of sensor is suitable for municipal areas and farmland with and without crops to perform the site-specific application of herbicides. Initially, databases with reflection properties of plants, natural and artificial backgrounds were created. Crop and weed plants should be recognized by the use of mathematical algorithms and decision models based on these data. They include the characteristic color spectrum, as well as the reflectance characteristics of unvegetated areas and areas with organic material. The CIE-Lab color-space was chosen for color matching because it contains information not only about coloration (a- and b-channel), but also about luminance (L-channel), thus increasing accuracy. Four different decision making algorithms based on different parameters are explained: (i) color similarity (ΔE); (ii) color similarity split in ΔL, Δa and Δb; (iii) a virtual channel 'd' and (iv) statistical distribution of the differences of reflection backgrounds and plants. Afterwards, the detection success of the recognition system is described. Furthermore, the minimum weed/plant coverage of the measuring spot was calculated by a mathematical model. Plants with a size of 1-5% of the spot can be recognized, and weeds in the two-leaf stage can be identified with a measuring spot size of 5 cm. By choosing a decision model previously, the detection quality can be increased

Seismic re-evaluation of the Tarapur atomic power plants 1 and 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ingole, S.M.; Kumar, B.S.; Gupta, S.; Singh, U.P.; Giridhar, K.; Bhawsar, S.D.; Samota, A.; Chhatre, A.G.; Dixit, K.B.; Bhardwaj, S.A.

2004-01-01

Two Boiling Water Reactors (BWR) of 210 MWe each at Tarapur Atomic Power Station, Units-1 and 2 (TAPS-1-2) were commissioned in the year 1969. The safety related civil structures at TAPS had been designed for a seismic coefficient of 0.2 g and other structures for 0.1 g. The work of seismic re-evaluation of the TAPS-1-2 has been taken up in the year 2002. As two new Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) plants of 540 MWe each, Tarapur Atomic Power Project Units-3 and 4 (TAPP-3-4), are coming up in the vicinity of TAPS-1-2, detailed geological and seismological studies of the area around TAPS-1-2 are available. The same free-field ground motion as generated for TAPP-3-4 has been used for TAPS-1-2. The seismic re-evaluation of the plant has been performed as per the procedure given in IAEA, Safety Reports Series entitled 'Seismic Evaluation of Existing Nuclear Power Plants', and meeting the various codes and standards, viz., ASME, ASCE, IEEE standards etc. The Safety Systems (SS) and Safety Support Systems (SSS) are qualified by adopting detailed analysis and testing methods. The equipment in the SS and SSS have been qualified by conducting a walk-down as per the procedure given in Generic Implementation Procedure, Dept. of Energy (GIP--DOE), USA. The safety systems include the systems required for safe shutdown of the plant, one chain of decay heat removal and containment of activity. The safety support systems viz., Electrical, Instrumentation and Control and systems other than SS and SSS have been qualified by limited analysis, testing and mostly by following the procedure of walk-down. The paper brings out the details of the work accomplished during seismic re-evaluation of the two units of BWR at Tarapur. (authors)

Technical evaluation of the G.E. Transportable Modular AZTECH Plant topical report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henscheid, J.W.; Stalker, A.E.

1985-12-01

This report summarizes EG and G Idaho's review of the General Electric Company's topical report on their Transportable Modular AZTECH Plant. The review evaluated compliance with pertinent codes, standards and regulations. The initial review was discussed with G.E. and all outstanding issues resolved before this final evaluation was made

Evaluation of sites for the location of WEEE recycling plants in Spain.

Science.gov (United States)

Queiruga, Dolores; Walther, Grit; González-Benito, Javier; Spengler, Thomas

2008-01-01

As a consequence of new European legal regulations for treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), recycling plants have to be installed in Spain. In this context, this contribution describes a method for ranking of Spanish municipalities according to their appropriateness for the installation of these plants. In order to rank the alternatives, the discrete multi-criteria decision method PROMETHEE (Preference Ranking Organisation METHod for Enrichment Evaluations), combined with a surveys of experts, is applied. As existing plants are located in North and East Spain, a significant concentration of top ranking municipalities can be observed in South and Central Spain. The method does not present an optimal structure of the future recycling system, but provides a selection of good alternatives for potential locations of recycling plants.

[Evaluation of Fusarium spp. pathogenicity in plant and murine models].

Science.gov (United States)

Forero-Reyes, Consuelo M; Alvarado-Fernández, Angela M; Ceballos-Rojas, Ana M; González-Carmona, Lady C; Linares-Linares, Melva Y; Castañeda-Salazar, Rubiela; Pulido-Villamarín, Adriana; Góngora-Medina, Manuel E; Cortés-Vecino, Jesús A; Rodríguez-Bocanegra, María X

The genus Fusarium is widely recognized for its phytopathogenic capacity. However, it has been reported as an opportunistic pathogen in immunocompetent and immunocompromised patients. Thus, it can be considered a microorganism of interest in pathogenicity studies on different hosts. Therefore, this work evaluated the pathogenicity of Fusarium spp. isolates from different origins in plants and animals (murine hosts). Twelve isolates of Fusarium spp. from plants, animal superficial mycoses, and human superficial and systemic mycoses were inoculated in tomato, passion fruit and carnation plants, and in immunocompetent and immunosuppressed BALB/c mice. Pathogenicity tests in plants did not show all the symptoms associated with vascular wilt in the three plant models; however, colonization and necrosis of the vascular bundles, regardless of the species and origin of the isolates, showed the infective potential of Fusarium spp. in different plant species. Moreover, the pathogenicity tests in the murine model revealed behavioral changes. It was noteworthy that only five isolates (different origin and species) caused mortality. Additionally, it was observed that all isolates infected and colonized different organs, regardless of the species and origin of the isolates or host immune status. In contrast, the superficial inoculation test showed no evidence of epidermal injury or colonization. The observed results in plant and murine models suggest the pathogenic potential of Fusarium spp. isolates in different types of hosts. However, further studies on pathogenicity are needed to confirm the multihost capacity of this genus. Copyright © 2017 Asociación Argentina de Microbiología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

APPLICATION OF PLANT AND EARTHWORM BIOASSAYS TO EVALUATE REMEDIATION OF A LEAD-CONTAMINATED SOIL

Science.gov (United States)

Earthworm acute toxicity, plant seed germination/root elongation (SG/RE) and plant genotoxicity bioassays were employed to evaluate the remediation of a lead-contaminated soil. The remediation involved removal of heavy metals by a soil washing/soil leaching treatment process. A p...

Waste Treatment Plant Liquid Effluent Treatability Evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LUECK, K.J.

2001-01-01

Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI) provided a forecast of the radioactive, dangerous liquid effluents expected to be generated by the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP). The forecast represents the liquid effluents generated from the processing of 25 distinct batches of tank waste through the WTP. The WTP liquid effluents will be stored, treated, and disposed of in the Liquid Effluent Retention Facility (LERF) and the Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF). Fluor Hanford, Inc. (FH) evaluated the treatability of the WTP liquid effluents in the LERFIETF. The evaluation was conducted by comparing the forecast to the LERFIETF treatability envelope, which provides information on the items that determine if a liquid effluent is acceptable for receipt and treatment at the LERFIETF. The WTP liquid effluent forecast is outside the current LERFlETF treatability envelope. There are several concerns that must be addressed before the WTP liquid effluents can be accepted at the LERFIETF

Safety goals for nuclear power plant operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-05-01

This report presents and discusses the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's, Policy Statement on Safety Goals for the Operation of Nuclear Power Plants. The safety goals have been formulated in terms of qualitative goals and quantitative design objectives. The qualitative goals state that the risk to any individual member of the public from nuclear power plant operation should not be a significant contributor to that individual's risk of accidental death or injury and that the societal risks should be comparable to or less than those of viable competing technologies. The quantitative design objectives state that the average risks to individual and the societal risks of nuclear power plant operation should not exceed 0.1% of certain other risks to which members of the US population are exposed. A subsidiary quantitative design objective is established for the frequency of large-scale core melt. The significance of the goals and objectives, their bases and rationale, and the plan to evaluate the goals are provided. In addition, public comments on the 1982 proposed policy statement and responses to a series of questions that accompanied the 1982 statement are summarized

A regulatory view of the seismic re-evaluation of existing nuclear power plants in the United Kingdom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inkester, J.E.; Bradford, P.M.

1995-01-01

The paper describes the background to the seismic re-evaluation of existing nuclear power plants in the United Kingdom. Nuclear installations in this country were not designed specifically to resist earthquakes until the nineteen-seventies, although older plants were robustly constructed. The seismic capability of these older installations is now being evaluated as part of the periodic safety reviews which nuclear licensees are required to carry out. The regulatory requirements which set the framework for these studies are explained and the approaches being adopted by the licensees for their assessment of the seismic capability of existing plants are outlined. The process of hazard appraisal is reported together with a general overview of UK seismicity. The paper then discusses the methodologies used to evaluate the response of plant to the hazard. Various other types of nuclear installation besides power plants are subject to licensing in the UK and the application of seismic evaluation to some of these is briefly described. Finally the paper provides some comments on future initiatives and possible areas of development. (author)

Resolving the Role of Plant NAD-Glutamate Dehydrogenase: III. Overexpressing Individually or Simultaneously the Two Enzyme Subunits Under Salt Stress Induces Changes in the Leaf Metabolic Profile and Increases Plant Biomass Production.

Science.gov (United States)

Tercé-Laforgue, Thérèse; Clément, Gilles; Marchi, Laura; Restivo, Francesco M; Lea, Peter J; Hirel, Bertrand

2015-10-01

NAD-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase (NAD-GDH) of higher plants has a central position at the interface between carbon and nitrogen metabolism due to its ability to carry out the deamination of glutamate. In order to obtain a better understanding of the physiological function of NAD-GDH under salt stress conditions, transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) plants that overexpress two genes from Nicotiana plumbaginifolia individually (GDHA and GDHB) or simultaneously (GDHA/B) were grown in the presence of 50 mM NaCl. In the different GDH overexpressors, the NaCl treatment induced an additional increase in GDH enzyme activity, indicating that a post-transcriptional mechanism regulates the final enzyme activity under salt stress conditions. A greater shoot and root biomass production was observed in the three types of GDH overexpressors following growth in 50 mM NaCl, when compared with the untransformed plants subjected to the same salinity stress. Changes in metabolites representative of the plant carbon and nitrogen status were also observed. They were mainly characterized by an increased amount of starch present in the leaves of the GDH overexpressors as compared with the wild type when plants were grown in 50 mM NaCl. Metabolomic analysis revealed that overexpressing the two genes GDHA and GDHB, individually or simultaneously, induced a differential accumulation of several carbon- and nitrogen-containing molecules involved in a variety of metabolic, developmental and stress-responsive processes. An accumulation of digalactosylglycerol, erythronate and porphyrin was found in the GDHA, GDHB and GDHA/B overexpressors, suggesting that these molecules could contribute to the improved performance of the transgenic plants under salinity stress conditions. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Environment monitoring and residents health condition monitoring of nuclear power plant Bohunice region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Letkovicova, M.; Rehak, R.; Stehlikova, B.; Celko, M.; Hraska, S.; Klocok, L.; Kostial, J.; Prikazsky, V.; Vidovic, J.; Zirko, M.; Beno, T.; Mitosinka, J.

1998-01-01

The report contents final environment evaluation and selected characteristic of residents health physics of nuclear power plant Bohunice region. Evaluated data were elaborated during analytical period 1993-1997.Task solving which results are documented in this final report was going on between 1996- 1998. The report deals in individual stages with the following: Information obtaining and completing which characterize demographic situation of the area for the 1993-1997 period; Datum obtaining and completing which contain selected health physics characteristics of the area residents; Database structures for individual data archiving from monitoring and collection; Brief description of geographic information system for graphic presentation of evaluation results based on topographic base; Digital mapping structure description; Results and evaluation of radionuclide monitoring in environment performed by Environmental radiation measurements laboratory by the nuclear power plant Bohunice for the 1993-1997 period. Demographic situation evaluation and selected health physics characteristics of the area of nuclear power plant residents for the 1993-1997 period are summarized in the final part of the document. Monitoring results and their evaluation is processed in graph, table, text description and map output forms. Map outputs are processed in the geographic information system Arc View GIS 3.0a environment

Evaluation of selected parameters on exposure rates in Westinghouse designed nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergmann, C.A.

1989-01-01

During the past ten years, Westinghouse under EPRI contract and independently, has performed research and evaluation of plant data to define the trends of ex-core component exposure rates and the effects of various parameters on the exposure rates. The effects of the parameters were evaluated using comparative analyses or empirical techniques. This paper updates the information presented at the Fourth Bournemouth Conference and the conclusions obtained from the effects of selected parameters namely, coolant chemistry, physical changes, use of enriched boric acid, and cobalt input on plant exposure rates. The trends of exposure rates and relationship to doses is also presented. (author)

Development of an integrated database management system to evaluate integrity of flawed components of nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mun, H. L.; Choi, S. N.; Jang, K. S.; Hong, S. Y.; Choi, J. B.; Kim, Y. J.

2001-01-01

The object of this paper is to develop an NPP-IDBMS(Integrated DataBase Management System for Nuclear Power Plants) for evaluating the integrity of components of nuclear power plant using relational data model. This paper describes the relational data model, structure and development strategy for the proposed NPP-IDBMS. The NPP-IDBMS consists of database, database management system and interface part. The database part consists of plant, shape, operating condition, material properties and stress database, which are required for the integrity evaluation of each component in nuclear power plants. For the development of stress database, an extensive finite element analysis was performed for various components considering operational transients. The developed NPP-IDBMS will provide efficient and accurate way to evaluate the integrity of flawed components

[Medicinal plants in cancer patients: current practices and evaluation data].

Science.gov (United States)

Huet, Matthieu

2013-05-01

Many complementary and alternatives medicines are offered to patients with cancer. Among them, herbal medicines have a substantial place. These plants are mainly used to reduce adverse effects of anticancer treatments and for specific anticancer properties. Our review shows that only few clinical data support medicinal plants effectiveness in cancer patients. Arguments rely mainly on usual indications and pharmacological data for minimization of treatments toxicity while for the anticancer properties, on epidemiological and preclinical data. To inform and counsel patients and people around, healthcare professionals need to evaluate benefit-risk balance on evidence-based information. Because the medical decision should be shared with the patient, his beliefs and preferences have to be considered. When no adverse effect or drug interaction is associated with herbal medicine, we state that their use is acceptable. This paper discuss of potential risk and benefit of the most used medicinal plants by cancer patients.

Evaluation of thermal power plant operational performance in Taiwan by data envelopment analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, C.H.; Lin, Sue J.; Lewis, Charles

2010-01-01

Electricity is essential in the economic development of a nation. Due to the rapid growth of economy and industrial development in Taiwan, the demand for use of electricity has increased rapidly. This study evaluates the power-generation efficiency of major thermal power plants in Taiwan during 2004-2006 using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach. A stability test was conducted to verify the stability of the DEA model. According to the results, all power plants studied achieved acceptable overall operational efficiencies during 2004-2006, and the combined cycle power plants were the most efficient among all plants. The most important variable in this DEA model is the 'heating value of total fuels'. Findings from this study can be beneficial in improving some of the existing power plants and for more efficient operational strategies and related policy-making for future power plants in Taiwan.

Operational Evaluation of the Root Modules of the Advanced Plant Habitat

Science.gov (United States)

Monje, O.

2014-01-01

Photosynthetic and growth data were collected on APH Root Module. Described Stand pipe system for active moisture control. Tested germination in wicks. Evaluated EC-5 moisture sensors. Demonstrated that Wheat plants can grow in the APH Root Module.

Individuality evaluation for paper based artifact-metrics using transmitted light image

Science.gov (United States)

Yamakoshi, Manabu; Tanaka, Junichi; Furuie, Makoto; Hirabayashi, Masashi; Matsumoto, Tsutomu

2008-02-01

Artifact-metrics is an automated method of authenticating artifacts based on a measurable intrinsic characteristic. Intrinsic characters, such as microscopic random-patterns made during the manufacturing process, are very difficult to copy. A transmitted light image of the distribution can be used for artifact-metrics, since the fiber distribution of paper is random. Little is known about the individuality of the transmitted light image although it is an important requirement for intrinsic characteristic artifact-metrics. Measuring individuality requires that the intrinsic characteristic of each artifact significantly differs, so having sufficient individuality can make an artifact-metric system highly resistant to brute force attack. Here we investigate the influence of paper category, matching size of sample, and image-resolution on the individuality of a transmitted light image of paper through a matching test using those images. More concretely, we evaluate FMR/FNMR curves by calculating similarity scores with matches using correlation coefficients between pairs of scanner input images, and the individuality of paper by way of estimated EER with probabilistic measure through a matching method based on line segments, which can localize the influence of rotation gaps of a sample in the case of large matching size. As a result, we found that the transmitted light image of paper has a sufficient individuality.

Flood control design requirements and flood evaluation methods of inland nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Ailing; Wang Ping; Zhu Jingxing

2011-01-01

Effect of flooding is one of the key safety factors and environmental factors in inland nuclear power plant sitting. Up to now, the rule of law and standard systems are established for the selection of nuclear power plant location and flood control requirements in China. In this paper flood control standards of China and other countries are introduced. Several inland nuclear power plants are taken as examples to thoroughly discuss the related flood evaluation methods. The suggestions are also put forward in the paper. (authors)

Evaluation and measures of the life extension of TVO I and TVO II power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hakala, J.

1994-01-01

A continuous and wide preventive maintenance and renovation is chosen to the life extension strategy at TVO I and II units. This requires extensive concentration on all ageing phenomena on theoretical level as well as on following their development at the power plant. The work related to ageing is partly performed by persons who are responsible for systems and components in the power plant organization, partly by the working groups, which are organized for those purposes. The evaluation of the ageing phenomenon of the power plant systems, of large components and of different technical fields has revealed several needs for measures. Partly those are already performed. However the evaluation has not revealed any such ageing phenomena, which would limit the power plant life time to originally planned 40 years. (orig.)

Energy and exergy evaluation of a 220MW thermal power plant ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Energy and exergy evaluation of a 220MW thermal power plant. ... Nigerian Journal of Technology ... At the variation of environmental or dead state temperature, ther e were no appreciable changes in the values of exergy efficiency of the ...

Safety-specific benefit of the probabilistic evaluation of older nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoertner, H.; Koeberlein, K.

1991-01-01

The report summarizes the experience of the GRS obtained within the framework of a probabilistic evaluation of older nuclear power plants and the German risk study. The applied methodology and the problems involved are explained first. After a brief summary of probabilistic analyses carried out for German nuclear power plants, reliability analyses for older systems are discussed in detail. The findings from the probabilistic safety analyses and the conclusions drawn are presented. (orig.) [de

Evaluating Methods for Isolating Total RNA and Predicting the Success of Sequencing Phylogenetically Diverse Plant Transcriptomes

Science.gov (United States)

Bruskiewich, Richard; Burris, Jason N.; Carrigan, Charlotte T.; Chase, Mark W.; Clarke, Neil D.; Covshoff, Sarah; dePamphilis, Claude W.; Edger, Patrick P.; Goh, Falicia; Graham, Sean; Greiner, Stephan; Hibberd, Julian M.; Jordon-Thaden, Ingrid; Kutchan, Toni M.; Leebens-Mack, James; Melkonian, Michael; Miles, Nicholas; Myburg, Henrietta; Patterson, Jordan; Pires, J. Chris; Ralph, Paula; Rolf, Megan; Sage, Rowan F.; Soltis, Douglas; Soltis, Pamela; Stevenson, Dennis; Stewart, C. Neal; Surek, Barbara; Thomsen, Christina J. M.; Villarreal, Juan Carlos; Wu, Xiaolei; Zhang, Yong; Deyholos, Michael K.; Wong, Gane Ka-Shu

2012-01-01

Next-generation sequencing plays a central role in the characterization and quantification of transcriptomes. Although numerous metrics are purported to quantify the quality of RNA, there have been no large-scale empirical evaluations of the major determinants of sequencing success. We used a combination of existing and newly developed methods to isolate total RNA from 1115 samples from 695 plant species in 324 families, which represents >900 million years of phylogenetic diversity from green algae through flowering plants, including many plants of economic importance. We then sequenced 629 of these samples on Illumina GAIIx and HiSeq platforms and performed a large comparative analysis to identify predictors of RNA quality and the diversity of putative genes (scaffolds) expressed within samples. Tissue types (e.g., leaf vs. flower) varied in RNA quality, sequencing depth and the number of scaffolds. Tissue age also influenced RNA quality but not the number of scaffolds ≥1000 bp. Overall, 36% of the variation in the number of scaffolds was explained by metrics of RNA integrity (RIN score), RNA purity (OD 260/230), sequencing platform (GAIIx vs HiSeq) and the amount of total RNA used for sequencing. However, our results show that the most commonly used measures of RNA quality (e.g., RIN) are weak predictors of the number of scaffolds because Illumina sequencing is robust to variation in RNA quality. These results provide novel insight into the methods that are most important in isolating high quality RNA for sequencing and assembling plant transcriptomes. The methods and recommendations provided here could increase the efficiency and decrease the cost of RNA sequencing for individual labs and genome centers. PMID:23185583

Evaluating the landscape impact of renewable energy plants

Science.gov (United States)

Ioannidis, Romanos; Koutsoyiannis, Demetris

2017-04-01

Different types of renewable energy have been on an ongoing competition with each other. There has been a lot of research comparing the most common types of renewable energy plants in relation with their efficiency, cost and environmental impact. However, few papers so far have attempted to analyse their impact on landscape and there has never been in depth research on which type of renewable energy causes the least impact on the natural, cultural and aesthetic characteristics of a landscape. This seems to be a significant omission given the vast areas of land already covered with renewable energy plants and the worldwide plans for many more renewable energy projects in the future. Meanwhile, the low aesthetic quality of renewable energy plants has already been an obstacle to their further development, with several relevant examples from countries such as Spain and the Netherlands. There have even been cases where aesthetic degradation is the primary or even the single argument of the opposition to proposed plants. In any case, the aesthetic design and the integration of renewable energy plants into the landscape should really be important design parameters if we plan those projects to truly be sustainable and to be considered complete works of engineering. To initiate dialogue over those aspects of renewable energy, we provide a first comparison on hydro, solar and wind energy. To materialize this comparison, we use data from existing dams, photovoltaic and wind farms. Initially, the average area per MW covered by each type of energy plant is calculated and then evaluated qualitatively from a landscape-impact perspective. Although the area affected is comparable in these three cases, the analysis of the data suggests that dams offer a considerable amount of advantages compared to the other two types of plants. This conclusion arises from the fact that dams, whose basic impact to the landscape is the creation of an artificial lake, contribute much less to the

Molecular Fingerprinting Approach in Plant Species Evaluation for a Nuclear Power Programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azhar Mohamed

2011-01-01

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as a tool for marker technology is found to be remarkable, advanced and exciting in recent years. DNA markers are valuable tools and important in various plant breeding analyses for identification, gene mapping, marker systems and mutagenesis response. As gene expression is related to concurrent cellular activities and is mobilised in the adaptation of plants to adverse environmental conditions, changes at the DNA levels can be detected simultaneously. The changes also reflect response onto plant traits in which selection for better quality plant materials can be made and/or used as bio-indicator response in tracking any environmental change. The objective of the present study is to show Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers as an important technique in differentiating plant DNA genomic in various species for the evaluation of their diversity and radiation effects in population. The technique has been found to be rapid, simple, reliable and robust in generating molecular fingerprinting database in bio surveillance for a nuclear power programme. (author)

An evaluation of the somatosensory profile of hemiparetic individuals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R.S. Mota

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to evaluate the somatosensory profile of 18 hemiparetic spastic victims of stroke with and without blocking vision. Maximal isometric contraction test was used for flexor and extensor muscles of the hip and knee, and flexor plantar muscles. The number of cycles per minute on stationary bike was also measured with eyes opened and closed. Significant differences were found suggesting the existence of miscommunication between sensory-motor neural mechanisms responsible for voluntary motor actions in these individuals.

Safety evaluation of the Greifswald nuclear power plant, unit 1-4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-06-01

The first interim report primarily deals with an evaluation of the pressurized components of the primary loops, especially with the embrittlement of the reactor pressure vessel material. In addition, first estimates concerning the safety design of the plants are made. The second interim report reflects the state of further studies relating to the safety design and the evaluation of operational experiences. The report includes a summarized assessment in which the recommendations cited in the technical chapters are evaluated and subdivided into three categories of backfitting measures. (orig.) [de

Plant age, communication, and resistance to herbivores: young sagebrush plants are better emitters and receivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiojiri, Kaori; Karban, Richard

2006-08-01

Plants progress through a series of distinct stages during development, although the role of plant ontogeny in their defenses against herbivores is poorly understood. Recent work indicates that many plants activate systemic induced resistance after herbivore attack, although the relationship between resistance and ontogeny has not been a focus of this work. In addition, for sagebrush and a few other species, individuals near neighbors that experience simulated herbivory become more resistant to subsequent attack. Volatile, airborne cues are required for both systemic induced resistance among branches and for communication among individuals. We conducted experiments in stands of sagebrush of mixed ages to determine effects of plant age on volatile signaling between branches and individuals. Young and old control plants did not differ in levels of chewing damage that they experienced. Systemic induced resistance among branches was only observed for young plants. Young plants showed strong evidence of systemic resistance only if airflow was permitted among branches; plants with only vascular connections showed no systemic resistance. We also found evidence for volatile communication between individuals. For airborne communication, young plants were more effective emitters of cues as well as more responsive receivers of volatile cues.

Performance evaluation recommendations of nuclear power plants outdoor significant civil structures earthquake resistance. Performance evaluation examples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-06-01

The Japan Society of Civil Engineers has updated performance evaluation recommendations of nuclear power plants outdoor significant civil structures earthquake resistance in June 2005. Based on experimental and analytical considerations, analytical seismic models of soils for underground structures, effects of vertical motions on time-history dynamic analysis and shear fracture of reinforced concretes by cyclic loadings have been incorporated in new recommendations. This document shows outdoor civil structures earthquake resistance and endurance performance evaluation examples based on revised recommendations. (T. Tanaka)

Development, modelling and evaluation of a small-scale gas liquefaction plant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nguyen, Tuong-Van; Rothuizen, Erasmus Damgaard; Markussen, Wiebke Brix

2017-01-01

A small-scale gas liquefaction plant was developed and analysed based on process simulation tools and pilot tests. It will be installed in harbours, easing the penetration of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a maritime fuel, in a sector facing more stringent environmental regulations. The proposed...... plant uses a multi-component refrigerant together with a propane precooling cycle and plate heat exchangers, to achieve a higher performance. This LNG production concept was modelled based on the Danish natural gas composition. Firstly, the total power consumption and heat transfer conductance were...... minimised by optimising the operating conditions and the refrigerant composition. The effects of varying feed and refrigerant compositions were analysed. Secondly, the system layouts were evaluated by conducting an exergetic assessment. Finally, the most promising layouts were validated by pilot plant...

Comparison of economic evaluation methodology for the nuclear plant lifetime extension

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, T. H.; Jung, I. S.

2003-01-01

In connection with economic evaluation of NPP lifetime management, there are lots of methodologies such as present worth calculation, Levelized Unit Energy Cost (LUEC) calculation, and market benefit comparison methodology. In this paper, economic evaluation of NPP lifetime management was carried out by using these three methodologies, and the results of each was compared with the other methodologies. With these three methodologies, break even points of investment cost related to life extension of nuclear power plant were calculated. It was turned out to be as a analysis result that LUEC is more conservative than present worth calculation and that benefit comparison is more conservative than LUEC, which means that Market Benefit Comparison is the most conservative methodology, and which means base load demand of the future would be far more important than any other factors such as capacity factor, investment cost of life extension, and performance of replacing power plant

Microbiological and Pharmacological Evaluation of the Micropropagated Rubus liebmannii Medicinal Plant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adelina Jiménez-Arellanes

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Rubus liebmannii is an endemic species from Mexico used in traditional medicine primarily to treat dysentery and cough. The in vitro activity against Giardia lamblia and Entamoeba histolytica that produces the ethanolic extract of the aerial parts of the plant led us to expand the pharmacological and phytochemical research of this species. Gastrointestinal disorders including amebiasis remain one of the health problems that need to be addressed and it is of interest to find alternatives that improve their treatment. Also, it is important to emphasize that R. liebmannii grows wild in the country and is not found in abundance; therefore, alternatives that avoid overexploitation of the natural resource are mandatory. Ongoing with the evaluation of the potentialities that R. liebmannii possesses for treating infectious gastrointestinal diseases, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the biological effects and the chemical composition of the micropropagated plant.

DNA barcoding of invasive plants in China: A resource for identifying invasive plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Song-Zhi; Li, Zhen-Yu; Jin, Xiao-Hua

2018-01-01

Invasive plants have aroused attention globally for causing ecological damage and having a negative impact on the economy and human health. However, it can be extremely challenging to rapidly and accurately identify invasive plants based on morphology because they are an assemblage of many different families and many plant materials lack sufficient diagnostic characteristics during border inspections. It is therefore urgent to evaluate candidate loci and build a reliable genetic library to prevent invasive plants from entering China. In this study, five common single markers (ITS, ITS2, matK, rbcL and trnH-psbA) were evaluated using 634 species (including 469 invasive plant species in China, 10 new records to China, 16 potentially invasive plant species around the world but not introduced into China yet and 139 plant species native to China) based on three different methods. Our results indicated that ITS2 displayed largest intra- and interspecific divergence (1.72% and 91.46%). Based on NJ tree method, ITS2, ITS, matK, rbcL and trnH-psbA provided 76.84%, 76.5%, 63.21%, 52.86% and 50.68% discrimination rates, respectively. The combination of ITS + matK performed best and provided 91.03% discriminatory power, followed by ITS2 + matK (85.78%). For identifying unknown individuals, ITS + matK had 100% correct identification rate based on our database, followed by ITS/ITS2 (both 93.33%) and ITS2 + matK (91.67%). Thus, we propose ITS/ITS2 + matK as the most suitable barcode for invasive plants in China. This study also demonstrated that DNA barcoding is an efficient tool for identifying invasive species. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

An Evaluation System for Checking the Status of I and C Systems in Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

JinWoo, Hyun; Hak-Yeong, Chung; ChanHo, Sung

2006-01-01

I and C upgrade has been hot issue around the world as progresses of degradation, aging and obsolescence have been getting worse with the continual I and C system operation, it is very difficult to develop I and C evaluation system for the real application to nuclear power plants due to complexity or reliability aspects of the methodology. Thus, to improve these problems related to evaluation and application of I and C systems, we have been developing an evaluation system which embarks an objective evaluation methodology and works on internet for convenience. This Evaluation system has been established based on the evaluation factors including system importance, performance, maintenance, aging, economic efficiency and the continuance of equipment supply, and each evaluation factor has some questionnaires which are composed of questions requiring quantitative and qualitative answers. The applied evaluation algorithm consists of scoring process among evaluation factors and weighting factor allocation process. The Evaluation system has a structure based on web environment. With this system, staffs from plant sites can directly conduct the evaluation of each I and C system status of the plant, survey of results, survey of upgrade information, and upgrade/maintenance plan. Also head office utilizes this system for the survey of the evaluation results, upgrade or maintenance plan of each site and especially acquires some useful information for making finance plans. (authors)

Modified application of HS-SPME for quality evaluation of essential oil plant materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Dawidowicz, Andrzej L; Szewczyk, Joanna; Dybowski, Michal P

2016-01-01

The main limitation in the standard application of head space analysis employing solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) for the evaluation of plants as sources of essential oils (EOs) are different quantitative relations of EO components from those obtained by direct analysis of EO which was got in the steam distillation (SD) process from the same plant (EO/SD). The results presented in the paper for thyme, mint, sage, basil, savory, and marjoram prove that the quantitative relations of EO components established by HS-SPME procedure and direct analysis of EO/SD are similar when the plant material in the HS-SPME process is replaced by its suspension in oil of the same physicochemical character as that of SPME fiber coating. The observed differences in the thyme EO composition estimated by both procedures are insignificant (F(exp)evaluation time of plant material quality and thus may improve the efficiency of analytical laboratories. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Method on the aging evaluation in nuclear power plant concrete structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kitsutaka, Yoshinori; Tsukagoshi, Masayuki

2014-01-01

In this paper, method on the durability evaluation in nuclear power plant concrete structures was investigated. In view of the importance of evaluating the degree of deterioration of reinforced concrete structures, relationships should be formulated among the number of years elapsed, t, the amount of action of a deteriorative factor, F, the degree of material deterioration, D, and the performance of the structure, P. Evaluation by PDFt diagrams combining these relationships may be effective. A detailed procedure of durability evaluation for a reinforced concrete structure using PDFt concept is presented for the deterioration factors of thermal effect, irradiation, neutralization and penetration of salinity by referring to the recent papers

Towards a benchmark simulation model for plant-wide control strategy performance evaluation of WWTPs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jeppsson, Ulf; Rosen, Christian; Alex, Jens

2006-01-01

The COST/IWA benchmark simulation model has been available for seven years. Its primary purpose has been to create a platform for control strategy benchmarking of activated sludge processes. The fact that the benchmark has resulted in more than 100 publications, not only in Europe but also...... worldwide, demonstrates the interest in such a tool within the research community In this paper, an extension of the benchmark simulation model no 1 (BSM1) is proposed. This extension aims at facilitating control strategy development and performance evaluation at a plant-wide level and, consequently...... the changes, the evaluation period has been extended to one year. A prolonged evaluation period allows for long-term control strategies to be assessed and enables the use of control handles that cannot be evaluated in a realistic fashion in the one-week BSM1 evaluation period. In the paper, the extended plant...

Costs and benefits of individuals conceived after IVF: a net tax evaluation in The Netherlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Moolenaar, L M; Connolly, M; Huisman, B; Postma, M J; Hompes, P G A; van der Veen, F; Mol, B W J

2014-02-01

This study evaluated the lifetime future net tax revenues from individuals conceived after IVF relative to those naturally conceived. A model based on the method of generational accounting was developed to evaluate investments in IVF. Calculations were based on average investments paid and received from the government by an individual. All costs were discounted to their net present values and adjusted for survival. The lifetime net present value of IVF-conceived individuals was -€81,374 (the minus sign reflecting negative net present value). The lifetime net present value of IVF-conceived men and women were -€47,091 and -€123,177, respectively. The lifetime net present value of naturally conceived individuals was -€70,392; respective amounts for men and women were -€36,109 and -€112,195. The model was most sensitive to changes in the growth of healthcare costs, economic growth and the discount rate. Therefore, it is concluded that, similarly to naturally conceived individuals in the Netherlands, IVF-conceived individuals have negative discounted net tax revenue at the end of life. The analytic framework described here undervalues the incremental value of an additional birth because it only considers the fiscal consequences of life and does not take into consideration broader macroeconomic benefits. This study evaluated the lifetime future net tax revenues from individuals conceived after IVF relative those naturally conceived. A model based on the method of generational accounting to evaluate investments in IVF was used. Calculations were based on average investments paid and received from the government by an individual. The lifetime net present value of IVF-conceived individuals was -€81,374 (the minus sign reflecting negative net present value). The lifetime net present value of IVF-conceived men and women were -€47,091 and -€123,177, respectively. The lifetime net present value of naturally conceived individuals was -€70,392; respective

Evaluation of performance of electronic dosimeters for individual monitoring: tests in laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garzon, W.J.; Khoury, H.J.; Barros, V.S.M. de; Medeiros, R.B.

2015-01-01

Electronic dosimeters based on direct ion storage technology are being widely used in many countries for individual monitoring in many applications of ionizing radiation. However, their use as routine dosimeter has been established in a few countries due to lack of accreditation or intercomparison programs. The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of two direct íon storage dosimeters model available in the international market: the Miriom-Instadose-1 and RADOS DIS-1 to be eventually accepted for individual monitoring in Brazil. (author)

An Economic Evaluation on Replacement Plan for Aged Thermal Power Plants through a Real Option Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Kato, Moritoshi; Zhou, Yicheng

This paper presents a novel method to evaluate replacement plan for aged thermal power plants under uncertain circumstances through a real option approach. The most economical plan is selected among the three options: an option to operate an existing oil-fired thermal plant, an option to mothball it, and an option to abandon it and to construct an advanced gas combined cycle power plant (ACC) at the same time. Basic ideas of our model are: we use quadranomial approach in order to evaluate an option value consisted by two different uncertain assets; we consider cash flow with a dividend in order to reflect conditions of an aged oil-fired thermal plant and use the sequential compound option approach; we evaluate replacement time using quadranomial decision tree taking into account the options. We also analyze value and time of replacement using numerical examples. Our proposed method will be practically used for generation planning. For example it is possible to make priority quantitatively in replacements of aged thermal power plants by real option values. The target year of replacement may be set as a year when cumulative probability of replacement becomes over certain level.

Evaluation of vibratory ground motion at nuclear power plant sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hofmann, R.B.; Greeves, J.T.

1978-01-01

The evaluation of vibratory ground motion at nuclear power plant sites requires the cooperative effort of scientists and engineers in several disciplines. These include seismology, geology, geotechnical engineering and structural engineering. The Geosciences Branch of the NRC Division of Site Safety and Environmental Analysis includes two sections, the Geology/Seismology Section and the Geotechnical Engineering Section

Multicriteria evaluation of power plants impact on the living standard using the analytic hierarchy process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chatzimouratidis, Athanasios I.; Pilavachi, Petros A.

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate 10 types of power plants available at present including fossil fuel, nuclear as well as renewable-energy-based power plants, with regard to their overall impact on the living standard of local communities. Both positive and negative impacts of power plant operation are considered using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The current study covers the set of criteria weights considered typical for many local communities in many developed countries. The results presented here are illustrative only and user-defined weighting is required to make this study valuable for a specific group of users. A sensitivity analysis examines the most important weight variations, thus giving an overall view of the problem evaluation to every decision maker. Regardless of criteria weight variations, the five types of renewable energy power plant rank in the first five positions. Nuclear plants are in the sixth position when priority is given to quality of life and last when socioeconomic aspects are valued more important. Natural gas, oil and coal/lignite power plants rank between sixth and tenth position having slightly better ranking under priority to socioeconomic aspects

Individualized evaluation of cholinesterase inhibitors effects in dementia with adaptive cognitive testing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wouters, Hans; van Campen, Jos P. C. M.; Appels, Bregje A.; Beijnen, Jos H.; Zwinderman, Aeilko H.; van Gool, Willem A.; Schmand, Ben

2016-01-01

Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) of cognitive function, selects for every individual patient, only items of appropriate difficulty to estimate his or her level of cognitive impairment. Therefore, CAT has the potential to combine brevity with precision. We retrospectively examined the evaluation

Individualized evaluation of cholinesterase inhibitors effects in dementia with adaptive cognitive testing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wouters, Hans; Van Campen, Jos P C M; Appels, Bregje A; Beijnen, Jos H; Zwinderman, Aeilko H; Van Gool, Willem A; Schmand, Ben

2015-01-01

Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) of cognitive function, selects for every individual patient, only items of appropriate difficulty to estimate his or her level of cognitive impairment. Therefore, CAT has the potential to combine brevity with precision. We retrospectively examined the evaluation

Individualized evaluation of cholinesterase inhibitors effects in dementia with adaptive cognitive testing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wouters, H.; van Campen, J.P.C.M.; Appels, B.A.; Beijnen, J.H.; Zwinderman, A.H.; van Gool, W.A.; Schmand, B.

Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) of cognitive function, selects for every individual patient, only items of appropriate difficulty to estimate his or her level of cognitive impairment. Therefore, CAT has the potential to combine brevity with precision. We retrospectively examined the evaluation

Comparison of methods applicable to evaluation of nuclear power plant technical specifications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, N.Z.; Bozoki, G.E.; Youngblood, R.W.

1986-01-01

This study compares three probabilistic methods based on the static fault tree analysis, time-dependent unavailability analysis, and Markov analysis, which can be used to evaluate technical specifications in nuclear power plants. They are tested on a sample problem which was devised to closely represent the important and essential characteristics that should be addressed in determination and evaluation of the technical specifications

Evaluation of safety implications of control systems in LWR nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szukiewicz, A.J.

1989-06-01

An in-depth evaluation was performed on non-safety-related control systems (see Section 1) that are typically used during normal plant operation on four nuclear steam supply system plants: a General Electric Company boiling-water reactor, a Westinghouse 3-loop pressurized-water reactor (PWR), a Babcock ampersand Wilcox Co. (B ampersand W) once-through steam generator PWR, and a Combustion Engineering PWR design. A study was also conducted to determine the generic applicability of the results to the class of plants represented by the specific plants analyzed. Generic conclusions were then developed. Steam generator and reactor vessel overfill events and reactor vessel overcooling events were identified as major classes of events having the potential to be more severe than previously analyzed. Specific substasks of this issue were to study these events to determine the need for preventive and/or mitigating design measures. This report describes the technical studies performed by the laboratories, the NRC staff assessment of the results, the generic applicability of the evaluations, and the technical findings resulting from these studies. This final report contains the staff's responses to, and resolution of, the public comments that were solicited and received before September 16,1988, in response to the draft reports issued for public comment on May 27, 1988. 39 refs, 1 fig., 7 tabs

Evaluation of turbine systems for compressed air energy storage plants. Final report for FY 1976

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kartsounes, G.T.

1976-10-01

Compressed air energy storage plants for electric utility peak-shaving applications comprise four subsystems: a turbine system, compressor system, an underground air storage reservoir, and a motor/generator. Proposed plant designs use turbines that are derived from available gas and steam turbines with proven reliability. The study examines proposed turbine systems and presents an evaluation of possible systems that may reduce capital cost and/or improve performance. Six new turbine systems are identified for further economic evaluation.

Introduction of Integrity Evaluation Criteria Developing during and after fire for Nuclear Power Plant Buildings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jin Woo

2016-01-01

The first project for nuclear power plant built in Korea to taking account the engineering based approach was started on October 2015 including the whole process such as fire hazard analysis, standard fire modeling, cable tray fire with multi spurious operation, structural fire integrity evaluation, and large area fire induced air craft crash. This paper covers the brief developing scheme and roadmap focusing on structural fire evaluation criteria. The meaningful first step for developing the structural fire integrity in nuclear power plant building is started with the series of fire related sub sections mentioned in earlier section. The recognition and sufficient effort of fire research leads to set up the safe and reliable design of nuclear power plant

Introduction of Integrity Evaluation Criteria Developing during and after fire for Nuclear Power Plant Buildings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Jin Woo [KEPCo, Gimcheon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

The first project for nuclear power plant built in Korea to taking account the engineering based approach was started on October 2015 including the whole process such as fire hazard analysis, standard fire modeling, cable tray fire with multi spurious operation, structural fire integrity evaluation, and large area fire induced air craft crash. This paper covers the brief developing scheme and roadmap focusing on structural fire evaluation criteria. The meaningful first step for developing the structural fire integrity in nuclear power plant building is started with the series of fire related sub sections mentioned in earlier section. The recognition and sufficient effort of fire research leads to set up the safe and reliable design of nuclear power plant.

Vegetables and PUFA-rich plant oil reduce DNA strand breaks in individuals with type 2 diabetes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Müllner, Elisabeth; Brath, Helmut; Pleifer, Simone

2013-01-01

SCOPE: Type 2 diabetes is a multifactorial disease associated with increased oxidative stress, which may lead to increased DNA damage. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a healthy diet on DNA oxidation in diabetics and nondiabetics. METHODS AND RESULTS: Seventy-six diabetic...... and 21 nondiabetic individuals participated in this study. All subjects received information about the benefits of a healthy diet, while subjects randomly assigned to the intervention group received additionally 300 g of vegetables and 25 mL PUFA-rich plant oil per day. DNA damage in mononuclear cells...... increase in plasma antioxidant concentrations. Diabetic individuals of the intervention group showed a significant reduction in HbA1c and DNA strand breaks. Levels of HbA1c were also improved in diabetics of the information group, but oxidative damage to DNA was not altered. Urinary 8-oxodG and 8-oxo...

(Brief report Evaluation of Suitable Host Plant, as Banker Plant for Eretmocerus mundus, Whiteflies Parasitoid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. J. Ardeh

2016-03-01

the parasitoid were evaluated on the two different host plants. The sex ratio was recorded in two different ways; 1 100 pupae developed on each plants were put in vials, and 2 the wasps that emerged daily from collected leaves. In the next experiment, a leaflet of each host plant (2.5  3 cm, that was infested with the second and third stages of B. tabaci, was fixed upside down on a piece of wet cotton in a Petri dish. Then, a female parasitoid was release on each to record the host finding time for one minute. Finally, the four female parasitoids were released on an infested host plant for 48 hours, then the wasps were removed and the plants were kept in a climate room. Two weeks later, the leaves were collected and put up side down on cotton pieces in Petri dishes and the duration of the larval stages, the mortality and the number of females and males that come out from them were recorded for the two hosts. Results and Discussion: In total, 438 wasps form the eggplant leaves and 297 from cotton leaves were collected, while 14 and 17 dead pupa were recorded on them, respectively. The data analysis did not show significant differences between them. In host finding experiment, 9 of 15 parasitoids could find the host during one minute on the eggplants leave, whereas, all female parasitoids could find the host on cottons leave, which was significantly different (P value of Fisher's exact test= 0.01689. In the biology parameter experiments on leaves, 192 parasitoid wasps form cotton and 158 from eggplant leaf were collected that were not significantly different (F=5.6; p=0.026. In contrast, on whole plant experiment, 156 wasps (76 females and 80males from cotton plants and 134 wasps (66 females and 68 males from eggplants were collected that were not significantly different (f=1.2; P= 0.32. Conclusion: The results showed that the number of parasitoid and the sex ratio were not significantly different between two host plants, whereas the movement and searching activity

Individual- and population-level effects of Odocoileus virginianus herbivory on the rare forest herb Scutellaria montana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea R. Benson

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Odocoileus virginianus  (white-tailed deer grazing can impact rare plant species dramatically given their risk for local extirpation and extinction. To determine if O. virginianus management could aid conservation of federally threatened Scutellaria montana  (large-flowered skullcap, we conducted an exclosure experiment across a large occurrence of this rare species in Catoosa County, Georgia, USA. We aimed to: (1 quantify the effects of O. virginianus  grazing on S. montana  individuals, and (2 evaluate the potential of O. virginianus  to influence S. montana  populations. A lesser percentage of S. montana  individuals protected from O. virginianus  were grazed than plants accessible to grazers and additional protection from smaller grazers did not reduce grazing, suggesting that O. virginianus  primarily do graze S. montana. But grazing did not significantly influence S. montana  individuals as evidenced by changes in stem height or the number of leaves per plant assessed during two single growing seasons or across those growing seasons. At the population-level, grazing impacts were buffered by a lack of grazer preferences for specific plant life stages. Although mostly not significant, our findings are biologically interesting given the numerous ecological concerns associated with O. virginianus abundance, including their demonstrated and proposed impact on rare plants.

Phytochemical evaluation and molecular characterization of some important medicinal plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Varahalarao Vadlapudi

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Objective: Phytochemical evaluation and molecular characterization of plants is an important task in medicinal botany and drug discovery. In the current study, Ocimum species, Pimenta officinalis and Piper betel were considered as medicinal plants by evaluation of phytochemical composition like phenol content, Flavonoid content, antioxidant content and other activities like antibacterial, antifungal, lethal dosage (LD 50 of the plant extracts. Among the selected plants P. officinalis shown higher medicinal properties and is selected for molecular characterization. Methods: Antimicrobial activity by agar well diffusion method and also estimated Total phenols, flavonoids content, Total Antioxidants, Cytotoxic assay on Artemia salina for determining lethal dosage (LD50, matK gene was sequenced by using ABI Prism 3700. Leaf extract of P. officinalis plant is further selected for GC-chromatographic analysis to know its chemical composition. DNA was isolated by different protocols, optimized, and is used for the PCR amplification of trnL-gene which is a universal marker among plants in molecular taxonomy. The trnL-gene is amplified by using PCR. The product obtained from PCR is purified and the sample is used for sequencing so that it can be used for comparative studies. Results: P.offcinalis has shown good antimicrobial activity against all organisms . A. flavus is resistant against O. sanctum (B. Phenolic content (26.5 毺 g/g is found to be rich in P. betel where as flavonoid and Antioxidant content are significant in P. betel. The chromatogram revealed the presence of high concentration of Eugenol in the leaf sample. On submitting to BLASTN, the genetic sequence has found similarity with Pimenta dioica plastid partial matK gene and Ugni molinae trnK gene. MatK did not shown any interactions with trnK or trnL genes. MatK has shown interactions with various genes like ycf5, pclpp, psbh, atph, NDVI, rpoc1, ndha, ndhd, psai. Conclusions: we can

Human performance evaluation: The procedures of ultimate response guideline for nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Kang-Hung, E-mail: alvinks@iner.gov.tw [Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Atomic Engery Council, No. 1000, Whenhua Road, Jiaan Village, Longtan Township, Taoyuan County, Taiwan (China); Hwang, Sheue-Ling, E-mail: slhwang@ie.nthu.edu.tw [Department of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, National Tsing Hua University, No. 101, Section 2, Kuang-Fu Road, Hsinchu, Taiwan 30013, Taiwan (China)

2014-07-01

Highlights: • This study adopts SPAR-H to evaluate HEPs in the URG procedures. • The involvement of URG procedures could reduce CDF significantly. • Upgrading the training level of staff will enhance the reliability effectively. • Aiding the plant manager in making URG decision will enhance the reliability. - Abstract: In the nuclear accident which occurred in Japan on March 11, 2011, several units of Fukushima conventional BWR experienced a total loss of power and water supply triggered by a heavy earthquake and subsequent Tsunami which were outside design models. In the past, when an accident occurred, operators in nuclear power plants (NPP) followed emergency operating procedures (EOPs) or severe accident management guidance (SAMG). However, EOP and SAMG are symptom-based procedures to cope with severe transients and accidents, depending on real-time operational parameters. Ultimate response guidelines (URG), a plant specific interim remedy action plan, was developed to manage accidents caused by compound disasters which exceed design models. The URG guides the plant operators’ conduct of reactor depressurization, core cooling water injection, and containment venting. This study adopts NUREG/CR-6883 (Standardized Plant Analysis Risk Human Reliability Analysis, SPAR-H) to evaluate human error probabilities (HEPs) of action and diagnosis in the current URG procedures. We found the human reliability of URG procedures analyzed by SPAR-H is about 85% (depending on different decision makers). Upgrading the training level of staff or enhancing plant managers ability to decide whether to execute URG will enhance the human reliability of URG procedures.

Evaluation of pollen dispersal and cross pollination using transgenic grapevine plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Harst, Margit; Cobanov, Beatrix-Axinja; Hausmann, Ludger; Eibach, Rudolf; Töpfer, Reinhard

2009-01-01

Public debate about the possible risk of genetically modified plants often concerns putative effects of pollen dispersal and out-crossing into conventional fields in the neighborhood of transgenic plants. Though Vitis vinifera (grapevine) is generally considered to be self-pollinating, it cannot be excluded that vertical gene transfer might occur. For monitoring pollen flow and out-crossing events, transgenic plants of Vitis vinifera cv. 'Dornfelder' harboring the gus-int gene were planted in the center of a field experiment in Southwest Germany in 1999. The rate of pollen dispersal was determined by pollen traps placed at radial distances of 5-150 m from the pollen-donor plants, at 1.00 and 1.80 m above ground. Transgenic pollen was evaluated by GUS staining, and could clearly be distinguished from pollen originating from non-transgenic grapevine plants. Transgenic pollen was observed up to 150 m from the pollen donors. The rate of out-crossing was determined by sampling seeds of selected grapevines at a distance of 10 m to the pollen source, and of a sector at 20 m distance, respectively, followed by GUS analysis of seedlings. The average cross-pollination rate during the experiment (2002-2004) was 2.7% at a distance of 20 m. The results of this first pilot study present a good base for further assessment under the conditions of normal viticulture practice.

Spatial structure of an individual-based plant–pollinator network

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dupont, Yoko Luise; Nielsen, Kristian Trøjelsgaard; Hagen, Melanie

2014-01-01

The influence of space on the structure (e.g. modularity) of complex ecological networks remains largely unknown. Here, we sampled an individual-based plant–pollinator network by following the movements and flower visits of marked bumblebee individuals within a population of thistle plants...... for which the identities and spatial locations of stems were mapped in a 50  50 m study plot. The plant–pollinator network was dominated by parasitic male bumblebees and had a significantly modular structure, with four identified modules being clearly separated in space. This indicated that individual....... This demonstrated that individual-based plant–pollinator networks are influenced by both the spatial structure of plant populations and individual-specific plant traits. Additionally, bumblebee individuals with long observation times were important for both the connectivity between and within modules. The latter...

Evaluation of digital fault-tolerant architectures for nuclear power plant control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Battle, R.E.

1990-01-01

This paper reports on four fault-tolerant architectures that were evaluated for their potential reliability in service as control systems of nuclear power plants. The reliability analyses showed that human- and software-related common cause failures and single points of failure in the output modules are dominant contributors to system unreliability. The four architectures are triple-modular-redundant, both synchronous and asynchronous, and also dual synchronous and asynchronous. The evaluation includes a review of design features, an analysis of the importance of coverage, and reliability analyses of fault-tolerant systems. Reliability analyses based on data from several industries that have fault-tolerant controllers were used to estimate the mean-time-between-failures of fault-tolerant controllers and to predict those failure modes that may be important in nuclear power plants

Stem analysis program (GOAP for evaluating of increment and growth data at individual tree

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gafura Aylak Özdemir

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Stem analysis is a method evaluating in a detailed way data of increment and growth of individual tree at the past periods and widely used in various forestry disciplines. Untreated data of stem analysis consist of annual ring count and measurement procedures performed on cross sections taken from individual tree by section method. The evaluation of obtained this untreated data takes quite some time. Thus, a computer software was developed in this study to quickly and efficiently perform stem analysis. This computer software developed to evaluate untreated data of stem analysis as numerical and graphical was programmed as macro by utilizing Visual Basic for Application feature of MS Excel 2013 program currently the most widely used. In developed this computer software, growth height model is formed from two different approaches, individual tree volume depending on section method, cross-sectional area, increments of diameter, height and volume, volume increment percent and stem form factor at breast height are calculated depending on desired period lengths. This calculated values are given as table. Development of diameter, height, volume, increments of these variables, volume increment percent and stem form factor at breast height according to periodic age are given as chart. Stem model showing development of diameter, height and shape of individual tree in the past periods also can be taken from computer software as chart.

Evaluation of the feasibility, economic impact, and effectiveness of underground nuclear power plants. Final technical report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-05-01

Information on underground nuclear power plants is presented concerning underground nuclear power plant concepts; public health impacts; technical feasibility of underground concepts; economic impacts of underground construction; and evaluation of related issues

Safety evaluation of some wild plants in the New Nordic Diet

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mithril, Charlotte; Dragsted, Lars Ove

2012-01-01

plants the majority of the bioactive components reported were within the range experienced when eating or drinking typical food stuffs. For most compounds the hazards could be evaluated as minor. The only precaution found was for common lambsquarters because of its presumed high level of oxalic acid...

Evaluation of 450-MWe BGL GCC power plants fueled with Pittsburgh No. 8 coal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pechtl, P.A.; Chen, T.P.; Thompson, B.H.; Greil, C.F.; Niermann, S.E.; Jandrisevits, M.

1992-11-01

In this study, a conceptual design and cost estimate were developed for a nominal 450 MW integrated gasification combined cycle plant using the British Gas/Lurgi slagging gasification process. The present study is a design update of a previous study (EPRI Report AP-6011). The major design improvements incorporated include use of the latest GE 7F gas turbine rating, integrating the air separation plant with gas turbine, use of fuel gas saturation for NO x control, use of treated gasifier waste water as makeup water for the fuel gas saturation, and several process changes in the acid gas removal and sulfur recovery areas. Alternate design options for feeding the excess coal fines to the gasifier, treating the gasifier waste water, and the use of conventional air separation without integration with gas turbine were evaluated. The design improvements incorporated were found to increase significantly the overall plant efficiency and reduce the cost reported in the previous study. The various design options evaluated were found to have significant impacts on the plant efficiency but negligible impacts on the cost of electricity

Evidence for chemical interference effect of an allelopathic plant on neighboring plant species: A field study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio I Arroyo

Full Text Available Many studies have reported the phytotoxicity of allelopathic compounds under controlled conditions. However, more field studies are required to provide realistic evidences for the significance of allelopathic interference in natural communities. We conducted a 2-years field experiment in a semiarid plant community (NE Spain. Specifically, we planted juvenile individuals and sowed seeds of Salsola vermiculata L., Lygeum spartum L. and Artemisia herba-alba Asso. (three co-dominant species in the community beneath adult individuals of the allelopathic shrub A. herba-alba, and assessed the growth, vitality, seed germination and seedling survival of those target species with and without the presence of chemical interference by the incorporation of activated carbon (AC to the soil. In addition, juveniles and seeds of the same three target species were planted and sown beneath the canopy of adults of S. vermiculata (a shrub similar to A. herba-alba, but non-allelopathic and in open bare soil to evaluate whether the allelopathic activity of A. herba-alba modulates the net outcome of its interactions with neighboring plants under contrasting abiotic stress conditions. We found that vitality of A. herba-alba juveniles was enhanced beneath A. herba-alba individuals when AC was present. Furthermore, we found that the interaction outcome in A. herba-alba microsite was neutral, whereas a positive outcome was found for S. vermiculata microsite, suggesting that allelopathy may limit the potential facilitative effects of the enhanced microclimatic conditions in A. herba-alba microsite. Yet, L. spartum juveniles were facilitated in A. herba-alba microsite. The interaction outcome in A. herba-alba microsite was positive under conditions of very high abiotic stress, indicating that facilitative interactions predominated over the interference of allelopathic plants under those conditions. These results highlight that laboratory studies can overestimate the

Evidence for chemical interference effect of an allelopathic plant on neighboring plant species: A field study.

Science.gov (United States)

Arroyo, Antonio I; Pueyo, Yolanda; Giner, M Luz; Foronda, Ana; Sanchez-Navarrete, Pedro; Saiz, Hugo; Alados, Concepción L

2018-01-01

Many studies have reported the phytotoxicity of allelopathic compounds under controlled conditions. However, more field studies are required to provide realistic evidences for the significance of allelopathic interference in natural communities. We conducted a 2-years field experiment in a semiarid plant community (NE Spain). Specifically, we planted juvenile individuals and sowed seeds of Salsola vermiculata L., Lygeum spartum L. and Artemisia herba-alba Asso. (three co-dominant species in the community) beneath adult individuals of the allelopathic shrub A. herba-alba, and assessed the growth, vitality, seed germination and seedling survival of those target species with and without the presence of chemical interference by the incorporation of activated carbon (AC) to the soil. In addition, juveniles and seeds of the same three target species were planted and sown beneath the canopy of adults of S. vermiculata (a shrub similar to A. herba-alba, but non-allelopathic) and in open bare soil to evaluate whether the allelopathic activity of A. herba-alba modulates the net outcome of its interactions with neighboring plants under contrasting abiotic stress conditions. We found that vitality of A. herba-alba juveniles was enhanced beneath A. herba-alba individuals when AC was present. Furthermore, we found that the interaction outcome in A. herba-alba microsite was neutral, whereas a positive outcome was found for S. vermiculata microsite, suggesting that allelopathy may limit the potential facilitative effects of the enhanced microclimatic conditions in A. herba-alba microsite. Yet, L. spartum juveniles were facilitated in A. herba-alba microsite. The interaction outcome in A. herba-alba microsite was positive under conditions of very high abiotic stress, indicating that facilitative interactions predominated over the interference of allelopathic plants under those conditions. These results highlight that laboratory studies can overestimate the significance of

Use of an integrated containment and ultimate heat sink (UHS) response approach to evaluate nuclear power plant modifications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wetzel, M.C.; Vieira, A.T.; Patton, D.C.

1994-01-01

Detailed containment and Ultimate Heat Sink (UHS) performance evaluations often are required to support major plant modifications, such as power up-rates and steam generator replacements. These UHS and containment pressure and temperature response evaluations are interrelated. Not only is the containment heat load to the UHS a factor in these evaluations, but other heat loads, such as those from the spent fuel pool, may change as a result of the plant modification and impact containment or UHS response. Our experience is that if an integrated containment/UHS response model is developed prior to the feasibility evaluations for such plant modifications, significant savings in engineering hours can be achieved. This paper presents an overview of such a front-end engineering tool that has been developed and used to support engineering evaluations. 3 refs., 2 figs

EMI Evaluation on Wireless Computer Devices in Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jae Ki; JI Yeong Hwa; Sung, Chan Ho

2011-01-01

Wireless computer devices, for example, mice and keyboards are widely used in various industries. However, I and C (instrumentation and control) equipment in nuclear power plants are very susceptible to the EMI (Electro-magnetic interference) and there are concerns regarding EMI induced transient caused by wireless computer devices which emit electromagnetic waves for communication. In this paper, industrial practices and nuclear related international standards are investigated to verify requirements of wireless devices. In addition, actual measurement and evaluation for the intensity of EMI of some commercially available wireless devices is performed to verify their compatibility in terms of EMI. Finally we suggest an appropriate method of using wireless computer devices in nuclear power plant control rooms for better office circumstances of operators

The reliability evaluation of reclaimed water reused in power plant project

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jie; Jia, Ru-sheng; Gao, Yu-lan; Wang, Wan-fen; Cao, Peng-qiang

2017-12-01

The reuse of reclaimed water has become one of the important measures to solve the shortage of water resources in many cities, But there is no unified way to evaluate the engineering. Concerning this issue, it took Wanneng power plant project in Huai city as a example, analyzed the reliability of wastewater reuse from the aspects of quality in reclaimed water, water quality of sewage plant, the present sewage quantity in the city and forecast of reclaimed water yield, in particular, it was necessary to make a correction to the actual operation flow rate of the sewage plant. the results showed that on the context of the fluctuation of inlet water quality, the outlet water quality of sewage treatment plants is basically stable, and it can meet the requirement of circulating cooling water, but suspended solids(SS) and total hardness in boiler water exceed the limit, and some advanced treatment should be carried out. In addition, the total sewage discharge will reach 13.91×104m3/d and 14.21×104m3/d respectively in the two planning level years of the project. They are greater than the normal collection capacity of the sewage system which is 12.0×104 m3/d, and the reclaimed water yield can reach 10.74×104m3/d, which is greater than the actual needed quantity 8.25×104m3/d of the power plant, so the wastewater reuse of this sewage plant are feasible and reliable to the power plant in view of engineering.

Evaluation of Promoting Roadside Revegetation: An Integrated Approach to Establishing Native Plants

Science.gov (United States)

2017-12-01

This report documents an evaluation of outcomes associated with Roadside Revegetation: A Practical Guide to Working with Native Plants, a 2007 guide encouraging agencies to adopt improved roadside revegetation practices.(1) It should be of interest t...

An evaluation of meteorologic data differences between the Pantex Plant and Amarillo, Texas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Snyder, S.F.

1993-06-01

Meteorologic data from the Pantex Plant and from the nearby National Weather Service (NWS) station at the Amarillo, Texas, International Airport were evaluated to determine if the NWS data adequately represented meteorologic conditions at the Pantex Plant. Annual site environmental dose calculations for the Pantex Plant have previously used the NWS data; information from this data comparison helped determine if future environmental dose calculations should use site-specific Pantex meteorologic data. The meteorologic data evaluated were wind speed, wind direction, and atmospheric stability class. Atmospheric stability class data were compared for years 1990 and 1991 and found to be very similar. Stability class designations were identical and one class different in 63% and 30%, respectively, of the paired hourly data. An unexpected finding was the preponderance of Class D stability, which occurred approximately 62% of the time in both data sets. The overall effect of meteorological differences between the two locations was evaluated by performing environmental dose assessments using the GENII dose assessment computer code. Acute and chronic releases of {sup 3}H and {sup 239}Pu were evaluated. Results using the NWS Amarillo meteorologic data were approximately one-half of those generated using Pantex meteorologic data. The two-fold difference in dose results is within the uncertainty expected from current dose assessment codes; therefore, the two meteorologic databases can be used interchangeably and prior dose calculation results using the NWS Amarillo data are acceptable.

Plant-wide (BSM2) evaluation of reject water treatment with a SHARON-Anammox process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Volcke, Eveline; Gernaey, Krist; Vrecko, Darko

2006-01-01

treatment plant, reject water treatment with a combined SHARON-Anammox process seems a promising option. The simulation results indicate that significant improvements of the effluent quality of the main wastewater treatment plant can be realized. An economic evaluation of the different scenarios......In wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) equipped with sludge digestion and dewatering systems, the reject water originating from these facilities contributes significantly to the nitrogen load of the activated sludge tanks, to which it is typically recycled. In this paper, the impact of reject water...

ICT Based Performance Evaluation of Primary Frequency Control Support from Renewable Power Plants in Smart Grids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kamal Shahid

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The increased penetration of Renewable Energy Generation (ReGen plants in future power systems poses several challenges to the stability of the entire system. In future green energy rich power systems, the responsibility for providing ancillary services will be shifted from conventional power plants towards ReGen plants, such as wind and photovoltaic power plants. Frequency control support from the Wind Power Plants (WPPs is one of the crucial ancillary services in order to preserve operational stability in case of grid disturbances. Among other requirements, the ability to provide fast frequency control support from ReGen plants will highly depend on the underlying communication infrastructure that allows an exchange of information between different ReGen plants and the control centers. This paper, therefore, focuses on the evaluation of the impact of communication and the related aspects to provide online frequency control support from ReGen (with special focus on WPP. The performance evaluation is based on an aggregated WPP model that is integrated into a generic power system model. This generic power system model is specifically designed to assess the ancillary services in a relatively simple yet relevant environment. Several case studies with different wind speeds at a particular wind-power penetration level and communication scenarios are considered to evaluate the performance of power system frequency response. The article provides the Transmission System Operator (TSO and other communication engineers insights into the importance and various aspects of communication infrastructure for general service coordination between WPPs and specifically primary frequency control coordination from WPPs in future power systems.

Dose evaluation for the public around the Tokai reprocessing plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeishi, Minoru; Furuta, Sadaaki; Miyabe, Kenjiro; Shinohara, Kunihiko

2007-01-01

The dose evaluations for the public around the Tokai Reprocessing Plant (TRP) have been carried out by using the mathematical models, because the effects on the environmental radiation due to the operation of the TRP are too small to separate from the background level. The models were developed by the site-specific investigations of the environment and reviewed in several times based on the latest scientific knowledge. The maximum annual effective dose through the whole period of the operation of the TRP was evaluated as 1.4 μSv with the data of the discharge monitoring and the meteorological observation in 1992. The evaluated doses revealed to be kept as far below the annual dose limit for the public as 1 mSv. (author)

Plant neurobiology and green plant intelligence : science, metaphors and nonsense

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Struik, P.C.; Yin, X.; Meinke, H.B.

2008-01-01

This paper analyses the recent debates on the emerging science of plant neurobiology, which claims that the individual green plant should be considered as an intelligent organism. Plant neurobiology tries to use elements from animal physiology as elegant metaphors to trigger the imagination in

Geographical evaluation of the impact of nuclear power plants on settlement structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Divinsky, B.

1992-01-01

The effects of nuclear power plants are classed with respect to their character (one-sided or many-sided), order (primary or secondary), quality (positive or adverse), duration (temporary or permanent), and space (microregional or macroregional). The following topics must be included in the methodology of evaluation of the impacts of a nuclear power plant on the region: characteristics of the present settlement network, relationships within the settlement system, spatial transformation of settlements, development of urbanization, population density, town and village sizes, functional types of settlements, migration, age and social structure of the population, economic activity, town and village facilities, technical infrastructure, transport and traffic, psycho-social impacts of the occurrence of the nuclear power plant, microecology (microenvironment). (M.D.). 5 refs

Risk-based plant performance indicators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boccio, J.L.; Azarm, M.A.; Hall, R.E.

1991-01-01

Tasked by the 1979 President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island, the U.S. nuclear power industry has put into place a performance indicator program as one means for showing a demonstrable record of achievement. Largely through the efforts of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), plant performance data has, since 1983, been collected and analyzed to aid utility management in measuring their plants' performance progress. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has also developed a set of performance indicators. This program, conducted by NRC's Office for the Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data (AEOD), is structured to present information on plant operational performance in a manner that could enhance the staff's ability to recognize changes in the safety performance. Both organizations recognized that performance indicators have limitations and could be subject to misinterpretation and misuse with the potential for an adverse impact on safety. This paper reports on performance indicators presently in use, e.g., unplanned automatic scrams, unplanned safety system actuation, safety system failures, etc., which are logically related to safety. But, a reliability/risk-based method for evaluating either individual indicators or an aggregated set of indicators is not yet available

Manual on quality assurance for the survey, evaluation and confirmation of nuclear power plant sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-04-01

The present Manual on Quality Assurance for the Survey, Evaluation and Confirmation of Nuclear Power Plant Sites contains supporting material and illustrates examples for implementing the requirements contained in the Code of Practice on Quality Assurance for Safety in Nuclear Power Plants to the activities of survey, evaluation and confirmation of nuclear power plant sites. At the same time the Code of Practice for Safety in Nuclear Power Plant Siting, and Safety Guides in the siting series contain requirements and recommendations to implement a quality assurance programme in selected activities of the siting process. This manual is intended to provide guidance and illustrate examples on this implementation. During preparation and reviews of this Manual it was found out that the methodology of implementation of the quality assurance programme in siting activities is still under development. For these reasons it was considered appropriate to publish this Manual as a temporary publication for trial use

Evaluation of Some Organic Residues on the Availability of Nutrients to wheat Plants Using '15N Isotope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Omar, M.A.I.; Ismail, M.M.; El-akel, E.A.; Abdel Aziz, A.H.A.; Abdel-Wadood, A.

2008-01-01

The experiment was carried out in pots under greenhouse conditions to evaluate chicken manure and rice straw either individually or combined with mineral fertilizer rates on wheat plant grown in sandy soils. Organic materials were mixed with 5 kg soil pot 1 . 15 N-labeled ammonium sulfate was added after thinned wheat plants. Basal recommended dose of P and K were applied. The treatments were arranged in a completely randomized block design At harvest, the dry weight of straw and grains were recorded. Also Ndff, Ndfs and FUE were calculated. The obtained results showed that the application of organic and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer was significantly improved the yield of wheat straw and grains and have the order of ammonium sulfate (AS) > chicken manure (CM) > rice straw (RS). The effect was more pronounced when both CM and RS were applied in combined with labelled ammonium sulfate at the rates of (25% + 75%) and (50% + 50%). Fertilizer use efficiency (%FUE) was in the range of 3.9% to 13% in straw and 7.9% to 35.3% in grains. N derived from fertilizer (Ndff) by either straw or grains was ranged from 25.32 - 48.90% dependent on N fertilization forms and rates. Results indicated the importance of organic-N as a supplemental source for nitrogen and other elements which may be useful for enhancement of plant growth as well as saving the environment from pollution

Global scale analysis and evaluation of an improved mechanistic representation of plant nitrogen and carbon dynamics in the Community Land Model (CLM)

Science.gov (United States)

Ghimire, B.; Riley, W. J.; Koven, C. D.; Randerson, J. T.; Mu, M.; Kattge, J.; Rogers, A.; Reich, P. B.

2014-12-01

In many ecosystems, nitrogen is the most limiting nutrient for plant growth and productivity. However mechanistic representation of nitrogen uptake linked to root traits, and functional nitrogen allocation among different leaf enzymes involved in respiration and photosynthesis is currently lacking in Earth System models. The linkage between nitrogen availability and plant productivity is simplistically represented by potential photosynthesis rates, and is subsequently downregulated depending on nitrogen supply and other nitrogen consumers in the model (e.g., nitrification). This type of potential photosynthesis rate calculation is problematic for several reasons. Firstly, plants do not photosynthesize at potential rates and then downregulate. Secondly, there is considerable subjectivity on the meaning of potential photosynthesis rates. Thirdly, there exists lack of understanding on modeling these potential photosynthesis rates in a changing climate. In addition to model structural issues in representing photosynthesis rates, the role of plant roots in nutrient acquisition have been largely ignored in Earth System models. For example, in CLM4.5, nitrogen uptake is linked to leaf level processes (e.g., primarily productivity) rather than root scale process involved in nitrogen uptake. We present a new plant model for CLM with an improved mechanistic presentation of plant nitrogen uptake based on root scale Michaelis Menten kinetics, and stronger linkages between leaf nitrogen and plant productivity by inferring relationships observed in global databases of plant traits (including the TRY database and several individual studies). We also incorporate improved representation of plant nitrogen leaf allocation, especially in tropical regions where significant over-prediction of plant growth and productivity in CLM4.5 simulations exist. We evaluate our improved global model simulations using the International Land Model Benchmarking (ILAMB) framework. We conclude that

The development and evaluation of programmatic performance indicators associated with maintenance at nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wreathall, J.; Fragola, J.; Appignani, P.; Burlile, G.; Shen, Y.

1990-05-01

This report summarizes the development and evaluation of programmatic performance indicators of maintenance. These indicators were selected by: (1) creating a formal framework of plant processes; (2) identifying features of plant behavior considered important to safety; (3) evaluating existing indicators against these features; and (4) performing statistical analyses for the selected indicators. The report recommends additional testing. This document provides the appendices to the report. These appendices are: synopsis of process model; detailed results of statistical analysis; and signal processing analysis of daily power loss indicator

Analysis of adverse events occurred at overseas nuclear power plants in 2003

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyazaki, Takamasa; Sato, Masahiro; Takagawa, Kenichi; Fushimi, Yasuyuki; Shimada, Hiroki; Shimada, Yoshio

2004-01-01

The adverse events that have occurred in the overseas nuclear power plants can be studied to provide an indication of how to improve the safety and the reliability of nuclear power plants in Japan. The Institute of Nuclear Safety Systems (INSS) obtains information related to overseas adverse events and incidents, and by evaluating them proposes improvements to prevent similar occurrences in Japanese PWR plants. In 2003, INSS obtained approximately 2800 pieces of information and, by evaluating them, proposed nine recommendations to Japanese utilities. This report shows a summary of the evaluation activity and of the tendency analysis based on individual event analyzed in 2003. The tendency analysis was undertaken on about 1600 analyzed events, from the view point of Mechanics, Electrics, Instruments and Controls and Operations, about the causes, countermeasures, troubled equipments and the possible of lessons learnt from overseas events. This report is to show the whole tendency of overseas events and incidents for the improvement of the safety and reliability of domestic PWR plants. (author)

Performance-based evaluation of graphic displays for nuclear-power-plant control rooms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petersen, R.J.; Banks, W.W.; Gertman, D.I.

1982-01-01

This paper reports several methodologies for evaluating the perceptual and perceptual/decision making aspects of displays used in the control rooms of nuclear power plants. This NRC funded study focuses upon the Safety Parameter Display System (SPDS) and relates the utility of the display to objective performance and preference measures obtained in experimental conditions. The first condition is a traditional laboratory setting where classical experimental methodologies can be employed. The second condition is an interactive control room simulation where the operator's performance is assessed while he/she operates the simulator. The third condition is a rating scale designed to assess operator preferences and opinions regarding a variety of display formats. The goal of this study is the development of a cost-efficient display evaluation methodology which correlates highly with the operator's ability to control a plant

Evaluation of the environmental sustainability of different waste-to-energy plant configurations.

Science.gov (United States)

Lombardi, Lidia; Carnevale, Ennio A

2018-03-01

increasing the plant size, but they worsen when increasing the cogeneration rate. The remaining indicators - i.e. human toxicity and terrestrial ecotoxicity - always have positive values, which decrease for increasing plant size and increase as the cogeneration rate increases. However, the local context should be evaluated carefully with reference to the type of electricity which is substituted and in view of a future massive production of renewable electricity, because conclusions change accordingly. Finally, it was evaluated that the inclusion of bottom ash recovery - instead of landfilling - can significantly improve the values of several impact assessment indicators. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fatigue evaluation of socket welded piping in nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vecchio, R.S.

1996-01-01

Fatigue failures in piping systems occur, almost without exception, at the welded connections. In nuclear power plant systems, such failures occur predominantly at the socket welds of small diameter piping ad fillet attachment welds under high-cycle vibratory conditions. Nearly all socket weld fatigue failures are identified by leaks which, though not high in volume, generally are costly due to attendant radiological contamination. Such fatigue cracking was recently identified in the 3/4 in. diameter recirculation and relief piping socket welds from the reactor coolant system (RCS) charging pumps at a nuclear power plant. Consequently, a fatigue evaluation was performed to determine the cause of cracking and provide an acceptable repair. Socket weld fatigue life was evaluated using S-N type fatigue life curves for welded structures developed by AASHTO and the assessment of an effective cyclic stress range adjacent to each socket weld. Based on the calculated effective tress ranges and assignment of the socket weld details to the appropriate AASHTO S-N curves, the socket weld fatigue lives were calculated and found to be in excellent agreement with the accumulated cyclic life to-date

Evaluating continuous application of treated sludge on soil and plant productivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Al-Busaidi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Kala Compost is a mixture of treated sewage bio-solids and green wastes. It can improve soil fertility and plant growth. However, long-term application of treated sewage bio-solids could result in heavy metals accumulation and some health problems. e objective of this study was to evaluate the e ect of a long run application of Kala compost mixed with chemical fertilizer on soil and plant productivity. Soil and plant (mainly cucumber samples were taken from 12 greenhouses that received Kala compost continuously for the last ve years. No symptoms of physical or chemical problems were observed in the greenhouses and measured soil samples. Moreover, the soil had su cient values of di erent nutrients for plant growth and all measured micronutrients (heavy metals were within the safe limit and below the range of the international standards. An excellent growth was observed in all grown plants and no symptoms of elements de ciency were found. Chemical analysis of fruit samples did not show any accumulation of heavy metals and all measured elements were within the safe limit and did not exceed the international standards. It can be concluded that Kala compost was a good media for plant growth that can enrich the soil with di erent elements needed for higher yield. However, more monitoring is needed with treated bio-solid application but good management could be the key to avoid any adverse e ect of any contaminant.

Evaluation of Five Treatment Plants for the Removal of Microcystins in Drinking Water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuel Álvarez Cortiñas

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In Galicia there are supplies that collect water from reservoirs showing growth of cyanobacteria that could produce toxins. The drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs of these supplies should provide adequate treatment and be subjected to maintenance. WHO guidelines make recommendations on the most suitable treatments for removing microcystins. The Department of Health developed a protocol of action against these events jointly with water basin authorities. 4 reservoirs and five treatment plants were identified for this study. The treatments of the plants, the maintenance carried out at the DWTPs and the results for sestonic and dissolved toxins analyzed by the Public Health Laboratory of Galicia in the reservoirs near the point of collection, before the treatment plants and after them, during the 2013-2014 biennium were evaluated.

Flaw tolerance as an alternative approach for operating plant fatigue evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deardorff, A.F.; Riccardella, P.C.

1994-01-01

In the design of Class 1 components for nuclear reactors, the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code requires that the suitability for cyclic operation be addressed to assure a fatigue-resistant design. During plant operation, the acceptability of the component may come in to question if new types of loading conditions are identified or if the number of plant cycles exceeds that considered in the original design. The most common approach for addressing this issue is by performing a revised fatigue evaluation, consistent with that considered in the original design. This paper presents an alternative approach for demonstrating acceptability for continued service using concepts from fracture mechanics

Study on advanced nuclear power plants expert evaluation system in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Qi; Yoshikawa, Hidekazu; Shimoda, Hiroshi; Zhou Zhiwei; Zhu Shutang; Ren Junsheng; Yang Mengjia; Gu Junyang

2005-01-01

Based on current status and developing trend of nuclear power plant technology, an evaluation software system is developed to assess advanced NPPs systematically according to a set of pre-established evaluation indices. The selection and classification of the indices, the determination of their weighting factors in applying AHP (analytic hierarchy process) method are discussed. The Fuzzy Comprehensive method and the Fuzzy Borda Number method are studied in detail. The original input data required by the evaluation system are deduced from the expert survey sheets Evaluation results with common significance of public attraction are discussed and analyzed according to the opinions of different experts grouped by age, profession and working expertise etc. The evaluation system is computer network based with high flexible and user friendly human-machine interface on which it is easy to manipulate and update the evaluation system, and to display evaluation results as well. (author)

Plant remediation of soil contaminated with 137Cs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Juncheng; Zhang Jianfeng; Zhu Yongyi; Chen Jingjie; Mei Yong; Jiang Huimin

2005-01-01

A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the bio-remediation of soils contaminated with 137 Cs. The selected plants are Cucurbita moschata Duchesne, Brassica chinensis L, Chloris virgata, Beta oulgaris L. Hongye, Beta oulgaris L. Dongshengye and Beta oulgaris L. The soils samples were taken from the paddy field, 2 km from the Dayawan nuclear power plant and Qinshan nuclear power plant, respectively, and cinnamon soil from the cultivated land in Beijing. The results show that all the employed species of plant have a higher accumulation to 137 Cs with the increased grade of the radioactivity of 137 Cs. A good correlation exist with the coefficient (r 2 ) of 0.9989. When the contaminated radioactivity of 137 Cs is in the same level the uptake of Cucurbita moschata Duchesne, Brassica chinensis L. and Chloris virgata increased with the decrease of pH value ranged 5.22-7.69. The ability of bioremediation in the orders were Chloris virgata, Brassica chinensis L., Beta oulgaris L. Hongye, Cucurbita moschata Duchesne, Beta oulgaris L. and Beta oulgaris L. Dongshengye, according to the comprehensive evaluation of transfer factor, specific activity of plant in dry weight of biomass and total absorption of 137 Cs by the individual plant in the same area. (authors)

Applying and Individual-Based Model to Simultaneously Evaluate Net Ecosystem Production and Tree Diameter Increment

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, F. J.

2017-12-01

Reconciling observations at fundamentally different scales is central in understanding the global carbon cycle. This study investigates a model-based melding of forest inventory data, remote-sensing data and micrometeorological-station data ("flux towers" estimating forest heat, CO2 and H2O fluxes). The individual tree-based model FORCCHN was used to evaluate the tree DBH increment and forest carbon fluxes. These are the first simultaneous simulations of the forest carbon budgets from flux towers and individual-tree growth estimates of forest carbon budgets using the continuous forest inventory data — under circumstances in which both predictions can be tested. Along with the global implications of such findings, this also improves the capacity for forest sustainable management and the comprehensive understanding of forest ecosystems. In forest ecology, diameter at breast height (DBH) of a tree significantly determines an individual tree's cross-sectional sapwood area, its biomass and carbon storage. Evaluation the annual DBH increment (ΔDBH) of an individual tree is central to understanding tree growth and forest ecology. Ecosystem Carbon flux is a consequence of key ecosystem processes in the forest-ecosystem carbon cycle, Gross and Net Primary Production (GPP and NPP, respectively) and Net Ecosystem Respiration (NEP). All of these closely relate with tree DBH changes and tree death. Despite advances in evaluating forest carbon fluxes with flux towers and forest inventories for individual tree ΔDBH, few current ecological models can simultaneously quantify and predict the tree ΔDBH and forest carbon flux.

Thermodynamic evaluation of solar-geothermal hybrid power plants in northern Chile

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cardemil, José Miguel; Cortés, Felipe; Díaz, Andrés; Escobar, Rodrigo

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Thermodynamic evaluation of geothermal-solar hybrid systems. • A multi-parameter analysis for different cycle configurations. • Performance comparison between two operation modes. • Overview of the technical applicability of the hybridization. - Abstract: A thermodynamic model was developed using Engineering Equation Solver (EES) to evaluate the performance of single and double-flash geothermal power plants assisted by a parabolic trough solar concentrating collector field, considering four different geothermal reservoir conditions. The benefits of delivering solar thermal energy for either the superheating or evaporating processes were analyzed in order to achieve the maximum 2"n"d law efficiency for the hybrid schemes and reduce the geothermal resource consumption for a constant power production. The results of the hybrid single-flash demonstrate that the superheating process generates additional 0.23 kWe/kWth, while supplying solar heat to evaporate the geothermal brine only delivers 0.16 kWe/kWth. The double-flash hybrid plant simulation results allow obtaining 0.29 kWe/kWth and 0.17 kW/kWth by integrating solar energy at the superheater and evaporator, respectively. In this context, the hybrid single-flash power plant is able to produce at least 20% additional power output, depending on the characteristics of the geothermal resource. Moreover, all of the cases analyzed herein increased the exergy efficiency of the process by at least 3%. The developed model also allowed assessing the reduction on the consumption of the geothermal fluid from the reservoir when the plant power output stays constant, up to 16% for the hybrid single-flash, and 19% for the hybrid double-flash. Based on the results obtained in this study, the solar-geothermal hybrid scheme increases the power generation compared with geothermal-only power plants, being an attractive solution for improved management of the geothermal reservoir depletion rates. The study shows

Evaluation of plant-wide WWTP control strategies including the effects of filamentous bulking sludge

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Flores Alsina, Xavier; Comas, J.S.; Rodríguez Roda, I.

2009-01-01

The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the effect of filamentous bulking sludge on the predicted performance of simulated plant-wide WWTP control strategies. First, as a reference case, several control strategies are implemented, simulated and evaluated using the IWA Benchmark Simulation...

Fault Transient Analysis and Protection Performance Evaluation within a Large-scale PV Power Plant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen Jinghua

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a short-circuit test within a large-scale PV power plant with a total capacity of 850MWp is discussed. The fault currents supplied by the PV generation units are presented and analysed. According to the fault behaviour, the existing protection coordination principles with the plant are considered and their performances are evaluated. Moreover, these protections are examined in simulation platform under different operating situations. A simple measure with communication system is proposed to deal with the foreseeable problem about the current protection scheme in the PV power plant.

Improving methods to evaluate the impacts of plant invasions: lessons from 40 years of research

Science.gov (United States)

Stricker, Kerry Bohl; Hagan, Donald; Flory, S. Luke

2015-01-01

Methods used to evaluate the ecological impacts of biological invasions vary widely from broad-scale observational studies to removal experiments in invaded communities and experimental additions in common gardens and greenhouses. Different methods provide information at diverse spatial and temporal scales with varying levels of reliability. Thus, here we provide a synthetic and critical review of the methods used to evaluate the impacts of plant invasions and provide recommendations for future research. We review the types of methods available and report patterns in methods used, including the duration and spatial scale of studies and plant functional groups examined, from 410 peer-reviewed papers published between 1971 and 2011. We found that there has been a marked increase in papers published on plant invasion impacts since 2003 and that more than half of all studies employed observational methods while impacts of invasive forbs and graminoids while impacts, we argue that longer-term experimental research and more studies that use predictive modelling and evaluate impacts of invasions on ecosystem processes and fauna are needed. Combining broad-scale observational studies with experiments and predictive modelling may provide the most insight into invasion impacts for policy makers and land managers seeking to reduce the effects of plant invasions. PMID:25829379

Holistic and component plant phenotyping using temporal image sequence.

Science.gov (United States)

Das Choudhury, Sruti; Bashyam, Srinidhi; Qiu, Yumou; Samal, Ashok; Awada, Tala

2018-01-01

Image-based plant phenotyping facilitates the extraction of traits noninvasively by analyzing large number of plants in a relatively short period of time. It has the potential to compute advanced phenotypes by considering the whole plant as a single object (holistic phenotypes) or as individual components, i.e., leaves and the stem (component phenotypes), to investigate the biophysical characteristics of the plants. The emergence timing, total number of leaves present at any point of time and the growth of individual leaves during vegetative stage life cycle of the maize plants are significant phenotypic expressions that best contribute to assess the plant vigor. However, image-based automated solution to this novel problem is yet to be explored. A set of new holistic and component phenotypes are introduced in this paper. To compute the component phenotypes, it is essential to detect the individual leaves and the stem. Thus, the paper introduces a novel method to reliably detect the leaves and the stem of the maize plants by analyzing 2-dimensional visible light image sequences captured from the side using a graph based approach. The total number of leaves are counted and the length of each leaf is measured for all images in the sequence to monitor leaf growth. To evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, we introduce University of Nebraska-Lincoln Component Plant Phenotyping Dataset (UNL-CPPD) and provide ground truth to facilitate new algorithm development and uniform comparison. The temporal variation of the component phenotypes regulated by genotypes and environment (i.e., greenhouse) are experimentally demonstrated for the maize plants on UNL-CPPD. Statistical models are applied to analyze the greenhouse environment impact and demonstrate the genetic regulation of the temporal variation of the holistic phenotypes on the public dataset called Panicoid Phenomap-1. The central contribution of the paper is a novel computer vision based algorithm for

The Level of Power Quality Measurement and Evaluation in A Stone Crusher Plant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mustafa ŞEKKELİ

2009-03-01