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Sample records for plants improves performance

  1. Programs to improve plant performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Felmus, N.L.

    1987-01-01

    Looking toward the 1990's, we see a period in which our industry will face the challenge of improving the performance of the nuclear plants which are built and operating. The skills and technology are at hand to make good plant performance a reality and we believe the time has come to use them to achieve that end. As reserve margins decline, utilities and their regulators will increasingly seek to tap the unexploited capacity tied up in plants operating below their optimum availability. This paper describes a number of the programs, plant improvements and operations improvements which can yield a significant increase in nuclear plant availability and capacity factor now and into the 1990's. (author)

  2. Human performance improvement for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-01-01

    The IAEA assists NPP operating organizations to improve plant performance through a focus on human performance improvement in areas like organizational and leadership development, senior management decision making, organization and management of HPI programmes including tools needed for effective HPI implementation, safety culture enhancement, knowledge management, personnel selection and staffing, career development, training and development, work design, scheduling and conditions, procedure and other job-aid development and use, effective communications, human performance monitoring, motivation. Many NPP operating organizations in Member States, are not yet achieving the full potential of their NPP technology/equipment regarding safety, operational or economic performance due to human performance weaknesses. The IAEA's HPI (Human Performance Improvement) services provide a means for these organizations to efficiently and effectively learn from international experts and the experiences of others in improving plant performance through human performance improvements. NPP operating organizations can benefit from these services in a number of ways, including requesting a national project, participating in a regional project, or requesting an assist visit. The types of activities provided through these services include assistance in benchmarking practices of successful organizations, providing information exchange and reviews of current practices through assist missions, conducting workshops on focused human performance topics, evaluating current human performance methods, including assistance in implementing self assessment programmes and providing support to safety culture enhancement programmes based on self-assessment

  3. Thermal diagnostics in power plant to improve performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meister, H.

    1995-01-01

    The improvement of older power plants by changing poor performing components is a cost effective method to increase the capacity of the units. The necessary information for the detection of components that are to be replaced can be obtained from heat rate and component tests with accuracy instrumentation. The discussed methods and tools provided by ABB Were used with success in several power plants in Europe. These tools are in the process of permanent improvement and can be used in almost any type of power plant. Due to the reasons discussed above, there is a high potential for improvement of a lot of power plants in the next decade. (author)

  4. Improving chemistry performance in CANDU plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turner, C.; Guzonas, D.

    2010-01-01

    system to facilitate improved chemistry control and to help staff to proactively identify and address emerging issues before they result in a loss of performance. This paper will outline AECL's chemistry control philosophy, and provide specific examples to illustrate how changes to plant design, materials, operational procedures, and chemistry specifications are being implemented to support improved chemistry performance in existing and new-build CANDU® plants. (author)

  5. Evaluating and improving nuclear power plant operating performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-07-01

    This report aims to provide the basis for improvements in the understanding of nuclear power plants operation and ideas for improving future productivity. The purpose of the project was to identify good practices of operating performance at a few of the world's most productive plants. This report was prepared through a series of consultants meetings, a specialists meeting and an Advisory Group meeting with participation of experts from 23 Member States. The report is based on self-assessment of half a dozen plants that have been chosen as representatives of different reactor types in as many different countries, and the views and assessment of the participants on good practices influencing plant performance. Three main areas that influence nuclear power plant availability and reliability were identified in the discussions: (1) management practices, (2) personnel characteristics, and (3) working practices. These areas cover causes influencing plant performance under plant management control. In each area the report describes factors or good practices that positively influence plant availability. The case studies, presented in annexes, contain the plant self-assessment of areas that influence their availability and reliability. Six plants are represented in the case studies: (1) Dukovany (WWER, 1760 MW) in the Czech Republic; (2) Blayais (PWR, 3640 MW) in France; (3) Paks (WWER, 1840 MW) in Hungary; (4) Wolsong 1 (PHWR, 600 MW) in the Republic of Korea; (5) Trillo 1 (PWR, 1066 MW) in Spain; and (6) Limerick (BWR, 2220 MW) in the United States of America

  6. Evaluating and improving nuclear power plant operating performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-07-01

    This report aims to provide the basis for improvements in the understanding of nuclear power plants operation and ideas for improving future productivity. The purpose of the project was to identify good practices of operating performance at a few of the world`s most productive plants. This report was prepared through a series of consultants meetings, a specialists meeting and an Advisory Group meeting with participation of experts from 23 Member States. The report is based on self-assessment of half a dozen plants that have been chosen as representatives of different reactor types in as many different countries, and the views and assessment of the participants on good practices influencing plant performance. Three main areas that influence nuclear power plant availability and reliability were identified in the discussions: (1) management practices, (2) personnel characteristics, and (3) working practices. These areas cover causes influencing plant performance under plant management control. In each area the report describes factors or good practices that positively influence plant availability. The case studies, presented in annexes, contain the plant self-assessment of areas that influence their availability and reliability. Six plants are represented in the case studies: (1) Dukovany (WWER, 1760 MW) in the Czech Republic; (2) Blayais (PWR, 3640 MW) in France; (3) Paks (WWER, 1840 MW) in Hungary; (4) Wolsong 1 (PHWR, 600 MW) in the Republic of Korea; (5) Trillo 1 (PWR, 1066 MW) in Spain; and (6) Limerick (BWR, 2220 MW) in the United States of America Figs, tabs

  7. Biochar Improves Performance of Plants for Mine Soil Revegetation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biochar (the solid by-product of pyrolysis of biomass), has the potential to improve plant performance for revegetation of mine soils by improving soil chemistry, fertility, moisture holding capacity and by binding heavy metals. We investigated the effect of gasified conifer sof...

  8. Audits and their effectiveness in improving plant performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Callen, L.J.

    1986-01-01

    For several years, the NRC's performance appraisal teams (PATs) have been assessing the effectiveness of the various audit programs established by operating nuclear power plants. A major focus of the PAT assessments is on the audit programs mandated by 10 CFR, technical specifications, industry codes and standards, and NRC operating license conditions. These audits are typically performed by a plant's quality assurance organization, and program oversight is often provided at the corporate level by a safety review committee. The scope of these audit programs is broad, typically including such functional areas as maintenance, operations, health physics, emergency preparedness, training, procurement, and security. For an audit program to be truly effective in improving plant performance beyond the minimum level established by regulatory requirements, the audits must first be effective in identifying deficiencies that go beyond minimum regulatory requirements. The PAT experience to date is that typical industry audit programs are not designed to identify these types of deficiencies

  9. The experiences to improve plant performance and reliability of Ko-Ri nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, Ho Weon

    1998-01-01

    This paper provides a discussion of the lessons learned from operational experience and the future plans to improve performance of the Ko-Ri plant. To operate nuclear power plants safely with good performance is the only way to mitigate the negative image of nuclear power generation to the public and to enhance the economical benefit compared to other electrical generation method. Therefore, in a continuous effort to overcome a negative challenge from outside, we have driven an aggressive 'OCTF' campaign as part of safety. As a result of our efforts, the following remarkable achievements have been accomplished. (1) 3 times of OCTF during recent three years (2) Selected twice as a top notch power plant on the list of NEI magazine in terms of plant capacity factor (3) No scram recorded in 1997 for all 4 units at Ko-Ri site. Ko-Ri is now undergoing the large scale plant betterment projects for retaking-off our operating performance to the level of new challenge target. Such improvement of critical components in the reactor coolant system and turbine system greatly contribute to increase the safety and reliability of the plant and to shortening of the planned outage period as well as to reduction of radiation exposure and radwaste. (Cho, G. S.). 5 tabs., 10 figs

  10. Advanced digital technology - improving nuclear power plant performance through maintainability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ford, J.L.; Senechal, R.R.; Altenhein, G.D.; Harvey, R.P.

    1998-01-01

    In today's energy sector there is ever increasing pressure on utilities to operate power plants at high capacity factors. To ensure nuclear power is competitive into the next century, it is imperative that strategic design improvements be made to enhance the performance of nuclear power plants. There are a number of factors that affect a nuclear power plant's performance; lifetime maintenance is one of the major contributors. The maturing of digital technology has afforded ABB the opportunity to make significant design improvements in the area of maintainability. In keeping with ABB's evolutionary advanced nuclear plant design approach, digital technology has systematically been incorporated into the control and protection systems of the most recent Korean nuclear units in operation and under construction. One example of this was the multi-functional design team approach that was utilized for the development of ABB's Digital Plant Protection System (DPPS). The design team consisted of engineers, maintenance technicians, procurement specialists and manufacturing personnel in order to provide a complete perspective on all facets of the design. The governing design goals of increased reliability and safety, simplicity of design, use of off-the-shelf products and reduced need for periodic surveillance testing were met with the selection of proven ABB-Advant Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) as the heart of the DPPS. The application of digital PLC technology allows operation for extended periods without requiring routine maintenance or re-calibration. A well documented commercial dedication program approved by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC) as part of the System 80+ TM Advanced Light Water Reactor Design Certification Program, allowed the use of off-the shelf products in the design of the safety protection system. In addition, a number of mechanical and electrical improvements were made which support maintainability. The result is a DPPS

  11. The experiences to improve plant performance and reliability of Ko-Ri nuclear power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, Ho Weon [Korea Electric Power Corp. Ko-Ri nuclear power division, Ko-Ri (Korea, Republic of)

    1998-07-01

    This paper provides a discussion of the lessons learned from operational experience and the future plans to improve performance of the Ko-Ri plant. To operate nuclear power plants safely with good performance is the only way to mitigate the negative image of nuclear power generation to the public and to enhance the economical benefit compared to other electrical generation method. Therefore, in a continuous effort to overcome a negative challenge from outside, we have driven an aggressive 'OCTF' campaign as part of safety. As a result of our efforts, the following remarkable achievements have been accomplished. (1) 3 times of OCTF during recent three years (2) Selected twice as a top notch power plant on the list of NEI magazine in terms of plant capacity factor (3) No scram recorded in 1997 for all 4 units at Ko-Ri site. Ko-Ri is now undergoing the large scale plant betterment projects for retaking-off our operating performance to the level of new challenge target. Such improvement of critical components in the reactor coolant system and turbine system greatly contribute to increase the safety and reliability of the plant and to shortening of the planned outage period as well as to reduction of radiation exposure and radwaste. (Cho, G. S.). 5 tabs., 10 figs.

  12. Using international experience to improve performance of nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Calori, F.; Csik, B.J.; Strickert, R.J.

    1989-01-01

    Information on performance achievements will assist nuclear power plant operating organizations to develop initiatives for improved or continued high performance of their plants. The paper describes the activities of the IAEA in reviewing and analysing the reasons for good performance by contacting operating organizations identified by its Power Reactor Information System as showing continued good performance. Discussions with operations personnel of utilities have indicated practices which have a major positive impact on good performance and which are generally common to all well performing organizations contacted. The IAEA also promotes further activities directed primarily to the achievement of standards of excellence in nuclear power operation. These are briefly commented

  13. Good practices for improved nuclear power plant performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-04-01

    This report provides an overview of operational principles, practice and improvements which have contributed to good performance of eight selected world nuclear power stations. The IAEA Power Reactor Information System (PRIS) was used to identify a population of good performers. It is recognized that there are many other good performing nuclear power stations not included in this report. Specific criteria described in the introduction were used in selecting these eight stations. The information contained in this report was obtained by the staff from IAEA, Division of Nuclear Power. This was accomplished by visits to the stations and visits to a number of utility support groups and three independent organizations which provide support to more than one utility. The information in this report is intended as an aid for operating organizations to identify possible improvement initiatives to enhance plant performance. Figs and tabs

  14. Overview of human performance improvement initiatives in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs )

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, Ashok Kumar

    2006-01-01

    Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) are very complex systems. Diverse, multiple and redundant technological systems are used for effective control and safety of the NPPs. The increased numbers of such systems require increased operator attention. Additionally, the control stations (man-machine interfaces) are to be kept manageable in size. This sometimes reduces the scope for truly ergonomic design. These limitations, coupled with the shortcomings of human nature, led to unintended human performance problems and errors resulting into poor plant performance worldwide. Some organisational weaknesses, managerial decisions and latent errors also aided and abetted human errors. In view of this, a need was felt for development of performance culture at all levels in NPP organisations. Towards this end, ready-to-use performance improvement tools were developed and used for individual performers, supervisors and managers in the NPPs. This paper describes the experiences of the global nuclear electricity generating industry towards human performance improvement and error reduction. (author)

  15. Use of audits and reviews to improve plant performance, INPO'S experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mc Coy, C.K.

    1986-01-01

    INPO's primary mission is to assist utilities in improving their nuclear plants performance. Consequently, the author has viewed utility audits and reviews as potential tools for improving plant performance. He has attempted to find examples where these tools are used effectively, and to find common elements of effective utility audit and review programs. One thing the author noted was that the words ''audit'' and ''review'' were not consistently used or understood. So to begin, he likes to stick to Webster's definitions in the context of nuclear power activities. First, Webster defines the verb audit as ''to examine with intent to verify.'' In this context this means to verify compliance with requirements. Second, Webster defines a review as ''a general survey'' or ''a critical evaluation.'' In this context this means an evaluation of an activity or program for effectiveness in accomplishing its intended purpose. INPO's evaluations are reviews, not audits, and they are intended to provide information to utility managers upon which they may make changes to improve performance. INPO does make ''recommendations'' based on effective practices seen at other plants, but the author insists that line management develop the corrective action. INPO provides follow-up at the next evaluation to ensure the corrective actions taken by management were effective. INPO bases most of its findings on observations of work and conditions in the plant as noted by knowledgeable personnel trained in observation techniques

  16. Reducing the occurrence of plant events through improved human performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ross, T.; Burkhart, A.D.

    1993-01-01

    During a routine control room surveillance, the reactor operator is distracted by an alarming secondary annunciator and a telephone call. When the reactor operator resumes the surveillance, he inadvertently performs the procedural steps out of order. This causes a reportable nuclear event. How can procedure-related human performance problems such as this be prevented? The question is vitally important for the nuclear industry. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Office for Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data observed, open-quotes With the perceived reduction in the number of events caused by equipment failures, INPO and other industry groups and human performance experts agree that a key to continued improvement in plant performance and safety is improved human performance.close quotes In fact, open-quotes more than 50% of the reportable events occurring at nuclear power plants involve human error.close quotes Prevention (or correction) of a human performance problem is normally based on properly balancing the following three factors: (1) supervisory involvement; (2) personnel training; and (3) procedures. The nuclear industry is implementing a formula known as ACME, which better balances supervisory involvement, personnel training, and procedures. Webster's New World Dictionary defines acme as the highest point, the peak. ACME human performance is the goal: ACME Adherence to and use of procedures; Self-Checking; Management Involvement; and Event Investigations

  17. A Review on Plants Used for Improvement of Sexual Performance and Virility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nagendra Singh Chauhan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The use of plant or plant-based products to stimulate sexual desire and to enhance performance and enjoyment is almost as old as the human race itself. The present paper reviews the active, natural principles, and crude extracts of plants, which have been useful in sexual disorders, have potential for improving sexual behaviour and performance, and are helpful in spermatogenesis and reproduction. Review of refereed journals and scientific literature available in electronic databases and traditional literature available in India was extensively performed. The work reviews correlation of the evidence with traditional claims, elucidation, and evaluation of a plausible concept governing the usage of plants as aphrodisiac in total. Phytoconstituents with known structures have been classified in appropriate chemical groups and the active crude extracts have been tabulated. Data on their pharmacological activity, mechanism of action, and toxicity are reported. The present review provides an overview of the herbs and their active molecule with claims for improvement of sexual behaviour. A number of herbal drugs have been validated for their effect on sexual behavior and fertility and can therefore serve as basis for the identification of new chemical leads useful in sexual and erectile dysfunction.

  18. Introducing Model Predictive Control for Improving Power Plant Portfolio Performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Edlund, Kristian Skjoldborg; Bendtsen, Jan Dimon; Børresen, Simon

    2008-01-01

    This paper introduces a model predictive control (MPC) approach for construction of a controller for balancing the power generation against consumption in a power system. The objective of the controller is to coordinate a portfolio consisting of multiple power plant units in the effort to perform...... reference tracking and disturbance rejection in an economically optimal way. The performance function is chosen as a mixture of the `1-norm and a linear weighting to model the economics of the system. Simulations show a significant improvement of the performance of the MPC compared to the current...

  19. Reliability database development and plant performance improvement effort at Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, S. J.; Hwang, S. W.; Na, J. H.; Lim, H. S.

    2008-01-01

    Nuclear utilities in recent years have focused on improved plant performance and equipment reliability. In U.S., there is a movement toward process integration. Examples are INPO AP-913 equipment reliability program and the standard nuclear performance model developed by NEI. Synergistic effect from an integrated approach can be far greater than as compared to individual effects from each program. In Korea, PSA for all Korean NPPs (Nuclear Power Plants) has been completed. Plant performance monitoring and improvement is an important goal for KHNP (Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Company) and a risk monitoring system called RIMS has been developed for all nuclear plants. KHNP is in the process of voluntarily implementing maintenance rule program similar to that in U.S. In the future, KHNP would like to expand the effort to equipment reliability program and to achieve highest equipment reliability and improved plant performance. For improving equipment reliability, the current trend is moving toward preventive/predictive maintenance from corrective maintenance. With the emphasis on preventive maintenance, the failure cause and operation history and environment are important. Hence, the development of accurate reliability database is necessary. Furthermore, the database should be updated regularly and maintained as a living program to reflect the current status of equipment reliability. This paper examines the development of reliability database system and its application of maintenance optimization or Risk Informed Application (RIA). (authors)

  20. A New Approach of Modeling an Ultra-Super-Critical Power Plant for Performance Improvement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guolian Hou

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available A suitable model of coordinated control system (CCS with high accuracy and simple structure is essential for the design of advanced controllers which can improve the efficiency of the ultra-super-critical (USC power plant. Therefore, with the demand of plant performance improvement, an improved T-S fuzzy model identification approach is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the improved entropy cluster algorithm is applied to identify the premise parameters which can automatically determine the cluster numbers and initial cluster centers by introducing the concept of a decision-making constant and threshold. Then, the learning algorithm is used to modify the initial cluster center and a new structure of concluding part is discussed, the incremental data around the cluster center is used to identify the local linear model through a weighted recursive least-square algorithm. Finally, the proposed approach is employed to model the CCS of a 1000 MW USC one-through boiler power plant by using on-site measured data. Simulation results show that the T-S fuzzy model built in this paper is accurate enough to reflect the dynamic performance of CCS and can be treated as a foundation model for the overall optimizing control of the USC power plant.

  1. Proceedings of the workshop on better nuclear plant maintenance: improving human and organisational performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2007-04-05

    A significant proportion of nuclear plant events is attributable to failures that take place during maintenance and periodic testing. Human and organisational factors are frequently identified as making a major contribution to these events. Despite this recognition, licensee and regulatory oversight in the human and organisational area has tended to focus more on operational matters than maintenance. Owing to the importance of human and organisational performance on nuclear plant maintenance, the CSNI Special Experts' Group on Human and Organisational Factors (SEGHOF) hosted a workshop entitled 'Better nuclear plant maintenance: improving human and organisational performance'. The workshop provided an international forum for staff from nuclear plants, research bodies, and regulators to discuss human and organisational challenges to maintenance, and initiatives to support effective performance. Over 60 participants from about 20 countries participated. The workshop was divided into five sessions: 1) International guidance to improve maintenance performance; 2) Lessons learned through maintenance operating experience; 3) Licensee initiatives to support reliable maintenance; 4) Regulatory approaches to assuring effective licensee maintenance; and 5) Recent trends and their impact on maintenance. Sessions commenced with oral presentations of papers followed by break-out and plenary discussions. Session 4 on regulatory approaches included short presentations from ten regulatory bodies and was followed by discussion comparing these approaches. The main findings of the workshop concern: the retirements of experienced staff; the increasing use of contractors to perform maintenance activities; the use of skill-broadening in maintenance; the role of supervisors at the plant level; the organisational changes that are used to optimise the use of plant staff resources; the effective planning of maintenance tasks; the time allowed to complete maintenance tasks; the development

  2. A performance improvement program applied to the Perry Nuclear Power Plant instrumentation and control section

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, G.R.

    1987-01-01

    The management at Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company sought to avoid problems typically encountered in the start-up of new nuclear generating units. In response to early indications that such problems may have been developing at their Perry Nuclear Power Plant, several performance improvement initiatives were undertaken. One of these initiatives was a performance improvement evaluation (PIE) for the instrumentation and control (IandC) section at Perry. The IandC PIE, which used a method designed to be adaptable to other disciplines as well, had important results that are applicable to other nuclear power plants

  3. Thermal Power Plant Performance Analysis

    CERN Document Server

    2012-01-01

    The analysis of the reliability and availability of power plants is frequently based on simple indexes that do not take into account the criticality of some failures used for availability analysis. This criticality should be evaluated based on concepts of reliability which consider the effect of a component failure on the performance of the entire plant. System reliability analysis tools provide a root-cause analysis leading to the improvement of the plant maintenance plan.   Taking in view that the power plant performance can be evaluated not only based on  thermodynamic related indexes, such as heat-rate, Thermal Power Plant Performance Analysis focuses on the presentation of reliability-based tools used to define performance of complex systems and introduces the basic concepts of reliability, maintainability and risk analysis aiming at their application as tools for power plant performance improvement, including: ·         selection of critical equipment and components, ·         defini...

  4. Improvement of performance operation and cycle efficiency of Al Anbar combined power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jabbar, Mohammed Q.

    2014-01-01

    The present work will be focusing on available solution which can serve to increase total efficiency of Al Anbar combined cycle power plant - CCPP, and thus to improve the operation performance as much as possible in order to decrease hydrocarbon, CO2, NOx emissions to environment.The simulation and calculations were performed by program software cycle-tempo software. The results were compared with basic design of Alanbar power plant after making modernization with solar tower receiver system-STRS, which represented a heat source in preheat process for a compressor air. Key Words: CCPP, STRS, Solar potential energy, fuel consumption, hydrocarbon emission

  5. Simulation analysis of capacity and performance improvement in wastewater treatment plants: Case study of Alexandria eastern plant

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moursy, Aly; Sorour, Mohamed T.; Moustafa, Medhat; Elbarqi, Walid; Fayd, Mai; Elreedy, Ahmed

    2018-05-01

    This study concerns the upgrading of a real domestic wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) supported by simulation. The main aims of this work are to: (1) decide between two technologies to improve WWTP capacity and its nitrogen removal efficiency; membrane bioreactor (MBR) and integrated fixed film activated sludge (IFAS), and (2) perform a cost estimation analysis for the two proposed solutions. The model used was calibrated based on data from the existing WWTP, namely, Eastern plant and located in Alexandria, Egypt. The activated sludge model No. 1 (ASM1) was considered in the model analysis by GPS-X 7 software. Steady-state analysis revealed that high performances corresponded to high compliance with Egyptian standards were achieved by the two techniques; however, MBR was better. Nonetheless, the two systems showed poor nitrogen removal efficiency according to the current situation, which reveals that the plant needs a modification to add an anaerobic treatment unit before the aerobic zone.

  6. MANUFACTURING AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PERFORMANCE LEVEL IN PLANTS OF MEXICO; A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AMONG LARGE AND MEDIUM SIZE PLANTS

    OpenAIRE

    Carlos Monge; Jesús Cruz

    2015-01-01

    A random and statistically significant sample of 40 medium (12) and large (28) manufacturing plants of Apodaca, Mexico were surveyed using a structured and validated questionnaire to investigate the level of implementation of lean manufacturing, sustainable manufacturing, continuous improvement and operational efficiency and environmental responsibility in them, it is important to mention it was found that performance in the mentioned philosophies, on the two categories of plants is low, howe...

  7. Evaluation of barriers and resilience to improve organizational performance in nuclear power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nelson, P. F.; Martin del Campo, C., E-mail: pnelson_007@yahoo.com [UNAM, Facultad de Ingenieria, Departamento de Sistemas Energeticos, Paseo Cuauhnahuac 8532, Jiutepec 62550, Morelos (Mexico)

    2014-10-15

    In this study, several models are built from the information contained in the Condition Reports from the Corrective Action Program ar a nuclear power plant. Condition Reports are seen as indications of organizational stress levels with consequential Condition Reports being further evidence of organizational resilience being exceeded. Also contained in this paper is an examination of methods used to assess organizational resilience thresholds to preclude consequential events, based on examination of the number and severity of the Condition Reports. In combination with PSA risk insights, it is possible to identify risk significant procedures and their corresponding risk significant steps. Leading indicators can be used to identify the need for installing a barrier or defense to reduce human errors in a nuclear power plant. These indicators are developed from the Corrective Action Program data by detecting increases in events. Organizational barriers can then be identified to improve performance. The resulting identified barriers are evaluated to rank the value of each possible barrier, and determine the best barrier(s) to implement. The tool described in this paper is designed to provide a systematic approach to identify areas where improvements in organizational effectiveness best reduce the likelihood of consequential events. Due to the uncertainty of many of the factors that influence the performance of humans in nuclear power plant activities, we propose using Bayesian networks to identify sources of organizational errors leading to consequential events. This study, using actual nuclear power plant data, includes a method for data processing and highlights some potential uses of Bayesian networks for improving organizational effectiveness in the nuclear power industry. (Author)

  8. Evaluation of barriers and resilience to improve organizational performance in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nelson, P. F.; Martin del Campo, C.

    2014-10-01

    In this study, several models are built from the information contained in the Condition Reports from the Corrective Action Program ar a nuclear power plant. Condition Reports are seen as indications of organizational stress levels with consequential Condition Reports being further evidence of organizational resilience being exceeded. Also contained in this paper is an examination of methods used to assess organizational resilience thresholds to preclude consequential events, based on examination of the number and severity of the Condition Reports. In combination with PSA risk insights, it is possible to identify risk significant procedures and their corresponding risk significant steps. Leading indicators can be used to identify the need for installing a barrier or defense to reduce human errors in a nuclear power plant. These indicators are developed from the Corrective Action Program data by detecting increases in events. Organizational barriers can then be identified to improve performance. The resulting identified barriers are evaluated to rank the value of each possible barrier, and determine the best barrier(s) to implement. The tool described in this paper is designed to provide a systematic approach to identify areas where improvements in organizational effectiveness best reduce the likelihood of consequential events. Due to the uncertainty of many of the factors that influence the performance of humans in nuclear power plant activities, we propose using Bayesian networks to identify sources of organizational errors leading to consequential events. This study, using actual nuclear power plant data, includes a method for data processing and highlights some potential uses of Bayesian networks for improving organizational effectiveness in the nuclear power industry. (Author)

  9. Perspectives on plant vulnerabilities ampersand other plant and containment improvements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    LaChance, J.; Kolaczkowski, A.; Kahn, J.

    1996-01-01

    The primary goal of the Individual Plant Examination (IPE) Program was for licensees to identify plant-unique vulnerabilities and actions to address these vulnerabilities. A review of these vulnerabilities and plant improvements that were identified in the IPEs was performed as part of the IPE Insights Program sponsored by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The purpose of this effort was to characterize the identified vulnerabilities and the impact of suggested plant improvements. No specific definition for open-quotes vulnerabilityclose quotes was provided in NRC Generic Letter 88-20 or in the subsequent NRC IPE submittal guidance documented in NUREG-1335. Thus licensees were left to use their own definitions. Only 20% of the plants explicitly stated that they had vulnerabilities. However, most licensees identified other plant improvements to address issues not explicitly classified as vulnerabilities, but pertaining to areas in which overall plant safety could potentially be increased. The various definitions of open-quotes vulnerabilityclose quotes used by the licensees, explicitly identified vulnerabilities, proposed plant improvements to address these vulnerabilities, and other plant improvements are summarized and discussed

  10. Improved core monitoring for improved plant operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, N.P.

    1987-01-01

    Westinghouse has recently installed a core on-line surveillance, monitoring and operations systems (COSMOS), which uses only currently available core and plant data to accurately reconstruct the core average axial and radial power distributions. This information is provided to the operator in an immediately usable, human-engineered format and is accumulated for use in application programs that provide improved core performance predictive tools and a data base for improved fuel management. Dynamic on-line real-time axial and radial core monitoring supports a variety of plant operations to provide a favorable cost/benefit ratio for such a system. Benefits include: (1) relaxation or elimination of certain technical specifications to reduce surveillance and reporting requirements and allow higher availability factors, (2) improved information displays, predictive tools, and control strategies to support more efficient core control and reduce effluent production, and (3) expanded burnup data base for improved fuel management. Such systems can be backfit into operating plants without changing the existing instrumentation and control system and can frequently be implemented on existing plant computer capacity

  11. Nuclear power plant organization and staffing for improved performance: Lessons learned

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-11-01

    Experience from well operated nuclear power plants (NPPs) around the world indicates that an organizational structure which efficiently supports plant operation is essential in economically achieving both high level of safety and operational performance. At the same time energy markets are being opened to competition in many Member States. It is in consideration of this new competitive energy market that the overall objective of this document is to provide NPP managers information on lessons learned on improving the organization and staffing of NPP activities. Within this overall objective, specific objectives are to: Identify organisational design and staffing principles, Provide examples of how NPPs implement these principles, Identify typical NPP staffing levels, Factors affecting these levels, and staffing trends among various NPP types. Although it is not expected that any particular utility or NPP manager would consider all of the suggestions provided here to be appropriate, it is anticipated that nearly every NPP manager in IAEA Member States would find some ideas useful in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of NPP activities

  12. POWER-GEN '90 conference papers: Volume 7 (Fossil plant performance availability and improvement) and Volume 8 (Nuclear power issues)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1990-01-01

    This is book 4 of papers presented at the Third International Exhibition and Conference for the Power Generation Industries, December 4-6, 1990. This book contains Volume 7, Fossil Plant Performance Availability and Improvement, and Volume 8, Nuclear Power Issues. The topics of the papers include computer applications in plant operations and maintenance, managing aging plants, plant improvements, plant operations and maintenance, the future of nuclear power, achieving cost effective plant operation, managing nuclear plant aging and license renewal, and the factors affecting a decision to build a new nuclear plant

  13. Plant performance monitoring program at Krsko NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bach, B.; Kavsek, D.

    2004-01-01

    A high level of nuclear safety and plant reliability results from the complex interaction of a good design, operational safety and human performance. This is the reason for establishing a set of operational plant safety performance indicators, to enable monitoring of both plant performance and progress. Performance indicators are also used for setting challenging targets and goals for improvement, to gain additional perspective on performance relative to other plants and to provide an indication of a potential need to adjust priorities and resources to achieve improved overall plant performance. A specific indicator trend over a certain period can provide an early warning to plant management to evaluate the causes behind the observed changes. In addition to monitoring the changes and trends, it is also necessary to compare the indicators with identified targets and goals to evaluate performance strengths and weaknesses. Plant Performance Monitoring Program at Krsko NPP defines and ensures consistent collection, processing, analysis and use of predefined relevant plant operational data, providing a quantitative indication of nuclear power plant performance. When the program was developed, the conceptual framework described in IAEA TECDOC-1141 Operational Safety Performance Indicators for Nuclear Power Plants was used as its basis in order to secure that a reasonable set of quantitative indications of operational safety performance would be established. Safe, conservative, cautious and reliable operation of the Krsko NPP is a common goal for all plant personnel. It is provided by continuous assurance of both health and safety of the public and employees according to the plant policy stated in program MD-1 Notranje usmeritve in cilji NEK, which is the top plant program. Establishing a program of monitoring and assessing operational plant safety performance indicators represents effective safety culture of plant personnel.(author)

  14. Evaluation and improvement of wastewater treatment plant performance using BioWin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oleyiblo, Oloche James; Cao, Jiashun; Feng, Qian; Wang, Gan; Xue, Zhaoxia; Fang, Fang

    2015-03-01

    In this study, the activated sludge model implemented in the BioWin® software was validated against full-scale wastewater treatment plant data. Only two stoichiometric parameters ( Y p/acetic and the heterotrophic yield ( Y H)) required calibration. The value 0.42 was used for Y p/acetic in this study, while the default value of the BioWin® software is 0.49, making it comparable with the default values of the corresponding parameter (yield of phosphorus release to substrate uptake ) used in ASM2, ASM2d, and ASM3P, respectively. Three scenarios were evaluated to improve the performance of the wastewater treatment plant, the possibility of wasting sludge from either the aeration tank or the secondary clarifier, the construction of a new oxidation ditch, and the construction of an equalization tank. The results suggest that construction of a new oxidation ditch or an equalization tank for the wastewater treatment plant is not necessary. However, sludge should be wasted from the aeration tank during wet weather to reduce the solids loading of the clarifiers and avoid effluent violations. Therefore, it is recommended that the design of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) should include flexibility to operate the plants in various modes. This is helpful in selection of the appropriate operating mode when necessary, resulting in substantial reductions in operating costs.

  15. Application of Advanced Technology to Improve Plant Performance in Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hashemian, H.M.

    2011-01-01

    Advances in computer technologies, signal processing, analytical modeling, and the advent of wireless sensors have provided the nuclear industry with ample means to automate and optimize maintenance activities and improve safety, efficiency, and availability, while reducing costs and radiation exposure to maintenance personnel. This paper provides a review of these developments and presents examples of their use in the nuclear power industry and the financial and safety benefits that they have produced. As the current generation of nuclear power plants have passed their mid-life, increased monitoring of their health is critical to their safe operation. This is especially true now that license renewal of nuclear power plants has accelerated, allowing some plants to operate up to 60 years or more. Furthermore, many utilities are maximizing their power output through uprating projects and retrofits. This puts additional demand and more stress on the plant equipment such as the instrumentation and control (I and C) systems and the reactor internal components making them more vulnerable to the effects of aging, degradation, and failure. In the meantime, the nuclear power industry is working to reduce generation costs by adopting condition-based maintenance strategies and automation of testing activities. These developments have stimulated great interest in on-line monitoring (OLM) technologies and new diagnostic and prognostic methods to anticipate, identify, and resolve equipment and process problems and ensure plant safety, efficiency, and immunity to accidents. The foundation for much of the required technologies has already been established through 40 years of research and development (R and D) efforts performed by numerous organizations, scientists, and engineers around the world including the author. This paper provides examples of these technologies and demonstrates how the gap between some of the more important R and D efforts and end users have been filled

  16. Improving plant performance through efficient nuclear waste management - The French experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peterson, C.H.

    1986-01-01

    This paper discusses high and low level waste management and its effect on Plant Performance. In France, high level waste policy is an improtant factor in plant performance. The LLW section of the paper discusses the role of French Industry organization as well as the benefits of standard plants with standard practices. The regulation of the production of waste and the waste processing by utilities is covered

  17. Application of Modern Technologies for Nuclear Power Plant Productivity Improvements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joseph, A. Naser

    2011-01-01

    The nuclear power industry in several countries is concerned about the ability to maintain current high plant performance levels due to aging and obsolescence, knowledge drain, fewer plant staff, new requirements and commitments, unnecessary workloads and stress levels, and human errors. Current plant operations are labor-intensive due to the vast number of operational and support activities required by the commonly used technology in most plants. These concerns increase as plants extend their operating life. In addition, there is the desire by many plants to further improve performance while reducing human errors and increasingly focus on reducing operations and maintenance costs. New productivity improvement capabilities with measurable economic benefits are needed so that a successful business case can be made for their use. Improved and new instrumentation and control, human-system interface, information and communications technologies used properly can address concerns about cost-effectively maintaining current performance levels and enable shifts to even higher performance levels. This can be accomplished through the use of new technology implementations to improve productivity, reduce costs of systemic inefficiencies and avoid unexpected costs. Many of the same type of productivity improvements for operating plants will be applicable for new plants. As new plants are being built, it is important to include these productivity improvements or at least provide the ability to implement them easily later

  18. Improving the FGD absorber and ESP performance at Iskenderun power plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Atmaca, Guerkan [ISKEN Enerji Uretim A.S., Ceyhan-Adana (Turkey); Stratmann, Werner; Wortmann, Birgit [STEAG Energy Services GmbH, Essen (Germany)

    2012-07-01

    The Iskenderun power plant is located at the bay of Iskenderun in the Province of Adana in the south of Turkey. Two units with a total output of 1,210 MW are operated. The annual fuel - imported coal from Colombia and South Africa - consumption amounts to about 3.3 million tonnes tce. To meet the SO{sub x} and particulate limits values it was necessary to improve the performance of the FGD scrubber and the electrostatic precipitator (ESP). In the first step, the potential of a fluid flow optimisation of both the scrubber and the ESP was determined by simulating the 'as build' situation (reference cases) with a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code. In the second step, several possible variants of component modifications and structures were analysed and evaluated. In a last step the most improving modifications were proposed. (orig.)

  19. Process auditing and performance improvement in a mixed wastewater-aqueous waste treatment plant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collivignarelli, Maria Cristina; Bertanza, Giorgio; Abbà, Alessandro; Damiani, Silvestro

    2018-02-01

    The wastewater treatment process is based on complex chemical, physical and biological mechanisms that are closely interconnected. The efficiency of the system (which depends on compliance with national regulations on wastewater quality) can be achieved through the use of tools such as monitoring, that is the detection of parameters that allow the continuous interpretation of the current situation, and experimental tests, which allow the measurement of real performance (of a sector, a single treatment or equipment) and comparison with the following ones. Experimental tests have a particular relevance in the case of municipal wastewater treatment plants fed with a strong industrial component and especially in the case of plants authorized to treat aqueous waste. In this paper a case study is presented where the application of management tools such as careful monitoring and experimental tests led to the technical and economic optimization of the plant: the main results obtained were the reduction of sludge production (from 4,000 t/year w.w. (wet weight) to about 2,200 t/year w.w.) and operating costs (e.g. from 600,000 €/year down to about 350,000 €/year for reagents), the increase of resource recovery and the improvement of the overall process performance.

  20. Can training improve human performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Waylett, W.J. Jr.

    1986-01-01

    The nuclear industry has made a significant commitment to improve training through the implementation of performance-based training programs. Senior management expects that human performance improvement will result from this significant resource allocation. The author examines this hypothesis and discusses other issues that may interfere with enhancing human performance through training. The integration of quality improvement concepts to support training is also discussed by the author, who was a pioneer facilitator during the development of Florida Power and Light Company's Quality Improvement Program. Critical success factors are proposed based on the author's experience as a plant manager, training manager and quality facilitator

  1. An overview of U.S. plant performance improvement through effective radioactive waste management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sieberling, R.; Lyons, P.W.

    1986-01-01

    Radioactive waste volumes in the United States commercial nuclear power industry have declined over the last five years after increasing steadily in the late 1970's. This decline is considered to be especially significant because major backfits/modifications and major component repair/replacement at U.S. nuclear power stations have been accomplished during this period. This paper analyzes the key reasons for this performance and outlines the positive effects that this trend has upon overall nuclear plant performance. In reviewing plant performance data, there appears to be a direct correlation between overall plant performance and radioactive waste performance. For example, plants with high capacity factors, strong industrial safety programs, low collective man-rem, and good contamination controls, generally have a history of low radioactive waste volumes. The reasons for this excellent performance is the result of direct management and supervisory involvement in plant operations, implementation of high standards of performance, and monitoring performance against these standards. Using the techniques outlined in this paper, the U.S. nuclear power industry can continue to reduce the volume of low-level solid radioactive waste being generated

  2. ALA Pretreatment Improves Waterlogging Tolerance of Fig Plants.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuyan An

    Full Text Available 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA, a natural and environmentally friendly plant growth regulator, can improve plant tolerance to various environmental stresses. However, whether ALA can improve plant waterlogging tolerance is unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of ALA pretreatment on the waterlogging-induced damage of fig (Ficus carica Linn. plants, which often suffer from waterlogging stress. ALA pretreatment significantly alleviated stress-induced morphological damage, increased leaf relative water content (RWC, and reduced leaf superoxide anion ([Formula: see text] production rate and malonaldehyde (MDA content in fig leaves, indicating ALA mitigates waterlogging stress of fig plants. We further demonstrated that ALA pretreatment largely promoted leaf chlorophyll content, photosynthetic electron transfer ability, and photosynthetic performance index, indicating ALA significantly improves plant photosynthetic efficiency under waterlogging stress. Moreover, ALA pretreatment significantly increased activities of leaf superoxide dismutase (SOD and peroxidase (POD, root vigor, and activities of root alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH, indicating ALA also significantly improves antioxidant ability and root function of fig plants under waterlogging stress. Taken together, ALA pretreatment improves waterlogging tolerance of fig plants significantly, and the promoted root respiration, leaf photosynthesis, and antioxidant ability may contribute greatly to this improvement. Our data firstly shows that ALA can improve plant waterlogging tolerance.

  3. Parametric Study for MOV Performance Improvement Using PPM Program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Seungho; Seon, Juhyoung; Han, Bongsub [SOOSAN INDUSTRIES, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    Nuclear power plants mainly use Air Operated Valve(hereinafter referred to as AOV) and Motor Operator Valve(hereinafter referred to as MOV) for protecting system, blocking and controlling flow. Field test(static, dynamic test) results and performance prediction program are used to evaluate if MOV currently installed on nuclear power plants has the operational performance. The improvement of operating performance for Flexible Gate valve was confirmed on changing input variables of performance program(PPM). here are several methods through reviewing design basis, changes operating procedures and maintenance work of stem(or packing, etc.) to improve operating performance of MOV generally installed in the nuclear power plants. This study verified the changes of the MOV operating performance through the improvement of stem and hydraulic parts(seat, guide etc.). Especially, MOV operating performance was much greater improved when the Disk Seat Angle was decreasing. Generally, improvement work to minimize friction of seat, disk and guide is limited and dynamic diagnostic testing has to be performed with change in valve factor for improvement of hydraulic parts.

  4. Performance analysis of PV plants: Optimization for improving profitability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Díez-Mediavilla, M.; Alonso-Tristán, C.; Rodríguez-Amigo, M.C.; García-Calderón, T.; Dieste-Velasco, M.I.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Real PV production from two 100 kW p grid-connected installations is conducted. ► Data sets on production were collected over an entire year. ► Economic results highlight the importance of properly selecting the system components. ► Performance of PV plants is directly related to improvements of all components. - Abstract: A study is conducted of real PV production from two 100 kW p grid-connected installations located in the same area, both of which experience the same fluctuations in temperature and radiation. Data sets on production were collected over an entire year and both installations were compared under various levels of radiation. The installations were assembled with mono-Si panels, mounted on the same support system, and the power supply was equal for the inverter and the measurement system; the same parameters were also employed for the wiring, and electrical losses were calculated in both cases. The results, in economic terms, highlight the importance of properly selecting the system components and the design parameters for maximum profitability.

  5. Adapting plant measurement data to improve hardware fault detection performance in pressurised water reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cilliers, A.C.; Mulder, E.J.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Attempt was to use available resources at a nuclear plant in a value added fashion. ► Includes plant measurement data and plant training and engineering simulator capabilities. ► Solving the fault masking effect by the distributed control systems in the plant. ► Modelling the effect of inaccuracies in plant models used in the simulators. ► Combination of above resulted in the development of a deterministic fault identifications system. -- Abstract: With the fairly recent adoption of digital control and instrumentation systems in the nuclear industry a lot of research now focus on the development expert fault identification systems. The fault identification systems enable detecting early onset faults of fault causes which allows maintenance planning on the equipment showing signs of deterioration or failure. This includes valve and leaks and small cracks in steam generator tubes usually detected by means of ultrasonic inspection. Detecting faults early during transient operation in NPPs is problematic due to the absence of a reliable reference to compare plant measurements with during transients. The distributed application of control systems operating independently to keep the plant operating within the safe operating boundaries complicates the problem since the control systems would not only operate to reduce the effect of transient disturbances but fault disturbances as well. This paper provides a method to adapt the plant measurements that isolates the control actions on the fault and re-introduces it into the measurement data, thereby improving plant diagnostic performance.

  6. Performance improvement - business excellence processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doucett, J.

    2010-01-01

    This presentation discusses Performance Improvement which is defined as 'the process of identifying and analyzing important organizational and individual performance gaps, planning for future performance improvement, designing and developing cost-effective and ethically justifiable intervention to close performance gaps, implementing the interventions and evaluating the financial and non-financial results', i.e. making things better. Specifically, it discusses the refurbishment outage at the Point Lepreau Power Plant that began at the end of March 2008. The business risks identified in 2008 were leadership, demographics and management system.

  7. 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)

  8. Performance improvement - business excellence processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Doucett, J. [NB Nuclear Power, Point Lepreau, New Brunswick (Canada)

    2010-07-01

    This presentation discusses Performance Improvement which is defined as 'the process of identifying and analyzing important organizational and individual performance gaps, planning for future performance improvement, designing and developing cost-effective and ethically justifiable intervention to close performance gaps, implementing the interventions and evaluating the financial and non-financial results', i.e. making things better. Specifically, it discusses the refurbishment outage at the Point Lepreau Power Plant that began at the end of March 2008. The business risks identified in 2008 were leadership, demographics and management system.

  9. Improved nuclear power plant operations through performance-based safety regulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golay, M.W.

    1998-01-01

    The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently instituted use of Risk-Informed, Performance-Based Regulation (RIPBR) for protecting public safety in the use of nuclear power. This was done most importantly during June 1997 in issuance of revised Regulatory Guides and Standard Review Plan (SRP) guidance to licensees and the NRC staff. The propose of RIPBR is to replace the previously-used system of prescriptive regulation, which focuses upon what licensees must do, to a system which focuses upon what they must achieve. RIPBR is goals-oriented and the previous system is means-oriented. This regulatory change is potentially revolutionary, and offers many opportunities for improving the efficiency of improving both nuclear power operations and safety. However, it must be nurtured carefully if is to be successful. The work reported in this paper is concerned with showing how RIPBR can be implemented successfully, with benefits in both areas being attained. It is also concerned with how several of the practical barriers to establishing a workable new regulatory system can be overcome. This work, sponsored by the US Dept. of Energy, is being performed in collaboration with Northeast Utilities Services Crop. and the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. In our work we have examined a practical safety-related example at the Millstone 3 nuclear power station for implementation of RIPBR. In this examination we have formulated a set of modifications to the plant's technical specifications, and are in the process of investigating their bases and refining the modifications. (author)

  10. Improvement of nuclear power plant management applying the lessons learned

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lyon, P.W.

    1987-01-01

    Active managment participation is a common thread among nuclear power plants with superior performance. Plants that benefit from the hands-on attention of senior managers are typically more reliable and can be expected to have higher margins of safety. There are numerous ways in which utilities are promoting management involvement in the day-to-day operations of their nuclear plants. The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations' (INPO) Plant Performance Indicator Program provides utilities with data in key performance areas, allowing management to monitor performance and concentrate on areas needing attention. Utilities are also setting ambitious short and long-term goals in several performance areas. This increased management attention to nuclear plant operations is reflected in improved nuclear plant performance across the coutry. For instance, over the past five years, the number of significant events per unit has declined, unplanned automatic scrams have been reduced, equivalent availability is about the same (however, many units and the industry median has improved) and collentive radiation exposure and volume of low-level waste shipped per unit are both showing a decreasing trend. (author)

  11. IMPROVING TACONITE PROCESSING PLANT EFFICIENCY BY COMPUTER SIMULATION, Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    William M. Bond; Salih Ersayin

    2007-03-30

    This project involved industrial scale testing of a mineral processing simulator to improve the efficiency of a taconite processing plant, namely the Minorca mine. The Concentrator Modeling Center at the Coleraine Minerals Research Laboratory, University of Minnesota Duluth, enhanced the capabilities of available software, Usim Pac, by developing mathematical models needed for accurate simulation of taconite plants. This project provided funding for this technology to prove itself in the industrial environment. As the first step, data representing existing plant conditions were collected by sampling and sample analysis. Data were then balanced and provided a basis for assessing the efficiency of individual devices and the plant, and also for performing simulations aimed at improving plant efficiency. Performance evaluation served as a guide in developing alternative process strategies for more efficient production. A large number of computer simulations were then performed to quantify the benefits and effects of implementing these alternative schemes. Modification of makeup ball size was selected as the most feasible option for the target performance improvement. This was combined with replacement of existing hydrocyclones with more efficient ones. After plant implementation of these modifications, plant sampling surveys were carried out to validate findings of the simulation-based study. Plant data showed very good agreement with the simulated data, confirming results of simulation. After the implementation of modifications in the plant, several upstream bottlenecks became visible. Despite these bottlenecks limiting full capacity, concentrator energy improvement of 7% was obtained. Further improvements in energy efficiency are expected in the near future. The success of this project demonstrated the feasibility of a simulation-based approach. Currently, the Center provides simulation-based service to all the iron ore mining companies operating in northern

  12. Study Improving Performance of Centrifugal Compressor In Paiton Coal Fired Power Plant Unit 1 And 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kusuma, Yuriadi; Permana, Dadang S.

    2018-03-01

    The compressed air system becomes part of a very important utility system in a Plant, including the Steam Power Plant. In PLN’S coal fired power plant, Paiton units 1 and 2, there are four Centrifugal air compressor types, which produce compressed air as much as 5.652 cfm and with electric power capacity of 1200 kW. Electricity consumption to operate centrifugal compressor is 7.104.117 kWh per year. This study aims to measure the performance of Centrifugal Compressors operating in Paiton’s coal fired power plant units 1 and 2. Performance Compressor is expressed by Specific Power Consumption (SPC) in kW/100 cfm. For this purpose, we measure the compressed air flow rate generated by each compressor and the power consumed by each compressor. The result is as follows Air Compressor SAC 2B : 15.1 kW/100 cfm, Air Compressor SAC 1B : 15.31 kW/100 cfm,Air Compressor SAC 1A : 16.3 kW/100 cfm and air Compressor SAC 2C : 18.19 kW/100 cfm. From the measurement result, air compressor SAC 2B has the best performance that is 15.1 kW / 100 cfm. In this study we analyze efforts to improve the performance of other compressors to at least match the performance of the SAC 2B air compressor. By increasing the Specific Power Consumption from others Compressor, it will get energy saving up to 284,165 kWh per year.

  13. Performance of Generating Plant: Managing the Changes. Part 1: International availability data exchange for thermal generating plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stallard, G.S.; Deschaine, R. [Black and Veatch (United States)

    2008-05-15

    The WEC Committee on the Performance of Generating Plant (PGP) has been collecting and analysing power plant performance statistics worldwide for more than 30 years and has produced regular reports, which include examples of advanced techniques and methods for improving power plant performance through benchmarking. A series of reports from the various working groups was issued in 2008. This reference presents the results of Working Group 1 (WG1). WG1's primary focus is to analyse the best ways to measure, evaluate, and apply power plant performance and availability data to promote plant performance improvements worldwide. The paper explores the specific work activities of 2004-2007 to extend traditional analysis and benchmarking frameworks. It is divided into two major topics: Overview of current electric supply industry issues/trends; and, Technical Methods/Tools to evaluate performance in today's ESI.

  14. Predictive control strategy of a gas turbine for improvement of combined cycle power plant dynamic performance and efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohamed, Omar; Wang, Jihong; Khalil, Ashraf; Limhabrash, Marwan

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents a novel strategy for implementing model predictive control (MPC) to a large gas turbine power plant as a part of our research progress in order to improve plant thermal efficiency and load-frequency control performance. A generalized state space model for a large gas turbine covering the whole steady operational range is designed according to subspace identification method with closed loop data as input to the identification algorithm. Then the model is used in developing a MPC and integrated into the plant existing control strategy. The strategy principle is based on feeding the reference signals of the pilot valve, natural gas valve, and the compressor pressure ratio controller with the optimized decisions given by the MPC instead of direct application of the control signals. If the set points for the compressor controller and turbine valves are sent in a timely manner, there will be more kinetic energy in the plant to release faster responses on the output and the overall system efficiency is improved. Simulation results have illustrated the feasibility of the proposed application that has achieved significant improvement in the frequency variations and load following capability which are also translated to be improvements in the overall combined cycle thermal efficiency of around 1.1 % compared to the existing one.

  15. Improvement on main control room for Japanese PWR plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumiya, Masayuki

    1996-01-01

    The main control room which is the information center of nuclear power plant has been continuously improved utilizing the state of the art ergonomics, a high performance computer, computer graphic technologies, etc. For the latest Japanese Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) plant, the CRT monitoring system is applied as the major information source for facilitating operators' plant monitoring tasks. For an operating plant, enhancement of monitoring and logging functions has been made adopting a high performance computer

  16. Application of Advanced Technology to Improve Plant Performance. Safety and Performance in Current NPPs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hashemian, H.M.

    2011-01-01

    Advances in computer technologies, signal processing, analytical modeling, and the advent of wireless sensors have provided the nuclear industry with ample means to automate and optimize maintenance activities and improve safety, efficiency, and availability, while reducing costs and radiation exposure to maintenance personnel. This paper provides a review of these developments and presents examples of their use in the nuclear power industry and the financial and safety benefits that they have produced. As the current generation of nuclear power plants have passed their mid-life, increased monitoring of their health is critical to their safe operation. This is especially true now that license renewal of nuclear power plants has accelerated, allowing some plants to operate up to 60 years or more. Furthermore, many utilities are maximizing their power output through uprating projects and retrofits. This puts additional demand and more stress on the plant equipment such as the instrumentation and control (I and C) systems and the reactor internal components making them more vulnerable to the effects of aging, degradation, and failure. In the meantime, the nuclear power industry is working to reduce generation costs by adopting condition-based maintenance strategies and automation of testing activities. These developments have stimulated great interest in on-line monitoring (OLM) technologies and new diagnostic and prognostic methods to anticipate, identify, and resolve equipment and process problems and ensure plant safety, efficiency, and immunity to accidents. The foundation for much of the required technologies has already been established through 40 years of research and development (R and D) efforts performed by numerous organizations, scientists, and engineers around the world including the author. This paper provides examples of these technologies and demonstrates how the gap between some of the more important R and D efforts and end users have been filled

  17. Improving human performance in maintenance personnel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonzalez Anez, Francisco; Agueero Agueero, Jorge

    2010-01-01

    The continuous evolution and improvement of safety-related processes has included the analysis, design and development of training plans for the qualification of maintenance nuclear power plant personnel. In this respect, the international references in this area recommend the establishment of systematic qualification programmes for personnel performing functions or carrying out safety related tasks. Maintenance personnel qualification processes have improved significantly, and training plans have been designed and developed based on Systematic Approach to Training methodology to each job position. These improvements have been clearly reflected in recent training programmes with new training material and training facilities focused not only on developing technical knowledge and skills but also on improving attitudes and safety culture. The objectives of maintenance training facilities such as laboratories, mock-ups real an virtual, hydraulic loops, field simulators and other training material to be used in the maintenance training centre are to cover training necessities for initial and continuous qualification. Evidently, all these improvements made in the qualification of plant personnel should be extended to include supplemental personnel (external or contracted) performing safety-related tasks. The supplemental personnel constitute a very spread group, covering the performance of multiple activities entailing different levels of responsibility. Some of these activities are performed permanently at the plant, while others are occasional or sporadic. In order to establish qualification requirements for these supplemental workers, it is recommended to establish a rigorous analysis of job positions and tasks. The objective will be to identify the qualification requirements to assure competence and safety. (authors)

  18. GASIFICATION PLANT COST AND PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Samuel S. Tam

    2002-05-01

    The goal of this series of design and estimating efforts was to start from the as-built design and actual operating data from the DOE sponsored Wabash River Coal Gasification Repowering Project and to develop optimized designs for several coal and petroleum coke IGCC power and coproduction projects. First, the team developed a design for a grass-roots plant equivalent to the Wabash River Coal Gasification Repowering Project to provide a starting point and a detailed mid-year 2000 cost estimate based on the actual as-built plant design and subsequent modifications (Subtask 1.1). This unoptimized plant has a thermal efficiency of 38.3% (HHV) and a mid-year 2000 EPC cost of 1,681 $/kW. This design was enlarged and modified to become a Petroleum Coke IGCC Coproduction Plant (Subtask 1.2) that produces hydrogen, industrial grade steam, and fuel gas for an adjacent Gulf Coast petroleum refinery in addition to export power. A structured Value Improving Practices (VIP) approach was applied to reduce costs and improve performance. The base case (Subtask 1.3) Optimized Petroleum Coke IGCC Coproduction Plant increased the power output by 16% and reduced the plant cost by 23%. The study looked at several options for gasifier sparing to enhance availability. Subtask 1.9 produced a detailed report on this availability analyses study. The Subtask 1.3 Next Plant, which retains the preferred spare gasification train approach, only reduced the cost by about 21%, but it has the highest availability (94.6%) and produces power at 30 $/MW-hr (at a 12% ROI). Thus, such a coke-fueled IGCC coproduction plant could fill a near term niche market. In all cases, the emissions performance of these plants is superior to the Wabash River project. Subtasks 1.5A and B developed designs for single-train coal and coke-fueled power plants. This side-by-side comparison of these plants, which contain the Subtask 1.3 VIP enhancements, showed their similarity both in design and cost (1,318 $/kW for the

  19. A method for systematic resource allocation for improved nuclear power plant performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doboe, L.; Golay, M.; Todreas, N.; Li, F.

    2000-01-01

    An investigation was made on plant improvement investments in terms of the methods and criteria used in cooperation with the staffs of a group of nuclear power plants, aiming to understand better the methods used within US nuclear power plants for allocating investments. Cost analyses were being used the authors translated the process into a mathematical format. A spectrum of practices, ranging from use of informal power relationship-based processes to format benefit was found among different organizations. Cost-based processes structured to take into account a broad range of decision factors. Factors such as cost results, risk aversion and required uncertainty premiums were included in the treatment. Ultimately, competing investments can be ranked using the method presented in order of their return upon investment at an equivalent level of uncertainty. A method for ranking the attractiveness of nuclear power plant investments is presented which takes into account consistently factors of return upon investment, uncertainty and decision-maker risk aversion. Hopefully its use will result in improved decisions. (M.N.)

  20. Availability Improvement of German Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilhelm, Oliver

    2008-01-01

    High availability is important for the safety and economical performance of Nuclear Power Plants (NPP). The strategy for availability improvement in a typical German PWR shall be discussed here. Key parameters for strategy development are plant design, availability of safety systems, component reliability, preventive maintenance and outage organization. Plant design, availability of safety systems and component reliability are to a greater extent given parameters that can hardly be influenced after the construction of the plant. But they set the frame for maintenance and outage organisation which have shown to have a large influence on the availability of the plant. (author)

  1. Summary of EPRI projects for improving power plant maintenance and maintainability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shugars, H.G.; Poole, D.N.; Pack, R.W.

    1979-01-01

    The Electric Power Research Institute is sponsoring projects to improve power plant maintenance and maintainability. Areas presently being emphasized are improvements in plant design for maintainability, improvements in performing nuclear plant refuelings, and development of on-line monitoring and diagnostic systems for various plant components. The seven projects are reviewed. They are: (1) human factors review of power plant maintainability; (2) refueling outage improvement; (3) on-line monitoring and diagnostics for power plant machinery; (4) acoustic emission and vibrati1on signature analysis of fossil fuel plant components; (5) acoustic monitoring of power plant valves; (6) on-line monitoring and diagnostics for generators; and (7) detection of water induction in steam turbines. Each project contractor and the project manager are listed for reference. 8 references

  2. Performance improvement program: goals and experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guglielmi, F.

    2015-01-01

    Following long 54 month refurbishment outage at Point Lepreau Generating Station, operational performance had fallen below industry standards in a number of areas. Leadership development and succession planning had stalled. Operational focus was low primarily due to the construction focus during refurbishment. Condition of balance of plant was poor including several long standing deficiencies. In order to improve performance, the site implemented a framework based on INPO 12-011: Focus on Improving Behaviours; Set common goals and demonstrate results; Align and engage the organization; Drive to achieve high levels of performance and sustain performance.

  3. Performance improvement program: goals and experience

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guglielmi, F. [Point Lepreau Generating Station, Maces Bay, New Brunswick (Canada)

    2015-07-01

    Following long 54 month refurbishment outage at Point Lepreau Generating Station, operational performance had fallen below industry standards in a number of areas. Leadership development and succession planning had stalled. Operational focus was low primarily due to the construction focus during refurbishment. Condition of balance of plant was poor including several long standing deficiencies. In order to improve performance, the site implemented a framework based on INPO 12-011: Focus on Improving Behaviours; Set common goals and demonstrate results; Align and engage the organization; Drive to achieve high levels of performance and sustain performance.

  4. Improving motor reliability in nuclear power plants: Volume 1, Performance evaluation and maintenance practices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Subudhi, M.; Gunther, W.E.; Taylor, J.H.; Sugarman, A.C.; Sheets, M.W.

    1987-11-01

    This report constitutes the first of the three volumes under this NUREG. The report presents recommendations for developing a cost-effective program for performance evaluation and maintenance of electric motors in nuclear power plants. These recommendations are based on current industry practices, available techniques for monitoring degradation in motor components, manufacturer's recommendations, operating experience, and results from two laboratory tests on aged motors. Two laboratory test reports on a small and a large motor are presented in separate volumes of this NUREG. These provide the basis for the various functional indicators recommended for maintenance programs in this report. The overall preventive maintenance program is separated into two broad areas of activity aimed at mitigating the potential effects of equipment aging: Performance Evaluation and Equipment Maintenance. The latter involves actually maintaining the condition of the equipment while the former involves those activities undertaken to monitor degradation due to aging. These monitoring methods are further categorized into periodic testing, surveillance testing, continuous monitoring and inspections. This study focuses on the methods and procedures for performing the above activities to maintain the motors operationally ready in a nuclear facility. This includes an assessment of various functional indicators to determine their suitability for trending to monitor motor component condition. The intrusiveness of test methods and the present state-of-the-art for using the test equipment in a plant environment are discussed. In conclusion, implementation of the information provided in this report, will improve motor reliability in nuclear power plants. The study indicates the kinds of tests to conduct, how and when to conduct them, and to which motors the tests should be applied. 44 refs., 12 figs., 13 tabs

  5. Introducing Model Predictive Control for Improving Power Plant Portfolio Performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Edlund, Kristian Skjoldborg; Bendtsen, Jan Dimon; Børresen, Simon

    2008-01-01

    This paper introduces a model predictive control (MPC) approach for construction of a controller for balancing the power generation against consumption in a power system. The objective of the controller is to coordinate a portfolio consisting of multiple power plant units in the effort to perform...

  6. Improving engineering performance by utilizing process indicators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roberts, T.E.

    1992-01-01

    The purpose of the work discussed in this paper was to develop engineering performance indicators used to facilitate improvement to the technical quality, cost-effectiveness, and delivery of engineering products and service. This work was specifically tailored for engineering support products and service associated with operating Florida Power and Light Company (FP and L) nuclear plants. The engineering process for the development of plant change packages was reviewed to identify critical in-process activities. Because each engineering project usually deals with a specific component or plant system, the different tasks are usually technically unique and of varying magnitudes. Although each engineering product may employ different analytical techniques or industry code requirements, several activities in documenting the engineering design process are generic. The quality of performance in these activities can be monitored analogously to the steps in a manufacturing process. This concept builds quality concepts into the package in lieu of inspecting package quality at the end of the process. The work has resulted in a valuable self-assessment tool that serves as a basis for engineering process improvements. The indicators are published in a semi-yearly performance report for FP and L contractors as well as FP and L in-house engineering work. Contracts have been set up to base fees on meeting targets established for the performance report. The ability to meet performance targets continues to improve

  7. Improving CANDU plant operation and maintenance through retrofit information technology systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lupton, L.R.; Judd, R.A.; MacBeth, M.J.

    1998-01-01

    CANDU plant owners are facing an increasingly competitive environment for the generation of electricity. To meet this challenge, all owners have identified that information technology offers opportunities for significant improvements in CANDU operation, maintenance and administration (OM and A) costs. Targeted information technology application areas include instrumentation and control, engineering, construction, operations and plant information management. These opportunities also pose challenges and issues that must be addressed if the full benefits of the advances in information technology are to be achieved. Key among these are system hardware and software maintenance, and obsolescence protection; AECL has been supporting CANDU stations with the initial development and evaluation of systems to improve plant performance and cost. Key initiatives that have been implemented or are in the process of being implemented in some CANDU plants to achieve operational benefits include: critical safety parameter monitor system; advanced computerized annunciation system; plant historical data system; and plant display system. Each system will be described in terms of its role in enhancing current CANDU plant performance and how they will contribute to future CANDU plant performance

  8. 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.

  9. Improving CANDU plant operation and maintenance through retrofit information technology systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lupton, L. R.; Judd, R. A.

    1998-01-01

    CANDU plant owners are facing an increasingly competitive environment for the generation of electricity. To meet this challenge, all owners have identified that information technology offers opportunities for significant improvements in CANDU operation, maintenance and administration (OM and A) costs. Targeted information technology application areas include instrumentation and control, engineering, construction, operations and plant information management. These opportunities also pose challenges and issues that must be addressed if the full benefits of the advances in information technology are to be achieved. Key among these are system hardware and software maintenance, and obsolescence protection. AECL has been supporting CANDU stations with the initial development and evaluation of systems to improve plant performance and cost. Five key initiatives that have been implemented or are in the process of being implemented in some CANDU plants to achieve cooperational benefits include: critical safety parameter monitor system; advanced computerized annunciation system; plant historical data system; plant display system; and digital protection system. Each system will be described in terms of its role in enhancing current CANDU plant performance and how they will contribute to future CANDU plant performance. (author). 8 refs., 3 figs

  10. Performance of Generating Plant: Managing the Changes. Executive Summary and Table of Contents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Curley, G. Michael [North American Electric Reliability Corporation (United States); Mandula, Jiri [International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

    2008-05-15

    The WEC Committee on the Performance of Generating Plant (PGP) has been collecting and analysing power plant performance statistics worldwide for more than 30 years and has produced regular reports, which include examples of advanced techniques and methods for improving power plant performance through benchmarking. A series of reports from the various working groups was issued in 2008. This document serves as a supporting paper. Sections include: features of Italian energy and electricity; the evolution of liberalisation; support mechanism for renewables; connection to wind farm transmission network; wind source integration into power system; and, final comments. The WEC Committee on the Performance of Generating Plant (PGP) has been collecting and analysing power plant performance statistics worldwide for more than 30 years and has produced regular reports, which include examples of advanced techniques and methods for improving power plant performance through benchmarking. A series of reports from the various working groups was issued in 2008. This reference presents the results of Working Group 1 (WG1). WG1's primary focus is to analyse the best ways to measure, evaluate, and apply power plant performance and availability data to promote plant performance improvements worldwide. The paper explores the specific work activities of 2004-2007 to extend traditional analysis and benchmarking frameworks. It is divided into two major topics: Overview of current electric supply industry issues/trends; and, Technical Methods/Tools to evaluate performance in today's ESI.

  11. 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

  12. Risk management: A tool for improving nuclear power plant performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-04-01

    This technical document on risk management as a tool for improving nuclear power plant (NPP) operations is part of an ongoing project on management of NPP operations in a competitive environment. The overall objective of this project is to assist the management of operating organizations and NPPs in identifying and implementing appropriate measures to remain competitive in a rapidly changing business environment. Other reports developed through this project have identified overall strategies and techniques that NPP operating organization managers can use to succeed in more competitive energy markets. For example, in IAEA-TECDOC-1123, Strategies for Competitive Nuclear Power Plants, one of the most important strategies identified was integrated risk management. This publication provides a recommended structure for risk management along with examples of how NPP operating organizations are using this tool to help them integrate safety, operational and economic related risks in a changing business environment

  13. 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

  14. Role of RNA interference in plant improvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jagtap, Umesh Balkrishna; Gurav, Ranjit Gajanan; Bapat, Vishwas Anant

    2011-06-01

    Research to alter crops for their better performance involving modern technology is underway in numerous plants, and achievements in transgenic plants are impacting crop improvements in unparalleled ways. Striking progress has been made using genetic engineering technology over the past two decades in manipulating genes from diverse and exotic sources, and inserting them into crop plants for inducing desirable characteristics. RNA interference (RNAi) has recently been identified as a natural mechanism for regulation of gene expression in all higher organisms from plants to humans and promises greater accuracy and precision to plant improvement. The expression of any gene can be down-regulated in a highly explicit manner exclusive of affecting the expression of any other gene by using RNAi technologies. Additional research in this field has been focused on a number of other areas including microRNAs, hairpin RNA, and promoter methylation. Manipulating new RNAi pathways, which generate small RNA molecules to amend gene expression in crops, can produce new quality traits and having better potentiality of protection against abiotic and biotic stresses. Nutritional improvement, change in morphology, or enhanced secondary metabolite synthesis are some of the other advantages of RNAi technology. In addition to its roles in regulating gene expression, RNAi is also used as a natural defense mechanism against molecular parasites such as jumping genes and viral genetic elements that affect genome stability. Even though much advancement has been made on the field of RNAi over the preceding few years, the full prospective of RNAi for crop improvement remains to be fully realized. The intricacy of RNAi pathway, the molecular machineries, and how it relates to plant development are still to be explained.

  15. Role of RNA interference in plant improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jagtap, Umesh Balkrishna; Gurav, Ranjit Gajanan; Bapat, Vishwas Anant

    2011-06-01

    Research to alter crops for their better performance involving modern technology is underway in numerous plants, and achievements in transgenic plants are impacting crop improvements in unparalleled ways. Striking progress has been made using genetic engineering technology over the past two decades in manipulating genes from diverse and exotic sources, and inserting them into crop plants for inducing desirable characteristics. RNA interference (RNAi) has recently been identified as a natural mechanism for regulation of gene expression in all higher organisms from plants to humans and promises greater accuracy and precision to plant improvement. The expression of any gene can be down-regulated in a highly explicit manner exclusive of affecting the expression of any other gene by using RNAi technologies. Additional research in this field has been focused on a number of other areas including microRNAs, hairpin RNA, and promoter methylation. Manipulating new RNAi pathways, which generate small RNA molecules to amend gene expression in crops, can produce new quality traits and having better potentiality of protection against abiotic and biotic stresses. Nutritional improvement, change in morphology, or enhanced secondary metabolite synthesis are some of the other advantages of RNAi technology. In addition to its roles in regulating gene expression, RNAi is also used as a natural defense mechanism against molecular parasites such as jumping genes and viral genetic elements that affect genome stability. Even though much advancement has been made on the field of RNAi over the preceding few years, the full prospective of RNAi for crop improvement remains to be fully realized. The intricacy of RNAi pathway, the molecular machineries, and how it relates to plant development are still to be explained.

  16. Development of web based performance analysis program for nuclear power plant turbine cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Hoon; Yu, Seung Kyu; Kim, Seong Kun; Ji, Moon Hak; Choi, Kwang Hee; Hong, Seong Ryeol

    2002-01-01

    Performance improvement of turbine cycle affects economic operation of nuclear power plant. We developed performance analysis system for nuclear power plant turbine cycle. The system is based on PTC (Performance Test Code), that is estimation standard of nuclear power plant performance. The system is developed using Java Web-Start and JSP(Java Server Page)

  17. Innovative applications of technology for nuclear power plant productivity improvements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naser, J. A.

    2012-01-01

    The nuclear power industry in several countries is concerned about the ability to maintain high plant performance levels due to aging and obsolescence, knowledge drain, fewer plant staff, and new requirements and commitments. Current plant operations are labor-intensive due to the vast number of operational and support activities required by commonly used technology in most plants. These concerns increase as plants extend their operating life. In addition, there is the goal to further improve performance while reducing human errors and increasingly focus on reducing operations and maintenance costs. New plants are expected to perform more productively than current plants. In order to achieve and increase high productivity, it is necessary to look at innovative applications of modern technologies and new concepts of operation. The Electric Power Research Inst. is exploring and demonstrating modern technologies that enable cost-effectively maintaining current performance levels and shifts to even higher performance levels, as well as provide tools for high performance in new plants. Several modern technologies being explored can provide multiple benefits for a wide range of applications. Examples of these technologies include simulation, visualization, automation, human cognitive engineering, and information and communications technologies. Some applications using modern technologies are described. (authors)

  18. Performance management for nuclear power plant operators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fan Pengfei

    2014-01-01

    Fuel was loaded to Unit 3 of the second power plant in May 2010. The Second Operation Division stepped in the operation stage from production preparation and commissioning and exploration of performance management was started. By means of performance evaluation, a closed loop of performance management was formed, staff enthusiasm improved, and potential capability inspired through evaluation, analysis and improvement. The performance evaluation covers attitude, skill, efficiency, performance, teamwork sense, cooperation, etc. Quantitative appraisal was carried out through 31 objective indicators of the working process and results. According to the evaluation results and personal interviews, indicators were modified. Through the performance evaluation, positive guidance is provided to the employees to promote the development of employees, departments and the enterprise. (authors)

  19. Improved design on Qinshan 300 MWe nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shi Peihua; Cheng Wanli; Lu Rongliang

    1993-01-01

    The main aim, guiding ideology, general performance and parameters of improved design on Qinshan 300 MWe nuclear power plant are presented. Improved items are also introduced including the characteristic of layout in nuclear island building, decreasing unnecessary devices increasing necessary safety facilities and unifying code and standard. The progress of improved design is presented

  20. Improved design on Qinshan 300 MWe nuclear power plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peihua, Shi; Wanli, Cheng; Rongliang, Lu [Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Inst. (China)

    1993-06-01

    The main aim, guiding ideology, general performance and parameters of improved design on Qinshan 300 MWe nuclear power plant are presented. Improved items are also introduced including the characteristic of layout in nuclear island building, decreasing unnecessary devices increasing necessary safety facilities and unifying code and standard. The progress of improved design is presented.

  1. Improving the environmental sustainability of a waste processing plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turner, Tom; Watson, Stuart

    2013-01-01

    This paper describes how the level of environmental sustainability at the Solid Waste Processing plant at Research Sites Restoration Ltd (RSRL) Harwell was measured and improved. It provides reasons to improve environmental performance in an organisation, states best practice on how improvement should be conducted, and gives first-hand experience on how changes were implemented. In this paper sustainability is defined as 'meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'. A baseline for environmental sustainability was created, by looking at multiple attributes. From this, a matrix was created to show how the baseline environmental performance compared to best practice, and a gap analysis was performed. Results from this analysis showed areas for potential systematic improvement, and actions were created. Nearly all actions were implemented within one year, and environmental sustainability improved significantly. Most improvements cost no money to implement, and the few that did had to pass criteria in a business case. Results from a company-wide survey showed that the vast majority of employees felt that environmental issues were important, and that they were willing to help improve performance. Environmental awareness training was given to everyone in the department, and individuals were given measurable improvement targets. A focus group was set up and met regularly to agree improvements and monitor results. Environmental performance was publicised regularly to highlight successes and seek further engagement and improvement. Improvement ideas were encouraged and managed in a transparent way which showed clear prioritisation and accountability. The culture of environmental improvement changed visibly and results at the end of the first year showed that electricity consumption had reduced by 12.5%, and gas consumption had reduced by 7.3%. In less than two years over UK Pound 60,000 was saved

  2. Improving the environmental sustainability of a waste processing plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Turner, Tom [AREVA RMC, Abingdon, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom); Watson, Stuart [RSRL, Harwell, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom)

    2013-07-01

    This paper describes how the level of environmental sustainability at the Solid Waste Processing plant at Research Sites Restoration Ltd (RSRL) Harwell was measured and improved. It provides reasons to improve environmental performance in an organisation, states best practice on how improvement should be conducted, and gives first-hand experience on how changes were implemented. In this paper sustainability is defined as 'meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'. A baseline for environmental sustainability was created, by looking at multiple attributes. From this, a matrix was created to show how the baseline environmental performance compared to best practice, and a gap analysis was performed. Results from this analysis showed areas for potential systematic improvement, and actions were created. Nearly all actions were implemented within one year, and environmental sustainability improved significantly. Most improvements cost no money to implement, and the few that did had to pass criteria in a business case. Results from a company-wide survey showed that the vast majority of employees felt that environmental issues were important, and that they were willing to help improve performance. Environmental awareness training was given to everyone in the department, and individuals were given measurable improvement targets. A focus group was set up and met regularly to agree improvements and monitor results. Environmental performance was publicised regularly to highlight successes and seek further engagement and improvement. Improvement ideas were encouraged and managed in a transparent way which showed clear prioritisation and accountability. The culture of environmental improvement changed visibly and results at the end of the first year showed that electricity consumption had reduced by 12.5%, and gas consumption had reduced by 7.3%. In less than two years over UK Pound 60,000 was saved

  3. Goals and experience of performance improvement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tan, H. [CNNO, CNNP, Nuclear Power Operations Management Co., Ltd. (China)

    2015-07-01

    Performance improvement was achieved by reasonable arrangement of planned window for related work and optimization of time for important maintenance items, outage quality and duration. Unplanned output loss has been reduced through routine unit management and improvements to both personnel skill and equipment reliability. Planned power generation loss is reduced by controlling planned duration and quality of forced shutdowns and outages, to ensure safe and stable plant operation.

  4. Containment performance improvement program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beckner, W.; Mitchell, J.; Soffer, L.; Chow, E.; Lane, J.; Ridgely, J.

    1990-01-01

    The Containment Performance Improvement (CPI) program has been one of the main elements in the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) integrated approach to closure of severe accident issues for US nuclear power plants. During the course of the program, results from various probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) studies and from severe accident research programs for the five US containment types have been examined to identify significant containment challenges and to evaluate potential improvements. The five containment types considered are: the boiling water reactor (BMR) Mark I containment, the BWR Mark II containment, the BWR Mark III containment, the pressurized water reactor (PWR) ice condenser containment, and the PWR dry containments (including both subatmospheric and large subtypes). The focus of the CPI program has been containment performance and accident mitigation, however, insights are also being obtained in the areas of accident prevention and accident management

  5. Improvement of fire protection measures for nuclear power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2013-08-15

    Improvements of fire protection measures for nuclear power plants were performed as following items: Development of fire hazard analysis method. Application of developed Fire Dynamic Tool to actual plants (FDT{sup S}), With regard to fire tests for the fire data acquisition, cable fire test and High Energy Arcing Faults (HEAF) fire test were performed. Implementation of fire hazard analysis code and simulation were performed as following items: Fire analysis codes FDS, SYLVIA, and CFAST were implemented in order to analyze the fire progression phenomena. Trial simulation of HEAF accident of Onagawa NPP in Tohoku earthquake. (author)

  6. Improvement of fire protection measures for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2012-01-01

    Improvements of fire protection measures for nuclear power plants were performed as following items: Development of fire hazard analysis method. Application of developed Fire Dynamic tool to actual plants, With regard to fire tests for the fire data acquisition, cable fire test and oil fire test were performed. Implementation of fire hazard analysis code and simulation were performed as following items: Fire analysis codes FDS, SYLVIA, CFAST were implemented in order to analyze the fire progression phenomena, Trial simulation of fire hazard as Metal-Clad Switch Gear Fire of ONAGAWA NPP in Tohoku earthquake (HEAF accident). (author)

  7. Optimal setpoint generation for improved fuel temperature performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johns, R.M.; Edwards, R.M.

    1995-01-01

    Nuclear power plant systems feature a high degree of non-linearity and high noise level, and the performance of conventional control systems may degrade when power plants operate under a wide range of conditions, such as startup, test, shutdown, etc. The conventional control system is not intended for nuclear power plant full-range operation. This is the reason that, at present, nuclear power plants rely on manual operations for most wide-range control and only use automatic control around nominal conditions. The availability of new powerful control techniques and mathematical tools has motivated an expanding research effort toward the development of the advanced hybrid feedforward-feedback control system. The planned command input is based on the analysis of a system model in some form in order to improve the performance of the overall system. The use of a feedforward optimal controller to improve the fuel temperature response to a step change in desired reactor power is being demonstrated. The Penn State TRIGA reactor is used as the basis of the reactor model so that validation of the controller may be shown

  8. Improvement of plant reliability in PT. Badak LNG plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Achmad, S.; Somantri, A.

    1997-01-01

    PT. Badak's LNG sales commitment has been steadily increasing, therefore, there has been more emphasis to improve and maintain the LNG plant reliability. From plant operation historical records, Badak LNG plant experienced a high number of LNG process train trips and down time for 1977 through 1988. The highest annual number of LNG plant trips (50 times) occurred in 1983 and the longest LNG process train down time (1259 train-hours) occurred in 1988. Since 1989, PT. Badak has been able to reduce the number of LNG process train trips and down time significantly. In 1994 the number of LNG process train trips and was 18 times and the longest LNG process train down time was 377 train-hours. This plant reliability improvement was achieved by implementing plant reliability improvement programs beginning with the design of the new facilities and continuing with the maintenance and modification of the existing facilities. To improve reliability of the existing facilities, PT. Badak has been implementing comprehensive maintenance programs, to reduce the frequency and down time of the plant, such as Preventive and Predictive Maintenance as well as procurement material improvement since PT. Badak location is in a remote area. By implementing the comprehensive reliability maintenance, PT. Badak has been able to reduce the LNG process train trips to 18 and down time to 337 train hours in 1994 with the subsequent maintenance cost reduction. The average PT. Badak plant availability from 1985 to 1995 is 94.59%. New facilities were designed according to the established PT. Badak design philosophy, master plan and specification. Design of new facilities was modified to avoid certain problems from past experience. (au)

  9. What about improving the productivity of electric power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lawroski, H.; Knecht, P.D.; Prideaux, D.L.; Zahner, R.R.

    1976-01-01

    The FEA in April of 1974 established an Interagency Task Group on Power Plant Reliability, which was charged with the broad objective of improving the productivity of existing and planned large fossil-fueled and nuclear power plants. It took approximately 11 months for the task force to publish a report, ''Report on Improving the Productivity of Electrical Power Plants'' (FEA-263-G), a detailed analysis and comparison of successful and below-average-performance power plants. The Nuclear Service Corp. portion of this study examined four large central-station power plants: two fossil (coal) and two nuclear plants. Only plants with electrical generation capacities greater than 400 MWe were considered. The study included the following: staff technical skill, engineering support, QA program, plant/corporate coordination, operation philosophy, maintenance programs, federal/state regulations, network control, and equipment problems. Personnel were interviewed, and checklists providing input from some 21 or more plant and corporate personnel of each utility were utilized. Reports and other documentation were also reviewed. It was recognized early that productivity is closely allied to technical skills and positive motivation. For this reason, considerable attention was given to people in this study

  10. Enabling benchmarking and improving operational efficiency at nuclear power plants through adoption of a common process model: SNPM (standard nuclear performance model)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pete Karns

    2006-01-01

    To support the projected increase in base-load electricity demand, nuclear operating companies must maintain or improve upon current generation rates, all while their assets continue to age. Certainly new plants are and will be built, however the bulk of the world's nuclear generation comes from plants constructed in the 1970's and 1980's. The nuclear energy industry in the United States has dramatically increased its electricity production over the past decade; from 75.1% in 1994 to 91.9% by 2002 (source NEI US Nuclear Industry Net Capacity Factors - 1980 to 2003). This increase, coupled with lowered production costs; $2.43 in 1994 to $1.71 in 2002 (factored for inflation source NEI US Nuclear Industry net Production Costs 1980 to 2002) is due in large part to a focus on operational excellence that is driven by an industry effort to develop and share best practices for the purposes of benchmarking and improving overall performance. These best-practice processes, known as the standard nuclear performance model (SNPM), present an opportunity for European nuclear power generators who are looking to improve current production rates. In essence the SNPM is a model for the safe, reliable, and economically competitive nuclear power generation. The SNPM has been a joint effort of several industry bodies: Nuclear Energy Institute, Electric Cost Utility Group, and Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO). The standard nuclear performance model (see figure 1) is comprised of eight primary processes, supported by forty four sub-processes and a number of company specific activities and tasks. The processes were originally envisioned by INPO in 1994 and evolved into the SNPM that was originally launched in 1998. Since that time communities of practice (CoPs) have emerged via workshops to further improve the processes and their inter-operability, CoP representatives include people from: nuclear power operating companies, policy bodies, industry suppliers and consultants, and

  11. Application of balanced score card in the development of performance indicator system in nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shen Shuguang; Huang Fang; Fang Zhaoxia

    2013-01-01

    Performance indicator, which is one of ten performance monitoring tools recommended by WANO performance improvement model, has become an effective tool for performance improvement of nuclear power plant. At present, performance indicator system has been built in nuclear power plant. However, how to establish the performance indicator system that is reasonable and applicable for plant is still a question to be discussed. Performance indictor is closely tied to the strategic direction of a corporation by a balanced score card, and the performance indicator system is established from the point of performance management and strategic development. The performance indicator system of nuclear power plant is developed by introducing the balanced score card, and can be as a reference for other domestic nuclear power plants. (authors)

  12. Impact of aging and material structure on CANDU plant performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nadeau, E.; Ballyk, J.; Ghalavand, N.

    2011-01-01

    In-service behaviour of pressure tubes is a key factor in the assessment of safety margins during plant operation. Pressure tube deformation (diametral expansion) affects fuel bundle dry out characteristics resulting in reduced margin to trip for some events. Pressure tube aging mechanisms also erode design margins on fuel channels or interfacing reactor components. The degradation mechanisms of interest are primarily deformation, loss of fracture resistance and hydrogen ingress. CANDU (CANada Deuterium Uranium, a registered trademark of the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited used under exclusive licence by Candu Energy Inc.) owners and operators need to maximize plant capacity factor and meet or exceed the reactor design life targets while maintaining safety margins. The degradation of pressure tube material and geometry are characterized through a program of inspection, material surveillance and assessment and need to be managed to optimize plant performance. Candu is improving pressure tubes installed in new build and life extension projects. Improvements include changes designed to reduce or mitigate the impact of pressure tube elongation and diametral expansion rates, improvement of pressure tube fracture properties, and reduction of the implications of hydrogen ingress. In addition, Candu provides an extensive array of engineering services designed to assess the condition of pressure tubes and address the impact of pressure tube degradation on safety margins and plant performance. These services include periodic and in-service inspection and material surveillance of pressure tubes and deterministic and probabilistic assessment of pressure tube fitness for service to applicable standards. Activities designed to mitigate the impact of pressure tube deformation on safety margins include steam generator cleaning, which improves trip margins, and trip design assessment to optimize reactor trip set points restoring safety and operating margins. This paper provides an

  13. BALTICA IV. Plant maintenance for managing life and performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hietanen, S; Auerkari, P [eds.; VTT Manufacturing Technology, Espoo (Finland). Operational Reliability

    1999-12-31

    BALTICA IV International Conference on Plant Maintenance Managing Life and performance held on September 7-9, 1998 on board M/S Silja Symphony on its cruise between Helsinki-Stockholm and at Aavaranta in Kirkkonummi. The BALTICA IV conference provides a forum for the transfer of technology from applied research to practice. This is one of the two volumes of the proceedings of the BALTICA IV International Conference on Plant Maintenance Managing Life and Performance. The BALTICA IV conference focuses on new technology, recent experience and applications of condition and life management, and on improvements in maintenance strategies for safe and economical operation of power plants. (orig.)

  14. BALTICA IV. Plant maintenance for managing life and performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hietanen, S.; Auerkari, P. [eds.] [VTT Manufacturing Technology, Espoo (Finland). Operational Reliability

    1998-12-31

    BALTICA IV International Conference on Plant Maintenance Managing Life and performance held on September 7-9, 1998 on board M/S Silja Symphony on its cruise between Helsinki-Stockholm and at Aavaranta in Kirkkonummi. The BALTICA IV conference provides a forum for the transfer of technology from applied research to practice. This is one of the two volumes of the proceedings of the BALTICA IV International Conference on Plant Maintenance Managing Life and Performance. The BALTICA IV conference focuses on new technology, recent experience and applications of condition and life management, and on improvements in maintenance strategies for safe and economical operation of power plants. (orig.)

  15. Use of visualization technology to improve decision-making performance in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanes, Lewis F.; Naser, Joseph

    2005-01-01

    This paper contains a description of modern 2.5-D and 3-D visualization technology that may be applied to improve human situation awareness and decision-making in nuclear power plants. Visualization technology is being applied widely and successfully in several industries. Examples are presented of successful applications in the military, aviation, medical, entertainment, and nuclear industries. Additional opportunities are identified in the nuclear industry that may benefit from improved visualization

  16. Fuzzy inference system for evaluating and improving nuclear power plant operating performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guimaraes, Antonio Cesar F.; Lapa, Celso Marcelo Franklin

    2003-01-01

    This paper presents a fuzzy inference system (FIS) as an approach to estimate Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) performance indicators. The performance indicators for this study are the energy availability factor (EAF) and the planned (PUF) and unplanned unavailability factor (UUF). These indicators are obtained from a non analytical combination among the same operational parameters. Such parameters are, for example, environment impacts, industrial safety, radiological protection, safety indicators, scram rate, thermal efficiency, and fuel reliability. This approach uses the concept of a pure fuzzy logic system where the fuzzy rule base consists of a collection of fuzzy IF-THEN rules. The fuzzy inference engine uses these fuzzy IF-THEN rules to determine a mapping from fuzzy sets in the input universe of discourse to fuzzy sets in the output universe of discourse based on fuzzy logic principles. The results demonstrated the potential of the fuzzy inference to generate a knowledge basis that correlate operations occurrences and NPP performance. The inference system became possible the development of the sensitivity studies, future operational condition previsions and may support the eventual corrections on operation of the plant

  17. Early Growth of Improved Acacia mangium at Different Planting Densities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arif Nirsatmanto

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Integrating tree improvement into silvicultural practices is essential in forest plantation. Concerning this fact, Acacia mangium spacing trial planted using genetically improved seed was established in West Java. This study was aimed to evaluate the impact of ages and planting density on early growth of improved seed A. mangium in the spacing trial. Improved seed from 2 seed orchards (SSO-5 and SSO-20 and a control of unimproved seed from seed stand (SS-7 were tested together in spacing 3 × 3 m and 2 × 2 m. Height, diameter, stem volume, and stand volume were observed at 3 ages. The results showed that improved seed consistently outperformed to unimproved seed. Ages were highly significant for all traits, but the significant difference varied among traits and seed sources for planting density and the interactions. High density performed better growth than low density at first year, and they were varied in subsequent ages depending on traits and seed sources. Improved seed from less intensity selection orchard was less tolerance to high density than that from high intensity selection orchard, but the tolerance was reversed in low density. Improved seed A. mangium from different level of genetic selection has responded differently in behavior to the changes of planting density.

  18. Tariff-based incentives for improving coal-power-plant efficiencies in India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chikkatur, Ananth P.; Sagar, Ambuj D.; Abhyankar, Nikit; Sreekumar, N.

    2007-01-01

    Improving the efficiency of coal-based power plants plays an important role in improving the performance of India's power sector. It allows for increased consumer benefits through cost reduction, while enhancing energy security and helping reduce local and global pollution through more efficient coal use. A focus on supply-side efficiency also complements other ongoing efforts on end-use efficiency. The recent restructuring of the Indian electricity sector offers an important route to improving power plant efficiency, through regulatory mechanisms that allow for an independent tariff setting process for bulk purchases of electricity from generators. Current tariffs based on normative benchmarks for performance norms are hobbled by information asymmetry (where regulators do not have access to detailed performance data). Hence, we propose a new incentive scheme that gets around the asymmetry problem by setting performance benchmarks based on actual efficiency data, rather than on a normative basis. The scheme provides direct tariff-based incentives for efficiency improvements, while benefiting consumers by reducing electricity costs in the long run. This proposal might also be useful for regulators in other countries to incorporate similar incentives for efficiency improvement in power generation

  19. Endophytic Bacteria Improve Plant Growth, Symbiotic Performance of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L. and Induce Suppression of Root Rot Caused by Fusarium solani under Salt Stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dilfuza Egamberdieva

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Salinity causes disturbance in symbiotic performance of plants, and increases susceptibility of plants to soil-borne pathogens. Endophytic bacteria are an essential determinant of cross-tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses in plants. The aim of this study was to isolate non–rhizobial endophytic bacteria from the root nodules of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L., and to assess their ability to improve plant growth and symbiotic performance, and to control root rot in chickpea under saline soil conditions. A total of 40 bacterial isolates from internal root tissues of chickpea grown in salinated soil were isolated. Four bacterial isolates, namely Bacillus cereus NUU1, Achromobacter xylosoxidans NUU2, Bacillus thuringiensis NUU3, and Bacillus subtilis NUU4 colonizing root tissue demonstrated plant beneficial traits and/or antagonistic activity against F. solani and thus were characterized in more detail. The strain B. subtilis NUU4 proved significant plant growth promotion capabilities, improved symbiotic performance of host plant with rhizobia, and promoted yield under saline soil as compared to untreated control plants under field conditions. A combined inoculation of chickpea with M. ciceri IC53 and B. subtilis NUU4 decreased H2O2 concentrations and increased proline contents compared to the un-inoculated plants indicating an alleviation of adverse effects of salt stress. Furthermore, the bacterial isolate was capable to reduce the infection rate of root rot in chickpea caused by F. solani. This is the first report of F. solani causing root rot of chickpea in a salinated soil of Uzbekistan. Our findings demonstrated that the endophytic B. subtilis strain NUU4 provides high potentials as a stimulator for plant growth and as biological control agent of chickpea root rot under saline soil conditions. These multiple relationships could provide promising practical approaches to increase the productivity of legumes under salt stress.

  20. Improvement programme of safety performance indicators (SPIs) in Korea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, S.Y.

    2001-01-01

    KINS has developed and used Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs), which are count based and composed of 10 indicators in 8 areas, to monitor the trend of performance of NPPs in Korea since 1997. However, the limited usage of SPIs and the increasing worldwide interest on SPIs became the motivation of the SPI improvement programme in Korea. Korea is planning to establish plant performance evaluation programme through analysis of SPI and result of inspection. The SPI improvement programme is a part of the plant performance evaluation programme and includes study on performance evaluation areas, indicator categories, selection and development of indicators, redefinition of indicators and introduction of graphical display system. The selected performance evaluation areas are general performance, reactor safety and radiation safety. Each area will have categories as sub-areas and a total of six categories are selected. One or two indicators for each category are determined or will be developed to make a set of Safety Performance Indicators. Also, a graphic display system will be introduced to extend the usage of SPIs. (author)

  1. Performance of Generating Plant: New Metrics for Industry in Transition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2010-09-15

    This report is the result of the work of the Performance of Generating Plant task force of the World Energy Council. The report examines the challenges of measuring and improving performance and considers some of the issues related to this field.

  2. Test of job performance aids for power plants. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shriver, E.L.; Zach, S.E.; Foley, J.P. Jr.

    1982-10-01

    The objective of EPRI Research Project 1396-1 was to evaluate the applicability and effectiveness of Job Performance Aids (JPAs) in nuclear power plant situations. For over twenty years, JPAs have been developed in military situations to meet the problems of confusing, incomplete, and inaccurate procedures on maintenance jobs. Kinton, Incorporated of Alexandria, Virginia applied the military experience with JPAs to nuclear power plant situations and identified potential benefits in terms of cost reductions and improved performance. Sample JPAs were developed for Control Room Operations, Maintenance, Plant Operations, Instrumentation and Control, Health Physics, and Quality Assurance tasks (procedures) in selected nuclear plants. JPAs were also developed for a prototype condenser tube leak detection system in the design stage, as well as for generic classes of circuit breaker equipment. Based on the results of the study, the use of JPAs is recommended for plant procedures of medium to high difficulty and for those tasks performed infrequently, even if fairly simple

  3. Impact of aging and material structure on CANDU plant performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nadeau, E.; Ballyk, J.; Ghalavand, N. [Candu Energy Inc., Mississauga, Ontario (Canada)

    2011-07-01

    In-service behaviour of pressure tubes is a key factor in the assessment of safety margins during plant operation. Pressure tube deformation (diametral expansion) affects fuel bundle dry out characteristics resulting in reduced margin to trip for some events. Pressure tube aging mechanisms also erode design margins on fuel channels or interfacing reactor components. The degradation mechanisms of interest are primarily deformation, loss of fracture resistance and hydrogen ingress. CANDU (CANada Deuterium Uranium, a registered trademark of the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited used under exclusive licence by Candu Energy Inc.) owners and operators need to maximize plant capacity factor and meet or exceed the reactor design life targets while maintaining safety margins. The degradation of pressure tube material and geometry are characterized through a program of inspection, material surveillance and assessment and need to be managed to optimize plant performance. Candu is improving pressure tubes installed in new build and life extension projects. Improvements include changes designed to reduce or mitigate the impact of pressure tube elongation and diametral expansion rates, improvement of pressure tube fracture properties, and reduction of the implications of hydrogen ingress. In addition, Candu provides an extensive array of engineering services designed to assess the condition of pressure tubes and address the impact of pressure tube degradation on safety margins and plant performance. These services include periodic and in-service inspection and material surveillance of pressure tubes and deterministic and probabilistic assessment of pressure tube fitness for service to applicable standards. Activities designed to mitigate the impact of pressure tube deformation on safety margins include steam generator cleaning, which improves trip margins, and trip design assessment to optimize reactor trip set points restoring safety and operating margins. This paper provides an

  4. Performance of Generating Plant: Managing the Changes. Part 3: Renewable energy plant: reports on wind, photovoltaics and biomas energies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Manoha, Bruno; Cohen, Martin [Electricite de France (France)

    2008-05-15

    The WEC Committee on the Performance of Generating Plant (PGP) has been collecting and analysing power plant performance statistics worldwide for more than 30 years and has produced regular reports, which include examples of advanced techniques and methods for improving power plant performance through benchmarking. A series of reports from the various working groups was issued in 2008. This reference presents the results of Working Group 3 (WG3). WG3 will promote the introduction of performance indicators for renewable energy generating plant (wind, geothermal, solar and biomass) developed by the Committee. It will also assess selected transitional technology issues and environmental factors related to non-conventional technologies. The WG3 report includes sections on Wind Energy Today, Photovoltaics Energy Today, Biomass Electricity Today and appendices.

  5. Means of evaluating and improving the effectiveness of training of nuclear power plant personnel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2003-07-01

    In 1996 the IAEA published a guidebook on Nuclear Power Plant Personnel Training and its Evaluation, which constitutes the recommendations of the IAEA with respect to development, implementation and evaluation of training programmes. The IAEA Technical Working Group on Training and Qualification of Nuclear Power Plant Personnel recommended that an additional publication be prepared to provide further details concerning the effectiveness of NPP personnel training. As the nuclear power industry continues to be challenged by increasing safety requirements, a high level of competition and decreasing budgets, it becomes more important than ever to have some methodology of ensuring that training contributes a value to the organization. The actual determination of training effectiveness is not an easy task because of the many variables associated with personnel performance. For example, for training to make a difference in job performance, line management should be involved prior to training delivery to identify what performance is desired, but not being achieved. Then, training is developed to meet desired performance, which is followed by practice and continued management reinforcement. Because of these other variables, it is very difficult to prove that training had a sole contribution to performance improvement, but rather one of many contributors needed for performance improvement. The difficulty to isolate training as a sole contributor has been documented in a number of research studies over the recent years. Due to these limitations, a base assumption must be made in order to use any methodology for training effectiveness evaluation. That assumption is that there are some basic principles for developing training and if training programmes are developed and maintained using these principles, then the training provided should be an effective tool to improve the line organization performance. By monitoring various types of training effectiveness indications

  6. Means of evaluating and improving the effectiveness of training of nuclear power plant personnel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-07-01

    In 1996 the IAEA published a guidebook on Nuclear Power Plant Personnel Training and its Evaluation, which constitutes the recommendations of the IAEA with respect to development, implementation and evaluation of training programmes. The IAEA Technical Working Group on Training and Qualification of Nuclear Power Plant Personnel recommended that an additional publication be prepared to provide further details concerning the effectiveness of NPP personnel training. As the nuclear power industry continues to be challenged by increasing safety requirements, a high level of competition and decreasing budgets, it becomes more important than ever to have some methodology of ensuring that training contributes a value to the organization. The actual determination of training effectiveness is not an easy task because of the many variables associated with personnel performance. For example, for training to make a difference in job performance, line management should be involved prior to training delivery to identify what performance is desired, but not being achieved. Then, training is developed to meet desired performance, which is followed by practice and continued management reinforcement. Because of these other variables, it is very difficult to prove that training had a sole contribution to performance improvement, but rather one of many contributors needed for performance improvement. The difficulty to isolate training as a sole contributor has been documented in a number of research studies over the recent years. Due to these limitations, a base assumption must be made in order to use any methodology for training effectiveness evaluation. That assumption is that there are some basic principles for developing training and if training programmes are developed and maintained using these principles, then the training provided should be an effective tool to improve the line organization performance. By monitoring various types of training effectiveness indications

  7. Summit on Improving the Economics of America's Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Collins, John; Mason, Charles

    2016-01-01

    The Summit on Improving the Economics of America's Nuclear Power Plants was convened May 19, 2016, by Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and co-sponsored by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo to stress the importance of existing nuclear reactors in meeting our nation's energy goals. The summit was also designed to identify and discuss policy options that can be pursued at federal and state levels to address economic challenges, as well as technical options that utilities can use to improve the economic competitiveness of operating nuclear power plants (NPPs) and avoid early plant retirements that are driven by temporary market conditions. The owners of NPPs face difficult economic decisions and are working to improve the performance of existing NPPs. However, it soon became clear that some of the actions taken by states and regional markets have had an impact on the economic viability of existing power plants, including carbon free NPPs. Summit speakers identified concepts and actions that could be taken at state and federal levels to improve the economics of the existing fleet within these regulated and restructured electricity markets. This report summarizes the speeches, concepts, and actions taken.

  8. Performance of Generating Plant: Managing the Changes. Part 2: Thermal Generating Plant Unavailability Factors and Availability Statistics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Curley, G. Michael [North American Electric Reliability Corporation (United States); Mandula, Jiri [International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

    2008-05-15

    The WEC Committee on the Performance of Generating Plant (PGP) has been collecting and analysing power plant performance statistics worldwide for more than 30 years and has produced regular reports, which include examples of advanced techniques and methods for improving power plant performance through benchmarking. A series of reports from the various working groups was issued in 2008. This reference presents the results of Working Group 2 (WG2). WG2's main task is to facilitate the collection and input on an annual basis of power plant performance data (unit-by-unit and aggregated data) into the WEC PGP database. The statistics will be collected for steam, nuclear, gas turbine and combined cycle, hydro and pump storage plant. WG2 will also oversee the ongoing development of the availability statistics database, including the contents, the required software, security issues and other important information. The report is divided into two sections: Thermal generating, combined cycle/co-generation, combustion turbine, hydro and pumped storage unavailability factors and availability statistics; and nuclear power generating units.

  9. Effect of Low Pressure End Conditions on Steam Power Plant Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Syed Haider

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Most of the electricity produced throughout the world today is from steam power plants and improving the performance of power plants is crucial to minimize the greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption. Energy efficiency of a thermal power plant strongly depends on its boiler-condenser operating conditions. The low pressure end conditions of a condenser have influence on the power output, steam consumption and efficiency of a plant. Hence, the objective this paper is to study the effect of the low pressure end conditions on a steam power plant performance. For the study each component was modelled thermodynamically. Simulation was done and the results showed that performance of the condenser is highly a function of its pressure which in turn depends on the flow rate and temperature of the cooling water. Furthermore, when the condenser pressure increases both net power output and plant efficiency decrease whereas the steam consumption increases. The results can be used to run a steam power cycle at optimum conditions.

  10. A study on the efficiency improvement of the plant secondary System in NPP

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Chun Ho; Song Jong Sun [Chosun Univ., Kwangju (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-10-15

    The ultimate objective of the diagnostic test for thermal performance of generation facilities is to assist in making an economic decision on operation optimization of power plants by understanding the degree of heat aging due to operation of relevant facilities and planning on this basis the maintenance and repair. In this thesis, the trend in performance change was analyzed against the acceptance performance test conducted after the replacement of the high pressure turbine in 2007, through thermal performance diagnosis conducted at 100 % reactor thermal output after the 19th planned preventive maintenance of Yonggwang Nuclear Units 1 and 2, and the power plant operation was optimized by acquiring base line data for management of performance record for each major facility of the secondary system and by improving efficiency of unit instruments and peripheral instruments of the secondary system. As a result derived from the thermal performance analysis, the increase in electric output of the power plants was achieved through such operation optimizations of efficiency affecting instruments as optimization of the continuous exhaust flow rate for water supply heaters, vacuum improvement of condensers due to opening the upper/lower screens of heat transfer pipe washing system for condensers during summer, and flow rate optimization of the water vapor supplied to MSR (Moisture Separator Re heater) high pressure re heaters. This improves operation of the existing power plants without additional expense and so requires expert review by responsible personnel for practical application.

  11. Millwater Pumping System Optimization Improves Efficiency and Saves Energy at an Automotive Glass Plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2003-03-01

    In 2001, the Visteon automotive glass plant in Nashville, Tennessee renovated its millwater pumping system. This improvement saved the plant $280,000 annually in energy and operating costs, reduced annual energy consumption by 3.2 million kilowatt-hours, reduced water consumption, improved system performance, and reduced use of water treatment chemicals.

  12. Effectively Managing Nuclear Risk Through Human Performance Improvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coe, Richard; Lake, Patricia

    2003-01-01

    The U.S. commercial nuclear industry has just completed an outstanding decade of plant performance. Safety levels and electric production are at unprecedented high levels and continue to exceed even high industry goals. Nuclear energy continues to keep the highest priority on performance improvement programs and highly trained and qualified people that maintain its record setting safety and reliability of operations. While the industry has maintained a high level of performance, the advent of deregulation and the consolidation of nuclear power plant ownership, as well as the current climate for concern about both rising energy costs and the availability of power, have raised the standard for nuclear energy's level of competitiveness in today's market place. The resulting challenge is how to more effectively manage risk and to improve performance even further in a generally high-performing industry. One of the most effective ways to develop this culture is to apply the principles of Hum an Performance Technology, or HPT. HPT is a relatively new field. Its principles are derived from the research and practice of behavioral and cognitive psychologists, instructional technologists, training designers, organizational developers, and various human resource specialists. Using the principles of HPT can help the nuclear industry successfully meet ever-changing environmental and business demands

  13. Improving engineers' performance with computers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Purvis, E.E. III

    1984-01-01

    The problem addressed is how to improve the performance of engineers in the design, operation, and maintenance of nuclear power plants. The application of computer science to this problem offers a challenge in maximizing the use of developments outside the nuclear industry and setting priorities to address the most fruitful areas first. Areas of potential benefits include data base management through design, analysis, procurement, construction, operation maintenance, cost, schedule and interface control and planning, and quality engineering on specifications, inspection, and training

  14. Nuclear Power Plant Performance: Ascending The Summit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, T. M.

    1986-01-01

    When we look back over the years and consider the progress we have made in improving nuclear plant performance, I'm sure that many of you must feel the same mixture of elation and apprehension the mountain climber feels when he finally confronts his summit. In the curse of the last 10 years, many of US have watched availability averages rise from 50% to 60%, to 65% -- and recently, to 70%, 80% and beyond. Yet, as impressive an accomplishment as that is, there comes, I think, a growing realization that the steady increases we have achieved up to now may, in fact, have been the easy part of the journey, the trek from base camp -- and that within a very small handful of years, we may find ourselves pushing plant performance right to the limit, only to discover that it is pushing back

  15. Improved plant availability by advanced condition based inspections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hulshof, Harry J.M.; Noteboom, Jan W.; Welberg, Paul G.M.; Bruijn, Leo E.

    2004-01-01

    An industrial plant has to operate safely, reliably and efficiently at the lowest possible cost. Plant availability plays an important role regarding economic life optimisation. Industrial installations that are under pressure and are operating at high temperatures have a limited life due to creep and fatigue. It is, therefore, of critical importance to know the location of any possible weak spots in the installation. To avoid safety risks, unplanned plant shutdown and, as a consequence, high costs for unavailability, cycling and repair, periodic inspections and strain measurements are recommended. A Speckle Image Correlation Analysis (SPICA) system enables on-stream measurement of deformation due to creep in critical areas like the heat-affected zone in welds. Plant management and operators use the strain measurements to take action when necessary and, consequently, prevent failures. In those plants that have been provided with SPICA-technology for some years plant availability has improved significantly as a result. Another important development for yielding improved availability concerns steam drums. During some 20 years, KEMA has been performing automated ultrasonic steam drum inspections from outside. The Dutch authorities accepted this methodology in this period as an alternative (rather than an addition) after several pilot projects. An advantage of this inspection methodology is the possibility to record of the inspection results and possibility of thus trending these data. The resulting reduction of through time appeared a major benefit for plant owners. Since the authorities adopted the RBI approach during the last 10 years, another advantage of the inspection methodology became apparent: complete scanning and recording of the inspection data of circumferential and longitudinal (butt and fillet) welds, inspection of nozzle welds and inner radius as well as corrosion mapping has been covering all higher risk areas in these drums. This enhanced inspection

  16. Improved plant availability by advanced condition based inspections

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hulshof, Harry J.M.; Noteboom, Jan W; Welberg, Paul G.M.; Bruijn, Leo E

    2004-06-01

    An industrial plant has to operate safely, reliably and efficiently at the lowest possible cost. Plant availability plays an important role regarding economic life optimisation. Industrial installations that are under pressure and are operating at high temperatures have a limited life due to creep and fatigue. It is, therefore, of critical importance to know the location of any possible weak spots in the installation. To avoid safety risks, unplanned plant shutdown and, as a consequence, high costs for unavailability, cycling and repair, periodic inspections and strain measurements are recommended. A Speckle Image Correlation Analysis (SPICA) system enables on-stream measurement of deformation due to creep in critical areas like the heat-affected zone in welds. Plant management and operators use the strain measurements to take action when necessary and, consequently, prevent failures. In those plants that have been provided with SPICA-technology for some years plant availability has improved significantly as a result. Another important development for yielding improved availability concerns steam drums. During some 20 years, KEMA has been performing automated ultrasonic steam drum inspections from outside. The Dutch authorities accepted this methodology in this period as an alternative (rather than an addition) after several pilot projects. An advantage of this inspection methodology is the possibility to record of the inspection results and possibility of thus trending these data. The resulting reduction of through time appeared a major benefit for plant owners. Since the authorities adopted the RBI approach during the last 10 years, another advantage of the inspection methodology became apparent: complete scanning and recording of the inspection data of circumferential and longitudinal (butt and fillet) welds, inspection of nozzle welds and inner radius as well as corrosion mapping has been covering all higher risk areas in these drums. This enhanced inspection

  17. Upgrading and efficiency improvement in coal-fired power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2013-08-01

    Improving the efficiencies of the large number of older coal-fired power plants operating around the world would give major savings in CO2 emissions together with significant other benefits. This report begins with a summary of the ways efficiency can become degraded and of the means available to combat the decrease in performance. These include improvements to operating and maintenance practices and more major techniques that are available, including boiler and turbine retrofits. There is also an update on fuel drying developments as a route to higher efficiency in plants firing high moisture lignites. The largest chapter of the report contains a number of descriptions of case study improvement projects, to illustrate measures that have been applied, benefits that have been achieved and identify best practices, which are summarised. Major national and international upgrading programmes are described.

  18. Improvement potential of a real geothermal power plant using advanced exergy analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gökgedik, Harun; Yürüsoy, Muhammet; Keçebaş, Ali

    2016-01-01

    The main purpose of this paper is to quantitatively evaluate thermodynamic performance of a geothermal power plant (GPP) from potential for improvement point of view. Thus, sources of inefficiency and irreversibilities can be determined through exergy analysis. The advanced exergy analysis is more appropriate to determine real potential for thermodynamic improvements of the system by splitting exergy destruction into unavoidable and avoidable portions. The performance critical components and the potential for exergy efficiency improvement of a GPP were determined by means of the advanced exergy analysis. This plant is the Bereket GPP in Denizli/Turkey as a current operating system. The results show that the avoidable portion of exergy destruction in all components except for the turbines is higher than the unavoidable value. Therefore, much can be made to lessen the irreversibilities for components of the Bereket GPP. The total exergy efficiency of the system is found to be 9.60%. Its efficiency can be increased up to 15.40% by making improvements in the overall components. Although the heat exchangers had lower exergy and modified exergy efficiencies, their exergy improvement potentials were high. Finally, in the plant, the old technology is believed to be one of the main reasons for low efficiencies. - Highlights: • Evaluation of potential for improvement of a GPP using advanced exergy analysis. • Efficiency can be increased up to 15.40% by making improvements in the components. • Heat exchangers are the highest avoidable values, making them the least efficient components in plant. • The main reasons for low efficiencies are believed to be the old technology.

  19. Performance of dryland and wetland plant species on extensive green roofs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacIvor, J Scott; Ranalli, Melissa A; Lundholm, Jeremy T

    2011-04-01

    Green roofs are constructed ecosystems where plants perform valuable services, ameliorating the urban environment through roof temperature reductions and stormwater interception. Plant species differ in functional characteristics that alter ecosystem properties. Plant performance research on extensive green roofs has so far indicated that species adapted to dry conditions perform optimally. However, in moist, humid climates, species typical of wetter soils might have advantages over dryland species. In this study, survival, growth and the performance of thermal and stormwater capture functions of three pairs of dryland and wetland plant species were quantified using an extensive modular green roof system. Seedlings of all six species were germinated in a greenhouse and planted into green roof modules with 6 cm of growing medium. There were 34 treatments consisting of each species in monoculture and all combinations of wet- and dryland species in a randomized block design. Performance measures were survival, vegetation cover and roof surface temperature recorded for each module over two growing seasons, water loss (an estimate of evapotranspiration) in 2007, and albedo and water capture in 2008. Over two seasons, dryland plants performed better than wetland plants, and increasing the number of dryland species in mixtures tended to improve functioning, although there was no clear effect of species or habitat group diversity. All species had survival rates >75 % after the first winter; however, dryland species had much greater cover, an important indicator of green roof performance. Sibbaldiopsis tridentata was the top performing species in monoculture, and was included in the best treatments. Although dryland species outperformed wetland species, planting extensive green roofs with both groups decreased performance only slightly, while increasing diversity and possibly habitat value. This study provides further evidence that plant composition and diversity can

  20. 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

  1. Worldwide nuclear-plant performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Surrey, J.; Thomas, S.

    1980-01-01

    The authors compare the performance of different reactor systems to identify the determinants of plant performance, to examine the evidence of technological maturation, and to discover the principal causes of outage or unavailability. In the light of the findings, they discuss the implications for the UK regarding reactor choice and technology development. They make no judgements about the relative merits of nuclear and fossil-fuel plants, or about safety. (author)

  2. Web-based turbine cycle performance analysis for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heo, Gyun Young; Lee, Sung Jin; Chang, Soon Heung; Choi, Seong Soo

    2000-01-01

    As an approach to improve the economical efficiency of operating nuclear power plants, a thermal performance analysis tool for steam turbine cycle has been developed. For the validation and the prediction of the signals used in thermal performance analysis, a few statistical signal processing techniques are integrated. The developed tool provides predicted performance calculation capability that is steady-state wet steam turbine cycle simulation, and measurement performance calculation capability which determines component- and cycle-level performance indexes. Web-based interface with all performance analysis is implemented, so even remote users can achieve performance analysis. Comparing to ASME PTC6 (Performance Test Code 6), the focusing point of the developed tool is historical performance analysis rather than single accurate performance test. The proposed signal processing techniques are validated using actual plant signals, and turbine cycle models are tested by benchmarking with a commercial thermal analysis tool

  3. Plant improvement by known-function genes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesús Quiroz Chávez

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Plant molecular improvement by recombinant DNA technology represents an advantage to obtain new varieties or traits. This technique is promised for genetic improvement of crop plants. Lines with increased yield, quality, disease resistance, or tolerant to abiotic stress have been obtained, with clear advantages for producers, marketers and consumers. However, they have several limitations in its application to agriculture because of its risk and hazards. The aim of the document is to show the advantages and disadvantages of GM crop plant, to develop represent an opportunity to have new exotic traits.

  4. Supplier selection or collaboration? Determining factors of performance improvement when outsourcing manufacturing

    OpenAIRE

    Dabhilkar, Mandar; Bengtsson, Lars; Haartman, Robin von; Åhlström, Pär

    2009-01-01

    An empirical study was designed to determine factors of performance improvement when outsourcing manufacturing. Findings from a survey of 136 manufacturing plants in Sweden show that most of them achieve their outsourcing motives, but not without trade-offs. Factors of performance improvements such as economies of scale or operations in low-cost countries can improve one performance dimension, such as product cost, yet negatively impact volume flexibility, speed or product innovation. The res...

  5. 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.

  6. Balance of plant improvements for future reactor projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hollingshaus, H.

    1987-01-01

    Many studies have shown that improvements in portions of the plant other than the reactor systems can yield large cost savings during the design, construction, and operation of future reactor power plants. This portion is defined as the Balance of Plant which includes virtually everything except the equipment furnished by the Nuclear Steam Supply System manufacturer. It normally includes the erection of the entire plant including the NSSS. Cost of BOP equipment, engineering and construction work is therefore most of the cost of the plant. Improvements in the BOP have been identified that will substantially reduce nuclear plant cost and construction time while at the same time increasing availability and operability and improving safety. Improvements achieved through standardizatoin, simplification, three-dimensional (3D) computer-aided design, modular construction, innovative construction techniques, and applications for Artificial Intelligence Systems are described. (author)

  7. Experience of safety and performance improvement for fuel handling equipment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gyoon Chang, Sang; Hee Lee, Dae

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to provide experience of safety and performance improvement of fuel handling equipment for nuclear power plants in Korea. The fuel handling equipment, which is used as an important part of critical processes during the refueling outage, has been improved to enhance safety and to optimize fuel handling procedures. Results of data measured during the fuel reloading are incorporated into design changes. The safety and performance improvement for fuel handling equipment could be achieved by simply modifying the components and improving the interlock system. The experience provided in this study can be useful lessons for further improvement of the fuel handling equipment. (authors)

  8. Evolutionary CANDU 9 plant improvements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, S.K.W.

    1999-01-01

    The CANDU 9 is a 935 MW(e) nuclear power plant (NPP) based on the multi-unit Darlington and Bruce B designs with additional enhancements from our ongoing engineering and research programs. Added to the advantages of using proven systems and components, CANDU 9 offers improvement features with enhanced safety, improved operability and maintenance including a control centre with advanced man-machine interface, and improved project delivery in both engineering and construction. The CANDU 9 NPP design incorporated safety enhancements through careful attention to emerging licensing and safety issues. The designers assessed, revised and evolved such systems as the moderator, end shield, containment and emergency core cooling (ECC) systems while providing an integrated final design that is more passive and severe-accident-immune. AECL uses a feedback process to incorporate lessons learned from operating plants, from current projects experiences and from the implementation or construction phase of previous projects. Most of the requirements for design improvements are based on a systematic review of current operating CANDU stations in the areas of design and reliability, operability, and maintainability. The CANDU 9 Control Centre provides plant staff with improved operability and maintainability capabilities due to the combination of systematic design with human factors engineering and enhanced operating and diagnostics features. The use of advanced engineering tools and modem construction methods will reduce project implementation risk on project costs and schedules. (author)

  9. Conservation and restoration of indigenous plants to improve community livelihoods: the Useful Plants Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ulian, Tiziana; Sacandé, Moctar; Mattana, Efisio

    2014-05-01

    Kew's Millennium Seed Bank partnership (MSBP) is one of the largest ex situ plant conservation initiatives, which is focused on saving plants in and from regions most at risk, particularly in drylands. Seeds are collected and stored in seed banks in the country of origin and duplicated in the Millennium Seed Bank in the UK. The MSBP also strengthens the capacity of local communities to successfully conserve and sustainably use indigenous plants, which are important for their wellbeing. Since 2007, high quality seed collections and research information have been gathered on ca. 700 useful indigenous plant species that were selected by communities in Botswana, Kenya, Mali, Mexico and South Africa through Project MGU - The Useful Plants Project. These communities range from various farmer's groups and organisations to traditional healers, organic cotton/crop producers and primary schools. The information on seed conservation and plant propagation was used to train communities and to propagate ca. 200 species that were then planted in local gardens, and as species reintroduced for reforestation programmes and enriching village forests. Experimental plots have also been established to further investigate the field performance (plant survival and growth rate) of indigenous species, using low cost procedures. In addition, the activities support revenue generation for local communities directly through the sustainable use of plant products or indirectly through wider environmental and cultural services. This project has confirmed the potential of biodiversity conservation to improve food security and human health, enhance community livelihoods and strengthen the resilience of land and people to the changing climate. This approach of using indigenous species and having local communities play a central role from the selection of species to their planting and establishment, supported by complementary research, may represent a model for other regions of the world, where

  10. An Improved Setpoint Determination Methodology for the Plant Protection System Considering Beyond Design Basis Events

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, C.J.; Baik, K.I.; Baek, S.M.; Park, K.-M.; Lee, S.J.

    2013-06-01

    According to the nuclear regulations and industry standards, the trip setpoint and allowable value for the plant protection system have been determined by considering design basis events. In order to improve the safety of a nuclear power plant, an attempt has been made to develop an improved setpoint determination methodology for the plant protection system trip parameter considering not only a design basis event but also a beyond design basis event. The results of a quantitative evaluation performed for the Advanced Power Reactor 1400 nuclear power plant in Korea are presented herein. The results confirmed that the proposed methodology is able to improve the nuclear power plant's safety by determining more reasonable setpoints that can cover beyond design basis events. (authors)

  11. Performance parameters of a standalone PV plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El Fathi, Amine; Nkhaili, Lahcen; Bennouna, Amin; Outzourhit, Abdelkader

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We described in details a photovoltaic power plant installed in the remote rural village Elkaria (Essaouira Morocco – 7.2 kWp). • We presented the results of monitoring and some performance parameters of the plant such as load curve. • We discussed the energy management of the plant which is based on the droop mode control. • We presented and discussed the yields and the performance ratio of the plant. - Abstract: In this work we present a detailed description of a 7.2 kWp photovoltaic power plant installed in the remote rural village Elkaria (province of Essaouira in Morocco). This plant supplies 16 households with electricity through a local grid that was installed for this purpose. The results of monitoring some performance parameters of the plant such as load curve, the yields and the performance ratio are presented and discussed. The performance ratio of the PV plant varied between 33% and 70.2%. The low values of this parameter are mainly attributed to the way the battery inverter manages the energy flow

  12. Performance optimization of the Växtkraft biogas production plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thorin, Eva; Lindmark, Johan; Nordlander, Eva; Odlare, Monica; Dahlquist, Erik; Kastensson, Jan; Leksell, Niklas; Pettersson, Carl-Magnus

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Pre-treatment of ley crop can increase the biogas plant performance. ► Membrane filtration can increase the capacity of the biogas plant. ► Mechanical pre-treatment of the ley crop shows the highest energy efficiency. ► Using a distributor to spread the residues as fertilizer show promising results. -- Abstract: All over the world there is a strong interest and also potential for biogas production from organic residues as well as from different crops. However, to be commercially competitive with other types of fuels, efficiency improvements of the biogas production process are needed. In this paper, results of improvements studies done on a full scale co-digestion plant are presented. In the plant organic wastes from households and restaurants are mixed and digested with crops from pasture land. The areas for improvement of the plant addressed in this paper are treatment of the feed material to enhance the digestion rate, limitation of the ballast of organics in the water stream recirculated in the process, and use of the biogas plant residues at farms. Results from previous studies on pre-treatment and membrane filtration of recirculated process water are combined for an estimation of the total improvement potential. Further, the possibility of using neural networks to predict biogas production using historical data from the full-scale biogas plant was investigated. Results from an investigation using the process residues as fertilizer are also presented. The results indicate a potential to increase the biogas yield from the process with up to over 30% with pre-treatment of the feed and including membrane filtration in the process. Neural networks have the potential to be used for prediction of biogas production. Further, it is shown that the residues from biogas production can be used as fertilizers but that the emission of N 2 O from the fertilized soil is dependent on the soil type and spreading technology.

  13. 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

  14. Summit on Improving the Economics of America's Nuclear Power Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Collins, John [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Mason, Charles [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2016-09-01

    The Summit on Improving the Economics of America’s Nuclear Power Plants was convened May 19, 2016, by Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and co-sponsored by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo to stress the importance of existing nuclear reactors in meeting our nation’s energy goals. The summit was also designed to identify and discuss policy options that can be pursued at federal and state levels to address economic challenges, as well as technical options that utilities can use to improve the economic competitiveness of operating nuclear power plants (NPPs) and avoid early plant retirements that are driven by temporary market conditions. The owners of NPPs face difficult economic decisions and are working to improve the performance of existing NPPs. However, it soon became clear that some of the actions taken by states and regional markets have had an impact on the economic viability of existing power plants, including carbon free NPPs. Summit speakers identified concepts and actions that could be taken at state and federal levels to improve the economics of the existing fleet within these regulated and restructured electricity markets. This report summarizes the speeches, concepts, and actions taken.

  15. Nuclear power plant safety and reliability improvements derived from operational experience analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zebroski, E.L.; Rosen, S.L.

    1983-01-01

    The frequency and distribution of significant events at operating nuclear power plants can be used as one of several indices to obtain a preliminary indication of unit and/or utility performance in the development and implementation of improvements aimed at reducing the probability or consequences of troublesome events. Initial data of this type are presented along with qualifications on the validity of such indicators. Planned further steps to improve this as a performance indicator are noted

  16. Performance assessment of non-self-regulating controllers in a cogeneration power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howard, Rachelle; Cooper, Douglas J.

    2009-01-01

    This work details a novel method for assessing the performance of a PI (proportional-integral) feedback controller when the process displays non-self-regulating dynamic behavior. By applying an intuitive process control-based pattern recognition method to the autocorrelation function of the process measurement signal, the controller's disturbance rejection performance can automatically be categorized. Stochastic data collected over days or weeks is analyzed to compute an index descriptive of current controller performance. If the control response has drifted from a user-defined target value, the analysis further provides a guide for tuning adjustments to restore desired performance. Significant aspects of this approach are that no plant disruption or process knowledge is required for evaluation. Classic examples of non-self-regulating behavior include certain liquid level control loops and pressure control loops which are prevalent in cogeneration power plants. In this work, we detail how the performance assessment method was used to improve performance of such controllers in the University of Connecticut's power plant.

  17. System 80+ Design and Licensing : Improving Plant Reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Newman, Robert E.

    1989-01-01

    The U. S. nuclear industry is striving to improve plant reliability and availability through improved plant design, component designs and plant maintenance. In an effort to improve safety and to demonstrate that commercial nuclear power is economically competitive with other energy sources, the utilities, nuclear vendors, architect engineers and constructors, and component suppliers are all participating in an industry-wide effort to develop improved Light Water Reactor (LWR) designs that are based upon the many years of successful LWR operation. In an age when the world faces the environmental pressures of the greenhouse effect and acid rain, electricity generated from nuclear energy must play an increasing role in the energy picture of Korea, the United States and the rest of the world. This paper discusses the plant availability requirement that has been established by the industry-wide effort mentioned above. After briefly describing Combustion Engineering's program for development of the System 80 Plus standard design and the participation of the Korea Advanced Energy Research Institute (KAERI) in the program, the paper then describes the design features that are being incorporated into System 80+. The industry ALRR Program has established a very ambitious criterion of 87% for the plant availability of future nuclear units. To satisfy such a requirement, the next generation of nuclear plants will include a great many design improvements that reflect the hundreds of years of operating experience that we have accrued. C-ESA's System 80+ will include a number of design changes that improve operating margins and make the plant easier to operate and maintain. Not surprisingly, there is a great deal of overlap between improved safety and improved reliability. In the end, our design will satisfy the future needs of the utilities, the regulators, and the public. C-E is very pleased that KAERI is working with US to achieve these important goals

  18. Cleanliness criteria to improve steam generator performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schwarz, T.; Bouecke, R.; Odar, S.

    2005-01-01

    High steam generator performance is a prerequisite for high plant availability and possible life time extension. The major opponent to that is corrosion and fouling of the heating tubes. Such steam generator degradation problems arise from the continuous ingress of non-volatile contaminants, i.e. corrosion products and salt impurities may accumulate in the steam generators. These impurities have their origin in the secondary side systems. The corrosion products generally accumulate in the steam generators and form deposits not only in the flow restricted areas, such as on top of tube sheet and tube support structure, but also build scales on the steam generator heating tubes. In addition, the tube scales in general affect the steam generator thermal performance, which ultimately causes a reduction of power output. The most effective ways of counteracting all these degradation problems, and thus of improving the steam generator performance is to keep them in clean conditions or, if judged necessary, to plan cleaning measures such as mechanical tube sheet lancing or chemical cleaning. This paper presents a methodology how to assess the cleanliness condition of a steam generator by bringing together all available operational and inspection data such as thermal performance and water chemistry data. By means of this all-inclusive approach the cleanliness condition is quantified in terms of a fouling index. The fouling index allows to monitor the condition of a specific steam generator, compare it to other plants and, finally, to serve as criterion for cleaning measures such as chemical cleaning. The application of the cleanliness criteria and the achieved field results with respect to improvements of steam generator performance will be presented. (author)

  19. Nuclear power plant performance. Status and trends

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glorian, D.

    1995-01-01

    The performance of nuclear power plants can be assessed in several different fields: operating costs, safety, reliability of electricity generation, impact on the environment and personnel protection (industrial safety, radiation protection, etc.). Comparing national and international performance levels involves the use of performance indicators, together with a terminology, precise definitions and computerized data collection and processing facilities. The paper gives a brief review of the different actions undertaken during the last ten years to achieve international harmonization in the use of indicators. The main international indicators in use today by virtually all nuclear operators around the world are examined. Figures are given for each of these main indicators. In particularly, the levels of 'excellence' achieved throughout the world are discussed, together with the difficulties encountered in trying to match them or indeed maintain them. Future prospects regarding both the efforts made towards achieving international harmonization and the optimum use of this system of international performance indicators are examined, in order to achieve mutual enhancement through this approach to feedback of experience. Considering the overall performance indicators in use, it must be clearly recognized that, over the last ten years, the nuclear industry has made a tremendous effort to improve performance; the challenge for the future is to maintain a very high level of quality in the area of safety by keeping the operating costs (and investment costs for future plants) within a reasonable range

  20. A basic plan for the environment-friendly aspects of improved Korean standard nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Hoon-Seok; Lee, Yong-Koo; Kim, Kwang-Ho

    2006-01-01

    The Improved Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP+) design has been made possible on the basis of engineering experiences and referring to an in-depth analysis of the design and construction of all the domestic nuclear power plants in operation. The KSNP+ is designed for improved safety, better economics, operability and maintainability by means of advanced technology expecting to demonstrate enhanced performance. The plant also has incorporated several environmentally friendly features through the restoration of excavated areas using an ecological approach, external coloring, figure of turbine generator building and landscaping around nuclear power plant. This is the first time that KOPEC has embarked on inducing environmentally friendly features into the basic plan. This is expected to mitigate the negative perceptions held by the residents in the vicinity of nuclear power plants and will contribute to a new and improved image of nuclear power plants. (authors)

  1. Developing a system engineering program to improve performance and reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keuter, D.

    1985-01-01

    After several maintenance, operational, and equipment problems last year, Trojan set out on a mission to improve plant performance and reliability by strengthening its on-site engineering organization. This paper presents Trojan's plans in developing an on-site system engineering organization

  2. Interactive effects of herbivory and competition intensity determine invasive plant performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Wei; Carrillo, Juli; Ding, Jianqing; Siemann, Evan

    2012-10-01

    Herbivory can reduce plant fitness, and its effects can be increased by competition. Though numerous studies have examined the joint effects of herbivores and competitors on plant performance, these interactive effects are seldom considered in the context of plant invasions. Here, we examined variation in plant performance within a competitive environment in response to both specialist and generalist herbivores using Chinese tallow as a model species. We combined tallow plants from native and invasive populations to form all possible pairwise combinations, and designated invasive populations as stronger neighbours and native populations as weaker neighbours. We found that when no herbivory was imposed, invasive populations always had higher total biomass than natives, regardless of their neighbours, which is consistent with our assumption of increased competitive ability. Defoliation by either generalist or specialist herbivores suppressed plant growth but the effects of specialists were generally stronger for invasive populations. Invasive populations had their lowest biomass when fed upon by specialists while simultaneously competing with stronger neighbours. The root/shoot ratios of invasive populations were lower than those of native populations under almost all conditions, and invasive plants were taller than native plants overall, especially when herbivores were present, suggesting that invasive populations may adopt an "aboveground first" strategy to cope with herbivory and competition. These results suggest that release from herbivores, especially specialists, improves an invader's performance and helps to increase its competitive ability. Therefore, increasing interspecific competition intensity by planting a stronger neighbour while simultaneously releasing a specialist herbivore may be an especially effective method of managing invasive plants.

  3. Long-Term Heating to Improve Receiver Performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Glatzmaier, Greg C.; Cable, Robert; Newmarker, Marc

    2017-06-27

    The buildup of hydrogen in the heat transfer fluid (HTF) that circulates through components of parabolic trough power plants decreases receiver thermal efficiency, and ultimately, it decreases plant performance and electricity output. The generation and occurrence of hydrogen in the HTF provides the driving force for hydrogen to permeate from the HTF through the absorber tube wall and into the receiver annulus. Getters adsorb hydrogen from the annulus volume until they saturate and are no longer able to maintain low hydrogen pressure. The increase in hydrogen pressure within the annulus significantly degrades thermal performance of the receiver and decreases overall power-plant efficiency. NREL and Acciona Energy North America (Acciona) are developing a method to control the levels of dissolved hydrogen in the circulating HTF. The basic approach is to remove hydrogen from the expansion tanks of the HTF subsystem at a rate that maintains hydrogen in the circulating HTF to a target level. Full-plant steady-state models developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) predict that if hydrogen is removed from the HTF within the expansion tanks, the HTF that circulates through the collector field remains essentially free of hydrogen until the HTF returns to the power block in the hot headers. One of the key findings of our modeling is the prediction that hydrogen will reverse-permeate out of the receiver annulus if dissolved hydrogen in the HTF is kept sufficiently low. To test this prediction, we performed extended heating of an in-service receiver that initially had high levels of hydrogen in its annulus. The heating was performed using NREL's receiver test stand. Results of our testing showed that receiver heat loss steadily decreased with daily heating, resulting in a corresponding improvement in receiver thermal efficiency.

  4. Cytokinins induce transcriptional reprograming and improve Arabidopsis plant performance under drought and salt stress conditions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natali Shirron

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available In nature, annual plants respond to abiotic stresses by activating a specific genetic program leading to early flowering and accelerated senescence. Although, in nature, this phenomenon supports survival under unfavorable environmental conditions, it may have negative agro-economic impacts on crop productivity. Overcoming this genetic programing by cytokinins (CK has recently been shown in transgenic plants that overproduce CK. These transgenic plants displayed a significant increase in plant productivity under drought stress conditions. We investigated the role of CK in reverting the transcriptional program that is activated under abiotic stress conditions and allowing sustainable plant growth. We employed 2 complementary approaches: Ectopic overexpression of CK, and applying exogenous CK to detached Arabidopsis leaves. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants transformed with the isopentyltransferase (IPT gene under the regulation of the senescence associated receptor kinase (SARK promoter displayed a significant drought resistance. A transcriptomic analysis using RNA sequencing was performed to explore the response mechanisms under elevated CK levels during salinity stress. This analysis showed that under such stress, CK triggered transcriptional reprograming that resulted in attenuated stress-dependent inhibition of vegetative growth and delayed premature plant senescence. Our data suggest that elevated CK levels led to stress tolerance by retaining the expression of genes associated with plant growth and metabolism whose expression typically decreases under stress conditions. In conclusion, we hypothesize that CK allows sustainable plant growth under unfavorable environmental conditions by activating gene expression related to growth processes and by preventing the expression of genes related to the activation of premature senescence.

  5. Guide for prioritizing power plant productivity improvement projects: handbook of availability improvement methodology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-01-01

    As part of its program to help improve electrical power plant productivity, the Department of Energy (DOE) has developed a methodology for evaluating productivity improvement projects. This handbook presents a simplified version of this methodology called the Availability Improvement Methodology (AIM), which provides a systematic approach for prioritizing plant improvement projects. Also included in this handbook is a description of data taking requirements necessary to support the AIM methodology, benefit/cost analysis, and root cause analysis for tracing persistent power plant problems. In applying the AIM methodology, utility engineers should be mindful that replacement power costs are frequently greater for forced outages than for planned outages. Equivalent availability includes both. A cost-effective ranking of alternative plant improvement projects must discern between those projects which will reduce forced outages and those which might reduce planned outages. As is the case with any analytical procedure, engineering judgement must be exercised with respect to results of purely mathematical calculations

  6. Exergetic performance analysis of a Dora II geothermal power plant in Turkey

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ganjehsarabi, Hadi; Gungor, Ali [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ege University (Turkey); Dincer, Ibrahim [Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Ontario (Canada)

    2011-07-01

    In the energy sector there is an urgent need to produce energy from renewable energy sources due to the rising demand, the depletion of fossil fuels and their effects on the environment. Geothermal power is a well-established energy resource and the aim of this research was to examine the energetic performance of a geothermal power plant. The studied power plant, Dora II, has a 9.5 MW power output and is situated in Aydin, Turkey. An evaluation of the plant's performance was carried out using an exergy analysis method on each of the plant's components. Results showed that the highest exergy destruction occurs in brine re-injection while the preheater had the best exergy efficiency; the plant had an overall exergetic efficiency of 29.6%. This study highlighted the components where significant exergy destructions take place so actions could be taken to improve the overall efficiency.

  7. Improved operational performance through the use of business planning tools

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoelscher, H.L.

    1996-01-01

    Improved operational performance at Point Beach Nuclear Plant is based on a focused business plan. Quantitative goals that compare past performance with the performance of potential competitors are the basis of the business plan. This establishes goals for the nuclear power business unit which support corporate goals. Strategies and objectives are then developed to meet the established goals. To continue support for these strategies and objectives, individual performance plans are developed for all management personnel. These performance management plans identify individual contributor actions to support the goals, and also provide periodic feedback for changes to better prioritize individual actions. Performance criteria are also established to measure progress toward achieving the goals. The author also has a program to provide incentives for improved performance based upon success of the organization in achieving established goals

  8. An overview of the US Department of Energy Plant Lifetime Improvement Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moonka, A.K.; Harrison, D.L.

    1995-01-01

    This paper provides a brief summary of the U.S. Department of Energy's (USDOE's) cooperative effort with the nuclear industry to develop technology to manage the effects of material degradation in systems, structures and components (SSCs) that impact plant safety or can significantly improve plant performance/economics and to establish and demonstrate the license renewal process. Also included are efforts to reduce decontamination/decommission costs, and reduce the uncertainty in long-term service-life decision making. During 1995, the Plant Lifetime Improvement (PLIM) Program was renamed the Commercial Operating Light Water Reactor (COLWR) Program activities are focused on sustaining the LWR option for domestic electricity generation by supporting operation of existing LWRs as long as they are safe, efficient, and economical. The status of the key projects is discussed in this paper

  9. Improvement on reliability of control system in power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taguchi, S.; Mizumoto, T.; Hirose, Y.; Kashiwai, J.; Takami, I.; Shono, M.; Roji, Y.; Kizaki, S.

    1985-01-01

    Studies made of Japanese PWR operating experiences have revealed that failures in the control system are the primary causes of unscheduled shutdowns. An attempt has, therefore, been made to improve the reliability of the control system in order to raise the plant reliability. The following are the procedures applied to solve the issue; study of operating experiences, fault tree analysis and failure mode and effects analysis. Improvement measures are developed for the control system whose failure threatens to cause the plant trip during the plant life. These systems are the main feedwater control system, rod control system, pressurizer control system and main steam control system in the primary control system. As a result, the plant unavailability is expected to be reduced significantly by applying the improvements. The improvements are applied to the plants under construction and the operating plants in co-operation with utilities and vendors. (author)

  10. Rhizosphere pseudomonads as probiotics improving plant health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Young Cheol; Anderson, Anne J

    2018-04-20

    Many root-colonizing microbes are multifaceted in traits that improve plant health. Although isolates designated as biological control agents directly reduce pathogen growth, many exert additional beneficial features that parallel changes induced in animal and other hosts by health-promoting microbes termed probiotics. Both animal and plant probiotics cause direct antagonism of pathogens and induce systemic immunity in the host to pathogens and other stresses. They also alter host development, and improve host nutrition. The probiotic root-colonizing pseudomonads are generalists in terms of plant hosts, soil habitats and the array of stress responses that are ameliorated in the plant. This review illustrates how the probiotic pseudomonads, nurtured by the C and N sources released by the plant in root exudates, form protective biofilms on the root surface and produce the metabolites or enzymes to boost plant health. The findings reveal the multifunctional nature of many of the microbial metabolites in the plant-probiotic interplay. The beneficial effects of probiotics on plant function can contribute to sustainable yield and quality in agricultural production. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. © 2018 BSPP and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Using a plant health system framework to assess plant clinic performance in Uganda

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Danielsen, Solveig; Matsiko, Frank B.

    2016-01-01

    and expand, new analytical frameworks and tools are needed to identify factors influencing performance of services and systems in specific contexts, and to guide interventions. In this paper we apply a plant health system framework to assess plant clinic performance, using Uganda as a case study...... factors, influenced by basic operational and financial concerns, inter-institutional relations and public sector policies. Overall, there was a fairly close match between the plant health system attributes and plant clinic performance, suggesting that the framework can help explain system functioning....... A comparative study of plant clinics was carried out between July 2010 and September 2011 in the 12 districts where plant clinics were operating at that time. The framework enabled us to organise multiple issues and identify key features that affected the plant clinics. Clinic performance was, among other...

  12. Role of recent research in improving check valve reliability at nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalsi, M.S.; Horst, C.L.; Wang, J.K.; Sharma, V.

    1990-01-01

    Check valve failures at nuclear power plants in recent years have led to serious safety concerns, and caused extensive damage to other plant components which had a significant impact on plant availability. In order to understand the failure mechanism and improve the reliability of check valves, a systematic research effort was proposed by Kalsi Engineering, Inc. to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The overall goal of the research was to develop models for predicting the performance and degradation of swing check valves in nuclear power plant systems so that appropriate preventive maintenance or design modifications can be performed to improve the reliability of check valves. Under Phase I of this research, a large matrix of tests was run with instrumented swing check valves to determine the stability of the disc under a variety of upstream flow disturbances, covering a wide range of disc stop positions and flow velocities in two different valve sizes. The goals of Phase II research were to develop predictive models which quantify the anticipated degradation of swing check valves that have flow disturbances closely upstream of the valve and are operating under flow velocities that do not result in full disc opening. This research allows the inspection/maintenance activities to be focussed on those check valves that are more likely to suffer premature degradation. The quantitative wear and fatigue prediction methodology can be used to develop a sound preventive maintenance program. The results of the research also show the improvements in check valve performance/reliability that can be achieved by certain modifications in the valve design

  13. Perspectives on containment performance improvement based on the IPEs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lehner, J.R.; Lin, C.C.; Pratt, W.T. [Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)] [and others

    1995-04-01

    Generic Letter 88-20, {open_quotes}Individual Plant Examination (IPE) for Severe Accident Vulnerabilities - 10CFR 50.54(f),{close_quotes} was issued by the NRC on November 23, 1988. In addition to assessing the core damage frequency from severe accidents, licensees were requested to report the results of their analyses regarding containment performance. Supplements to the Generic Letter forwarded technical insights obtained by the NRC staff through its Containment Performance Improvement (CPI) program. At this time, most of the IPEs have been submitted by the licensees. In a follow-on effort to support regulatory activities, the NRC staff with assistance from Brookhaven National Laboratory, has initiated a program involving a global examination of the containment performance results documented in the IPEs. The objective is to identify insights of potential generic safety significance relative to plant design, operation and maintenance, as well as to assess response to the previously forwarded CPI insights. The containment performance results of the IPEs are being categorized for commonalities and differences for different reactor and containment types. Preliminary results show that not only differences in plant design but also the methods, data, boundary conditions, and assumptions used in the different IPEs have a major impact on the containment performance results obtained. This paper presents preliminary results regarding the differences in containment performance observed in the IPEs and discusses some of the underlying reasons for these differences.

  14. 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

  15. Construct ability Improvement for Nuclear Power Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Dae Soo; Lee, Jong Rim; Kim, Jong Ku [Korea Electric Power Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1997-12-31

    The purpose of this study was to identify methods for improving the construct ability of nuclear power plants. This study reviewed several references of current construction practices of domestic and overseas nuclear plants in order to identify potential methods for improving construct ability. The identified methods for improving construct ability were then evaluated based on the applicability to domestic nuclear plant construction. The selected methods are expected to reduce the construction period, improve the quality of construction, cost, safety, and productivity. Selection of which methods should be implemented will require further evaluation of construction modifications, design changes, contract revisions. Among construction methods studied, platform construction methods can be applied through construction sequence modification without significant design changes, and Over the Top construction method of the NSSS, automatic welding of RCL pipes, CLP modularization, etc., are considered to be applied after design modification and adjustment of material lead time. (author). 49 refs., figs., tabs.

  16. Improving operator quality at Genkai Nuclear Power Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuwano, Takeshi.

    1989-01-01

    Improvement in operator quality, or improvement in an operator's skill and professional knowledge, is of prime importance because of its great influence on safe and steady plant operation. This paper describes the education and training of reactor operators at the Genkai pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant with respect to the following topics: organization of Genkai power plant; education and training program management; training at the Nuclear Training Center; training and education on-site including emergency procedures training, normal operating procedures training, informational study of emergency conditions in existing plants, and all-around training of operators; qualifying tests for supervisors; and operator motivation

  17. Safety assessment, safety performance indicators at the Paks Nuclear Power Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baji, C.; Vamos, G.; Toth, J.

    2001-01-01

    The Paks Nuclear Power Plant has been using different methods of safety assessment (event analysis, self-assessment, probabilistic safety analysis), including performance indicators characterizing both operational and safety performance since the early years of operation of the plant. Regarding the safety performance, the indicators include safety system performance, number of scrams, release of radioactive materials, number of safety significant events, industrial safety indicator, etc. The Paks NPP also reports a set of ten indicators to WANO Performance Indicator Programme which, among others, include safety related indicators as well. However, a more systematic approach to structuring and trending safety indicators is needed so that they can contribute to the enhancement of the operational safety. A more comprehensive set of indicators and a systematic evaluation process was introduced in 1996. The performance indicators framework proposed by the IAEA was adapted to Paks in this year to further improve the process. Safety culture assessment and characterizing safety culture is part of the assessment process. (author)

  18. Performance Analysis of 20MW gas turbine power plant by Energy and Exergy Methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lebele-Alawa, B. T.; Asuo, J. M.

    2013-01-01

    Energy and exergy analysis were conducted to evaluate the optimal performance of a 20 MW gas turbine power plant. The energy analysis was based on First Law of Thermodynamics, while the exergy method used both First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics. The locations and magnitude of losses which inhibited the performance of the power plant were identified by balance system equations. The internal losses associated with each plant component were estimated for improvement to be made to such component for maximum power output. The energy efficiency was 20.73 %, while the exergeric efficiency was 16.39 %; but the exergy loss of 38.62 % in the combustor was the largest among the components of plant. (au)

  19. Improvement of ALARA in Taiwan Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kao, H. M.; Chang, M.

    2006-01-01

    Full text: Full text: The ALARA(as low as reasonable achievable ) principle is a basic spirit of radiation safety culture and the most important element of a successful radiation safety program. In recent years, the ALARA principle and practices have been widely applied to the three operating nuclear power plants in Taiwan. Through the effective communication and fully cooperation between the authority and utility, the performance goals of improving radiation safety program have been set, and the implementation plans have been proposed and followed. Taking Chinshan nuclear power station as an example, in 2004, the occupational individual dose was 1.13mSv/ person in average,no one exceeded 20mSv ,and the collective dose was 1.03man-Sv/unit which achieved the best record of BWR plant in Taiwan. The radiation reduction approaches and tools adopted by the plants include removing radiation sources, setting radiation shieding, optimizing and controlling the schedule of radiation practices, considering the occupancy factors, and better administrative management to keep exposure ALARA will be discussed in this paper

  20. Studies on improvements in the control methods of boiling water reactor plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mankin, Shuichi

    1982-08-01

    In order to improve the performance of regulation and load following control of boiling water reactor plant, optimal control theory is applied and new types of control method are developed. Case-α controller is first formulated on the basis of the optimal linear regulator theory applied to the linealized model of the system; it is then modified by adding a integration-type action in a feed back loop and by the use of variable gain and reference for adapting to the power level requested. Case-#betta# controller consists of a hierarchical control scheme which has classical P.I. type sub-loop controllers at the first level and a linear optimal regulator at the second level. The controller is designed on the basis of the optimal regulator theory applied to the multivariate autoregressive system model which is obtained from the identification experiments, where the system model is determined with the conventional sub-loop controllers included. The results of the simulation experiments show these control methods proposed have performed fairly well and will be useful for the improvement of the performance of nuclear power plant control. In addition, it is suggested that these control methods will be also attractive for the control of other production plants because these were developed in the attempt to solve the problems deviated from so called 'The gap between the optimal contro theory and actual systems.' (author)

  1. Improving performance and reducing costs of cooling towers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bartz, J.A.

    1992-01-01

    Cooling towers represent a significant capital investment at a steam electric power station. In addition, deficiencies in thermal performance can result in major operating penalties of fuel cost, replacement energy, and capacity addition. This paper summarizes two recent EPRI research projects aimed at reducing thermal performance deficiencies and decreasing installed costs of evaporative cooling towers. First, EPRI Research Project 2113, Cooling Tower Performance Prediction and Improvement, is summarized. This project has resulted in published data sets on the measured thermal performance characteristics of a variety of cooling tower packings, computer codes to predict tower performance, and computer code validation through large-scale tower performance measurements. Principal results are contained in an EPRIGEMS software module, Cooling Tower Advisor. This PC- based software contains a tutorial plus codes to predict tower thermal performance, arranged in a user-friendly format. The second EPRI effort, Research Project 2819-10/11, Fabric Structures for Power Plant Applications, has resulted in designs and costs of large structures with shells constructed of recently-developed fabrics. Primary power plant applications for such structures are the shells of natural draft cooling towers and coal-pile covers. Fabric structures offer low initial cost, acceptable life, and seismic superiority, among other advantages. Detailed conceptual designs and installed cost data are reviewed. 8 refs., 9 figs., 3 tabs

  2. Performance evaluation of cogeneration power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bacone, M.

    2001-01-01

    The free market has changed the criteria for measuring the cogeneration plant performances. Further at the technical-economic parameters, are considered other connected at the profits of the power plant [it

  3. Improving energy efficiency of an Olefin plant – A new approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tahouni, Nassim; Bagheri, Narges; Towfighi, Jafar; Hassan Panjeshahi, M.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • The retrofit of an Olefin plant is studied to improve the overall energy efficiency. • Three levels of retrofit and optimization of this process are suggested. • A simultaneous method is presented to optimize low-temperature separation processes. - Abstract: Low-temperature gas separation processes are the most important gas separation routes. There is a complex interaction between core process (separation columns), associated heat exchanger network and refrigeration cycles in sub ambient processes. The aim of this paper is performing a comprehensive retrofit study of an Olefin plant (as an industrial example) to improve the overall energy efficiency. In this regard, the effect of improving column operating parameters and refrigeration cycles are first evaluated separately. Then, column operating parameters and refrigeration cycles as well as heat exchanger network are optimized simultaneously using genetic algorithm or simulated annealing. Having compared all results, one can conclude that simultaneous optimization leads to higher efficiency of the overall system

  4. Introduction of ROL genes in Rosa Hybrida L. for improved rootstock performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van der Salm, T.P.M.

    1996-06-04

    We aim to improve the performance of combination plants of rose by genetic modification of its root stock, with special reference to their performance at low energy conditions. The first objective of this research was the introduction of the ROL genes from A. rhizogenes in the recalcitrant species rose. For this purpose the rose root stock `Money way` was used. The second objective was to determine the effects of these genes on the rooting characteristics of root stock plants and their influence on the growth performance of combination plants. Special attention had to be paid to methodological aspects such as micropropagation, transformation and regeneration. First, the medium composition was optimized for the in vitro culture of root stock `Money way`. The effect of ROL genes on the formation of adventitious roots was described. It was shown that the formation of kanamycin resistant roots was stimulated by ROL genes, especially by a combination of ROLA, B and C. A regeneration method was developed, in which shoots were regenerated from excised roots via somatic embryogenesis. This regeneration method was applied for the regeneration of transformed shoots from kanamycin resistant roots, especially from those with the ROLB gene or a combination of ROLA, B and C genes. As a result several transformed plants were obtained. Expression patterns of the ROL genes were correlated with the phenotypical characteristics of the transformed rose plants. In order to determine the effect of ROL genes on the growth and development of a scion, combination plants were made, consisting of the root system of a transgenic root stock and the aerial parts of the cultivar `Madelon`. For evaluation of the effects of ROL genes on root stock performance and energy efficiency, the combination plants were studied under climate room conditions at 15 and 20 deg C. Finally, an overview is given of the possible applications of ROL genes for crop improvement.

  5. Performance of Generating Plant: Managing the Changes. Part 4: Markets and Risk Management Strategy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moss, Terry; Loedolff, Gerhard; Griffin, Rob; Kydd, Robert; Micali, Vince [Eskom (South Africa)

    2008-05-15

    The WEC Committee on the Performance of Generating Plant (PGP) has been collecting and analysing power plant performance statistics worldwide for more than 30 years and has produced regular reports, which include examples of advanced techniques and methods for improving power plant performance through benchmarking. A series of reports from the various working groups was issued in 2008. This reference presents the results of Working Group 4 (WG4). WG4 will monitor the development of power markets, in particular from the market risk management point of view, including operational risks. It will assess various risk management strategies used by market players around the world and develop recommendations for a wider deployment of successful strategies. The report covers the project approach and outcomes.

  6. Improvement of aquaponic performance through micro- and macro-nutrient addition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ru, Dongyun; Liu, Jikai; Hu, Zhen; Zou, Yina; Jiang, Liping; Cheng, Xiaodian; Lv, Zhenting

    2017-07-01

    Aquaponics is one of the "zero waste" industry in the twenty-first century, and is considered to be one of the major trends for the future development of agriculture. However, the low nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUE) restricted its widely application. To date, many attempts have been conducted to improve its NUE. In the present study, effect of micro- and macro-nutrient addition on performance of tilapia-pak choi aquaponics was investigated. Results showed that the addition of micro- and macro-nutrients improved the growth of plant directly and facilitated fish physiology indirectly, which subsequently increased NUE of aquaponics from 40.42 to 50.64%. In addition, remarkable lower total phosphorus concentration was obtained in aquaponics with micro- and macro-nutrient addition, which was attributed to the formation of struvite. Most of the added micro-nutrients were enriched in plant root, while macro-nutrients mainly existed in water. Moreover, no enrichment of micro- and macro-nutrients in aquaponic products (i.e., fish and plant leaves) was observed, indicating that it had no influence on food safety. The findings here reported manifest that appropriate addition of micro- and macro-nutrients to aquaponics is necessary, and would improve its economic feasibility.

  7. Optimization of Boiler Control to Improve the Load-following Capability of Power-plant Units

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mortensen, J. H.; Mølbak, T.; Andersen, Palle

    The capability to perform fast load changes has been an important issue in the power market, and will become increasingly more so due to the incresing commercialisation of the European power market. An optimizing control system for improving the load-following capability of power-plant units has...... tests on a 265 MW coal-fired power-plant unit reveals that the maximum allowable load gradient that can be imposed on the plant, can be increased from 4 MW/min. to 8 MW/min....

  8. Optimization of Boiler Control to Improve the Load-following Capability of Power-plant Units

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mortensen, J. H.; Mølbak, T.; Andersen, Palle

    1998-01-01

    The capability to perform fast load changes has been an important issue in the power market, and will become increasingly more so due to the incresing commercialisation of the European power market. An optimizing control system for improving the load-following capability of power-plant units has...... tests on a 265 MW coal-fired power-plant unit reveals that the maximum allowable load gradient that can be imposed on the plant, can be increased from 4 MW/min. to 8 MW/min....

  9. The continuous improvement system of nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rivera C, A.

    2009-10-01

    This paper describes the continuous improvement system of nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde and the achievements in implementing the same and additionally two study cases are presents. In February 2009 is noteworthy because the World Association of Nuclear Operators we identified as a learning organization, qualification which shows that the continuous improvement system has matured, and this system will expose as I get to learn to capitalize on our own experiences and external experiences diffused by the nuclear industry. In 2007 the management of nuclear power plants integrates its improvement systems and calls it continuous improvement system and is presented in the same extensive report that won the National Quality Award. This system is made up of 5 subsystems operating individually and are also related 1) human performance; 2) referential comparison or benchmarking; 3) self-assessment; 4) corrective action and 5) external operating experience. Five subsystems that plan, generate, capture, manage, communicate and protect the knowledge generated during the processes execution of nuclear power plant of Laguna Verde, as well as from external sources. The target set in 2007 was to increase the intellectual capital to always give response to meeting the security requirements, but creating a higher value to quality, customer, environment protection and society. In brief each of them, highlighting the objective, expectations management, implementation and some benefits. At the end they will describe two study cases selected to illustrate these cases as the organization learns by their continuous improvement system. (Author)

  10. Continuous improvement of the MHTGR safety and competitive performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eichenberg, T.W.; Etzel, K.T.; Mascaro, L.L.; Rucker, R.A.

    1992-05-01

    An increase in reactor module power from 350 to 450 MW(t) would markedly improve the economics of the Modular High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (MHTGR). The higher power level was recommended as the result of an in-depth cost reduction study undertaken to compete with the declining price of fossil fuel. The safety assessment confirms that the high level of safety, which relies on inherent characteristics and passive features, is maintained at the elevated power level. Preliminary systems, nuclear, and safety performance results are discussed for the recommended 450 MW(t) design. Optimization of plant parameters and design modifications accommodated the operation of the steam generator and circulator at the higher power level. Events in which forced cooling is lost, designated as conduction cooldowns are described in detail. For the depressurized conduction cooldown, without full helium inventory, peak fuel temperatures are significantly lowered. A more negative temperature coefficient of reactivity was achieved while maintaining an adequate fuel cycle and reactivity control. Continual improvement of the MHTGR delivers competitive performance without relinquishing the high safety margins demanded of the next generation of power plants

  11. Westinghouse fuel manufacturing systems: a step change in performance improvements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mutyala, Meena

    2009-01-01

    Today's competitive electrical generation industry demands that nuclear power plant operators minimize total operating costs, including fuel cycle cost while maintaining flawless fuel performance. The mission of Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel is to be the industry's most responsive supplier of flawless, value added fuel products and services, as judged by our customers. As nuclear is fast becoming the choice of many countries, existing manufacturing plants and facilities are once again running at full capacity. In this context Westinghouse Nuclear Fuel is committed to deliver a step change in performance improvement worldwide through its manufacturing operations by the introduction of a set of fundamentals collectively named the 'Westinghouse Fuel Manufacturing System' (WFMS), whose key principles are discussed in this paper. (author)

  12. Possibilities for using plant extracts added to ruminant feed aimed at improving production results

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grdović Svetlana

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The use of plant extracts with the objective of improving production results and the quality of food articles of animal origin is an area which is acquiring increasing scientific importance. Numerous investigations carried out so far on ruminants and other species of domestic animals have been aimed at examining specific bioactive matter of plants. The results of these investigations have demonstrated a positive influence on the production results. A large number of data indicate that plant extracts added to animal feed contribute to increasing overall productivity. Furthermore, plant extracts as additives in animal feed have a positive effect also on the health condition of the animals. A large number of plants have characteristics which potentially improve consumption, digestibility and conversion of food, and also growth. Examinations have been performed of the effects of different plant extracts on food consumption, wool growth, growth and composition of the trunk, milk production, reproductive parameters, agents for wool shearing, preventing bloat, methane production, as well as the influence of plants on curbing nematode infestations of ruminants. This work presents a review of scientific investigations of different plant species and their effects on the production characteristics of ruminants. .

  13. Idaho Chemical Processing Plant Process Efficiency improvements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Griebenow, B.

    1996-03-01

    In response to decreasing funding levels available to support activities at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) and a desire to be cost competitive, the Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office (DOE-ID) and Lockheed Idaho Technologies Company have increased their emphasis on cost-saving measures. The ICPP Effectiveness Improvement Initiative involves many activities to improve cost effectiveness and competitiveness. This report documents the methodology and results of one of those cost cutting measures, the Process Efficiency Improvement Activity. The Process Efficiency Improvement Activity performed a systematic review of major work processes at the ICPP to increase productivity and to identify nonvalue-added requirements. A two-phase approach was selected for the activity to allow for near-term implementation of relatively easy process modifications in the first phase while obtaining long-term continuous improvement in the second phase and beyond. Phase I of the initiative included a concentrated review of processes that had a high potential for cost savings with the intent of realizing savings in Fiscal Year 1996 (FY-96.) Phase II consists of implementing long-term strategies too complex for Phase I implementation and evaluation of processes not targeted for Phase I review. The Phase II effort is targeted for realizing cost savings in FY-97 and beyond

  14. A systematic approach to human performance improvement in nuclear power plants: Training solutions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-03-01

    In 1996, the IAEA published Technical Reports Series No. 380, Nuclear Power Plant Personnel Training and its Evaluation: A Guidebook. This publication provides guidance with respect to development, implementation and evaluation of training programmes for all NPP personnel. The IAEA International Working Group on Training and Qualification of Nuclear Power Plant Personnel recommended that an additional publication be prepared that provided further details concerning the training of NPP personnel on non-technical or soft skills. This report has been prepared in response to that recommendation. In the past, much of the focus of formal NPP training and development programmes was on the technical skills of NPP personnel, particularly those of control room operators. The environment in which NPPs operate is continually changing, placing new demands on NPP personnel to work more efficiently and effectively while continuing to maintain the high levels of safety required of NPPs. In this report, an integrated approach that considers training along with other ways to achieve desired levels of human performance is suggested.

  15. A systematic approach to human performance improvement in nuclear power plants: Training solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-03-01

    In 1996, the IAEA published Technical Reports Series No. 380, Nuclear Power Plant Personnel Training and its Evaluation: A Guidebook. This publication provides guidance with respect to development, implementation and evaluation of training programmes for all NPP personnel. The IAEA International Working Group on Training and Qualification of Nuclear Power Plant Personnel recommended that an additional publication be prepared that provided further details concerning the training of NPP personnel on non-technical or soft skills. This report has been prepared in response to that recommendation. In the past, much of the focus of formal NPP training and development programmes was on the technical skills of NPP personnel, particularly those of control room operators. The environment in which NPPs operate is continually changing, placing new demands on NPP personnel to work more efficiently and effectively while continuing to maintain the high levels of safety required of NPPs. In this report, an integrated approach that considers training along with other ways to achieve desired levels of human performance is suggested

  16. Improvement of Off-site Dose Assessment Code for Operating Nuclear Power Plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Juyub; Kim, Juyoul; Shin, Kwangyoung [FNC Technology Co. Ltd., Yongin (Korea, Republic of); You, Songjae; Moon, Jongyi [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-05-15

    XOQDOQ code which calculates atmospheric Dispersion factor was included into INDAC also. A research on the improvement of off-site dose assessment system for an operating nuclear power plant was performed by KINS in 2011. As a result, following improvements were derived: - Separation of dose assessment for new and existing facilities - Update of food ingestion data - Consideration of multi-unit operation and so on In order to reflect the results, INDAC is under modification. INDAC is an integrated dose assessment code for an operating nuclear power plant and consists of three main modules: XOQDOQ, GASDOS and LIQDOS. The modules are under modification in order to improve the accuracy of assessment and usability. Assessment points for multi-unit release can be calculated through the improved code and the method on dose assessment for multi-unit release has been modified, so that the dose assessment result of multi-unit site becomes more realistic by relieving excessive conservatism. Finally, as the accuracy of calculation modules has been improved, the reliability of dose assessment result has been strengthened.

  17. Studying effect of heating plant parameters on performances of a geothermal-fuelled series cogeneration plant based on Organic Rankine Cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Habka, Muhsen; Ajib, Salman

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We analyzed performances of a series ORC–CHP plant versus the heating plant parameters. • ORC–CHP power is destructed when raising the heat demand or the return temperature. • Only the high supply temperatures of the heating plant affect negatively the performances. • Reducing the return temperature optimizes both the energetic and exergetic criteria. • Increasing the heat demand improves the exergetic efficiency of the total CHP system. - Abstract: The present work aims to analyze the performance characteristics of the series Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system based on Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) under influence of the heating plant parameters without considering the chemistry of the geothermal water considered as heat source. For evaluation, energetic and exergetic criteria along with the heat transfer capacities have been determined, and also the working fluid R134a has been used. The results showed that increasing the heat demand or the return temperature and only the high supply temperatures lead to destruct the net power generated by the ORC–CHP system. While, influence of the last parameters on the total exergy efficiency and losses is different; whereas raising the heat demands optimizes these exergetic indicators, variation of the supply temperature leads to an optimum for these performances. Since increasing the return temperature has purely negative impacts on all exergetic and energetic criteria, the latter can be improved by reducing this temperature with attention to the heat transfer capacities. Thus, reduction of the return temperature about 5 °C lowers the exhausted stream losses by app. 25% and enhances the power generation by app. 52% and the total exergy efficiency by 9%

  18. Improvements of radioactive waste management at WWER nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-04-01

    This report is part of a systematic IAEA effort to improve waste management practices at WWER plants and to make them consistent with the current requirements and standards for safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants. The report reviews the wet and dry solid waste management practices at the various types of WWER nuclear power plants (NPP) and describes approaches and recent achievements in waste minimization. Waste minimization practices in use at western PWRs are reviewed and compared, and their applicability at WWER plants is evaluated. Radioactive waste volume reduction issues and waste management practices are reflected in many IAEA publications. However, aspects of waste minimization specific to individual WWER nuclear power plant designs and WWER waste management policies are not addressed extensively in those publications. This report covers the important aspects applicable to the improvement of waste management at WWER NPP, including both plant-level and country-level considerations. It is recognized that most WWER plants are already implementing many of these concepts and recommendations with varying degrees of success; others will benefit from the included considerations. The major issues addressed are: - Review of current waste management policies and practices related to WWERs and western PWRs, including the influence of the original design concepts and significant modifications, liquid waste discharge limits and dry solid waste clearance levels applied in individual countries, national policies and laws, and other relevant aspects affecting the nature and quantities of waste arisings; - Identification of strategies and methods for improving the radioactive waste management generated in normal operation and maintenance at WWERs. This report is a composite (combination) of the two separate initiatives mentioned above. The first draft report was prepared at the meeting 26-30 May 1997 by five consultants. The draft was improved during an

  19. Comparative exergetic performance analysis for certain thermal power plants in Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mitrović Dejan M.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Traditional methods of analysis and calculation of complex thermal systems are based on the first law of thermodynamics. These methods use energy balance for a system. In general, energy balances do not provide any information about internal losses. In contrast, the second law of thermodynamics introduces the concept of exergy, which is useful in the analysis of thermal systems. Exergy is a measure for assessing the quality of energy, and allows one to determine the location, cause, and real size of losses incurred as well as residues in a thermal process. The purpose of this study is to comparatively analyze the performance of four thermal power plants from the energetic and exergetic viewpoint. Thermodynamic models of the plants are developed based on the first and second law of thermodynamics. The primary objectives of this paper are to analyze the system components separately and to identify and quantify the sites having largest energy and exergy losses. Finally, by means of these analyses, the main sources of thermodynamic inefficiencies as well as a reasonable comparison of each plant to others are identified and discussed. As a result, the outcomes of this study can provide a basis for the improvement of plant performance for the considered thermal power plants.

  20. Improvement of sludge removal performance for steam generators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishida, K.; Sakai, K.; Ito, H.; Tanahashi, A.; Nakao, F.

    2002-01-01

    Scale, mainly consisting of magnetite, flows on the secondary side of steam generators (SGs), causing the formation of concentrations of impurities on the tubesheet (TS), increasing the fouling of tube heat transfer, and blocking the broached egg crates (BEC) on the tube support plates (TSP). Accumulation of sludge on the tubesheet forms environment in which impurities are highly concentrated on the tubes. And we have experienced tube degradation, in the past, from the concentration of impurities. In Japan, the first tubesheet sludge lancing, via water jets, was done at the Mihama-2 plant in 1975. And that is why this pile sludge becomes hard depending on time, removal made an effort toward removal with CECIL* (in bundle cleaning system) us very difficulty. However, sludge remained in localized areas and it had possibility of concentration. So that we improve the CECIL for the purpose of removing it, and we improved removal performance of the device. In addition to the improvement of CECIL, we install a sludge collector in order to decrease accumulation of sludge on the tubesheet. This paper introduces these improvements in sludge removal performance. (authors)

  1. Thermal performance analysis of a solar heating plant

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fan, Jianhua; Huang, Junpeng; Andersen, Ola Lie

    was developed to calculate thermal performances of the plant. In the Trnsys model, three solar collector fields with a total solar collector area of 33,300 m2, a seasonal water pit heat storage of 75,000 m3, a simplified CO2 HP, a simplified ORC unit and a simplified wood chip boiler were included. The energy......Detailed measurements were carried out on a large scale solar heating plant located in southern Denmark in order to evaluate thermal performances of the plant. Based on the measurements, energy flows of the plant were evaluated. A modified Trnsys model of the Marstal solar heating plant...... consumption of the district heating net was modeled by volume flow rate and given forward and return temperatures of the district heating net. Weather data from a weather station at the site of the plant were used in the calculations. The Trnsys calculated yearly thermal performance of the solar heating plant...

  2. Improvement of operational performance and increase of safety of WWER-1000/V-392

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurakov, Y.A.; Dragunov, Y.G.; Podshibiakin, A.K.; Fil, N.S.; Krushelnitsky, V.N.; Berkovich, V.M.

    2001-01-01

    The national programme of nuclear power development approved by the Russian Federation Government in 1998 considers the design of WWER-1000/V-392 power unit as a priority project of the new generation NPP with improved operational performances and increased safety. The pilot unit of this design (NVAES-2) is licensed for construction at the Novovoronezh NPP site. The NVAES-2 design is developed on the basis of standard power unit with reactor plant V-320. Twenty units of this type are in operation at the nuclear power plants in Russia, Ukraine and Bulgaria having totally about 270 reactor-years of operation. Two more V-320 units are being commissioned this year at Rostov NPP and Temelin NPP. So, the WWER-1000/V-392 design is as a whole an evolutionary development of the operating standard unit WWER-1000/V-320. Many technical solutions aimed at increase of safety and improvement of operational performance of the plant are implemented in the NVAES-2 design, such as advanced reactor WWER-1000, passive system of residual power removal, passive system of the core flooding under loss-of-coolant accidents, and others. NVAES-2 design refers to a class of advanced light water reactors and corresponds to the international requirements imposed to the nuclear power plants to be put into operation after the year 2000. New V-392 power unit has a good perspective from the view point of extensive implementation in the framework of the nuclear electricity production in Russia. Design decisions on NVAES-2 power unit with WWER-1000/V-392 reactor plant which assure significantly higher safety level and improve economical performance as compared to the operating WWER-1000 units are briefly considered in the present paper. (author)

  3. Model predictive control as a tool for improving the process operation of MSW combustion plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leskens, M.; Kessel, L.B.M. van; Bosgra, O.H.

    2005-01-01

    In this paper a feasibility study is presented on the application of the advanced control strategy called model predictive control (MPC) as a tool for obtaining improved process operation performance for municipal solid waste (MSW) combustion plants. The paper starts with a discussion of the operational objectives and control of such plants, from which a motivation follows for applying MPC to them. This is followed by a discussion on the basic idea behind this advanced control strategy. After that, an MPC-based combustion control system is proposed aimed at tackling a typical MSW combustion control problem and, using this proposed control system, an assessment is made of the improvement in performance that an MPC-based MSW combustion control system can provide in comparison to conventional MSW combustion control systems. This assessment is based on simulations using an experimentally obtained process and disturbance model of a real-life large-scale MSW combustion plant

  4. Use of computer codes to improve nuclear power plant operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Misak, J.; Polak, V.; Filo, J.; Gatas, J.

    1985-01-01

    For safety and economic reasons, the scope for carrying out experiments on operational nuclear power plants (NPPs) is very limited and any changes in technical equipment and operating parameters or conditions have to be supported by theoretical calculations. In the Nuclear Power Plant Scientific Research Institute (NIIAEhS), computer codes are systematically used to analyse actual operating events, assess safety aspects of changes in equipment and operating conditions, optimize the conditions, preparation and analysis of NPP startup trials and review and amend operating instructions. In addition, calculation codes are gradually being introduced into power plant computer systems to perform real time processing of the parameters being measured. The paper describes a number of specific examples of the use of calculation codes for the thermohydraulic analysis of operating and accident conditions aimed at improving the operation of WWER-440 units at the Jaslovske Bohunice V-1 and V-2 nuclear power plants. These examples confirm that computer calculations are an effective way of solving operating problems and of further increasing the level of safety and economic efficiency of NPP operation. (author)

  5. Improved technical specifications and related improvements to safety in commercial Nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoffman, D.R.; Demitrack, T.; Schiele, R.; Jones, J.C.

    2004-01-01

    Many of the commercial nuclear power plants in the United States (US) have been converting a portion of the plant operating license known as the Technical Specifications (TS) in accordance with a document published by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The TS prescribe commercial nuclear power plant operating requirements. There are several types of nuclear power plants in the US, based on the technology of different vendors, and there is an NRC document that supports each of the five different vendor designs. The NRC documents are known as the Improved Standard Technical Specifications (ISTS) and are contained in a separate document (NUREG series) for each one of the designs. EXCEL Services Corporation (hereinafter EXCEL) has played a major role in the development of the ISTS and in the development, licensing, and implementation of the plant specific Improved Technical Specifications (ITS) (which is based on the ISTS) for the commercial nuclear power plants in the US that have elected to make this conversion. There are currently 103 operating commercial nuclear power plants in the US and 68 of them have successfully completed the conversion to the ITS and are now operating in accordance with their plant specific ITS. The ISTS is focused mainly on safety by ensuring the commercial nuclear reactors can safely shut down and mitigate the consequences of any postulated transient and accident. It accomplishes this function by including requirements directly associated with safety in a document structured systematically and taking into account some key human factors and technical initiatives. This paper discusses the ISTS including its format, content, and detail, the history of the ISTS, the ITS development, licensing, and implementation process, the safety improvements resulting from a plant conversion to ITS, and the importance of the ITS Project to the industry. (Author)

  6. Improved technical specifications and related improvements to safety in commercial Nuclear power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoffman, D.R.; Demitrack, T.; Schiele, R.; Jones, J.C. [EXCEL Services Corporation, 11921 Rockville Pike, Suite 100, Rockville, MD 20852 (United States)]. e-mail: donaldh@excelservices.com

    2004-07-01

    Many of the commercial nuclear power plants in the United States (US) have been converting a portion of the plant operating license known as the Technical Specifications (TS) in accordance with a document published by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The TS prescribe commercial nuclear power plant operating requirements. There are several types of nuclear power plants in the US, based on the technology of different vendors, and there is an NRC document that supports each of the five different vendor designs. The NRC documents are known as the Improved Standard Technical Specifications (ISTS) and are contained in a separate document (NUREG series) for each one of the designs. EXCEL Services Corporation (hereinafter EXCEL) has played a major role in the development of the ISTS and in the development, licensing, and implementation of the plant specific Improved Technical Specifications (ITS) (which is based on the ISTS) for the commercial nuclear power plants in the US that have elected to make this conversion. There are currently 103 operating commercial nuclear power plants in the US and 68 of them have successfully completed the conversion to the ITS and are now operating in accordance with their plant specific ITS. The ISTS is focused mainly on safety by ensuring the commercial nuclear reactors can safely shut down and mitigate the consequences of any postulated transient and accident. It accomplishes this function by including requirements directly associated with safety in a document structured systematically and taking into account some key human factors and technical initiatives. This paper discusses the ISTS including its format, content, and detail, the history of the ISTS, the ITS development, licensing, and implementation process, the safety improvements resulting from a plant conversion to ITS, and the importance of the ITS Project to the industry. (Author)

  7. Utilizing clad piping to improve process plant piping integrity, reliability, and operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chakravarti, B.

    1996-01-01

    During the past four years carbon steel piping clad with type 304L (UNS S30403) stainless steel has been used to solve the flow accelerated corrosion (FAC) problem in nuclear power plants with exceptional success. The product is designed to allow ''like for like'' replacement of damaged carbon steel components where the carbon steel remains the pressure boundary and type 304L (UNS S30403) stainless steel the corrosion allowance. More than 3000 feet of piping and 500 fittings in sizes from 6 to 36-in. NPS have been installed in the extraction steam and other lines of these power plants to improve reliability, eliminate inspection program, reduce O and M costs and provide operational benefits. This concept of utilizing clad piping in solving various corrosion problems in industrial and process plants by conservatively selecting a high alloy material as cladding can provide similar, significant benefits in controlling corrosion problems, minimizing maintenance cost, improving operation and reliability to control performance and risks in a highly cost effective manner. This paper will present various material combinations and applications that appear ideally suited for use of the clad piping components in process plants

  8. Cost benefit justification of nuclear plant reliability improvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Sayed, M.A.H.; Abdelmonem, N.M.

    1985-01-01

    The design of the secondary steam loop of the nuclear power plant has a significant effect on the reliability of the plant. Moreover, the necessity to cool a reactor safely has increased the reliability demanded from the system. The rapidly rising construction costs and fuel prices in recent years have stimulated a great deal in optimizing the productivity of a nuclear power plant through reliability improvement of the secondary steamloop and the reactor cooling system. A method for evaluating the reliability of steam loop and cooling system of a nuclear power plant is presented. The method utilizes the cut-set technique. The developed method can be easily used to show to what extent the overall reliability of the nuclear plant is affected by the possible failures in the steam and cooling subsystem. A model for calculating the increase in the nuclear plant productivity resulting from a proposed improvement in the two subsystems reliability is discussed. The model takes into account the capital cost of spare parts for several components, replacement energy, operating and maintenance costs

  9. Fuzzy logic control for improved pressurizer systems in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, Chris; Gabbar, Hossam A.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Improved performance of the pressurizer system in a CANDU nuclear power plant (NPP). • Inventory control for the pressurizer system in NPP. • Compare fuzzy logic with PID in pressurizer system in NPP. • Develop a fuzzy controller to regulate the pressurizer inventory control. • Compare control performance with current proportional controller used at NPP. - Abstract: The pressurizer system in a CANDU nuclear power plant is responsible for maintaining the pressure of the primary heat transport system to ensure the plant is operated within its safe operating envelope. The inventory control for the pressurizer system use a combination of level sensors, feed valves and bleed valves to ensure that there is adequate room in the pressurizer to accommodate any swell or shrinkage in the PHT system. The Darlington Nuclear Generating Station (DNGS) in Ontario, Canada currently uses a proportional controller for the bleed and feed valves to regulate the pressurizer inventory control which can result in large coolant level overshoot along with excessive settling times. The purpose of this paper is to develop a fuzzy controller to regulate the pressurizer inventory control and compare its performance to the current proportional controller used at DNGS. The simulation of the pressurizer inventory control system shows the fuzzy controller performs better than the proportional controller in terms of settling time and overshoot

  10. Exergetic performance analysis of an ice-cream manufacturing plant: A comprehensive survey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dowlati, Majid; Aghbashlo, Mortaza; Mojarab Soufiyan, Mohamad

    2017-01-01

    In this study, a comprehensive exergetic performance analysis of an ice-cream manufacturing plant was conducted in order to pinpoint the locations of thermodynamic inefficiencies. Exergetic performance parameters of each subunit of the plant were determined and illustrated individually through writing and solving energy and exergy balance equations on the basis of real operational data. The required data were acquired from a local ice-cream factory located in Tehran, Iran. The plant included three main subsystems including water steam generator, refrigeration system, and ice-cream production line. An attempt was also made to quantify the specific exergy destruction of the ice-cream manufacturing process. The functional exergetic efficiency of the water steam generator, refrigeration system, and ice-cream production line was determined at 17.45%, 25.52%, and 5.71%, respectively. The overall functional exergetic efficiency of the process was found to be 2.15%, while the specific exergy destruction was calculated as 719.80 kJ/kg. In general, exergy analysis and its derivatives could provide invaluable information over the conventional energy analysis, suggesting potential locations for the plant performance improvement. - Highlights: • An ice-cream manufacturing plant was exergetically analyzed using the actual data. • Water steaming unit had the highest irreversibility rate among the plant subunits. • The specific exergy destruction of the ice-cream manufacturing was 719.80 kJ/kg. • The overall process exergetic efficiency of the process was found to be 2.15%.

  11. Development of a performance-based industrial energy efficiency indicator for corn refining plants.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boyd, G. A.; Decision and Information Sciences; USEPA

    2006-07-31

    Organizations that implement strategic energy management programs have the potential to achieve sustained energy savings if the programs are carried out properly. A key opportunity for achieving energy savings that plant managers can take is to determine an appropriate level of energy performance by comparing their plant's performance with that of similar plants in the same industry. Manufacturing facilities can set energy efficiency targets by using performance-based indicators. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through its ENERGY STAR{reg_sign} program, has been developing plant energy performance indicators (EPIs) to encourage a variety of U.S. industries to use energy more efficiently. This report describes work with the corn refining industry to provide a plant-level indicator of energy efficiency for facilities that produce a variety of products--including corn starch, corn oil, animal feed, corn sweeteners, and ethanol--for the paper, food, beverage, and other industries in the United States. Consideration is given to the role that performance-based indicators play in motivating change; the steps needed to develop indicators, including interacting with an industry to secure adequate data for an indicator; and the actual application and use of an indicator when complete. How indicators are employed in the EPA's efforts to encourage industries to voluntarily improve their use of energy is discussed as well. The report describes the data and statistical methods used to construct the EPI for corn refining plants. Individual equations are presented, as are the instructions for using them in an associated Excel spreadsheet.

  12. Improvement of the nuclear plant analyzer for Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Sung Soo; Han, Byoung Sub; Suh, Jae Seung; Son, Dae Seong

    2005-04-01

    Accurate analysis of the operating characteristics of Nuclear Power Plants provides valuable information for both norman and abnormal operation. The information can be used for the enhancement of plant performance and safety. Usually, such analysis is performed using computer codes used for plant design or simulators. However, their usages are limited because special expertise is required to use the computer codes and simulators are not portable. Therefore, it deemed necessary to develop an NPA which minimizes those limitations and can be used for the analysis and simulation of Nuclear Power Plants. The purpose of this study is to develop a real-time best-estimate NPA for the Korean Nuclear Power Plants(KSNP). The NPA is an interactive, high fidelity engineering simulator. NPA combines the process model simulating the plant behavior with the latest computer technology such as Graphical User Interface(GUI) and simulation executive for enhanced user interface. The process model includes models for a three-dimensional reactor core, the NSSS, secondary system including turbine and feedtrain, safety auxiliary systems, and various control systems. Through the verification and validation of the NPA, it was demonstrated that the NPA can realistically simulate the plant behaviors during transient and accident conditions

  13. Performance analysis of an integrated gas-, steam- and organic fluid-cycle thermal power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oko, C.O.C.; Njoku, I.H.

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents the performance analysis of an existing combined cycle power plant augmented with a waste heat fired organic Rankine cycle power plant for extra power generation. This was achieved by performing energy and exergy analysis of the integrated gas-, steam- and organic fluid-cycle thermal power plant (IPP). Heat source for the subcritical organic Rankine cycle (ORC) was the exhaust flue gases from the heat recovery steam generators of a 650 MW natural gas fired combined cycle power plant. The results showed that extra 12.4 MW of electricity was generated from the attached ORC unit using HFE7100 as working fluid. To select ORC working fluid, ten isentropic fluids were screened and HFE7100 produced the highest net power output and cycle efficiency. Exergy and energy efficiencies of the IPP improved by 1.95% and 1.93%, respectively. The rate of exergy destruction in the existing combined cycle plant was highest in the combustion chamber, 59%, whereas in the ORC, the highest rate of exergy destruction occurred in the evaporator, 62%. Simulations showed exergy efficiency of the IPP decreased with increasing ambient temperature. Exit stack flue gas temperature reduced from 126 °C in the combined cycle power plant to 100 °C in the integrated power plant. - Highlights: • Combined cycle plant retrofitted with ORC produced extra 12.4 MW electric power. • ORC is powered with low temperature flue gas from an existing combined cycle plant. • Exergy destruction rate in integrated plant(IPP) is less than in combined plant. • Exit stack temperature of the IPP has less environmental thermal pollution. • Exergy and energy efficiencies of the IPP improved by 1.95% and 1.93%, respectively.

  14. Improved people detection in nuclear plants by video processing for safety purpose

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jorge, Carlos Alexandre F.; Mol, Antonio Carlos A.; Carvalho, Paulo Victor R., E-mail: calexandre@ien.gov.br, E-mail: mol@ien.gov.br, E-mail: paulov@ien.gov.br [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Seixas, Jose M.; Silva, Eduardo Antonio B., E-mail: seixas@lps.ufrj.br, E-mail: eduardo@smt.ufrj.br [Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-Graduacao em Engenharia (COPPE/UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenharia Eletrica; Waintraub, Fabio, E-mail: fabiowaintraub@hotmail.com [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Escola Politecnica. Departamento de Engenharia Eletronica e de Computacao

    2013-07-01

    This work describes improvements in a surveillance system for safety purposes in nuclear plants. The objective is to track people online in video, in order to estimate the dose received by personnel, during working tasks executed in nuclear plants. The estimation will be based on their tracked positions and on dose rate mapping in a nuclear research reactor, Argonauta. Cameras have been installed within Argonauta room, supplying the data needed. Video processing methods were combined for detecting and tracking people in video. More specifically, segmentation, performed by background subtraction, was combined with a tracking method based on color distribution. The use of both methods improved the overall results. An alternative approach was also evaluated, by means of blind source signal separation. Results are commented, along with perspectives. (author)

  15. Improved people detection in nuclear plants by video processing for safety purpose

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jorge, Carlos Alexandre F.; Mol, Antonio Carlos A.; Carvalho, Paulo Victor R.; Seixas, Jose M.; Silva, Eduardo Antonio B.; Waintraub, Fabio

    2013-01-01

    This work describes improvements in a surveillance system for safety purposes in nuclear plants. The objective is to track people online in video, in order to estimate the dose received by personnel, during working tasks executed in nuclear plants. The estimation will be based on their tracked positions and on dose rate mapping in a nuclear research reactor, Argonauta. Cameras have been installed within Argonauta room, supplying the data needed. Video processing methods were combined for detecting and tracking people in video. More specifically, segmentation, performed by background subtraction, was combined with a tracking method based on color distribution. The use of both methods improved the overall results. An alternative approach was also evaluated, by means of blind source signal separation. Results are commented, along with perspectives. (author)

  16. Off-design thermodynamic performances on typical days of a 330 MW solar aided coal-fired power plant in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peng, Shuo; Hong, Hui; Wang, Yanjuan; Wang, Zhaoguo; Jin, Hongguang

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Optical loss and heat loss of solar field under different turbine load were investigated. • Off-design thermodynamic feature was disclosed by analyzing several operational parameters. • Possible schemes was proposed to improve the net solar-to-electricity efficiency. - Abstract: The contribution of mid-temperature solar thermal power to improve the performance of coal-fired power plant is analyzed in the present paper. In the solar aided coal-fired power plant, solar heat at <300 °C is used to replace the extracted steam from the steam turbine to heat the feed water. In this way, the steam that was to be extracted could consequently expand in the steam turbine to boost output power. The advantages of a solar aided coal-fired power plant in design condition have been discussed by several researchers. However, thermodynamic performances on off-design operation have not been well discussed until now. In this paper, a typical 330 MW coal-fired power plant in Sinkiang Province of China is selected as the case study to demonstrate the advantages of the solar aided coal-fired power plant under off-design conditions. Hourly thermodynamic performances are analyzed on typical days under partial load. The effects of several operational parameters, such as solar irradiation intensity, incident angle, flow rate of thermal oil, on the performance of solar field efficiency and net solar-to-electricity efficiency were examined. Possible schemes have been proposed for improving the solar aided coal-fired power plant on off-design operation. The results obtained in the current study could provide a promising approach to solve the poor thermodynamic performance of solar thermal power plant and also offer a basis for the practical operation of MW-scale solar aided coal-fired power plant

  17. Application of neural network technology to nuclear plant thermal efficiency improvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doremus, Rick; Allen Ho, S.; Bailey, James V.; Roman, Harry

    2004-01-01

    Due to the tremendous cost of building new nuclear power plants, it has become increasingly attractive to increase the power output from the existing operating power plants. There are two options that may be available to accomplish this goal. One option is to uprate the plant through licensing modification for a comfortably achievable goal of 4% to 6%. However, the licensing efforts required are no small task, vary from plant to plant, and may take years to accomplish. Some nuclear power plants may not have this option because of design, environmental, political, or geographical limitations. A second option exists that is simpler and more immediate. It focuses on improving the plant operating conditions using adaptive software that could increase the total plant output by approximately one-half percent by adjusting certain key operating parameters. No design basis analyses, hardware modifications, or licensing changes are required. In fact, this technique can be used on a plant that has already obtained licensing modification to obtain an additional one-half percent on top of the 4% to 6% increase. Public Service Electric and Gas and ARD Corporation are jointly investigating the creation of a Plant Optimization System, called POSITIVE. POSITIVE is an adaptive software tool that enables a user to analyze current plant data to identify potential problem areas and to obtain recommendations for increasing the plant's electric output. POSITIVE uses a combination of expert systems and adaptive software to analyze the thermal performance of a nuclear power plant. Historical data, obtained while the plant was above 93% power, is used to train neural networks to determine the current electric output of the plant. Once sufficiently trained, new data can be processed through the neural network. The neural network first determines the electric output associated with the current data. If the actual power matches the power predicted by the network, the neural network can be used

  18. Improved productivity of the MSF (multi-stage flashing) desalination plant by increasing the TBT (top brine temperature)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanshik, Chung; Jeong, Hyomin; Jeong, Kwang-Woon; Choi, Soon-Ho

    2016-01-01

    The evaporating process is very important in the system concerned with liquid foods, seawater distillation and wastewater treatment, which is to concentrate the aqueous solution by evaporating the pure water usually at a vacuum state. In general, the liquid concentration is performed through the membrane, electro-dialysis, and evaporation; the former are separation process and the latter is the phase change process. In this study, only the thermal process was treated for evaluating the specific energy consumption by changing the operating conditions of an existing MSF (multi-stage flashing) desalination plant, which is still dominant for a large scale distillation plant. This study shows the quantitative energy saving strategy in sweater distillation process and, additionally, indicates that the performance of the multi-stage evaporating system can be increased with the elevation of a TBT (top brine temperature). The calculated results were based on the operating data of the currently installed plants and suggests the alternative to improve the performance of the MSF desalination plant, which means that the energy saving can be achieved only by changing the operating conditions of the existing MSF plants. - Highlights: • Detailed operating principles of an multi-stage flashing (MSF) desalting process. • Improved freshwater productivity by increasing the top brine temperature (TBT). • Increased energy efficiency of an existing MSF plants by the TBT increase.

  19. Hydroponic isotope labeling of entire plants and high-performance mass spectrometry for quantitative plant proteomics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bindschedler, Laurence V; Mills, Davinia J S; Cramer, Rainer

    2012-01-01

    Hydroponic isotope labeling of entire plants (HILEP) combines hydroponic plant cultivation and metabolic labeling with stable isotopes using (15)N-containing inorganic salts to label whole and mature plants. Employing (15)N salts as the sole nitrogen source for HILEP leads to the production of healthy-looking plants which contain (15)N proteins labeled to nearly 100%. Therefore, HILEP is suitable for quantitative plant proteomic analysis, where plants are grown in either (14)N- or (15)N-hydroponic media and pooled when the biological samples are collected for relative proteome quantitation. The pooled (14)N-/(15)N-protein extracts can be fractionated in any suitable way and digested with a protease for shotgun proteomics, using typically reverse phase liquid chromatography nanoelectrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (RPLC-nESI-MS/MS). Best results were obtained with a hybrid ion trap/FT-MS mass spectrometer, combining high mass accuracy and sensitivity for the MS data acquisition with speed and high-throughput MS/MS data acquisition, increasing the number of proteins identified and quantified and improving protein quantitation. Peak processing and picking from raw MS data files, protein identification, and quantitation were performed in a highly automated way using integrated MS data analysis software with minimum manual intervention, thus easing the analytical workflow. In this methodology paper, we describe how to grow Arabidopsis plants hydroponically for isotope labeling using (15)N salts and how to quantitate the resulting proteomes using a convenient workflow that does not require extensive bioinformatics skills.

  20. Gasification Plant Cost and Performance Optimization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Samuel Tam; Alan Nizamoff; Sheldon Kramer; Scott Olson; Francis Lau; Mike Roberts; David Stopek; Robert Zabransky; Jeffrey Hoffmann; Erik Shuster; Nelson Zhan

    2005-05-01

    As part of an ongoing effort of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to investigate the feasibility of gasification on a broader level, Nexant, Inc. was contracted to perform a comprehensive study to provide a set of gasification alternatives for consideration by the DOE. Nexant completed the first two tasks (Tasks 1 and 2) of the ''Gasification Plant Cost and Performance Optimization Study'' for the DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in 2003. These tasks evaluated the use of the E-GAS{trademark} gasification technology (now owned by ConocoPhillips) for the production of power either alone or with polygeneration of industrial grade steam, fuel gas, hydrocarbon liquids, or hydrogen. NETL expanded this effort in Task 3 to evaluate Gas Technology Institute's (GTI) fluidized bed U-GAS{reg_sign} gasifier. The Task 3 study had three main objectives. The first was to examine the application of the gasifier at an industrial application in upstate New York using a Southeastern Ohio coal. The second was to investigate the GTI gasifier in a stand-alone lignite-fueled IGCC power plant application, sited in North Dakota. The final goal was to train NETL personnel in the methods of process design and systems analysis. These objectives were divided into five subtasks. Subtasks 3.2 through 3.4 covered the technical analyses for the different design cases. Subtask 3.1 covered management activities, and Subtask 3.5 covered reporting. Conceptual designs were developed for several coal gasification facilities based on the fluidized bed U-GAS{reg_sign} gasifier. Subtask 3.2 developed two base case designs for industrial combined heat and power facilities using Southeastern Ohio coal that will be located at an upstate New York location. One base case design used an air-blown gasifier, and the other used an oxygen-blown gasifier in order to evaluate their relative economics. Subtask 3.3 developed an advanced design for an air

  1. The Green Roof Microbiome: Improving Plant Survival for Ecosystem Service Delivery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberta Fulthorpe

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Plants are key contributors to ecosystem services delivered by green roofs in cities including stormwater capture, temperature regulation, and wildlife habitat. As a result, current research has primarily focused on their growth in relationship to extensive green roof (e.g., substrates <15 cm depth ecosystem services. Green roofs are exposed to a variety of harsh abiotic factors such as intense solar radiation, wind, and isolation from ground-level habitats, making survival exceedingly difficult. Plants in natural habitats benefit from a variety of interactions with fungi and bacteria. These plant-microbial interactions improve mechanisms of survival and productivity; however, many green roof substrates are sterilized prior to installation and lack microbial communities with unstudied consequences for green roof plant health and subsequent survival and performance. In this paper, we present six hypotheses on the positive role of microbes in green roof applications. In natural and experimental systems, microbial interactions have been linked to plant (1 drought tolerance, (2 pathogen protection, (3 nutrient availability, (4 salt tolerance, (5 phytohormone production, and (6 substrate stabilization, all of which are desirable properties of green roof ecosystems. As few studies exist that directly examine these relationships on green roofs, we explore the existing ecological literature on these topics to unravel the mechanisms that could support more complex green roof ecosystem and lead to new insight into the design, performance, and broader applications in green infrastructure.

  2. Objective indicators of organizational performance at nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olson, J.; Osborn, R.N.; Jackson, D.H.; Shikiar, R.

    1986-01-01

    This report summarizes research conducted on the development and validation of organizational performance measures at operating nuclear power plants. Publicly available data, including measures from Licensee Event Reports, operating and outage data, and violations data, are used to predict penultimate measures of plant safety. Penultimate measures of safety include potentially significant events, overexposures and near overexposures, and several radiological release measures. The 1981 and 1982 performance measures are used in correlation and regression analyses to predict performance on the penultimate safety measures in 1982 and 1983. Many of the plant performance measures are consistently predictive of the frequency of potentially significant events. No strong, consistent predictors emerge for exposures or liquid radiological releases. Several performance measures are consistent predictors of gaseous releases. The regression analyses indicate that the predictors do not tend to combine in consistent, multivariate patterns, and controls for plant age, size, type, region, and fuel cycle stage do not substantially affect the results. The analysis concludes that existing performance data do appear to be predictive of some aspects of plant safety performance. The report recommends that more reliable, summary performance measures be created by combining several of the performance measures tested in the current analysis

  3. Effectively managing nuclear risk through human performance improvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coe, R.P.

    2004-01-01

    Full text: The US commercial nuclear industry has just completed an outstanding decade of plant performance. Safety levels and electric production are at unprecedented high levels and continue to exceed even high industry goals. Nuclear energy continues to keep the highest priority on performance improvement programs and highly trained/qualified people that maintain its record setting safety and reliability of operations. While the industry has maintained a consistently high level of performance, the advent of deregulation and the consolidation of NPP ownership, as well as the current climate of concern about both rising energy costs and availability of power, has raised the standard for nuclear energy's level of competitiveness in today's market place. The resulting challenge is how to more effectively manage risk and improve performance even further in a generally high performing organization. Newer technology and more training by themselves are not the answer. Rather, the answer will lie in the human side of the organization and management's ability to tap into the unused potential of employee commitment and productivity. It is people who offer the greatest potential for organizational success. Given the fact that human performance has been demonstrated to yield higher rates of return than physical capital, it makes good business sense to determine how to encourage the behaviors in the workplace to manage the risk that will accompany efforts to boost the nuclear industry to new heights of excellence. This means effectively developing a performance improvement culture through identifying measurable performance indicators and determining how behaviors can best be influenced to improve those indicators. It also means seeing a culture of performance improvement and risk management as a strategic planning tool rather than a solution to a particular problem. One of the most effective ways to develop this culture of performance improvement and effectively managing risk

  4. Plant improvements through the use of benchmarking analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Messmer, J.R.

    1993-01-01

    As utilities approach the turn of the century, customer and shareholder satisfaction is threatened by rising costs. Environmental compliance expenditures, coupled with low load growth and aging plant assets are forcing utilities to operate existing resources in a more efficient and productive manner. PSI Energy set out in the spring of 1992 on a benchmarking mission to compare four major coal fired plants against others of similar size and makeup, with the goal of finding the best operations in the country. Following extensive analysis of the 'Best in Class' operation, detailed goals and objectives were established for each plant in seven critical areas. Three critical processes requiring rework were identified and required an integrated effort from all plants. The Plant Improvement process has already resulted in higher operation productivity, increased emphasis on planning, and lower costs due to effective material management. While every company seeks improvement, goals are often set in an ambiguous manner. Benchmarking aids in setting realistic goals based on others' actual accomplishments. This paper describes how the utility's short term goals will move them toward being a lower cost producer

  5. Improved HYLIFE-II heat transport system and steam power plant: Impact on performance and cost of electricity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoffman, M.A.; Lee, Ying T.

    1992-12-01

    The HYLIFE-II conceptual design has evolved and improved continually over the past four years to its present form. This paper describes the latest FY92 versions, Reference Case H1 (nominally 1 GWe net output) and the Enhanced Case HE (nominally 2 GWe net output), which take advantage of improvements in the tritium management system to eliminate the intermediate loop and the intermediate heat exchangers (IHX's). The improvements in the heat transport system and the steam power plant are described and the resulting cost reductions are evaluated. The new estimated cost of electricity (in 1990 dollars) is 6.6 cents/kWh for Reference Case H1 and 4.7 cents/kWh for the Enhanced Case

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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.

  9. Transportation of part supply improvement in agricultural machinery assembly plant

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saysaman, Anusit; Chutima, Parames

    2018-02-01

    This research focused on the problem caused by the transportation of part supply in agricultural machinery assembly plant in Thailand, which is one of the processes that are critical to the whole production process. If poorly managed, it will affect transportation of part supply, the emergence of sink cost, quality problems, and the ability to respond to the needs of the customers in time. Since the competition in the agricultural machinery market is more intense, the efficiency of part transportation process has to be improved. In this study, the process of transporting parts of the plant was studied and it was found that the efficiency of the process of transporting parts from the sub assembly line to its main assembly line was 83%. The approach to the performance improvement is done by using the Lean tool to limit wastes based on the ECRS principle and applying pull production system by changing the transportation method to operate as milkrun for transportation of parts to synchronize with the part demands of the main assembly line. After the transportation of parts from sub-assembly line to the main assembly line was improved, the efficiency raised to 98% and transportation process cost was saved to 540,000 Baht per year.

  10. Alternative off-site power supply improves nuclear power plant safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gjorgiev, Blaže; Volkanovski, Andrija; Kančev, Duško; Čepin, Marko

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Additional power supply for mitigation of the station blackout event in NPP is used. • A hydro power plant is considered as an off-site alternative power supply. • An upgrade of the probabilistic safety assessment from its traditional use is made. • The obtained results show improvement of nuclear power plant safety. - Abstract: A reliable power system is important for safe operation of the nuclear power plants. The station blackout event is of great importance for nuclear power plant safety. This event is caused by the loss of all alternating current power supply to the safety and non-safety buses of the nuclear power plant. In this study an independent electrical connection between a pumped-storage hydro power plant and a nuclear power plant is assumed as a standpoint for safety and reliability analysis. The pumped-storage hydro power plant is considered as an alternative power supply. The connection with conventional accumulation type of hydro power plant is analysed in addition. The objective of this paper is to investigate the improvement of nuclear power plant safety resulting from the consideration of the alternative power supplies. The safety of the nuclear power plant is analysed through the core damage frequency, a risk measure assess by the probabilistic safety assessment. The presented method upgrades the probabilistic safety assessment from its common traditional use in sense that it considers non-plant sited systems. The obtained results show significant decrease of the core damage frequency, indicating improvement of nuclear safety if hydro power plant is introduced as an alternative off-site power source

  11. Study for improvement of performance of the test and research reactors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sakurai, Fumio [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

    1999-03-01

    Current utilization needs for the test and research reactors become more advanced and diversified along with the advance of nuclear science and technology. Besides, the requested safety for the research and test reactors grows strictly every year as well as a case of the power reactors. Under this circumstance, every effort to improve reactor performance including its safety is necessary to be sustained for allowing more effective utilization of the test and research reactors as experimental apparatus for advanced researches. In this study, the following three themes i.e., JMTR high-performance fuel element, evaluation method of fast neutron irradiation dose in the JMTR, evaluation method of performance of siphon break valve as core covering system for water-cooled test and research reactors, were investigated respectively from the views of improvement of core performance as a neutron source, utilization performance as an experimental apparatus, and safety as a reactor plant. (author)

  12. The role of human performance in safe operation of complex plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Preda, Irina Aida; Lazar, Roxana Elena; Croitoru, Cornelia

    1999-01-01

    According to statistics, about 20-30% from the failures occurring in plants are caused directly or indirectly by human errors. Furthermore, it was established that 10-15 percents of the global failures are related to the human errors. These are mainly due to the wrong actions, maintenance errors, and misinterpretation of instruments. The human performance is influenced by: professional ability, complexity and danger of the plant, experience in the same working place, level of skills, events in personal and/or professional life, discipline, social ambience and somatic health. The human performances assessment in the probabilistic safety assessment offers the possibility of evaluation for human contribution to the events sequences outcome. A human error may be recovered before the unwanted consequences had been occurred on system. This paper presents the possibilities to use the probabilistic methods (event tree, fault tree) to identify the solution for human reliability improvement in order to minimise the risk in industrial plant operation. Also, are defined the human error types and their causes and the 'decision tree method' is presented as technique in our analyses for human reliability assessment. The exemplification of human error analysis method was achieved based on operation data for Valcea heavy water pilot plant. (authors)

  13. Measuring improvement in energy efficiency of the US cement industry with the ENERGY STAR Energy Performance Indicator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boyd, G.; Zhang, G. [Department of Economics, Duke University, Box 90097, Durham, NC 27708 (United States)

    2013-02-15

    The lack of a system for benchmarking industrial plant energy efficiency represents a major obstacle to improving efficiency. While estimates are sometimes available for specific technologies, the efficiency of one plant versus another could only be captured by benchmarking the energy efficiency of the whole plant and not by looking at its components. This paper presents an approach used by ENERGY STAR to implement manufacturing plant energy benchmarking for the cement industry. Using plant-level data and statistical analysis, we control for factors that influence energy use that are not efficiency, per se. What remains is an estimate of the distribution of energy use that is not accounted for by these factors, i.e., intra-plant energy efficiency. By comparing two separate analyses conducted at different points in time, we can see how this distribution has changed. While aggregate data can be used to estimate an average rate of improvement in terms of total industry energy use and production, such an estimate would be misleading as it may give the impression that all plants have made the same improvements. The picture that emerges from our plant-level statistical analysis is more subtle; the most energy-intensive plants have closed or been completely replaced and poor performing plants have made efficiency gains, reducing the gap between themselves and the top performers, whom have changed only slightly. Our estimate is a 13 % change in total source energy, equivalent to an annual reduction of 5.4 billion/kg of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.

  14. Reduced-scale experimental investigation on ventilation performance of a local exhaust hood in an industrial plant

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Huang, Yanqiu; Wang, Yi; Liu, Li

    2015-01-01

    stratification in the working areas of industrial plants. Investigated factors were confined airflow boundaries, flow rates of the exhaust hoods, source strengths, airflow obstacles and distances between sources and exhaust hoods. Reduced-scale experiments were conducted with a geometric scale of 1...... efficiency. Hood performance was also evaluated by thermal stratification heights in the plants. This study could help improve the capture efficiency of local ventilation systems used in industrial plants. Safe operation heights are recommended in the upper space of industrial plants based on the thermal...

  15. 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)

  16. Plant breeding: Induced mutation technology for crop improvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novak, F.J.; Brunner, H.

    1992-01-01

    Plant breeding requires genetic variation of useful traits for crop improvement, but the desired variation is often lacking. Mutagenic agents, such as radiation and certain chemicals, can be used to induce mutations and generate genetic variations from which desirable mutants may be selected. After a brief summary of the methods currently employed in plant breeding, especially those inducing genetic engineering, this article describes the activities of the Plant Breeding Unit of the IAEA Laboratories at Seibersdorf, summarizing the research and development areas currently being pursued. The banana plant is chosen to exemplify the Laboratories' research

  17. Basic study of the plant maintenance model considering plant improvement/modification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsumaya, Akira; Inoue, Kazuya; Mochizuki, Masahito; Wakamatsu, Hidefumi; Arai, Eiji

    2007-01-01

    This paper proposes a maintenance activity model that considers not only routine maintenance activity but also functional maintenance including improvement/modification. Required maintenance types are categorized, and limitation of Activity Domain Integration Diagram (ADID) proposed by ISO18435 are discussed based on framework for life cycle maintenance management of manufacturing assets. Then, we proposed extension ADID model for plant maintenance activity model considering functional improvement/modification. (author)

  18. Thermoeconomic Optimization of an Irreversible Novikov Plant Model under Different Regimes of Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Carlos Pacheco-Paez

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The so-called Novikov power plant model has been widely used to represent some actual power plants, such as nuclear electric power generators. In the present work, a thermo-economic study of a Novikov power plant model is presented under three different regimes of performance: maximum power (MP, maximum ecological function (ME and maximum efficient power (EP. In this study, different heat transfer laws are used: The Newton’s law of cooling, the Stefan–Boltzmann radiation law, the Dulong–Petit’s law and another phenomenological heat transfer law. For the thermoeconomic optimization of power plant models, a benefit function defined as the quotient of an objective function and the total economical costs is commonly employed. Usually, the total costs take into account two contributions: a cost related to the investment and another stemming from the fuel consumption. In this work, a new cost associated to the maintenance of the power plant is also considered. With these new total costs, it is shown that under the maximum ecological function regime the plant improves its economic and energetic performance in comparison with the other two regimes. The methodology used in this paper is within the context of finite-time thermodynamics.

  19. Improving human reliability through better nuclear power plant system design. Progress report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golay, M.W.

    1995-01-01

    The project on open-quotes Development of a Theory of the Dependence of Human Reliability upon System Designs as a Means of Improving Nuclear Power Plant Performanceclose quotes has been undertaken in order to address the important problem of human error in advanced nuclear power plant designs. Most of the creativity in formulating such concepts has focused upon improving the mechanical reliability of safety related plant systems. However, the lack of a mature theory has retarded similar progress in reducing the likely frequencies of human errors. The main design mechanism used to address this class of concerns has been to reduce or eliminate the human role in plant operations and accident response. The plan of work being pursued in this project is to perform a set of experiments involving human subject who are required to operate, diagnose and respond to changes in computer-simulated systems, relevant to those encountered in nuclear power plants. In the tests the systems are made to differ in complexity in a systematic manner. The computer program used to present the problems to be solved also records the response of the operator as it unfolds. Ultimately this computer is also to be used in compiling the results of the project. The work of this project is focused upon nuclear power plant applications. However, the persuasiveness of human errors in using all sorts of electromechanical machines gives it a much greater potential importance. Because of this we are attempting to pursue our work in a fashion permitting broad generalizations

  20. Crew Situation Awareness, Diagnoses, and Performance in Simulated Nuclear Power Plant Process Disturbances

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sebok, Angelia; Kaarstad, Magnhild

    1998-01-01

    Research was conducted at the OECD Halden Reactor Project to identify issues in crew performance in complex simulated nuclear power plant scenarios. Eight crews of operators participated in five scenarios, administered over a two or three-day period. Scenarios required either rule-based or knowledge-based problem solving. Several performance parameters were collected, including Situation Awareness (SA), objective performance, rated crew performance, and crew diagnoses. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in performance measures in knowledge-based and rule-based scenarios. Preliminary data analysis revealed a significant difference in crew SA between the two scenario types: crews in the rule-based scenarios had significantly higher SA then crews in the knowledge-based scenarios. Further investigations were initiated to determine if crews performed differently, in terms of objective performance, rated crew performance, and diagnoses, between the scenario types. Correlations between the various crew performance measurements were calculated to reveal insights into the nature of SA, performance, and diagnoses. The insights into crew performance can be used to design more effective interfaces and operator performance aids, thus contributing to enhanced crew performance and improved plant safety. (authors)

  1. 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

  2. 30 CFR 827.13 - Coal preparation plants: Interim performance standards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Coal preparation plants: Interim performance...-COAL PREPARATION PLANTS NOT LOCATED WITHIN THE PERMIT AREA OF A MINE § 827.13 Coal preparation plants: Interim performance standards. (a) Persons operating or who have operated coal preparation plants after...

  3. Assessment of Human Performance and Safety Culture at the Paks Nuclear Power Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toth, Janos; Hadnagy, Lajos

    2002-01-01

    Evaluation of human performance and safety culture of the personnel at a Nuclear Power Plant is a very important element of the self assessment process. At the Paks NPP a systematic approach to this problem started in the early 90's. The first comprehensive analysis of the human performance of the personnel was performed by the Hungarian Research Institute for Electric Power (VEIKI). The analysis of human failures is also a part of the investigation and analysis of safety related reported events. This human performance analysis of events is carried out by the Laboratory of Psychology of the plant and a supporting organisation namely the Department of Ergonomics and Psychology of the Budapest University of Technical and Economical Sciences. The analysis of safety culture at the Paks NPP has been in the focus of attention since the implementation of the INSAG-4 document started world-wide. In 1993 an IAEA model project namely 'Strengthening Training for Operational Safety' was initiated with a sub-project called 'Enhancement of Safety Culture'. Within this project the first step was the initial assessment of the safety culture level at the Paks NPP. It was followed by some corrective actions and safety culture improvement programme. In 1999 the second assessment was performed in order to evaluate the progress as a result of the improvement programme. A few indicators reflecting the elements of safety culture were defined and compared. The assessment of the safety culture with a survey among the managers was performed in September 2000 and the results are being evaluated at the moment. The intention of the plant management is to repeat the assessment every 2-3 years and evaluate the trend of the indicator. (authors)

  4. Improving the performances of gas turbines operated on natural gas in combined cycle power plants with application of mathematical models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dimkovski, Sasho

    2014-01-01

    The greater energy demand by today society sets a number of new challenges in the energy sector. The climate extremes impose new modes of operation of the power plants, with high flexibility in production. Combined cycle co generative power plants are the latest trend in the energy sector. Their high prevalence is due to the great efficiency and the good environmental characteristics. The main work horse in these cogeneration plants is the gas turbine, which power production and efficiency strongly depends on the external climate conditions. In warmer periods when there is increased demand for electricity, the power production from the gas turbines significantly declines. Because of the high electricity demand from the grid and reduced power production from the gas turbines at the same time, the need for application of appropriate technology for preserving the performances and power of the gas turbines arises. This master thesis explores different methods to improve the power in gas turbines by cooling the air on the compressor inlet, analyzing their applicability and effectiveness in order to choose the optimal method for power augmentation for the climatic conditions in the city Skopje. The master thesis gives detailed analysis of the weather in Skopje and the time frame in which the chosen method is applicable. At the end in the master thesis, the economic feasibility of the given method for power augmentation is clearly calculated, using a model of a power plant and calculating the resulting amount of gained energy, the amount of the initial investment, the cost for maintenance and operation of the equipment. By these calculations the period for initial return of investment is obtained. As an added benefit the positive environmental impacts of the applied technology for inlet air cooling is analyzed. (author)

  5. Dynamic performance of a combined gas turbine and air bottoming cycle plant for off-shore applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Benato, Alberto; Pierobon, Leonardo; Haglind, Fredrik

    2014-01-01

    and a combined gas turbine coupled with an air bottoming cycle plant. The case study is the Draugen off-shore oil and gas platform, located in the North Sea, Norway. The normal electricity demand is 19 MW, currently covered by two gas turbines generating each 50% of the power demand, while the third turbine......When the Norwegian government introduced the CO2 tax for hydrocarbon fuels, the challenge became to improve the performance of off-shore power systems. An oil and gas platform typically operates on an island (stand-alone system) and the power demand is covered by two or more gas turbines. In order...... to improve the plant performance, a bottoming cycle unit can be added to the gas turbine topping module, thus constituting a combined cycle plant. This paper aims at developing and testing the numerical model simulating the part-load and dynamic behavior of a novel power system, composed of two gas turbines...

  6. Improving fleet performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramjist, S.

    2015-01-01

    Use Fleet Initiatives to Improve Overall Fleet Performance . Tightly Integrated with Business Planning (Cause & Effect) . Leverage Strength of Broader Organization - Converge on Standard Business Practices . Ancillary Benefit of Improved Agility.

  7. Improving fleet performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramjist, S. [Ontario Power Generation, Toronto, ON (Canada)

    2015-07-01

    Use Fleet Initiatives to Improve Overall Fleet Performance . Tightly Integrated with Business Planning (Cause & Effect) . Leverage Strength of Broader Organization - Converge on Standard Business Practices . Ancillary Benefit of Improved Agility.

  8. Round Robin Test for Performance Demonstration System of Ultrasound Examination Personnel in Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Young Ho; Yang, Seung Han; Kim, Yong Sik; Yoon, Byung Sik; Lee, Hee Jong

    2005-01-01

    Ultrasound testing performance during in-service inspection for the main components of NPPs is strongly affected by each examination person. Therefore, ASME established a more strict qualification requirement in Sec. XI Appendix VIII for the ultrasound testing personnel in nuclear power plants. The Korean Performance Demonstration (KPD) System according to the ASME code for the ultrasonic testing personnel, equipments, and procedures to apply to the Class 1 and 2 piping ultrasound examination of nuclear power plants in Korea was established. And a round robin test was conducted in order to verify the effectiveness of PD method by comparing the examination results from the method of Performance Demonstration (PD) and a traditional ASME code dB-drop method. The round robin test shows that the reliability of the PD method is better than that of the dB-drop method. As a result, application of the PD method to the in-service inspection of the nuclear power plants will improve the performance of ultrasound testing

  9. ERDA LWR plant technology program: role of government/industry in improving LWR performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1975-01-01

    Information is presented under the following chapter headings: executive summary; LWR plant outages; LWR plant construction delays and cancellations; programs addressing plant outages, construction delays, and cancellations; need for additional programs to remedy continuing problems; criteria for government role in LWR commercialization; and the proposed government program

  10. A model for continuous improvement at a South African minerals benefication plant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ras, Eugene Ras

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available South Africa has a variety of mineral resources, and several minerals beneficiation plants are currently in operation. These plants must be operated effectively to ensure that the end-users of its products remain internationally competitive. To achieve this objective, plants need a sustainable continuous improvement programme. Several frameworks for continuous improvement are used, with variable success rates, in beneficiation plants around the world. However, none of these models specifically addresses continuous improvement from a minerals-processing point of view. The objective of this research study was to determine which factors are important for a continuous improvement model at a minerals beneficiation plant, and to propose a new model using lean manufacturing, six sigma, and the theory of constraints. A survey indicated that managers in the industry prefer a model that combines various continuous improvement models.

  11. Utility experience using THERMAC for plant thermal performance analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jain, P.K.; Doran, K.J.

    1993-01-01

    THERMAC is a state-of-the-art software package designed to assist those responsible for monitoring and evaluating the thermal performance of fossil and nuclear power plants. It is an integrated program, available on PCs and selected workstations, that combines strong analytical capabilities with a graphical user interface and object-oriented database. The software accurately analyses all of the components of a power plant from first principles. The graphical user interface is employed to build plant specific models; it can also be used to create custom screen displays. THERMAC is able to read plant measurements and statistically account for any missing or erroneous plant data; it does not require any additional plant instrumentation. THERMAC can be used to archive historical data, generate customized trending plots and periodic performance reports. open-quotes What-if close-quote studies can be conducted to predict the impact of corrective actions on thermal performance

  12. A Performance Measurement Tool Leading Wastewater Treatment Plants toward Economic Efficiency and Sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Guerrini

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Wastewater treatment is an important link in the water cycle that allows for water sanitation and reuse, facilitates energy generation, and allows for the recovery of products from waste. The scientific community has paid significant attention to wastewater treatment, especially from a technical point of view. Extensive literature is available on new technologies, processes, and materials to improve wastewater treatment. However, scant studies have been conducted in the management field focusing on the development of a performance measurement tool that supports plant managers. The current article addresses this literature gap, developing a reporting tool that integrates technical and cost measures and implements it in a large wastewater utility. The tool successfully identifies cause and effect linkages among key plant performance drivers and supports management in finding activities with poor performance and allows them to delay non-relevant measures of control.

  13. Plants for Sustainable Improvement of Indoor Air Quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brilli, Federico; Fares, Silvano; Ghirardo, Andrea; de Visser, Pieter; Calatayud, Vicent; Muñoz, Amalia; Annesi-Maesano, Isabella; Sebastiani, Federico; Alivernini, Alessandro; Varriale, Vincenzo; Menghini, Flavio

    2018-04-10

    Indoor pollution poses a serious threat to human health. Plants represent a sustainable but underexploited solution to enhance indoor air quality. However, the current selection of plants suitable for indoors fails to consider the physiological processes and mechanisms involved in phytoremediation. Therefore, the capacity of plants to remove indoor air pollutants through stomatal uptake (absorption) and non-stomatal deposition (adsorption) remains largely unknown. Moreover, the effects of the indoor plant-associated microbiome still need to be fully analyzed. Here, we discuss how a combination of the enhanced phytoremediation capacity of plants together with cutting-edge air-cleaning and smart sensor technologies can improve indoor life while reducing energy consumption. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. On the plant operators performance during earthquake

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitada, Y.; Yoshimura, S.; Abe, M.; Niwa, H.; Yoneda, T.; Matsunaga, M.; Suzuki, T.

    1994-01-01

    There is little data on which to judge the performance of plant operators during and after strong earthquakes. In order to obtain such data to enhance the reliability on the plant operation, a Japanese utility and a power plant manufacturer carried out a vibration test using a shaking table. The purpose of the test was to investigate operator performance, i.e., the quickness and correctness in switch handling and panel meter read-out. The movement of chairs during earthquake as also of interest, because if the chairs moved significantly or turned over during a strong earthquake, some arresting mechanism would be required for the chair. Although there were differences between the simulated earthquake motions used and actual earthquakes mainly due to the specifications of the shaking table, the earthquake motions had almost no influence on the operators of their capability (performance) for operating the simulated console and the personal computers

  15. Performance measures for aging of nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ross, D.F. Jr.

    1993-01-01

    The Nuclear Power Plant licenses are granted by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a 40-year term. There is at present consideration being given to extending the authorized service lifetime beyond that, perhaps for a total of 60 or 70 years total. A logical concern for such a length of operation is whether the plant ages in such a way as to be significantly less safe as it gets older. As a corollary to this, there would be the question as to how to measure a diminution in plant safety. Each operating utility has, of course, ways to observe the plant performance. It has maintenance and surveillance programs which are used for this purpose. The NRC maintains a presence at each operating plant in the form of resident inspectors. The NRC also receives utility reports which may then be used to synthesize operating performance. It also reviews plant performance directly through what is known as the Systematic Assessment of Licensee Performance (SALP). In the paper the various data management programs used by the NRC will be described. The results of each program is presented, and observations are made as to the potential effect of age on safety performance. It is also necessary to define the size of the population being examined. There are at present 109 operating reactors. The age distribution is used to normalize the data. Some of the indicators discussed in this paper are concerned more with the indirect effect of aging, such as inadvertent shutdown. The regulated industry maintains a program known as the Nuclear Power Reliability Data System (NPRDS) to which the electric utilities participate in a voluntary manner. Data from NPRDS can be accessed to observe the direct aging effect; this is not covered in this paper. To the degree that plant operating staff learns how to cope with aging equipment and operate in a safe manner nonetheless, the performance indicators would not fully reflect the aging effect

  16. Partnering with a local concrete block manufacturing plant to improve quality of construction materials in Haiti’s Central Plateau

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aaron Gordon

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a successful ongoing partnership between Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries (CEDC and a concrete masonry unit (CMU manufacturing plant in rural Haiti. The infrastructure destruction and resulting loss of life of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti highlighted the need for improved building materials and codes. This partnership has helped to improve the strength of CMUs in the plant, both creating a safer local built environment and expanding the economic opportunities for this plant. Using samples of aggregate and cement from the site in Haiti, students in Clemson performed experiments to optimise the CMU mix design and made other suggestions to improve efficiency and quality of their product. Consistency continues to be a challenge for the CMU plant, and this paper also describes proposed procedures to help the plant implement quality control and quality assurance plans.

  17. PGPR Potentially Improve Growth of Tomato Plants in Salt-Stressed Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariam Zameer

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria are colonized bacterial species that has the capability to improve plant growth by certain direct and indirect means. Environmental factors including both biotic and abiotic stresses are among the major constraints to crop production. In the current study, the effectiveness of microbial inoculation (Bacillus megaterium for enhancing growth of tomato plants under salt stress conditions has been investigated. Significant improvement in shoot length, root length, leaf surface area, number of leaves, total weight of the shoot and root was observed in tomato plants inoculated with zm7 strain post 15 and 30 days of its application. Zm3, Zm4 and Zm6 strains improved the morphological parameters as compared to the control. Chlorophyll content a, chlorophyll content b, anthocyanin and carotenoid content was increased in tomato plants subjected to Zm7, Zm6 and Zm4 strains. Stress responsive genes; metallothionein and glutothion gene were found highly expressed in Zm7 treated tomato plants as compared to control, untreated plants. Significant correlation of anthocyanin was reported for carotenoids, chlorophyll-b, shoot weight and total weight of seedling while carotenoids were significantly correlated with leaf surface area, root length, chlorophyll-b and anthocyanin. Overall, Zm7 strain proved best for improvement in salt stressed plant’s morphological parameters and biochemical parameters as compared to control, untreated plants.

  18. Improved liquid waste processing system of PWR plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suehiro, Kazuyasu

    1977-01-01

    Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. has engaged in the improvement and enhancement of waste-processing facilities for PWR power stations, and recently established the improved processing system. With this system, it becomes possible to contain radioactive waste gas semi-permanently within plants and to recycle waste liquid after the treatment, thus to make the release of radioactive wastes practically zero. The improved system has the following features, namely the recycling system is adopted, drain is separated and each separated drain is treated by specialized process, the reboiler type evaporator and the reverse osmosis equipment are used, and the leakless construction is adopted for the equipments. The radioactive liquid wastes in PWR power stations are classified into coolant drain, drain from general equipments, chemical drain and cleaning water. The outline of the improved processing system and the newly developed equipments such as the reboiler type evaporator and the reverse osmosis equipment are explained. With the evaporator, the concentration rate of waste liquid can be raised to about three times, and foaming waste can be treated efficiently. The decontamination performance is excellent. The reverse osmosis treatment is stable and reliable method, and is useful for the treatment of cleaning water. It is also effective for concentrating treatment. The unmanned automatic operation is possible. (Kako, I.)

  19. Improved electrical efficiency and bottom ash quality on waste combustion plants. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jensen, Peter A.; Nesterov, I.; Boejer, M.; Hyks, J.; Astrup, T.; Kloeft, H.; Dam-Johansen, K.; Lundtorp, K.; Hedegaard Madsen, O.; Frandsen, F. (Technical Univ. of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark)); Mogensen, Erhardt (Babcock and Wilcox Voelund A/S, Glostrup (Denmark))

    2010-07-01

    Investigations making it possible to evaluate and further develop concepts to improve electrical efficiency in a waste combustion plant were performed. Furthermore, one objective of the study was to investigate the possibilities of improving waste bottom ash leaching properties by use of a rotary kiln treatment. The project work included construction of a bench-scale rotary kiln, performing ash rotary kiln treatment experiments, conducting gas suction probe measurements on a waste incineration plant and making some concept evaluations. The influence of the rotary kiln thermal treatment on the leaching of Ca, Al, Si, Mg, Ba, Sr, Cl, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Mo, sulfate, DOC and carbonate was determined. As a result of these tests, the rotary kiln thermal treatment of bottom ashes can be recommended for reducing the leaching of Cu, Pb, Cl, Zn and DOC; however, an increased leaching of Cr and Mo should be expected. The combustion conditions above the grate of a waste incineration plant were investigated and the release and concentration of volatile ash species in the flue gas such as Cl, Na, K, Ca, Pb, Zn and S were measured. The conducted measurements show that flue gas from grate sections 3 and 4 can produce a sufficiently hot flue gas that contains only low concentrations of corrosive species, and therefore can be used to increase superheater temperatures. Implementation of the so-called flue gas split concept together with other steam circle modifications on a waste combustion plant, and using a reasonable increase in final steam temperature from 400 to 500 deg. C, have the potential to increase electrical efficiency from 24 to 30% (with respect to lower fuel heating value) in a waste combustion plant. (Author)

  20. Monitoring of the energy performance of a district heating CHP plant based on biomass boiler and ORC generator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prando, Dario; Renzi, Massimiliano; Gasparella, Andrea; Baratieri, Marco

    2015-01-01

    More than seventy district heating (DH) plants based on biomass are operating in South Tyrol (Italy) and most of them supply heat to residential districts. Almost 20% of them are cogenerative systems, thus enabling primary energy savings with respect to the separate production of heat and power. However, the actual performance of these systems in real operation can considerably differ from the nominal one. The main objectives of this work are the assessment of the energy performance of a biomass boiler coupled with an Organic Rankine Cycle (i.e. ORC) generator under real operating conditions and the identification of its potential improvements. The fluxes of energy and mass of the plant have been measured onsite. This experimental evaluation has been supplemented with a thermodynamic model of the ORC generator, calibrated with the experimental data, which is capable to predict the system performance under different management strategies of the system. The results have highlighted that a decrease of the DH network temperature of 10 °C can improve the electric efficiency of the ORC generator of one percentage point. Moreover, a DH temperature reduction could decrease the main losses of the boiler, namely the exhaust latent thermal loss and the exhaust sensible thermal loss, which account for 9% and 16% of the boiler input power, respectively. The analysis of the plant has pointed out that the ORC pump, the flue gases extractor, the thermal oil pump and the condensation section fan are the main responsible of the electric self-consumption. Finally, the negative effect of the subsidisation on the performance of the plant has been discussed. - Highlights: • Energy performance of a biomass boiler coupled to an ORC turbine in real operation. • Potential improvements of a CHP plant connected to a DH network. • Performance prediction by means of a calibrated ORC thermodynamic model. • Influence of the DH temperature on the electric efficiency. • Impact of the

  1. Human performance improvement in organizations: Potential application for the nuclear industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-11-01

    This publication is primarily intended for managers and specialists in nuclear facility operating organizations working in the area of human performance improvement. It is intended to provide them with practical information they can use to improve human performance in their organizations. While some of the information provided in this publication is based upon the experience of nuclear facility operating organizations, most of it comes from human performance improvement initiatives in non-nuclear organizations and industries. The nuclear industry has a long tradition of sharing good management practices in order to foster continuous improvement. However, it is not always realized that many of the practices that are now well established initially came from non-nuclear industries and were subsequently adapted for application to nuclear power plant operating organizations. There is, therefore, good reason to periodically review non-nuclear industry practices for ideas that might have direct or indirect application to the nuclear industry in order to potentially gain benefits such as the following: new approaches to certain problem areas, insights into new or impending challenges, improvements in existing practices, benchmarking of opportunities, development of learning organizations and avoidance of collective blind spots. The preparation of this report was an activity of the project on Effective Training to Achieve Excellence in the Performance of NPP Personnel. The objective of this project is to enhance the capability of Member States to utilize proven practices developed and transferred by the IAEA for improving personnel performance. The expected outcome from this project is the increased use by organizations in Members States of proven engineering and management practices and methodologies developed and transferred by the IAEA to improve personnel performance

  2. Improved operation in CANDU plants with CAN8 PHT pump seals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Graham, T.; McInnes, D.; Rhodes, D.

    1997-01-01

    The CAN8 PHT pump seal is currently operating in twenty-one pumps, twelve at Bruce A, seven at Bruce B and in both pumps at Grand Gulf Nuclear Station (GGNS). The CAN8 seal has markedly improved performance over the CAN2 seal previously used at the Bruce stations and the SU seals previously used at GGNS. Details of the performance improvements are discussed. Prior to installation in Bruce B, the CAN8 seal was slightly modified and then demonstrated to be resistant to reverse pressurization failures, since this was a known failure mechanism with the CAN2 seal. Subsequent experience showed that Bruce A was also susceptible to reverse pressure incidents. A review of plant operating procedures at Bruce A showed reverse pressure was likely the initiating factor for several previously unexplained seal disturbances. The reverse pressure failure mechanism is described, as are the improved system operating procedures designed to prevent it. Preventative procedures have now been implemented across Ontario Hydro Nuclear. The ability to track down seal failure mechanisms such as this is greatly enhanced by the improved system monitoring and data retrieval now in place at Bruce A and Bruce B. (author)

  3. Opportunities for practical improvements in the management of plant transients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zebroski, E.L.

    1984-01-01

    This chapter attempts to provide some perspectives on the steps involved in analyzing, evaluating, and implementing remedies for transients and for potentially severe events. The importance of improved response and control of plant transients is stressed. The main steps involved in the attainment of improved control of plant transients are listed. Topics considered include the acquisition of plant data, sensitivity and risk analysis, the options for improvements, the managerial role, and some priorities for data, analysis, and evaluation. The ten most frequent types of transients for pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and boiling water reactors (BWRs) are listed according to frequency of occurrence. It is concluded that the two main needs of transient management are to avoid preoccupation with end-of-spectrum accidents and to improve the rate of technology transfer from best-available analysis and implementation

  4. Technologies for improving the availability and reliability of current and future water cooled nuclear power plants. Proceedings of a technical committee meeting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-11-01

    One of the activities of the IAEA is to provide all Member States with an international source of balanced, objective information on advanced in technology for water cooled reactors. Since the global nuclear industry has a common interest in improving plant availability and reliability to assure specific individual plant and country perspective as well as to have an image of well managed competitive industry, the IAEA held a Technical Committee Meeting on Technologies for Improving the Availability and Reliability of Current and Future Water Cooled Nuclear Power Plants in September 1997. The basic aim to was to identify, review and exchange information on international developments in technologies for achieving high availability and reliability and to suggest areas where further technical advances could contribute to improvement of performance. Designs for future plants were presented in the context of how they can accommodate both the organizational and technical means for reaching even higher levels of performance. This proceedings contains the contributed papers presented at this Meeting each with a separate abstract. Four sessions were concerned with: policies, practices and procedures for achieving high reliability and availability; improving availability and reliability through better use of today`s technologies; recent advances in technologies for improving availability and reliability; achieving high availability for new plants Refs, figs, tabs

  5. Technologies for improving the availability and reliability of current and future water cooled nuclear power plants. Proceedings of a technical committee meeting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-11-01

    One of the activities of the IAEA is to provide all Member States with an international source of balanced, objective information on advanced in technology for water cooled reactors. Since the global nuclear industry has a common interest in improving plant availability and reliability to assure specific individual plant and country perspective as well as to have an image of well managed competitive industry, the IAEA held a Technical Committee Meeting on Technologies for Improving the Availability and Reliability of Current and Future Water Cooled Nuclear Power Plants in September 1997. The basic aim to was to identify, review and exchange information on international developments in technologies for achieving high availability and reliability and to suggest areas where further technical advances could contribute to improvement of performance. Designs for future plants were presented in the context of how they can accommodate both the organizational and technical means for reaching even higher levels of performance. This proceedings contains the contributed papers presented at this Meeting each with a separate abstract. Four sessions were concerned with: policies, practices and procedures for achieving high reliability and availability; improving availability and reliability through better use of today's technologies; recent advances in technologies for improving availability and reliability; achieving high availability for new plants

  6. The improvement of environmental performances by applying ISO 14001 standard: A case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Živković Snežana

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the analysis of the advantages of applying ISO 14001 system in an environmental protection management system. The environmental protection management system which is not licensed, i.e., compatible with the principles and standard pre-conditions considerably increases the plausibility for ecological risk. There are some issues that remain to be solved in the areas which are not expressed by financial values only but also have a non-financial character with the aim of expanding markets, company image improvement and improvement of the environmental performance indicators. By improving a company’s environmental management system efficiency we expect to achieve the minimization and elimination of damaging influences on the environment which are the consequence of company’s activities. A case study in the Oil Refinery Belgrade (RNB analyses the implementation of the standard ISO 14001:2004 into its environment protection management system, particularly emphasizing the company’s own way of evaluating the environment aspects with the aim of establishing results of ecological performances indicators improvement. The average values of the first ecological indicator of the plant, the total amount of the waste waters in m3 per a ton of product, clearly show the downturn trend, which is confirmed by the proportional reduction of the second ecological plant indicator, that is by the flocculants consumption (Al2(SO43, Na2CO3 in kg per m3 of the waste water of the Oil Refinery of Belgrade for the given period 2008-2010. Case study RNB confirms the improvement of environmental performances using the ISO 14001 standard.

  7. Outage preparation milestones - A tool to improve planned outage performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laplatney, Jere; Hwang, Euiyoub

    2006-01-01

    Sustainable development of Nuclear Energy depends heavily on excellent performance of the existing fleet which in turn depend heavily on the performance of planned outages. Nuclear Power Plants who have successfully undertaken outage optimization projects have demonstrated than an effective Outage Preparation Milestone program is a key component of their improvement programs. This paper will provide background into the field of 'Outage Optimization' including the philosophy, general approach, and results obtained in the U. S. industry. The significant safety improvements afforded by properly implementing outage improvement programs will be explained. Some specific examples of outage improvements will be given including the adoption of a strong Outage Preparation Milestone Program. The paper will then describe the attributes of an effective Outage Preparation Milestone Program and list a set of specific key milestones. The key milestones are defined and the reasons for each are explained. Suggested due dates for each key milestone relative to the outage start date are provided. Successful implementation of an Outage Preparation Milestone program depends heavily upon the management tools and methods used to assure that the organization meets the milestones on time and in a quality fashion. These include methods to handle cases where milestones are not met - either partially or fully. KHNP is investigating implementing an improved Outage Preparation Milestone program for its fleet of reactors as part of its overall program to improve its performance of planned outages

  8. Human Performance at the Perry Nuclear Power Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rabe, Alan W.

    1998-01-01

    Provides a description of human performance training for plant workers as implemented at the Perry Nuclear Power Plant. Practical concepts regarding the training are presented as well as a demonstration of some of the training material. Concepts are drawn from INPO, Reason and Deming. The paper encourages the use of site-wide and individual organizational unit training in human performance management techniques. (author)

  9. Preparing for the future by improving the performance of today's nuclear stations: The WANO perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsutsumi, R.

    1999-01-01

    The World Association of Nuclear Operators, (WANO) was established in 1989 in the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident with the mission of maximizing the safety and reliability of nuclear power plants by exchanging information and encouraging communication, comparison and emulation among its members. All nuclear power stations in the world are WANO members. WANO conducted an Internal Review in 1997 and its report issued this January confirms that the WANO mission is still valid. As a result of the Internal Review, WANO is taking actions to further improve its programmes. WANO's effort to keep members conscious of safety culture in their daily work at plants is a key element for improving operational safety. WANO will be able to contribute to the future of the nuclear industry by encouraging members to actively participate in WANO programmes which are aimed at improving nuclear safety and plant performance. (author)

  10. Cisgenesis strongly improves introgression breeding and induced translocation breeding of plants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jacobsen, E.; Schouten, H.J.

    2007-01-01

    There are two ways for genetic improvement in classical plant breeding: crossing and mutation. Plant varieties can also be improved through genetic modification; however, the present GMO regulations are based on risk assessments with the transgenes coming from non-crossable species. Nowadays, DNA

  11. Retrofit of ammonia plant for improving energy efficiency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Panjeshahi, M.H.; Ghasemian Langeroudi, E.; Tahouni, N.

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this work is to perform a retrofit study of an ammonia plant, in purpose of improving energy efficiency. As a common practice, one can divide an ammonia plant into two parts: the hot-end and the cold-end. In the hot section, two different options are investigated that both lead to a threshold condition and achieve maximum energy saving. The first option covers only process-to-process energy integration, while the second option considers some modification in the convection section of the primary reformer through a new arrangement of the heating coils. Thus, a considerable reduction in cooling water, HP steam and fuel gas consumption is achieved. In the cold section, retrofit study is dominated by reducing the amount of shaft work or power consumption in the refrigeration system. Application of the Combined Pinch and Exergy Analysis revealed that part of the shaft work, which was originally being used, was inefficient and could have been avoided in a well-integrated design. Therefore, by proposing optimum refrigeration levels, reasonable saving (15%) in power consumption was observed without the need for new investment

  12. Non toxic additives for improved fabric filter performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bustard, C.J.; Baldrey, K.E.; Ebner, T.G. [ADA Technologies, Inc., Englewood, CO (United States)] [and others

    1995-11-01

    The overall objective of this three-phase Small Business innovative Research (SBIR) program funded by the Department of Energy pittsburgh Energy Technology Center (PETC) is to commercialize a technology based upon the use of non-toxic, novel flue gas conditioning agents to improve particulate air toxic control and overall fabric filter performance. The ultimate objective of the Phase II program currently in progress is to demonstrate that the candidate additives are successful at full-scale on flue gas from a coal-fired utility boiler. This paper covers bench-scale field tests conducted during the period February through May, 1995. The bench-scale additives testing was conducted on a flue gas slipstream taken upstream of the existing particulate control device at a utility power plant firing a Texas lignite coal. These tests were preceded by extensive testing with additives in the laboratory using a simulated flue gas stream and re-dispersed flyash from the same power plant. The bench-scale field testing was undertaken to demonstrate the performance with actual flue gas of the bet candidate additives previously identified in the laboratory. Results from the bench-scale tests will be used to establish operating parameters for a larger-scale demonstration on either a single baghouse compartment or a full baghouse at the same site.

  13. 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

  14. Improvement of foundation for inspection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2013-08-15

    Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization has been carrying out improvement of inspection system for nuclear plants in Japan since 2003FY. The new inspection system was introduced into nuclear power plants in{sub -}2008FY. In this project, improvement of comprehensive plant performance assessment and management tool for the new inspection system are developed. In 2012FY, a trend analysis method of the plant performance was developed with reference to the IAEA literature. And the trend analysis was tried based on the results of the comprehensive plant performance assessment of all domestic plants except Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. In addition, the teaching materials for QMS training guideline were made. And improvement of a quality management system evaluation support tool was performed. (author)

  15. Improvement of foundation for inspection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2013-01-01

    Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization has been carrying out improvement of inspection system for nuclear plants in Japan since 2003FY. The new inspection system was introduced into nuclear power plants in - 2008FY. In this project, improvement of comprehensive plant performance assessment and management tool for the new inspection system are developed. In 2012FY, a trend analysis method of the plant performance was developed with reference to the IAEA literature. And the trend analysis was tried based on the results of the comprehensive plant performance assessment of all domestic plants except Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. In addition, the teaching materials for QMS training guideline were made. And improvement of a quality management system evaluation support tool was performed. (author)

  16. How to improve plant efficiency through leading plant monitoring and control system technology-Almaraz NPP Samo

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia Rodriguez, A.; Schwee, S.M.

    1994-01-01

    The nuclear industry is currently faced with an intense pressure to reduce the cost of electric production. To achieve these cost reductions, utilities are changing the way they have traditionally operated. They are embracing innovative processes and systems to fundamentally change the way they have operated and maintained their plants. Plant monitoring and control technology has been instrumental in affecting these rapid and proactive changes. Our challenge is to use these new technologies in ways that improve plant reliability while lowering operation and maintenance costs. What must we do to increase operational time, improve safety and reliability while reducing all costs including fixed as well as labor? We will discuss an overall plant monitoring system vision that will allow these changes in operational practices. (Author)

  17. Safety Performance Improvement for Nuclear Power Plants Utilizing THOMAS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Won June; Ryu, Jung Uk; Suh, Kune Y.

    2005-01-01

    THOMAS (Thermal Hydraulics Online Monitoring Advisory System) is equipped with a couple of salient features compared with existing monitoring systems. The first has to do with the three-dimensional (3D) visualization technique to support the nuclear power plant (NPP) operators and personnel using the virtual reality (VR) technology. VR depicts an environment simulated by a computer. Most of the VR environments primarily include visual experiences, displayed either on a monitor or though special stereoscopic goggles. Users can often interactively manipulate a VR environment, either through standard input devices like a keyboard, or through specially designed devices like a cybergloves. Additional devices were not applied the in THOMAS. The visualized model file is brought to the VR space from the computer-aided design (CAD) tool. In the VR space, using mapping, the component color is changed with linked value of the safety variables. Operators thus can easily recognize the plant condition. This is related with the human factor engineering. The second is the function of decision making using the influence diagram logic. The influence diagram logic is based on the total probability and Bayesian theory. The accident modeling is rooted in the emergency operating procedure (EOP). The final goal of this system is, in the accident situation, to present a success path to the operator for the recovery of the NPP system. At the current developing level, the database signals THOMAS. In other words, a spectrum of system analysis codes provides the safety parameter values to the database, which are subsequently supplied to THOMAS through the network

  18. Biotechnological improvement of ornamental plants

    OpenAIRE

    Flavia Soledad Darqui; Laura Mabel Radonic; Horacio Esteban Hopp; Marisa Lopez Bilbao

    2017-01-01

    The discovery of commercial transgenic varieties of orange petunias sold in Europe and the United States although they had never reached the approved status, and the consequent recommendation to destroy them, was the trigger to discuss about biotechnological improvement of ornamental plants. Inside the restricted world of 26 vegetal transgenic species, according to the ISAAA’s reports (http://www.isaaa.org), there are three ornamental species: carnation, rose and the Beijing University develo...

  19. Engineering Mycorrhizal Symbioses to Alter Plant Metabolism and Improve Crop Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katherine E. French

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Creating sustainable bioeconomies for the 21st century relies on optimizing the use of biological resources to improve agricultural productivity and create new products. Arbuscular mycorrhizae (phylum Glomeromycota form symbiotic relationships with over 80% of vascular plants. In return for carbon, these fungi improve plant health and tolerance to environmental stress. This symbiosis is over 400 million years old and there are currently over 200 known arbuscular mycorrhizae, with dozens of new species described annually. Metagenomic sequencing of native soil communities, from species-rich meadows to mangroves, suggests biologically diverse habitats support a variety of mycorrhizal species with potential agricultural, medical, and biotechnological applications. This review looks at the effect of mycorrhizae on plant metabolism and how we can harness this symbiosis to improve crop health. I will first describe the mechanisms that underlie this symbiosis and what physiological, metabolic, and environmental factors trigger these plant-fungal relationships. These include mycorrhizal manipulation of host genetic expression, host mitochondrial and plastid proliferation, and increased production of terpenoids and jasmonic acid by the host plant. I will then discuss the effects of mycorrhizae on plant root and foliar secondary metabolism. I subsequently outline how mycorrhizae induce three key benefits in crops: defense against pathogen and herbivore attack, drought resistance, and heavy metal tolerance. I conclude with an overview of current efforts to harness mycorrhizal diversity to improve crop health through customized inoculum. I argue future research should embrace synthetic biology to create mycorrhizal chasses with improved symbiotic abilities and potentially novel functions to improve plant health. As the effects of climate change and anthropogenic disturbance increase, the global diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi should be monitored

  20. Improving human reliability through better nuclear power plant system design: Program for advanced nuclear power studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golay, M.W.

    1993-01-01

    The project on ''Development of a Theory of the Dependence of Human Reliability upon System Designs as a Means of Improving Nuclear Power Plant Performance'' was been undertaken in order to address the problem of human error in advanced nuclear power plant designs. Lack of a mature theory has retarded progress in reducing likely frequencies of human errors. Work being pursued in this project is to perform a set of experiments involving human subjects who are required to operate, diagnose and respond to changes in computer-simulated systems, relevant to those encountered in nuclear power plants, which are made to differ in complexity in a systematic manner. The computer program used to present the problems to be solved also records the response of the operator as it unfolds

  1. 30 CFR 827.12 - Coal preparation plants: Performance standards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Coal preparation plants: Performance standards...-COAL PREPARATION PLANTS NOT LOCATED WITHIN THE PERMIT AREA OF A MINE § 827.12 Coal preparation plants..., modification, reclamation, and removal activities at coal preparation plants shall comply with the following...

  2. Design basis programs and improvements in plant operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Metcalf, M.F.

    1991-01-01

    Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE and G) Company operates three commercial nuclear power plants in southern New Jersey. The three plants are of different designs and vintages (two pressurized water reactors licensed in 1976 and 1980 and one boiling water reactor licensed in 1986). As the industry recognized the need to develop design basis programs, PSE and G also realized the need after a voluntary 52-day shutdown of one unit because of electrical design basis problems. In its drive to be a premier electric utility, PSE and G has been aggressively active in developing design basis documents (DBDs) with supporting projects and refined uses to obtain the expected value and see the return on investment. Progress on Salem is nearly 75% complete, while Hope Creek is 20% complete. To data, PSE and G has experienced success in the use of DBDs in areas such as development of plant modifications, development of the reliability-centered maintenance program, procedure upgrades, improved document retrieval, resolution of regulatory issues, and training. The paper examines the design basis development process, supporting projects, and expected improvements in plant operations as a result of these efforts

  3. Improved method for HPLC analysis of polyamines, agmatine and aromatic monoamines in plant tissue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slocum, R. D.; Flores, H. E.; Galston, A. W.; Weinstein, L. H.

    1989-01-01

    The high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method of Flores and Galston (1982 Plant Physiol 69: 701) for the separation and quantitation of benzoylated polyamines in plant tissues has been widely adopted by other workers. However, due to previously unrecognized problems associated with the derivatization of agmatine, this important intermediate in plant polyamine metabolism cannot be quantitated using this method. Also, two polyamines, putrescine and diaminopropane, also are not well resolved using this method. A simple modification of the original HPLC procedure greatly improves the separation and quantitation of these amines, and further allows the simulation analysis of phenethylamine and tyramine, which are major monoamine constituents of tobacco and other plant tissues. We have used this modified HPLC method to characterize amine titers in suspension cultured carrot (Daucas carota L.) cells and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) leaf tissues.

  4. A predictive model of nuclear power plant crew decision-making and performance in a dynamic simulation environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coyne, Kevin Anthony

    The safe operation of complex systems such as nuclear power plants requires close coordination between the human operators and plant systems. In order to maintain an adequate level of safety following an accident or other off-normal event, the operators often are called upon to perform complex tasks during dynamic situations with incomplete information. The safety of such complex systems can be greatly improved if the conditions that could lead operators to make poor decisions and commit erroneous actions during these situations can be predicted and mitigated. The primary goal of this research project was the development and validation of a cognitive model capable of simulating nuclear plant operator decision-making during accident conditions. Dynamic probabilistic risk assessment methods can improve the prediction of human error events by providing rich contextual information and an explicit consideration of feedback arising from man-machine interactions. The Accident Dynamics Simulator paired with the Information, Decision, and Action in a Crew context cognitive model (ADS-IDAC) shows promise for predicting situational contexts that might lead to human error events, particularly knowledge driven errors of commission. ADS-IDAC generates a discrete dynamic event tree (DDET) by applying simple branching rules that reflect variations in crew responses to plant events and system status changes. Branches can be generated to simulate slow or fast procedure execution speed, skipping of procedure steps, reliance on memorized information, activation of mental beliefs, variations in control inputs, and equipment failures. Complex operator mental models of plant behavior that guide crew actions can be represented within the ADS-IDAC mental belief framework and used to identify situational contexts that may lead to human error events. This research increased the capabilities of ADS-IDAC in several key areas. The ADS-IDAC computer code was improved to support additional

  5. The role of human performance in the safety complex plants' operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Preda, Irina Aida; Lazar, Roxana Elena; Croitoru, Cornelia

    1999-01-01

    According to statistics, about 20-30% from the failures occurred in the plants are caused directly or indirectly by human errors. Furthermore, it was established that 10-15% of the global failures are related with the human errors. These are mainly due to the wrong actions, maintenance errors, and misinterpretation of instruments. The human performance is influenced by: professional ability, complexity and danger to the plant experience in the working place, level of skills, events in personal and/or professional life, discipline, social ambience, somatic health. The human performances' assessment in the probabilistic safety assessment offers the possibility of evaluation of human contribution to the events sequences outcome. Not all the human errors have impact on the system. A human error may be recovered before the unwanted consequences had been occurred on system. This paper presents the possibilities to use the probabilistic method (event tree, fault tree) to identify the solutions for human reliability improved in order to minimize the risk in industrial plants' operation. Also, the human error types and their causes are defined and the 'decision tree method' as technique in our analysis for human reliability assessment is presented. The exemplification of human error analysis method was achieved based on operation data for Valcea Heavy Water Pilot Plant. As initiating event for the accident state 'the steam supply interruption' event has been considered. The human errors' contribution was analysed for the accident sequence with the worst consequences. (authors)

  6. Better plant performance through better management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Csik, B.J.

    1985-01-01

    A forum convened by the IAEA discussed key aspects and current issues of nuclear power plant operations management in depth. Among the topics addressed were the following: the roles and responsibilities of the operating organization, operations management, and the regulatory body; performance objectives and operational procedures and practices, and potential conflict among plant safety, reliability, and economic operation; advances in day-to-day operation; maintenance and quality control; and shaping of the proper attitudes toward safety

  7. Plant life management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Charbonneau, S.; Framatome, J.B.

    1992-01-01

    Plant life assessment and extension studies have been performed by numerous companies all over the world. Critical equipment has been identified as well as various degradation mechanisms involved in the plant aging process. Nowadays one has to think what to implement to improve the existing situation in the Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). FRAMATOME has undertaken this thought process in order to find the right answers and bring them to utilities facing either critical concern for plant life extension or the problem of management of power plant potential longevity. This is why we prepared a Plant Life Improvement Action Plan, comprising 10 (ten) major items described hereafter using examples of work performed by FRAMATOME for its utility customers desiring to manage the lives of their plants, both in France with EDF and abroad

  8. Challenges and opportunities for improving food quality and nutrition through plant biotechnology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Francis, David; Finer, John J; Grotewold, Erich

    2017-04-01

    Plant biotechnology has been around since the advent of humankind, resulting in tremendous improvements in plant cultivation through crop domestication, breeding and selection. The emergence of transgenic approaches involving the introduction of defined DNA sequences into plants by humans has rapidly changed the surface of our planet by further expanding the gene pool used by plant breeders for plant improvement. Transgenic approaches in food plants have raised concerns on the merits, social implications, ecological risks and true benefits of plant biotechnology. The recently acquired ability to precisely edit plant genomes by modifying native genes without introducing new genetic material offers new opportunities to rapidly exploit natural variation, create new variation and incorporate changes with the goal to generate more productive and nutritious plants. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Development of high performance condensers for thermal and nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okouchi, Isao; Takahashi, Sankichi; Tomita, Akira.

    1980-01-01

    As the trend toward the large capacity of thermal and nuclear power plants advances, condensers also become large, and from the viewpoint of energy saving in whole plants, the maintenance of high performance and reliability is strongly desired. Hitachi Ltd. responded to this demand, and repeated the basic investigation with a model condenser on the selection of condenser cooling tubes and their arrangement. As the result, balanced downflow type tube arrangement was developed, which enables smooth steam flow and the improvement of condenser performance by forming the intense flow of turbine exhaust from the upper part of tube nest downward and making the steam flow in the lower part of tube nest into radial form toward air ejecting port. This tube arrangement has been applied to actual machines, and the excellent results have been obtained. In particular, the improvement of the degree of vacuum due to the reduction of steam flow loss is advantageous for increasing the power output of turbines. Thereupon, based on the basic experiment with various models of tube arrangement and the consideration on the operational results of actual machines using this tube arrangement, the features of this technique are reported. The basic construction of tube arrangement, the steam flow in tube nest, the vacuum in condensers, the supercooling of condensate, and actual balanced downflow type condensers are described. (Kako, I.)

  10. Designing nuclear power plants for improved operation and maintenance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-09-01

    The purpose of this publication is to compile demonstrated, experience based design guidelines for improving the operability and maintainability of nuclear power plants. The guidelines are for use principally in the design of new nuclear power plants, but should also be useful in upgrading existing designs. The guidelines derive from the experience of operating and maintaining existing nuclear power plants as well as from the design of recent plants. In particular these guidelines are based on and consistent with both the EPRI advanced Light Water Reactor Utility Requirements Document, Volume 1, and the European Utility Requirements for LWR Nuclear Power Plants. 6 refs, 1 fig

  11. Designing nuclear power plants for improved operation and maintenance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-09-01

    The purpose of this publication is to compile demonstrated, experience based design guidelines for improving the operability and maintainability of nuclear power plants. The guidelines are for use principally in the design of new nuclear power plants, but should also be useful in upgrading existing designs. The guidelines derive from the experience of operating and maintaining existing nuclear power plants as well as from the design of recent plants. In particular these guidelines are based on and consistent with both the EPRI advanced Light Water Reactor Utility Requirements Document, Volume 1, and the European Utility Requirements for LWR Nuclear Power Plants. 6 refs, 1 fig.

  12. Combined effects of arthropod herbivores and phytopathogens on plant performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hauser, Thure Pavlo; Christensen, Stina; Heimes, Christine

    2013-01-01

    1. Many plants are simultaneously attacked by arthropod herbivores and phytopathogens. These may affect each other directly and indirectly, enhancing or reducing the amount of plant resources they each consume. Ultimately, this may reduce or enhance plant performance relative to what should...... be expected from the added impacts of herbivore and pathogen when they attack alone. 2. Previous studies have suggested synergistic and antagonistic impacts on plant performance from certain combinations of arthropods and pathogens, for example, synergistic impacts from necrotrophic pathogens together...... with wounding arthropods because of facilitated infection and antagonistic impacts from induction of pathogen resistance by sucking herbivores. 3. We compiled published studies on the impact of plant–herbivore–pathogen interactions on plant performance and used meta-analysis to search for consistent patterns...

  13. Risk-based safety performance indicators for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chakraborty, S.; Prohaska, G.; Flodin, Y.; Grint, G.; Habermacher, H.; Hallman, A.; Isasia, R.; Melendez, E.; Verduras, E.; Karsa, Z.; Khatib-Rahbar, M.; Koeberlein, K.; Schwaeger, C.; Matahri, N.; Moravcik, I.; Tkac, M.; Preston, J.

    2003-01-01

    In a Concerted Action (CA), sponsored by the European Commission within its 5th Framework Program, a consortium of eleven partners from eight countries has reviewed and evaluated the application of Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs), which - in combination with other tools - can be used to monitor and improve the safety of nuclear power plants. The project was aimed at identification of methods that can be used in a risk-informed regulatory system and environment, and to exploit PSA techniques for the development and use of meaningful additional/alternative SPIs. The CA included the review of existing indicator systems, and the collection of information on the experience from indicator systems by means of a specific questionnaire. One of the most important and challenging issues for nuclear plant owners and/or regulators is to recognize early signs of deterioration in safety performance, caused by influences from management, organization and safety culture (MOSC), before actual events and/or mishaps take place. Most of the existing SPIs as proposed by various organizations are considered as 'lagging' indicators, that is, they are expected to show an impact only when a downward trend has already started. Furthermore, most of the available indicators are at a relatively high level, such that they will not provide useful information on fundamental weaknesses causing the problem in the first place. Regulators' and utilities' views on the use of a Safety Performance Indicator System have also been a part of the development of the CA. (author)

  14. Thermal performance of solar district heating plants in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Furbo, Simon; Perers, Bengt; Bava, Federico

    2014-01-01

    The market for solar heating plants connected to district heating systems is expanding rapidly in Denmark. It is expected that by the end of 2014 the 10 largest solar heating plants in Europe will be located in Denmark. Measurements from 23 Danish solar heating plants, all based on flat plate solar...... collectors mounted on the ground, shows measured yearly thermal performances of the solar heating plants placed in the interval from 313 kWh/m² collector to 493 kWh/m² collector with averages for all plants of 411 kWh/m² collector for 2012 and 450 kWh/m² collector for 2013. Theoretical calculations show...... of the cost/performance ratio for solar collector fields, both with flat plate collectors and with concentrating tracking solar collectors. It is recommended to continue monitoring and analysis of all large solar heating plants to document the reliability of the solar heating plants. It is also recommended...

  15. Performance analysis of conventional and sloped solar chimney power plants in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao Fei; Zhao Liang; Li Huashan; Guo Liejin

    2013-01-01

    The solar chimney power plant (SCPP) has been accepted as one of the most promising approaches for future large-scale solar energy applications. This paper reports on a heat transfer model that is used to compare the performance of a conventional solar chimney power plant (CSCPP) and two sloped solar chimney power plants (SSCPPs) with the collector oriented at 30° and 60°, respectively. The power generation from SCPPs at different latitudes in China is also analyzed. Results indicate that the larger solar collector angle leads to improved performance in winter but results in lower performance in summer. It is found that the optimal collector angle to achieve the maximum power in Lanzhou, China, is around 60°. Main factors that influence the performance of SCPPs also include the system height and the air thermophysical characteristics. The ground energy loss, reflected solar radiation, and kinetic loss at the chimney outlet are the main energy losses in SCPPs. The studies also show SSCPPs are more suitable for high latitude regions in Northwest China, but CSCPPs are suggested to be built in southeastern and eastern parts of China with the combination to the local agriculture. - Highlights: ► The optimum collector angle for maximum power generation is 60° in Lanzhou. ► Main parameters influencing performances are the system height and air property. ► Ground loss, reflected loss and outlet kinetic loss are the main energy losses. ► The sloped styles are suitable for Northwest China. ► The conventional styles are suitable for Southeast and East China.

  16. Predictive Maintenance: One key to improved power plant availability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mobley; Allen, J.W.

    1986-01-01

    Recent developments in microprocessor technology has provided the ability to routinely monitor the actual mechanical condition of all rotating and reciprocating machinery and process variables (i.e. pressure, temperature, flow, etc.) of other process equipment within an operating electric power generating plant. This direct correlation between frequency domain vibration and actual mechanical condition of machinery and trending process variables of non-rotating equipment can provide the ''key'' to improving the availability and reliability, thermal efficiency and provide the baseline information necessary for developing a realistic plan for extending the useful life of power plants. The premise of utilizing microprocessor-based Predictive Maintenance to improve power plant operation has been proven by a number of utilities. This paper provides a comprehensive discussion of the TEC approach to Predictive Maintenance and examples of successful programs

  17. ECONOMICS AND FEASIBILITY OF RANKINE CYCLE IMPROVEMENTS FOR COAL FIRED POWER PLANTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Richard E. Waryasz; Gregory N. Liljedahl

    2004-09-08

    ALSTOM Power Inc.'s Power Plant Laboratories (ALSTOM) has teamed with the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE NETL), American Electric Company (AEP) and Parsons Energy and Chemical Group to conduct a comprehensive study evaluating coal fired steam power plants, known as Rankine Cycles, equipped with three different combustion systems: Pulverized Coal (PC), Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB), and Circulating Moving Bed (CMB{trademark}). Five steam cycles utilizing a wide range of steam conditions were used with these combustion systems. The motivation for this study was to establish through engineering analysis, the most cost-effective performance potential available through improvement in the Rankine Cycle steam conditions and combustion systems while at the same time ensuring that the most stringent emission performance based on CURC (Coal Utilization Research Council) 2010 targets are met: > 98% sulfur removal; < 0.05 lbm/MM-Btu NO{sub x}; < 0.01 lbm/MM-Btu Particulate Matter; and > 90% Hg removal. The final report discusses the results of a coal fired steam power plant project, which is comprised of two parts. The main part of the study is the analysis of ten (10) Greenfield steam power plants employing three different coal combustion technologies: Pulverized Coal (PC), Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB), and Circulating Moving Bed (CMB{trademark}) integrated with five different steam cycles. The study explores the technical feasibility, thermal performance, environmental performance, and economic viability of ten power plants that could be deployed currently, in the near, intermediate, and long-term time frame. For the five steam cycles, main steam temperatures vary from 1,000 F to 1,292 F and pressures from 2,400 psi to 5,075 psi. Reheat steam temperatures vary from 1,000 F to 1,328 F. The number of feedwater heaters varies from 7 to 9 and the associated feedwater temperature varies from 500 F to 626 F. The main part of the

  18. Nuclear performance and reliability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rothwell, G.

    1993-01-01

    If fewer forced outages are a sign of improved safety, nuclear power plants have become safer and more productive. There has been a significant improvement in nuclear power plant performance, due largely to a decline in the forced outage rate and a dramatic drop in the average number of forced outages per fuel cycle. If fewer forced outages are a sign of improved safety, nuclear power plants have become safer and more productive over time. To encourage further increases in performance, regulatory incentive schemes should reward reactor operators for improved reliability and safety, as well as for improved performance

  19. 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

  20. Kozloduy nuclear power plant. Units 1-4. Status of safety improvements. Rev. 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1999-01-01

    operation of the units. The plant current safety level analysis has been performed using IAEA analytical methodology according to 50-SG-O12 standard 'Periodic safety review of operational nuclear power plants'. The approach and criteria for acceptable safety level definition, developed by IAEA and presented in INSAG-8 ' was used for analysis performance. Based on this analysis a set of activities was developed, to ensures further plant operation with the necessary safety level. The measures were combined in a program called Complex program for modernization of units 1-4. The implementation of the program is foreseen for a period of four next fuel cycles and started at the beginning of 1998. In respond to the requirements for the content of this paper a detailed description of the current status of resolving of the safety issues, classified by IAEA in TECDOC 640 is presented. The whole process of safety evaluation, short and long term safety improvements presents in a systematical manner the efforts of the Government of Bulgaria, NEK Ltd and KNPP to operate these units with due respect of their nuclear safety responsibility according to Nuclear Safety Convention signed at Vienna in 1994 and ratified by Bulgarian Parliament in 1995

  1. National approach to economic performance indicators for nuclear power plants: USA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-01-01

    either case, an understanding of the operational and economic factors and key measures, which gauge the competitiveness of an individual generating plant, is required. Economic and financial performance indicators are needed for individual plants to measure, evaluate and improve continuously the operating and management processes required to become and remain competitive in open electricity markets

  2. Plant safety and performance indicators for regulatory use

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferjancic, M.; Nemec, T.; Cimesa, S.

    2004-01-01

    Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration (SNSA) supervises nuclear and radiological safety of Krsko NPP. This SNSA supervision is performed through inspections, safety evaluations of plant modifications and event analyses as well as with the safety and performance indicators (SPI) which are a valuable data source for plant safety monitoring. In the past SNSA relied on the SPI provided by Krsko NPP and did not have a set of SPI which would be more appropriate for regulatory use. In 2003 SNSA started with preparation of a new set of SPI which would be more suitable for performing the regulatory oversight of the plant. New internal SNSA procedure which is under preparation will define use and evaluation of SPI and will include definitions for the proposed set of SPI. According to the evaluation of SPI values in comparison with the limiting values and/or trending, the procedure will define SNSA response and actions. (author)

  3. Formosa Plastics Corporation: Plant-Wide Assessment of Texas Plant Identifies Opportunities for Improving Process Efficiency and Reducing Energy Costs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2005-01-01

    At Formosa Plastics Corporation's plant in Point Comfort, Texas, a plant-wide assessment team analyzed process energy requirements, reviewed new technologies for applicability, and found ways to improve the plant's energy efficiency. The assessment team identified the energy requirements of each process and compared actual energy consumption with theoretical process requirements. The team estimated that total annual energy savings would be about 115,000 MBtu for natural gas and nearly 14 million kWh for electricity if the plant makes several improvements, which include upgrading the gas compressor impeller, improving the vent blower system, and recovering steam condensate for reuse. Total annual cost savings could be $1.5 million. The U.S. Department of Energy's Industrial Technologies Program cosponsored this assessment.

  4. Operational safety performance indicators for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-05-01

    Since the late 1980s, the IAEA has been actively sponsoring work in the area of indicators to monitor nuclear power plant (NPP) operational safety performance. The early activities were mainly focused on exchanging ideas and good practices in the development and use of these indicators at nuclear power plants. Since 1995 efforts have been directed towards the elaboration of a framework for the establishment of an operational safety performance indicator programme. The result of this work, compiled in this publication, is intended to assist NPPs in developing and implementing a monitoring programme, without overlooking the critical aspects related to operational safety performance. The framework proposed in this report was presented at two IAEA workshops on operational safety performance indicators held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in September 1998 and at the Daya Bay NPP, Szenzhen, China, in December 1998. During these two workshops, the participants discussed and brainstormed on the indicator framework presented. These working sessions provided very useful insights and ideas which where used for the enhancement of the framework proposed. The IAEA is acknowledging the support and contribution of all the participants in these two activities. The programme development was enhanced by pilot plant studies. Four plants from different countries with different designs participated in this study with the objective of testing the applicability, usefulness and viability of this approach

  5. Study on key technologies of optimization of big data for thermal power plant performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Mingyang; Xiao, Hong

    2018-06-01

    Thermal power generation accounts for 70% of China's power generation, the pollutants accounted for 40% of the same kind of emissions, thermal power efficiency optimization needs to monitor and understand the whole process of coal combustion and pollutant migration, power system performance data show explosive growth trend, The purpose is to study the integration of numerical simulation of big data technology, the development of thermal power plant efficiency data optimization platform and nitrogen oxide emission reduction system for the thermal power plant to improve efficiency, energy saving and emission reduction to provide reliable technical support. The method is big data technology represented by "multi-source heterogeneous data integration", "large data distributed storage" and "high-performance real-time and off-line computing", can greatly enhance the energy consumption capacity of thermal power plants and the level of intelligent decision-making, and then use the data mining algorithm to establish the boiler combustion mathematical model, mining power plant boiler efficiency data, combined with numerical simulation technology to find the boiler combustion and pollutant generation rules and combustion parameters of boiler combustion and pollutant generation Influence. The result is to optimize the boiler combustion parameters, which can achieve energy saving.

  6. Improvement of existing coal fired thermal power plants performance by control systems modifications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mikulandrić, Robert; Lončar, Dražen; Cvetinović, Dejan; Spiridon, Gabriel

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents possibilities of implementation of advanced combustion control concepts in selected Western Balkan thermal power plant, and particularly those based on artificial intelligence as part of primary measures for nitrogen oxide reduction in order to optimise combustion and to increase plant efficiency. Both considered goals comply with environmental quality standards prescribed in large combustion plant directive. Due to specific characterisation of Western Balkan power sector these goals should be reached by low cost and easily implementable solution. Advanced self-learning controller has been developed and the effects of advanced control concept on combustion process have been analysed using artificial neural-network based parameter prediction model

  7. 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...

  8. Complex effects of fertilization on plant and herbivore performance in the presence of a plant competitor and activated carbon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahdavi-Arab, Nafiseh; Meyer, Sebastian T; Mehrparvar, Mohsen; Weisser, Wolfgang W

    2014-01-01

    Plant-herbivore interactions are influenced by host plant quality which in turn is affected by plant growth conditions. Competition is the major biotic and nutrient availability a major abiotic component of a plant's growth environment. Yet, surprisingly few studies have investigated impacts of competition and nutrient availability on herbivore performance and reciprocal herbivore effects on plants. We studied growth of the specialist aphid, Macrosiphoniella tanacetaria, and its host plant tansy, Tanacetum vulgare, under experimental addition of inorganic and organic fertilizer crossed with competition by goldenrod, Solidago canadensis. Because of evidence that competition by goldenrod is mediated by allelopathic compounds, we also added a treatment with activated carbon. Results showed that fertilization increased, and competition with goldenrod decreased, plant biomass, but this was likely mediated by resource competition. There was no evidence from the activated carbon treatment that allelopathy played a role which instead had a fertilizing effect. Aphid performance increased with higher plant biomass and depended on plant growth conditions, with fertilization and AC increasing, and plant competition decreasing aphid numbers. Feedbacks of aphids on plant performance interacted with plant growth conditions in complex ways depending on the relative magnitude of the effects on plant biomass and aphid numbers. In the basic fertilization treatment, tansy plants profited from increased nutrient availability by accumulating more biomass than they lost due to an increased number of aphids under fertilization. When adding additional fertilizer, aphid numbers increased so high that tansy plants suffered and showed reduced biomass compared with controls without aphids. Thus, the ecological cost of an infestation with aphids depends on the balance of effects of growth conditions on plant and herbivore performance. These results emphasize the importance to investigate both

  9. Complex effects of fertilization on plant and herbivore performance in the presence of a plant competitor and activated carbon.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nafiseh Mahdavi-Arab

    Full Text Available Plant-herbivore interactions are influenced by host plant quality which in turn is affected by plant growth conditions. Competition is the major biotic and nutrient availability a major abiotic component of a plant's growth environment. Yet, surprisingly few studies have investigated impacts of competition and nutrient availability on herbivore performance and reciprocal herbivore effects on plants. We studied growth of the specialist aphid, Macrosiphoniella tanacetaria, and its host plant tansy, Tanacetum vulgare, under experimental addition of inorganic and organic fertilizer crossed with competition by goldenrod, Solidago canadensis. Because of evidence that competition by goldenrod is mediated by allelopathic compounds, we also added a treatment with activated carbon. Results showed that fertilization increased, and competition with goldenrod decreased, plant biomass, but this was likely mediated by resource competition. There was no evidence from the activated carbon treatment that allelopathy played a role which instead had a fertilizing effect. Aphid performance increased with higher plant biomass and depended on plant growth conditions, with fertilization and AC increasing, and plant competition decreasing aphid numbers. Feedbacks of aphids on plant performance interacted with plant growth conditions in complex ways depending on the relative magnitude of the effects on plant biomass and aphid numbers. In the basic fertilization treatment, tansy plants profited from increased nutrient availability by accumulating more biomass than they lost due to an increased number of aphids under fertilization. When adding additional fertilizer, aphid numbers increased so high that tansy plants suffered and showed reduced biomass compared with controls without aphids. Thus, the ecological cost of an infestation with aphids depends on the balance of effects of growth conditions on plant and herbivore performance. These results emphasize the importance

  10. Improving geothermal power plants with a binary cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomarov, G. V.; Shipkov, A. A.; Sorokina, E. V.

    2015-12-01

    The recent development of binary geothermal technology is analyzed. General trends in the introduction of low-temperature geothermal sources are summarized. The use of single-phase low-temperature geothermal fluids in binary power plants proves possible and expedient. The benefits of power plants with a binary cycle in comparison with traditional systems are shown. The selection of the working fluid is considered, and the influence of the fluid's physicochemical properties on the design of the binary power plant is discussed. The design of binary power plants is based on the chemical composition and energy potential of the geothermal fluids and on the landscape and climatic conditions at the intended location. Experience in developing a prototype 2.5 MW Russian binary power unit at Pauzhetka geothermal power plant (Kamchatka) is outlined. Most binary systems are designed individually for a specific location. Means of improving the technology and equipment at binary geothermal power plants are identified. One option is the development of modular systems based on several binary systems that employ the heat from the working fluid at different temperatures.

  11. Water Chemistry Control Technology to Improve the Performance of Nuclear Power Plants for Extended Fuel Cycles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maeng, W. Y.; Na, J. W.; Lee, E. H.

    2010-07-01

    Ο To Develop the technology to manage the problems of AOA and radiation, corrosion as long term PWR operation. Ο To Establish the advanced water chemical operating systems. - Development of the proper water chemistry guidelines for long term PWR operation. AOA(Axial Offest Anomaly) has been reported in many PWR plants in the world, including Korea, especially in the plants of higher burn-up and longer cycle operation or power up-rate. A test loop has been designed and made by KAERI, in order to investigate and mitigate AOA problems in Korea. This project included the study of hydrodynamic simulation and the modeling about AOA. The analysis of radioactive crud was performed to investigate of NPPs primary water chemical effect on AOA and to reduce the radioactive dose rate. The high temperature measurement system was developed to on-line monitor of water chemistry in nuclear power plants. The effects of various environmental factors such as temperature, pressure, and flow rate on YSZ-based pH electrode were evaluated for ensuring the accuracy of high-temperature pH measurement. The inhibition technology for fouling and SCC of SG tube was evaluated to establish the water chemistry technology of corrosion control of nuclear system. The high temperature and high pressure crevice chemistry analysis test loop was manufactured to develop the water chemistry technology of crevice chemistry control

  12. Control and decision strategies in wastewater treatment plants for operation improvement

    CERN Document Server

    Santín, Ignacio; Vilanova, Ramón

    2017-01-01

    This book examines the operation of biological wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), with a focus on maintaining effluent water quality while keeping operational costs within constrained limits. It includes control operation and decision schemes and is based on the use of benchmarking scenarios that yield easily reproducible results that readers can implement for their own solutions. The final criterion is the effect of the applied control strategy on plant performance – specifically, improving effluent quality, reducing costs and avoiding violations of established effluent limits. The evaluation of the different control strategies is achieved with the help of two Benchmark Simulation Models (BSM1, BSM2). Given the complexity of the biological and biochemical processes involved and the major fluctuations in the influent flow rate, controlling WWTPs poses a serious challenge. Further, the importance of control goal formulation and control structure design in relation to WWTP process control is widely recogniz...

  13. Studying the effects of combining internal and external heat recovery on techno-economic performances of gas–steam power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carapellucci, Roberto; Giordano, Lorena

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Effects of gas-cycle regeneration on steam–gas power plants are investigated. • Power plant performances are evaluated varying gas turbine operative parameters. • The power plant operational flexibility is assessed through an off-design analysis. • Gas-cycle regeneration improves energy and economic performance parameters. • Power increase due to regenerator by-pass depends on steam section design. - Abstract: Thermodynamic regeneration is regarded as a conventional technique to enhance the efficiency of gas turbines, by means of an internal recovery of waste heat from exhaust gases. In combined cycle power plants (CCGTs), only external heat recovery is usually applied, in order to achieve the highest steam cycle power. Combining internal and external recovery, while decreasing the power plant rated capacity, has the potential to boost the efficiency of CCGTs. This paper aims to examine the effects of thermodynamic regeneration on steam–gas power plants from the energy and economic point of view. First, a dual pressure combined cycle based on a regenerative gas turbine is designed using GateCycle software and effects on energy and economic performances are evaluated varying gas turbine operating parameters. Then, an off-design simulation of different CCGT configurations is carried out, in order to evaluate the power increase achieved by-passing the regenerator and its effects on efficiency and cost of electricity. The study has shown that the improvement of energy and economic performances of regenerative CCGTs is more and more pronounced with the increase of turbine inlet temperature (TIT). Additionally, regeneration enhances the power plant operational flexibility, allowing to obtain a 30% power increase with respect to the design value, if the regenerator is fully by-passed and the bottoming steam cycle is designed to manage the increased flue gas temperature.

  14. An improved model to evaluate thermodynamic solar plants with cylindrical parabolic collectors and air turbine engines in open Joule–Brayton cycle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferraro, Vittorio; Imineo, Francesco; Marinelli, Valerio

    2013-01-01

    An improved model to analyze the performance of solar plants operating with cylindrical parabolic collectors and atmospheric air as heat transfer fluid in an open Joule–Brayton cycle is presented. In the new model, the effect of the incident angle modifier is included, to take into account the variation of the optical efficiency with the incidence angle of the irradiance, and the effect of the reheating of the fluid also has been studied. The analysis was made for two operating modes of the plants: with variable air flow rate and constant inlet temperature to the turbine and with constant flow rate and variable inlet temperature to the turbine, with and without reheating of the fluid in the solar field. When reheating is used, the efficiency of the plant is increased. The obtained results show a good performance of this type of solar plant, in spite of its simplicity; it is able to compete well with other more complex plants operating with different heat transfer fluids. - Highlights: ► An improved model to calculate an innovative CPS solar plant is presented. ► The plant works with air in an open Joule–Brayton cycle. ► The reheating of the air increases the thermodynamic efficiency. ► The plant is very simple and competes well with other more complex solar plants

  15. Brunswick improvement program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howe, P.W.

    1985-01-01

    The performance of the twin 790-MW Mark-4 boiling water reactors located at the Brunswick steam electric plant has historically been well below average. The plant experienced low availability, low capacity factors, high US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) violations, excessive radioactive waste generation, excessive licensee event reports (LERs), an unacceptable industrial safety record, poor SALP ratings, and numerous other deficiencies leading to unacceptable performance. In June 1982 it was determined that certain periodic tests (PT) had never been performed. While one unit was down for a refueling/modification outage, Carolina Power and Light (CP and L) elected to bring the other unit off line and perform an extensive self-examination. As a result, a number of needed improvements covering a wide range of plant activities were identified. CP and L elected to consolidate all the elements of the improvement into a single, plant-wide program. The consolidated program, called the Brunswick Improvement Program (BIP), was established. Major objectives of the BIP and measurable results are presented

  16. Improving the safety of LWR power plants. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1980-04-01

    This report documents the results of the Study to identify current, potential research issues and efforts for improving the safety of Light Water Reactor (LWR) power plants. This final report describes the work accomplished, the results obtained, the problem areas, and the recommended solutions. Specifically, for each of the issues identified in this report for improving the safety of LWR power plants, a description is provided in detail of the safety significance, the current status (including information sources, status of technical knowledge, problem solution and current activities), and the suggestions for further research and development. Further, the issues are ranked for action into high, medium, and low priority with respect to primarily (a) improved safety (e.g. potential reduction in public risk and occupational exposure), and secondly (b) reduction in safety-related costs

  17. Team performance measures for abnormal plant operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montgomery, J.C.; Seaver, D.A.; Holmes, C.W.; Gaddy, C.D.; Toquam, J.L.

    1990-01-01

    In order to work effectively, control room crews need to possess well-developed team skills. Extensive research supports the notion that improved quality and effectiveness are possible when a group works together, rather than as individuals. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recognized the role of team performance in plant safety and has attempted to evaluate licensee performance as part of audits, inspections, and reviews. However, reliable and valid criteria for team performance have not yet been adequately developed. The purpose of the present research was to develop such reliable and valid measures of team skills. Seven dimensions of team skill performance were developed on the basis of input from NRC operator licensing examiners and from the results of previous research and experience in the area. These dimensions included two-way communications, resource management, inquiry, advocacy, conflict resolution/decision-making, stress management, and team spirit. Several different types of rating formats were developed for use with these dimensions, including a modified Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) format and a Behavioral Frequency format. Following pilot-testing and revision, observer and control room crew ratings of team performance were obtained using 14 control room crews responding to simulator scenarios at a BWR and a PWR reactor. It is concluded, overall, that the Behavioral Frequency ratings appeared quite promising as a measure of team skills but that additional statistical analyses and other follow-up research are needed to refine several of the team skills dimensions and to make the scales fully functional in an applied setting

  18. Reactor coolant pump seals: improving their performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pothier, N.E.; Metcalfe, R.

    1986-06-01

    Large CANDU plants are benefitting from transient-resistant four-year reliable reactor coolant pump seal lifetimes, a direct result of AECL's 20-year comprehensive seal improvement program involving R and D staff, manufacturers, and plant designers and operators. An overview of this program is presented, which covers seal modification design, testing, post-service examination, specialized maintenance and quality control. The relevancy of this technology to Light Water Reactor Coolant Pump Seals is also discussed

  19. Improvement of layout and piping design for PWR nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nozue, Kosei; Waki, Masato; Kashima, Hiroo; Yoshioka, Tsuyoshi; Obara, Ichiro.

    1983-01-01

    For a nuclear power plant, a period of nearly ten years is required from the initial planning stage to commencement of transmission after passing through the design, manufacturing, installation and trial running stages. In the current climate there is a trend that the time required for nuclear power plant construction will further increase when locational problems, thorough explanation to residents in the neighborhood of the construction site and their under-standing, subsequent safety checks and measures to be taken in compliance with various controls and regulations which get tighter year after year, are taken into account. Under such circumstances, in order to satisfy requirements such as improving the reliability of the nuclear power plant design, manufacturing and construction departments, improvements in the economy as well as the quality and shortening of construction periods, the design structure for Mitsubishi PWR nuclear power plants was thoroughly consolidated with regard to layout and piping design. At the same time, diversified design improvements were made with the excellent domestic technology based on plant designs imported from the U.S.A. An outline of the priority items is introduced in this paper. (author)

  20. Performance improvement: the organization's quest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKinley, C O; Parmer, D E; Saint-Amand, R A; Harbin, C B; Roulston, J C; Ellis, R A; Buchanan, J R; Leonard, R B

    1999-01-01

    In today's health care marketplace, quality has become an expectation. Stakeholders are demanding quality clinical outcomes, and accrediting bodies are requiring clinical performance data. The Roosevelt Institute's quest was to define and quantify quality outcomes, develop an organizational culture of performance improvement, and ensure customer satisfaction. Several of the organization's leaders volunteered to work as a team to develop a specific performance improvement approach tailored to the organization. To date, over 200 employees have received an orientation to the model and its philosophy and nine problem action and process improvement teams have been formed.

  1. Improving performance of high risk organizations Spanish nuclear sector from the analysis of organizational culture factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    La Salabarnada, E.; German, S.; Silla, I.; Navajas, J.

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents the research project funded by UNESA and conducted by the CISOT-CIEMAT that aims to contribute to improving the operating performance of the Spanish nuclear power plants. This paper aims to identify the factors and key organizational processes to improve efficiency, in order to advance knowledge about the influence of organizational culture on the safety of high reliability organizations.

  2. Labour Mobility and Plant Performance in Denmark: The Significance of Related Inflows

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Timmermans, Bram; Boschma, Ron

    This paper investigates the impact of different types of labour mobility on plant performance, making use of the IDA-database that provides detailed information on all individuals and plants for the whole of Denmark. Our study shows that the effect of labour mobility can only be assessed when one...... performance. Moreover, intra-regional skilled labour mobility had a negative effect on plant performance in general, while the effect of inter-regional labour mobility depends on the type of skills that flow into the plant. We used a sophisticated indicator of revealed relatedness that measures the degree...... accounts for the type of skills that flow into the plant, and the degree to which these match the existing set of skills at the plant level. We found that the inflow of related skills has a positive impact on plant performance, while inflows of similar and unrelated skills have a negative effect on plant...

  3. Understanding nitrate uptake, signaling and remobilisation for improving plant nitrogen use efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kant, Surya

    2018-02-01

    The majority of terrestrial plants use nitrate as their main source of nitrogen. Nitrate also acts as an important signalling molecule in vital physiological processes required for optimum plant growth and development. Improving nitrate uptake and transport, through activation by nitrate sensing, signalling and regulatory processes, would enhance plant growth, resulting in improved crop yields. The increased remobilisation of nitrate, and assimilated nitrogenous compounds, from source to sink tissues further ensures higher yields and quality. An updated knowledge of various transporters, genes, activators, and microRNAs, involved in nitrate uptake, transport, remobilisation, and nitrate-mediated root growth, is presented. An enhanced understanding of these components will allow for their orchestrated fine tuning in efforts to improving nitrogen use efficiency in plants. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Rapid Identification of Asteraceae Plants with Improved RBF-ANN Classification Models Based on MOS Sensor E-Nose

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui-Qin Zou

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Plants from Asteraceae family are widely used as herbal medicines and food ingredients, especially in Asian area. Therefore, authentication and quality control of these different Asteraceae plants are important for ensuring consumers’ safety and efficacy. In recent decades, electronic nose (E-nose has been studied as an alternative approach. In this paper, we aim to develop a novel discriminative model by improving radial basis function artificial neural network (RBF-ANN classification model. Feature selection algorithms, including principal component analysis (PCA and BestFirst + CfsSubsetEval (BC, were applied in the improvement of RBF-ANN models. Results illustrate that in the improved RBF-ANN models with lower dimension data classification accuracies (100% remained the same as in the original model with higher-dimension data. It is the first time to introduce feature selection methods to get valuable information on how to attribute more relevant MOS sensors; namely, in this case, S1, S3, S4, S6, and S7 show better capability to distinguish these Asteraceae plants. This paper also gives insights to further research in this area, for instance, sensor array optimization and performance improvement of classification model.

  5. Plant mutation breeding for crop improvement. V.2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-01-01

    This volume contains the proceedings of the final two sessions of the FAO/IAEA Symposium on Plant Mutation Breeding for Crop Improvement, focussing on mutation breeding with particular objectives and the methodology of mutation breeding. The individual contributions are indexed separately. Although a wide variety of topics is included, the emphasis is on the use of (mainly gamma) radiation to induce economically useful mutants in cereals and legumes. The results of many conventional plant breeding programs are also presented. Refs, figs and tabs

  6. Plant mutation breeding for crop improvement. V.1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-01-01

    This volume contains the proceedings of the first two sessions of the FAO/IAEA Symposium on Plant Mutation Breeding for Crop Improvement, focussing on mutation breeding in particular countries and crop-specific mutation breeding. The individual contributions are indexed separately. Although a wide variety of topics is included, the emphasis is on the use of (mainly gamma) radiation to induce economically useful mutants in cereals and legumes. The results of many conventional plant breeding programs are also presented. Refs, figs and tabs

  7. Improving the safety of workers in the vicinity of mobile plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-07-01

    This report investigates possible approaches and technologies to improve the safety of pedestrians around mobile plant. The study has considered mobile plant in underground mining, surface mineral extraction and warehousing and materials handling. It investigates vehicle ergonomics and visual task analysis, aids to improve reversing and sight lines, direct body detection techniques, conventional transponder (RFID) and VLF magnetic dipole detection technologies. 43 refs., 5 apps.

  8. Present status and recent improvements of water chemistry at Russian VVER plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mamet, V.; Yurmanov, V.

    2001-01-01

    Water chemistry is an important contributor to reliable plant operation, safety barrier integrity, plant component lifetime, radiation safety, environmental impact. Primary and secondary water chemistry guidelines of Russian VVER plants have been modified to meet the new safety standards. At present 14 VVER units of different generation are in operation at 5 Russian NPPs. There are eight 4-loop pressurised water reactors VVER-1000 (1000 MWe) and six 6-loop pressurised water reactors VVER-440 (440 MWe). Generally, water chemistry at East European VVER plants (about 40 VVER-440 and VVER-1000 units in Ukraine, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Finland and Armenia) is similar to water chemistry at Russian VVER plants. Due to similar design and structural materials some water chemistry improvements were introduced at East European plants after they has been successfully implemented at Russian plants and vice versa. Some water chemistry improvements will be implemented at modern VVER plants under construction in Ukraine, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Iran, China, India. (R.P.)

  9. Performance Improvement of a Radioactive Forced Circulation Evaporator System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zaki, A.A.; Hala, A.A.; Othman, E.A.

    2016-01-01

    Evaporation is a proven method for treatment of liquid radioactive wastes providing both good decontamination and high concentration. In a radioactive waste treatment plant a forced circulation evaporator is used to reduce the volume of radioactive liquid wastes arising from different applications of nuclear industries. The safe operation, limiting the composition of the liquid radioactive waste at a prescribed value, with high performance efficiency, requires good control for the evaporator operating pressure and the level of liquid waste inside the separator part of the evaporator. The aim of this work was to improve the safety and performance of a forced-circulation evaporator used in a liquid radioactive wastes treatment plant. In this respect, a level controller system for this type of evaporator was designed, where proportional (P), proportional Integral (PI) and deadbeat response controllers for the separator level system were suggested. More over, an ideal 2×2(2 inputs and 2 outputs )de coupler controller for controlling the operating pressure and the product composition was developed. Computer results demonstrated that the deadbeat response has been success fully obtained from the developed separator control system. The maximum over shoot in the unit-step response curve was reduce d to 25 % and the settling time also was reduced to more than the half; about 26 minutes using Ziegler-Nichols tuning technique.The designed de coupling controller has been found effective in achieving a good trade-off between stability and performance

  10. Nuclear power plant control room operators' performance research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gray, L.H.; Haas, P.M.

    1984-01-01

    A research program is being conducted to provide information on the performance of nuclear power plant control room operators when responding to abnormal/emergency events in the plants and in full-scope training simulators. The initial impetus for this program was the need for data to assess proposed design criteria for the choice of manual versus automatic action for accomplishing safety-related functions during design basis accidents. The program also included studies of training simulator capabilities, of procedures and data for specifying and verifying simulator performance, and of methods and applications of task analysis

  11. Monitoring wood heating plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-07-01

    The overall aim of the project is to support the increased use of biomass heating plant in the UK by improving the quality and quantity of information available to suppliers and users. This aim will be achieved by: providing a qualitative assessment of the operational performance of a representative range of biomass heating installations including summaries of technical information; providing good case studies for a range of installations addressing the varied market demands; collating performance data of existing installations so as to improve the performance and/or reduce capital and operating costs of existing and future installations; and providing basic operator training and recommending methods optimising/improving plant performance. (author)

  12. Improving nuclear power plant safety through operator aids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-12-01

    In October 1986, the IAEA convened a one-week Technical Committee Meeting on Improving Nuclear Power Plant Safety Through Operator Aids. The term ''operator aid'' or more formally ''operator support system'' refers to a class of devices designed to be added to a nuclear power plant control station to assist an operator in performing his job and thereby decrease the probability of operator error. The addition of a carefully planned and designed operator aid should result in an increase in nuclear power plant safety and reliability. Operator aids encompass a wide range of devices from the very simple, such as color coding a display to distinguish it out of a group of similar displays, to the very complex, such as a computer-generated video display which concentrates a number of scattered indicator readings located around a control room into a concise display in front of the operator. This report provides guidelines and information to help make a decision as to whether an operator aid is needed, what kinds of operator aids are available and whether it should be purchased or developed by the utility. In addition, a discussion is presented on advanced operator aids to provide information on what may become available in the future. The broad scope of these guidelines makes it most suitable for use by a multi-disciplinary team. The document consists of two parts. The recommendations and results of the meeting discussions are given in the first part. The second part is the annex where the papers presented at the Technical Committee Meeting are printed. A separate abstract was prepared for each of the 10 papers. Refs, figs and tabs

  13. Biotechnological Strategies to Improve Plant Biomass Quality for Bioethanol Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julián Mario Peña-Castro

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The transition from an economy dependent on nonrenewable energy sources to one with higher diversity of renewables will not be a simple process. It requires an important research effort to adapt to the dynamics of the changing energy market, sort costly processes, and avoid overlapping with social interest markets such as food and livestock production. In this review, we analyze the desirable traits of raw plant materials for the bioethanol industry and the molecular biotechnology strategies employed to improve them, in either plants already under use (as maize or proposed species (large grass families. The fundamentals of these applications can be found in the mechanisms by which plants have evolved different pathways to manage carbon resources for reproduction or survival in unexpected conditions. Here, we review the means by which this information can be used to manipulate these mechanisms for commercial uses, including saccharification improvement of starch and cellulose, decrease in cell wall recalcitrance through lignin modification, and increase in plant biomass.

  14. Biotechnological Strategies to Improve Plant Biomass Quality for Bioethanol Production

    Science.gov (United States)

    del Moral, Sandra; Núñez-López, Lizeth; Barrera-Figueroa, Blanca E.; Amaya-Delgado, Lorena

    2017-01-01

    The transition from an economy dependent on nonrenewable energy sources to one with higher diversity of renewables will not be a simple process. It requires an important research effort to adapt to the dynamics of the changing energy market, sort costly processes, and avoid overlapping with social interest markets such as food and livestock production. In this review, we analyze the desirable traits of raw plant materials for the bioethanol industry and the molecular biotechnology strategies employed to improve them, in either plants already under use (as maize) or proposed species (large grass families). The fundamentals of these applications can be found in the mechanisms by which plants have evolved different pathways to manage carbon resources for reproduction or survival in unexpected conditions. Here, we review the means by which this information can be used to manipulate these mechanisms for commercial uses, including saccharification improvement of starch and cellulose, decrease in cell wall recalcitrance through lignin modification, and increase in plant biomass. PMID:28951875

  15. Feed-pump hydraulic performance and design improvement, Phase I: research program design. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brown, W.H.; Gopalakrishnan, S.; Fehlau, R.; Thompson, W.E.; Wilson, D.G.

    1982-03-01

    As a result of prior EPRI-sponsored studies, it was concluded that a research program should be designed and implemented to provide an improved basis for the design, procurement, testing, and operation of large feed pumps with increased reliability and stability over the full range of operating conditions. This two-volume report contains a research plan which is based on a review of the present state of the art and which defines the necessary R and D program and estimates the benefits and costs of the program. The recommended research program consists of 30 interrelated tasks. It is designed to perform the needed research; to verify the results; to develop improved components; and to publish computer-aided design methods, pump specification guidelines, and a troubleshooting manual. Most of the technology proposed in the research plan is applicable to nuclear power plants as well as to fossil-fired plants. This volume discusses the design, performance and failures of feed pumps, and recommendations for research on pump dynamics, design, and specifications.

  16. Using game technologies to improve the safety of construction plant operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Hongling; Li, Heng; Chan, Greg; Skitmore, Martin

    2012-09-01

    Many accidents occur world-wide in the use of construction plant and equipment, and safety training is considered by many to be one of the best approaches to their prevention. However, current safety training methods/tools are unable to provide trainees with the hands-on practice needed. Game technology-based safety training platforms have the potential to overcome this problem in a virtual environment. One such platform is described in this paper - its characteristics are analysed and its possible contribution to safety training identified. This is developed and tested by means of a case study involving three major pieces of construction plant, which successfully demonstrates that the platform can improve the process and performance of the safety training involved in their operation. This research not only presents a new and useful solution to the safety training of construction operations, but illustrates the potential use of advanced technologies in solving construction industry problems in general. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. The development and use of plant models to assist with both the commissioning and performance optimisation of plant control systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Conner, A.S.; Region, S.E.

    1984-01-01

    Successful engagement of cascade control systems used to control complex nuclear plant often present control engineers with difficulties when trying to obtain early automatic operation of these systems. These difficulties often arise because prior to the start of live plant operation, control equipment performance can only be assessed using open loop techniques. By simulating simple models of plant on a computer and linking it to the site control equipment, the performance of the system can be examined and optimised prior to live plant operation. This significantly reduces the plant down time required to correct control equipment performance faults during live plant operation

  18. [Native plant resources to optimize the performances of forest rehabilitation in Mediterranean and tropical environment: some examples of nursing plant species that improve the soil mycorrhizal potential].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duponnois, Robin; Ramanankierana, Heriniaina; Hafidi, Mohamed; Baohanta, Rondro; Baudoin, Ezékiel; Thioulouse, Jean; Sanguin, Hervé; Bâ, Amadou; Galiana, Antoine; Bally, René; Lebrun, Michel; Prin, Yves

    2013-01-01

    The overexploitation of natural resources, resulting in an increased need for arable lands by local populations, causes a serious dysfunction in the soil's biological functioning (mineral deficiency, salt stress, etc.). This dysfunction, worsened by the climatic conditions (drought), requires the implementation of ecological engineering strategies allowing the rehabilitation of degraded areas through the restoration of essential ecological services. The first symptoms of weathering processes of soil quality in tropical and Mediterranean environments result in an alteration of the plant cover structure with, in particular, the pauperization of plant species diversity and abundance. This degradation is accompanied by a weakening of soils and an increase of the impact of erosion on the surface layer resulting in reduced fertility of soils in terms of their physicochemical characteristics as well as their biological ones (e.g., soil microbes). Among the microbial components particularly sensitive to erosion, symbiotic microorganisms (rhizobia, Frankia, mycorrhizal fungi) are known to be key components in the main terrestrial biogeochemical cycles (C, N and P). Many studies have shown the importance of the management of these symbiotic microorganisms in rehabilitation and revegetation strategies of degraded environments, but also in improving the productivity of agrosystems. In particular, the selection of symbionts and their inoculation into the soil were strongly encouraged in recent decades. These inoculants were selected not only for their impact on the plant, but also for their ability to persist in the soil at the expense of the residual native microflora. The performance of this technique was thus evaluated on the plant cover, but its impact on soil microbial characteristics was totally ignored. The role of microbial diversity on productivity and stability (resistance, resilience, etc.) of eco- and agrosystems has been identified relatively recently and has led

  19. Improved performance of the industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeffrey, R.

    1994-01-01

    The remarkable improvements in the performance of AGR stations is illustrated. The underlying reasons for this improvement are discussed, emphasizing both the operational performance factors which have led to higher sustained output and the managerial and cultural changes which have focused attention at all levels on the need to be competitive. It is concluded that the UK nuclear industry has become world class with more improvements to come, an asset to the UK. (Author)

  20. Plant water potential improves prediction of empirical stomatal models.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William R L Anderegg

    Full Text Available Climate change is expected to lead to increases in drought frequency and severity, with deleterious effects on many ecosystems. Stomatal responses to changing environmental conditions form the backbone of all ecosystem models, but are based on empirical relationships and are not well-tested during drought conditions. Here, we use a dataset of 34 woody plant species spanning global forest biomes to examine the effect of leaf water potential on stomatal conductance and test the predictive accuracy of three major stomatal models and a recently proposed model. We find that current leaf-level empirical models have consistent biases of over-prediction of stomatal conductance during dry conditions, particularly at low soil water potentials. Furthermore, the recently proposed stomatal conductance model yields increases in predictive capability compared to current models, and with particular improvement during drought conditions. Our results reveal that including stomatal sensitivity to declining water potential and consequent impairment of plant water transport will improve predictions during drought conditions and show that many biomes contain a diversity of plant stomatal strategies that range from risky to conservative stomatal regulation during water stress. Such improvements in stomatal simulation are greatly needed to help unravel and predict the response of ecosystems to future climate extremes.

  1. Improvement of shearing machine in the Tokai Reprocessing Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takae, Akiyoshi; Otani, Yoshikuni

    1994-01-01

    The shearing machine in the Tokai Reprocessing Plant has been improved and refurbished through its operational experience for about 20 years. Every component except the shear housing and magazine is changed for improved things by PNC, while the shearing machine had been designed and fabricated originally by a French Company. The improvement of the shearing machine was carried out for the purpose of settling the problems which were experienced in the past operation, and improving durability, remote maintainability, and operability. The details of their improvement work are described. (author)

  2. Improving the turnaround maintenance of the Escravos gas plant / Ishekwene, I.V.

    OpenAIRE

    Ishekwene, Isaac Victor

    2011-01-01

    According to Oliver (2002) the success of turnaround maintenances is measured in terms of the cost of completion, time, safety performance and the performance of the plant afterwards. The Escravos gas plant (EGP) is a gas processing plant that converts associated gas from Chevron owned crude oil wells to liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas and gas condensate (Chevron intranet. Website assessed on September 14, 2007). According to the EGP plant operations coordinator (See inter...

  3. Embedded Sensors and Controls to Improve Component Performance and Reliability Conceptual Design Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kisner, R.; Melin, A.; Burress, T.; Fugate, D.; Holcomb, D.; Wilgen, J.; Miller, J.; Wilson, D.; Silva, P.; Whitlow, L.; Peretz, F.

    2012-09-15

    The objective of this project is to demonstrate improved reliability and increased performance made possible by deeply embedding instrumentation and controls (I&C) in nuclear power plant (NPP) components and systems. The project is employing a highly instrumented canned rotor, magnetic bearing, fluoride salt pump as its I&C technology demonstration platform. I&C is intimately part of the basic millisecond-by-millisecond functioning of the system; treating I&C as an integral part of the system design is innovative and will allow significant improvement in capabilities and performance. As systems become more complex and greater performance is required, traditional I&C design techniques become inadequate and more advanced I&C needs to be applied. New I&C techniques enable optimal and reliable performance and tolerance of noise and uncertainties in the system rather than merely monitoring quasistable performance. Traditionally, I&C has been incorporated in NPP components after the design is nearly complete; adequate performance was obtained through over-design. By incorporating I&C at the beginning of the design phase, the control system can provide superior performance and reliability and enable designs that are otherwise impossible. This report describes the progress and status of the project and provides a conceptual design overview for the platform to demonstrate the performance and reliability improvements enabled by advanced embedded I&C.

  4. The impact of team building and leadership development on nuclear plant performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fiedler, P.B.; Long, R.L.; Childress, J.R.

    1988-01-01

    Within the nuclear utility industry, the pressures of complex technologies, increasing regulations, and critical public scrutiny create a working environment filled with numerous pressures. The difficult nature of the industry puts a premium on effective teamwork, interdepartmental cooperation, and communication skills. A well-conceived and implemented team building and leadership development program can substantially improve the operating performance of a nuclear plant. This paper describes one such implementation effort at GPU Nuclear Corporation and at the Oyster Creek nuclear generating station (OCNGS) over an 18-month period

  5. Comparative assessment of PV plant performance models considering climate effects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tina, Giuseppe; Ventura, Cristina; Sera, Dezso

    2017-01-01

    . The methodological approach is based on comparative tests of the analyzed models applied to two PV plants installed respectively in north of Denmark (Aalborg) and in the south of Italy (Agrigento). The different ambient, operating and installation conditions allow to understand how these factors impact the precision...... the performance of the studied PV plants with others, the efficiency of the systems has been estimated by both conventional Performance Ratio and Corrected Performance Ratio...

  6. Extracellular peptidase hunting for improvement of protein production in plant cells and roots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jérôme eLallemand

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Plant-based recombinant protein production systems have gained an extensive interest over the past few years, because of their reduced cost and relative safety. Although the first products are now reaching the market, progress are still needed to improve plant hosts and strategies for biopharming. Targeting recombinant proteins toward the extracellular space offers several advantages in terms of protein folding and purification, but degradation events are observed, due to endogenous peptidases. This paper focuses on the analysis of extracellular proteolytic activities in two production systems: cell cultures and root-secretion (rhizosecretion, in Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana tabacum. Proteolytic activities of extracellular proteomes (secretomes were evaluated in vitro against two substrate proteins: bovine serum albumin (BSA and human serum immunoglobulins G (hIgGs. Both targets were found to be degraded by the secretomes, BSA being more prone to proteolysis than hIgGs. The analysis of the proteolysis pH-dependence showed that target degradation was mainly dependent upon the production system: rhizosecretomes contained more peptidase activity than extracellular medium of cell suspensions, whereas variations due to plant species were smaller. Using class-specific peptidase inhibitors, serine and metallopeptidases were found to be responsible for degradation of both substrates. An in-depth in silico analysis of genomic and transcriptomic data from Arabidopsis was then performed and led to the identification of a limited number of serine and metallo-peptidases that are consistently expressed in both production systems. These peptidases should be prime candidates for further improvement of plant hosts by targeted silencing.

  7. Availability Performance Analysis of Thermal Power Plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhangu, Navneet Singh; Singh, Rupinder; Pahuja, G. L.

    2018-03-01

    This case study presents the availability evaluation method of thermal power plants for conducting performance analysis in Indian environment. A generic availability model has been proposed for a maintained system (thermal plants) using reliability block diagrams and fault tree analysis. The availability indices have been evaluated under realistic working environment using inclusion exclusion principle. Four year failure database has been used to compute availability for different combinatory of plant capacity, that is, full working state, reduced capacity or failure state. Availability is found to be very less even at full rated capacity (440 MW) which is not acceptable especially in prevailing energy scenario. One of the probable reason for this may be the difference in the age/health of existing thermal power plants which requires special attention of each unit from case to case basis. The maintenance techniques being used are conventional (50 years old) and improper in context of the modern equipment, which further aggravate the problem of low availability. This study highlights procedure for finding critical plants/units/subsystems and helps in deciding preventive maintenance program.

  8. Energy performance indicator report: fluid milk plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-07-01

    In Canada, the dairy sector consumes significant amounts of energy and is looking for new ways of saving energy. The aim of this study, performed by the Competitive Analysis Centre Inc., was to find novel energy savings ideas for fluid milk plants. For this purpose, the energy consumption of 17 fluid milk plants, which accounts for over 50% of total Canadian output, was analyzed; first, at the plant level, and then by 8 categories at the sub-plant level in order to develop benchmarks that could be applied at both these levels. The paper provides background information on Canada's fluid milk sector and outlines the methodology used to develop and apply energy efficiency measures in the sector; the study findings are also presented. This report found that the energy consumption of the Canadian fluid milk sector could be lowered by applying the energy saving proposals developed herein.

  9. EFFECT OF DATE OF PLANTING ON THE PERFORMANCE OF ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    BSN

    KEY WORDS: Date of Planting, Performance, Groundnut, haulm, yield, grain yield. ... Adamawa State, groundnuts have the highest tonnage among the legumes cultivated and ranks ... germination because of moisture stress) and such planting continues till the ..... variations in temperature and solar radiation intercepted.

  10. RCGVS design improvement and depressurization capability tests for Ulchin nuclear power plant units 3 and 4

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sung, Kang Sik; Seong, Ho Je; Jeong, Won Sang; Seo, Jong Tae; Lee, Sang Keun [Korea Power Engineering Company, Inc., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lim, Keun Hyo; Choi, Kwon Sik; Oh, Chul Sung [Korea Electric Power Cooperation, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1999-12-31

    The Reactor Coolant Gas Vent System(RCGVS) design for Ulchin Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4 (UCN 3 and 4) has been improved from the Yonggwang Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4 (YGN 3 and 4) based on the evaluation results for depressurization capability tests performed at YGN 3 and 4. There has been a series of plant safety analyses for Natural Circulation Cooldown(NCC) event and thermo-dynamic analyses with RELAP5 code for the steam blowdown phenomena in order to optimize the orifice size of UCN 3 and 4 RCGVS. Based on these analyses results, the RCGVS orifics size for UCN 3 and 4 has been reduced to 9/32 inch from the 11/32 inch for YGN 3 and 4. The depressurization capability tests, which were performed at UCN 3 in order to verify the FSAR NCC analysis results, show that the RCGVS depressurization rates are being within the acceptable ranges. Therefore, it is concluded that the orificed flow path of UCN 3 and 4 RCGVS is adequately designed, and can provide the safety-grade depressurization capability required for a safe plant operation. 6 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab. (Author)

  11. RCGVS design improvement and depressurization capability tests for Ulchin nuclear power plant units 3 and 4

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sung, Kang Sik; Seong, Ho Je; Jeong, Won Sang; Seo, Jong Tae; Lee, Sang Keun [Korea Power Engineering Company, Inc., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lim, Keun Hyo; Choi, Kwon Sik; Oh, Chul Sung [Korea Electric Power Cooperation, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1998-12-31

    The Reactor Coolant Gas Vent System(RCGVS) design for Ulchin Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4 (UCN 3 and 4) has been improved from the Yonggwang Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4 (YGN 3 and 4) based on the evaluation results for depressurization capability tests performed at YGN 3 and 4. There has been a series of plant safety analyses for Natural Circulation Cooldown(NCC) event and thermo-dynamic analyses with RELAP5 code for the steam blowdown phenomena in order to optimize the orifice size of UCN 3 and 4 RCGVS. Based on these analyses results, the RCGVS orifics size for UCN 3 and 4 has been reduced to 9/32 inch from the 11/32 inch for YGN 3 and 4. The depressurization capability tests, which were performed at UCN 3 in order to verify the FSAR NCC analysis results, show that the RCGVS depressurization rates are being within the acceptable ranges. Therefore, it is concluded that the orificed flow path of UCN 3 and 4 RCGVS is adequately designed, and can provide the safety-grade depressurization capability required for a safe plant operation. 6 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab. (Author)

  12. Improvement of Salt Tolerance in Trigonella foenum-graecum L. var. PEB by Plant Growth Regulators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anjali Ratnakar

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The crop yield is reduced under saline conditions and this hampers agricultural productivity. The incorporation of plant growth regulators (PGRs during presoaking treatments in many crops has improved seed performance under saline conditions. In order to study the ameliorative effect of plant growth regulators, experiments were conducted to study the variation in organic constituents in the leaves of Trigonella foenum-graecum L. var.PEB, where the seeds were primed with different plant growth regulators and grown under NaCl salinity. After a pre-soaking treatment of six hours in 20 mg L-1 solutions of gibberllic acid (GA3, 6-furfuryladenine (Kinetin and benzyl adenine (BA, the seeds were allowed to germinate and grow for forty-five days under saline conditions. On the analysis of mature leaves, it was observed that chlorophyll a and b, total chlorophyll and protein showed an increase in PGR-treated plants compared to the untreated set. The accumulation of the stress metabolite such as proline and sugars, which increase under saline conditions, showed a significant decrease in the plants pretreated with PGRs.

  13. EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH OF THE INFLUENCE OF VARIOUS TYPES OF SOLAR COLLECTORS FOR PERFORMANCE SOLAR DESALINATION PLANT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rakhmatulin I.R.

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The article discusses the possibility of using renewable energy for water purification. Results of analysis of a preferred energy source for a water purification using installed in places where fresh water shortages and a lack of electrical energy. The possibility of desalination of salt water using solar energy for regions with temperate climate. Presented desalination plant working on energy vacuum solar collectors, principles of action developed by the desalination plant. The experimental results of a constructed distiller when working with vacuum glass tubes and vacuum tubes with copper core inside. Conclusions about the possibility of using solar collectors for water desalination, are tips and tricks to improve the performance of solar desalination plant.

  14. Towards assuring the continued performance of safety-related concrete structures in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naus, D.J.; Oland, C.B.; Ellingwood, B.; Mori, Y.; Arndt, E.G.

    1993-01-01

    The Structural Aging (SAG) Program is addressing the aging management of safety-related concrete structures in nuclear power plants for the purpose of providing improved technical bases for their continued service. Pertinent concrete structures are described in terms of their importance, design considerations, and materials of construction. Degradation factors which can potentially impact the ability of these structures to meet their functional and performance requirements are identified. A review of the performance history of the concrete components in nuclear power plants is provided. Accomplishments of the SLAG Program are summarized, i.e., development of the structural materials information center, development of a structural aging assessment methodology, evaluation of models for predicting the remaining life of in-service concrete, review of in-service inspection methods, and development of a methodology for reliability-based condition assessment and life prediction of concrete structures. On-going activities are also described

  15. Thermal performance monitoring and assessment in Dukovany nuclear power plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Madron, F. [Chemplant Technology s.r.o., Hrncirska 4, 400 01 Usti nad Labem (Czech Republic); Papuga, J. [CEZ a.s., JE Dukovany, 675 50 Dukovany (Czech Republic); Pliska, J. [I and C ENERGO a.s., Prazska 684, 674 01 Trebic (Czech Republic)

    2006-07-01

    Competition in the European electricity market forces generators to achieve - in compliance with safety and environmental standards - efficiency of production as high as possible. This efficiency or heat rate is an important indicator of both the condition of the plant equipment and the quality of plant operation. Similar thermal performance indicators can also be calculated for components of the plant equipment such as heat exchangers. However, it is not easy to quantify these indicators with sufficient precision so that the results can be used for conduct of plant operation in near-real time and for predictive maintenance. This paper describes a present state of the system monitoring and evaluating thermal performance of the reactor units in Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant. The system provides information on actual and desirable (should-be) values of thermal performance indicators for control room operators, performance engineers and maintenance planners. The system is designed to monitor steady states and has two main functions: data validation and process simulation. Data validation is based on data reconciliation methodology and carried out with Recon software by Chemplant Technology. A detailed model of the secondary side for mass and heat balancing has been made up by means of the Recon's graphical editor; now it contains roughly 300 flows and employs data of about 200 measurements. Main advantages of the data reconciliation are: - reconciled data are consistent with the model, - reconciled data are more precise than data directly measured with consequence that the thermal power of steam generators is determined with substantially lower uncertainty than before - data reconciliation represents a solid basis for detection and identification of data corrupted by gross errors. Simulation is performed with a different analytical model of plant components configured into secondary side. The model has been developed by I and C Energo. Main purposes of simulation

  16. Advancements in nuclear plant maintenance programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meligi, A.E.; Maras, M.C.

    1993-01-01

    The viability of the nuclear option as a technology choice for present and future electricity generation will be decided primarily on the basis of operating cost to achieve plant performance objectives. In a nuclear plant, performance is judged not only on availability and output rate but also on safety risk and radiation exposure. Operating, cost is essentially made up of the fuel cost and operation and maintenance (O and M) cost. Over the past decade, the industry average nuclear plant performance has improved significantly; however, this improvement was accompanied by rising O and M cost. The net result was that the nuclear option lost its long-standing economic advantage over the coal option, based on the industry average comparison, around 1987 - with the gap narrowing slightly in the last 2 years. In recent times, gas-fired plants have also become a basis for comparison. The electric generation cost comparisons of various fuel options has led to even greater scrutiny of nuclear plant performance, with the poorer performing plants facing the risk of shutdown. While effective O and M programs improve plant performance, present industry data show that there is no direct correlation between the cost of a plant O and M program and its associated performance. There is a significant number of existing tools and techniques in the O and M area that have proved to be successful and have resulted in significant benefits and payback. This paper presents an overview of the nuclear industry efforts to improve the conduct of O and M activities, describes the basic elements of an effective O and M program, and addresses some of the state-of-the-art tools and techniques to enhance maintenance work planning, training, and procedures

  17. Improve strategic supplier performance using DMAIC to develop a Quality Improvement Plan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jardim, Kevin P.

    Supplier performance that meets the requirements of the customer has long plagued quality professionals. Despite the vast efforts by organizations to improve supplier performance, little has been done to standardize the plan to improve performance. This project presents a guideline and problem-solving strategy using a Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC) structured tool that will assist in the management and improvement of supplier performance. An analysis of benchmarked Quality Improvement Plans indicated that this topic needs more focus on how to accomplish improved supplier performance. This project is part of a growing body of supplier continuous improvement efforts. With the input of Zodiac Aerospace quality professionals this project's results provide a solution to Quality Improvement Plans and show objective evidence of its benefits. This project contributes to the future research on similar topics.

  18. Good performance in Japan is proof of continuing safety and reliability improvement practice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sumi, Y.

    1987-01-01

    Nuclear power is a vital energy supply source for both security and economy for such countries as Japan whose sources of energy are dependent on imported materials. This is the very reason why Japan gives her national priority to the improvement of nuclear power safety and reliability. As of the end of 1986, total nuclear power capacity owned and operated by private utility companies in Japan amounted to 24521 MW with 32 units sharing -- 19% of the total generating capacity. Moreover, during 1986 these units scored a remarkably high capacity factor of 76.2% and shared almost 28% of the nationwide electric power production, thereby contributing to a considerable saving of imported sources of energy. This outstanding record has been achieved by the parties concerned who dedicated themselves to furthering nuclear plant safety and reliability improvement. In this connection, this paper summarizes those key factors contributing to the good nuclear power plant performance of the Kansai Electric Power Company

  19. Advancements in valve technology and industry lessons lead to improved plant reliability and cost savings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharma, V.; Kalsi, M.S.

    2005-01-01

    Plant reliability and safety hinges on the proper functioning of several valves. Recent advancements in valve technology have resulted in new analytical and test methods for evaluating and improving valve and actuator reliability. This is especially significant in critical service applications in which the economic impact of a valve failure on production, outage schedules and consequential damages far surpasses the initial equipment purchase price. This paper presents an overview of recent advances in valve technology driven by reliability concerns and cost savings objectives without comprising safety in the Nuclear Power Industry. This overview is based on over 27 years of experience in supporting US and International nuclear power utilities, and contributing to EPRI, and NSSS Owners' Groups in developing generic models/methodologies to address industry wide issues; performing design basis reviews; and implementing plant-wide valve reliability improvement programs. Various analytical prediction software and hardware solutions and training seminars are now available to implement valve programs covering power plants' lifecycle from the construction phase through life extension and power up rate. These tools and methodologies can enhance valve-engineering activities including the selection, sizing, proper application, condition monitoring, failure analysis, and condition based maintenance optimization with a focus on potential bad actors. This paper offers two such examples, the Kalsi Valve and Actuator Program (KVAP) and Check Valve Analysis and Prioritization (CVAP) [1-3, 8, 9, 11-13]. The advanced, validated torque prediction models incorporated into KVAP software for AOVs and MOVs have improved reliability of margin predictions and enabled cost savings through elimination of unwarranted equipment modifications. CVAP models provides a basis to prioritize the population of valves recommended for preventive maintenance, inspection and/or modification, allowing

  20. Biotechnological improvement of ornamental plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Flavia Soledad Darqui

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The discovery of commercial transgenic varieties of orange petunias sold in Europe and the United States although they had never reached the approved status, and the consequent recommendation to destroy them, was the trigger to discuss about biotechnological improvement of ornamental plants. Inside the restricted world of 26 vegetal transgenic species, according to the ISAAA’s reports (http://www.isaaa.org, there are three ornamental species: carnation, rose and the Beijing University developed petunia; all of them with the same trait, a change in their colour. On the other hand, in 2014, the whole-genome sequence of carnation appeared which was the first and until now the only one among ornamental species. In this context, we review the publications from the last five years in petunia, rose, chrysanthemum and carnation. In these papers there are detailed descriptions of modification of the cascade of genes and transcription factors involved in stress situations, in different developmental stages and their regulation through different plant hormones. This knowledge will allow breeding for better and new varieties with changes in their abiotic or biotic stress tolerance, altered growth or yield and modified product quality as colour or fragrance.

  1. Embedded Sensors and Controls to Improve Component Performance and Reliability: Conceptual Design Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kisner, Roger A [ORNL; Melin, Alexander M [ORNL; Burress, Timothy A [ORNL; Fugate, David L [ORNL; Holcomb, David Eugene [ORNL; Wilgen, John B [ORNL; Miller, John M [ORNL; Wilson, Dane F [ORNL; Silva, Pamela C [ORNL; Whitlow, Lynsie J [ORNL; Peretz, Fred J [ORNL

    2012-10-01

    The overall project objective is to demonstrate improved reliability and increased performance made possible by deeply embedding instrumentation and controls (I&C) in nuclear power plant components. The project is employing a highly instrumented canned rotor, magnetic bearing, fluoride salt pump as its I&C technology demonstration vehicle. The project s focus is not primarily on pump design, but instead is on methods to deeply embed I&C within a pump system. However, because the I&C is intimately part of the basic millisecond-by-millisecond functioning of the pump, the I&C design cannot proceed in isolation from the other aspects of the pump. The pump will not function if the characteristics of the I&C are not embedded within the design because the I&C enables performance of the basic function rather than merely monitoring quasi-stable performance. Traditionally, I&C has been incorporated in nuclear power plant (NPP) components after their design is nearly complete; adequate performance was obtained through over-design. This report describes the progress and status of the project and provides a conceptual design overview for the embedded I&C pump.

  2. Ways to Improve Russian Coal-Fired Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tumanovskii, A. G.; Olkhovsky, G. G.

    2015-01-01

    Coal is an important fuel for the electric power industry of Russia, especially in Ural and the eastern part of the country. It is fired in boilers of large (200 – 800 MW) condensing power units and in many cogeneration power plants with units rated at 50 – 180 MW. Many coal-fired power plants have been operated for more than 40 – 50 years. Though serviceable, their equipment is obsolete and does not comply with the current efficiency, environmental, staffing, and availability standards. It is urgent to retrofit and upgrade such power plants using advanced equipment, engineering and business ideas. Russian power-plant engineering companies have designed such advanced power units and their equipment such as boilers, turbines, auxiliaries, process and environmental control systems similar to those produced by the world’s leading manufacturers. Their performance and ways of implementation are discussed

  3. Ways to Improve Russian Coal-Fired Power Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tumanovskii, A. G., E-mail: vti@vti.ru; Olkhovsky, G. G. [JSC “All-Russia Thermal Engineering Institute,” (Russian Federation)

    2015-07-15

    Coal is an important fuel for the electric power industry of Russia, especially in Ural and the eastern part of the country. It is fired in boilers of large (200 – 800 MW) condensing power units and in many cogeneration power plants with units rated at 50 – 180 MW. Many coal-fired power plants have been operated for more than 40 – 50 years. Though serviceable, their equipment is obsolete and does not comply with the current efficiency, environmental, staffing, and availability standards. It is urgent to retrofit and upgrade such power plants using advanced equipment, engineering and business ideas. Russian power-plant engineering companies have designed such advanced power units and their equipment such as boilers, turbines, auxiliaries, process and environmental control systems similar to those produced by the world’s leading manufacturers. Their performance and ways of implementation are discussed.

  4. Understanding plant response to nitrogen limitation for the improvement of crop nitrogen use efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kant, Surya; Bi, Yong-Mei; Rothstein, Steven J

    2011-02-01

    Development of genetic varieties with improved nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is essential for sustainable agriculture. Generally, NUE can be divided into two parts. First, assimilation efficiency involves nitrogen (N) uptake and assimilation and second utilization efficiency involves N remobilization. Understanding the mechanisms regulating these processes is crucial for the improvement of NUE in crop plants. One important approach is to develop an understanding of the plant response to different N regimes, especially to N limitation, using various methods including transcription profiling, analysing mutants defective in their normal response to N limitation, and studying plants that show better growth under N-limiting conditions. One can then attempt to improve NUE in crop plants using the knowledge gained from these studies. There are several potential genetic and molecular approaches for the improvement of crop NUE discussed in this review. Increased knowledge of how plants respond to different N levels as well as to other environmental conditions is required to achieve this.

  5. NWTC Researchers Field-Test Advanced Control Turbine Systems to Increase Performance, Decrease Structural Loading of Wind Turbines and Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2015-08-01

    Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) are studying component controls, including new advanced actuators and sensors, for both conventional turbines as well as wind plants. This research will help develop innovative control strategies that reduce aerodynamic structural loads and improve performance. Structural loads can cause damage that increase maintenance costs and shorten the life of a turbine or wind plant.

  6. Optimization of Boiler Control to Improve the Load-following Capability of Power-plant Units

    OpenAIRE

    Mortensen, J. H.; Mølbak, T.; Andersen, Palle; Pedersen, Tom Søndergaard

    1998-01-01

    The capability to perform fast load changes has been an important issue in the power market, and will become increasingly more so due to the incresing commercialisation of the European power market. An optimizing control system for improving the load-following capability of power-plant units has therefore been developed. The system is implemented as a complement, producing control signals to be added to those of the existing boiler control system, a concept which has various practical advanta...

  7. An improved gate valve for critical applications in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalsi, M.S.; Alvarez, P.D.; Wang, J.K.; Somagyi, D.

    1996-01-01

    U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Generic Letters 89-10 for motor-operated valves (MOVs) and 95-07 for all power-operated valves document in detail the problems related to the performance of the safety-related valves in nuclear power plants. The problems relate to lack of reliable operation under design basis conditions including higher than anticipated stem thrust, unpredictable valve behavior, damage to the valve internals under blowdown/high flow conditions, significant degradation of performance when cycled under AP and flow, thermal binding, and pressure locking. This paper describes an improved motor-operated flexible wedge gate valve design, the GE Sentinel Valve, which is the outcome of a comprehensive and systematic development effort undertaken to resolve the issues identified in the NRC Generic Letters 89-10 and 95-07. The new design provides a reliable, long-term, low maintenance cost solution to the nuclear power industry. One of the key features incorporated in the disc permits the disc flexibility to be varied independently of the disc thickness (pressure boundary) dictated by the ASME Section III Pressure Vessel ampersand Piping Code stress criteria. This feature allows the desired flexibility to be incorporated in the disc, thus eliminating thermal binding problems. A matrix of analyses was performed using finite element and computational fluid dynamics approaches to optimize design for stresses, flexibility, leak-tightness, fluid flow, and thermal effects. The design of the entire product line was based upon a consistent set of analyses and design rules which permit scaling to different valve sizes and pressure classes within the product line. The valve meets all of the ASME Section III Code design criteria and the N-Stamp requirements. The performance of the valve was validated by performing extensive separate effects and plant in-situ tests. This paper summarizes the key design features, analyses, and test results

  8. An improved gate valve for critical applications in nuclear power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kalsi, M.S.; Alvarez, P.D.; Wang, J.K.; Somagyi, D. [Kalsi Engineering, Inc., Sugar Land, TX (United States)] [and others

    1996-12-01

    U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Generic Letters 89-10 for motor-operated valves (MOVs) and 95-07 for all power-operated valves document in detail the problems related to the performance of the safety-related valves in nuclear power plants. The problems relate to lack of reliable operation under design basis conditions including higher than anticipated stem thrust, unpredictable valve behavior, damage to the valve internals under blowdown/high flow conditions, significant degradation of performance when cycled under AP and flow, thermal binding, and pressure locking. This paper describes an improved motor-operated flexible wedge gate valve design, the GE Sentinel Valve, which is the outcome of a comprehensive and systematic development effort undertaken to resolve the issues identified in the NRC Generic Letters 89-10 and 95-07. The new design provides a reliable, long-term, low maintenance cost solution to the nuclear power industry. One of the key features incorporated in the disc permits the disc flexibility to be varied independently of the disc thickness (pressure boundary) dictated by the ASME Section III Pressure Vessel & Piping Code stress criteria. This feature allows the desired flexibility to be incorporated in the disc, thus eliminating thermal binding problems. A matrix of analyses was performed using finite element and computational fluid dynamics approaches to optimize design for stresses, flexibility, leak-tightness, fluid flow, and thermal effects. The design of the entire product line was based upon a consistent set of analyses and design rules which permit scaling to different valve sizes and pressure classes within the product line. The valve meets all of the ASME Section III Code design criteria and the N-Stamp requirements. The performance of the valve was validated by performing extensive separate effects and plant in-situ tests. This paper summarizes the key design features, analyses, and test results.

  9. Civil ships propulsion reactor plants development and operation experience, and prospects for their improvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasyukov, V.I.; Kiryushin, A.I.; Panov, Yu.K.; Polunichev, V.I.

    2000-01-01

    Russia is alone country in the World possessing nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet. Phases of creation in Russia of several propulsion nuclear reactor plant generations are considered. By present 8 nuclear ice-breakers and a nuclear-powered cargo ship (lighter carrier) have been constructed, for which three of propulsion NSSS generations were developed. Their brief description, main performance indicators and results of operation since 1959 are given. It is shown that gradual evolution of NSSS design features has ensured creation of reliable, safe and environmentally friendly propulsion reactor plants. Issues of the propulsion NSSS life extension and improvement for new generation of nuclear ice-breakers, cargo ships, floating heat and power plants, sea water desalination and power generating complexes are considered with account for the gained operating experience. Activities on creation of new generation nuclear-powered ships and floating NPPs are considered as prospective sphere of Russia's collaboration with other countries of the World community. (author)

  10. Effect of design and operation of modern ammonia plants on the performance of integrated heavy water plants (Paper No. 2.1)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Manoj; Haldar, T.K.; Gupta, S.K.; Ramamurty, C.B.

    1992-01-01

    The heavy water plant being parasitic in nature, its design, operation and performance is affected to a great extent by the design, performance and operation of the ammonia plant. Some of the factors which affect the performance of heavy water plant such as on-stream hours and capacity utilisation of the ammonia plant, deuterium concentration (D/D+H) in feed synthesis gas, operating pressure of synthesis loop of ammonia plant, composition of feed synthesis gas, and level of oxygenated impurities in feed synthesis gas are described in this paper. (author). 3 tabs., 4 figs

  11. Industry activities to improve valve performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Callaway, C.

    1996-12-01

    Motor-operated valve issues refuse to go away. For over a decade the industry and the NRC have been focusing extraordinary resources on assuring these special components operate when called upon. Now that industry has fixed the design deficiencies, it is focusing on assuring that they perform their safety function within the current licensing basis for the remainder of plant life. NEI supported the efforts by ASME to develop OMN-1 and was encouraged that the industry and the NRC worked together to develop risk and performance based approaches to maintain MOV performance.

  12. Improvement of communications in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Depigny, C.; Ghertman, F.; Lestien, A.

    1986-01-01

    Since 1983, Electricite de France (EDF) has been engaged in a major project to improve nuclear power plant communications. This project was launched following a series of incidents in which inappropriate communications practices and equipment were shown to be an aggravating, or in some cases, the determining factor. This paper presents the program established by EDF to resolve communications problems in its nuclear power stations

  13. Performance analysis of WWER-440/230 nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-01-01

    This report examines one particular design, the WWER-440/230, the first generation of commercial WWERs, essentially comparable to the western PWR. This design was installed widely in eastern Europe with a total of 16 unites being completed in what are now Armenia, Bulgaria, Germany (the former German Democratic Republic) the Slovak Republic and Russia. The plants in Armenia and Germany (the former German Democratic Republic) have been closed down, but particularly in Bulgaria and to a lesser extent the Slovak Republic the remaining plants supply a significant proportion of the electricity of the country and decisions to close them could not be taken lightly. The aim of this report is twofold: first to determine whether the impression given by these good overall performance indicators is confirmed using more detailed indicators covering a wide range of factors; second, to see to what extent good performance can be attributed to the industrial and institutional environment in which these plants were designed, built and operated. Particular attention is paid to identifying factors that may impact the quality of the service provided, especially those factors under management control which can be strongly influenced by current and future policy changes and those factors that are beyond the plant management control but could have influenced the performance of the power plants. Issues concerning the safety of these plants are of considerable importance, but they remain outside the scope of this report. Conclusions and recommendations formulated by the IAEA related to WWER safety are contained in the series of reports prepared in the framework of the Extrabudgetary Programme on WWER Safety. A programme progress report was published in 1994 (IAEA-TECDOC-773). Refs, figs, tabs

  14. Performance analysis of WWER-440/230 nuclear power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-01-01

    This report examines one particular design, the WWER-440/230, the first generation of commercial WWERs, essentially comparable to the western PWR. This design was installed widely in eastern Europe with a total of 16 unites being completed in what are now Armenia, Bulgaria, Germany (the former German Democratic Republic) the Slovak Republic and Russia. The plants in Armenia and Germany (the former German Democratic Republic) have been closed down, but particularly in Bulgaria and to a lesser extent the Slovak Republic the remaining plants supply a significant proportion of the electricity of the country and decisions to close them could not be taken lightly. The aim of this report is twofold: first to determine whether the impression given by these good overall performance indicators is confirmed using more detailed indicators covering a wide range of factors; second, to see to what extent good performance can be attributed to the industrial and institutional environment in which these plants were designed, built and operated. Particular attention is paid to identifying factors that may impact the quality of the service provided, especially those factors under management control which can be strongly influenced by current and future policy changes and those factors that are beyond the plant management control but could have influenced the performance of the power plants. Issues concerning the safety of these plants are of considerable importance, but they remain outside the scope of this report. Conclusions and recommendations formulated by the IAEA related to WWER safety are contained in the series of reports prepared in the framework of the Extrabudgetary Programme on WWER Safety. A programme progress report was published in 1994 (IAEA-TECDOC-773). Refs, figs, tabs.

  15. Nuclear power plant performance statistics. Comparison with fossil-fired units

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tabet, C.; Laue, H.J.; Qureshi, A.; Skjoeldebrand, R.; White, D.

    1983-01-01

    The joint UNIPEDE/World Energy Conference Committee on Availability of Thermal Generating Plants has a mandate to study the availability of thermal plants and the different factors that influence it. This has led to the collection and publication at the Congress of the World Energy Conference (WEC) every third year of availability and unavailability factors to be used in systems reliability studies and operations and maintenance planning. For nuclear power plants the joint UNIPEDE/WEC Committee relies on the IAEA to provide availability and unavailability data. The IAEA has published an annual report with operating data from nuclear plants in its Member States since 1971, covering in addition back data from the early 1960s. These reports have developed over the years and in the early 1970s the format was brought into close conformity with that used by UNIPEDE and WEC to report performance of fossil-fired generating plants. Since 1974 an annual analytical summary report has been prepared. In 1981 all information on operating experience with nuclear power plants was placed in a computer file for easier reference. The computerized Power Reactor Information System (PRIS) ensures that data are easily retrievable and at its present level it remains compatible with various national systems. The objectives for the IAEA data collection and evaluation have developed significantly since 1970. At first, the IAEA primarily wanted to enable the individual power plant operator to compare the performance of his own plant with that of others of the same type; when enough data had been collected, they provided the basis for assessment of the fundamental performance parameters used in economic project studies; now, the data base merits being used in setting availability objectives for power plant operations. (author)

  16. Nuclear steam power plant cycle performance calculations supported by power plant monitoring and results computer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bettes, R.S.

    1984-01-01

    The paper discusses the real time performance calculations for the turbine cycle and reactor and steam generators of a nuclear power plant. Program accepts plant measurements and calculates performance and efficiency of each part of the cycle: reactor and steam generators, turbines, feedwater heaters, condenser, circulating water system, feed pump turbines, cooling towers. Presently, the calculations involve: 500 inputs, 2400 separate calculations, 500 steam properties subroutine calls, 200 support function accesses, 1500 output valves. The program operates in a real time system at regular intervals

  17. Genetic plant improvement and climate changes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magno Antonio Patto Ramalho

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The consequences of climate change for the agribusiness in Brazil have been widely debated. The issue isdiscussed in this publication to show the expected problems, particularly those associated with increases in temperature andwater stress. It is emphasized that the genetic improvement of plants, based on the experience in the past, has much tocontribute to mitigate these problems. To invest in the breeding of new cultivars, selected under stress conditions, is certainlythe best possible strategy for agriculture to cope with changes caused by climate alterations.

  18. Overexpression of monoubiquitin improves photosynthesis in transgenic tobacco plants following high temperature stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Fengxia; Gong, Jiangfeng; Zhang, Jin; Feng, Yanan; Wang, Guokun; Guo, Qifang; Wang, Wei

    2014-09-01

    The ubiquitin/26S proteasome system (Ub/26S) is implicated in abiotic stress responses in plants. In this paper, transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing Ta-Ub2 from wheat were used to study the functions of Ub in the improvement of photosynthesis under high temperature (45°C) stress. We observed higher levels of Ub conjugates in transgenic plants under high temperature stress conditions compared to wild type (WT) as a result of the constitutive overexpression of Ta-Ub2, suggesting increased protein degradation by the 26S proteasome system under high temperature stress. Overexpressing Ub increased the photosynthetic rate (Pn) of transgenic tobacco plants, consistent with the improved ATPase activity in the thylakoid membrane and enhanced efficiency of PSII photochemistry. The higher D1 protein levels following high temperature stress in transgenic plants than WT were also observed. These findings imply that Ub may be involved in tolerance of photosynthesis to high temperature stress in plants. Compared with WT, the transgenic plants showed lower protein carbonylation and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, less reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, but higher antioxidant enzyme activity under high temperature stress. These findings suggest that the improved antioxidant capacity of transgenic plants may be one of the most important mechanisms underlying Ub-regulated high temperature tolerance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. World-class outage performance of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paavola, M.

    1998-01-01

    The production of the Olkiluoto power plant units covered 17% of the electricity consumption in Finland in 1997; the total share of nuclear energy was 27% of the electricity consumed in the country. Based on Finnish experience, nuclear energy is a safe, environmentally friendly and economic way to produce electricity provided that the plants and their personnel are well taken care of. TVO's policy is to keep the plant units in good condition and technically modern. This requires continuous investments in the plant. In maintenance, attention is paid to monitoring the condition of the plant and to preventive maintenance aiming at avoiding disturbances in production. TVO has chosen continuous development as the operational line develops the plant by annual investments and performs the necessary modifications during planned annual outages trying to avoid long production interruptions. The load factors of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant have been high. The average load factor during the last decade was over 93%. The most significant single factor in the production deficits is the amount or electricity, which has not been produced because of the annual outages. Due to this, special attention has been paid to the performance of the annual outages. TVO aims at continuous development of the annual outage procedure. A centralized task management system makes it possible to perform simultaneously more tasks than before. The company has also invested in equipment and systems, which ease and speed up servicing. Normal outage length varies between 10 and 16 days. By keeping the plant units as modern as possible and in good condition we facilitate reaching TVO's target, which is also stated in TVO's slogan 'always 40 years lifetime'. (author)

  20. Nuclear power plant life time improvement and management program in Korea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sung Yull Hong; Ill Seok Jeong; Taek Ho Song

    1995-01-01

    Korea Electric Power Research Institute (KEPRI) of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) has performed a lifetime management of nuclear power plant program (LMNPP), ''Nuclear Power Plant Lifetime Management (PLIM) (I)'', since November 1993, which is a feasibility study of the Kori Unit 1 lifetime management including aging evaluation of the thirteen major components. The results of the PLIM(I) will provide information which is necessary for decision making of the Kori Unit 1 lifetime improvement. A plan of the work scope and schedule for the next phase, PLIM(II), will also be provided by this project. This paper introduced KEPRI's basic strategy of LMNPP, PLIM organization, current status, some interim results of the PLIM(I), and other related programs in Korea. So far, we have done field data survey, systems/structures screening, components prioritization, lifetime evaluation methodology study, and fracture mechanics tests of the Kori Unit 1 reactor pressure vessel surveillance coupons. Currently life assessment of the major components and PLIM economic evaluation of Kori Unit 1 are under way. (author)

  1. Waste Treatment Plant LAW Evaporation: Antifoam Performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    BAICH, MARKA

    2004-01-01

    This report describes the work performed to determine the performance and fate of several commercial antifoams during evaporation of various simulants of Envelope A, B, and C mixed with simulated River Protection Project Waste Treatment Plant (RPP-WTP) recycle streams. Chemical and radiation stability of selected antifoams was also investigated.Contributors to this effort include: Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), DOW Corning Analytical, and Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC)

  2. Study on the operational safety performance indicator of nuclear power plants in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Shirong

    2005-01-01

    The operational Safety Performance Indicator system (SPI) has been more and more regarded recently for their clear and effective characteristic in safety assessment for Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). A large developing plan for NPPs construction is being discussed and considered in P.R. China. As one of important nuclear country, China expects to ensure the normal operation of NPPs and improve the safety level. National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA), National Nuclear Regulatory Agency of China, has put high attention on safety and SPI area, and many endeavours and attempts have been done or being carried out for an establishment of SPI system in China. NNSA intends to build an integrated SPI system to monitor all of the NPPs operation in China, based on the SPI system currently used in the world. NNSA believes that the SPI system will help to more effectively enforce the function of surveillance and management. The paper will introduces the status of study on the operational safety performance indicator of Nuclear Power Plants in China. (author)

  3. Improving plant bioaccumulation science through consistent reporting of experimental data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fantke, Peter; Arnot, Jon A; Doucette, William J

    2016-10-01

    Experimental data and models for plant bioaccumulation of organic contaminants play a crucial role for assessing the potential human and ecological risks associated with chemical use. Plants are receptor organisms and direct or indirect vectors for chemical exposures to all other organisms. As new experimental data are generated they are used to improve our understanding of plant-chemical interactions that in turn allows for the development of better scientific knowledge and conceptual and predictive models. The interrelationship between experimental data and model development is an ongoing, never-ending process needed to advance our ability to provide reliable quality information that can be used in various contexts including regulatory risk assessment. However, relatively few standard experimental protocols for generating plant bioaccumulation data are currently available and because of inconsistent data collection and reporting requirements, the information generated is often less useful than it could be for direct applications in chemical assessments and for model development and refinement. We review existing testing guidelines, common data reporting practices, and provide recommendations for revising testing guidelines and reporting requirements to improve bioaccumulation knowledge and models. This analysis provides a list of experimental parameters that will help to develop high quality datasets and support modeling tools for assessing bioaccumulation of organic chemicals in plants and ultimately addressing uncertainty in ecological and human health risk assessments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Performance of PWR Nuclear power plants, up to 1985

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muniz, A.A.

    1987-01-01

    The performance of PWR nuclear power plants is studied, based on operational data up to 1985. The availability analysis was made with 793 unit-year and the reliability analysis was made with 5851 unit x month. The results were discussed and the availability of those nuclear power plants were estimated. (E.G.) [pt

  5. Performance of a Grid Connected Photovoltaic Plant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristian Paul Chioncel

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents an overwiev of the performances of the grid connectedphotovoltaik plant at the University ”Eftimie Murgu��� Resita, Romaniarealised on the monitoriesed wheather and installations datastored in a on-line data base during one year.

  6. Demands for improvement in working surroundings for older workers in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shizawa, Yasuhiro; Sakuda, Hiroshi; Ohashi, Tomoki

    2003-01-01

    Workers in three nuclear power plants belonging to Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. were asked to complete a questionnaire. According to the accident reports, workers aged 50 or older had more accidents than those in 30s or 40s. Moreover, it is predicted that the average age of workers in Japan will increase during the first half of the 21st century. Therefore, investigations into working surroundings in which older workers can better perform their work would be useful. To this end, a questionnaire addressing issues related to working surroundings was conducted among workers in nuclear power plants and the demands for improvement of working surroundings for older workers are summarized. The demands of 'better lighting', 'making things less heavy', and installation of an elevator' were correlated with age, indicating that younger people have a tendency not to notice these issues. Thus, if the authority deciding on improvements in working surroundings is not an older worker, it is especially important that lighting, the weights of objects to be moved, and methods of moving between floors is taken into account. Findings specific to nuclear power plants were also reported. For example, employees who worked in the non-radiation controlled area demanded the installation of air conditioning and those who worked in the radiation controlled area demanded the establishment of a rest area. Further, we have developed a guidebook entitled 'a guidebook supporting workers' cooperation among all generations' to promote cooperation between older and younger workers. (author)

  7. Efficiency improvement of thermal coal power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hourfar, D. [VEBA Kraftwerke Ruhr Ag, Gelsenkirchen (Germany)

    1996-12-31

    The discussion concerning an increase of the natural greenhouse effect by anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere has increased over the past years. The greenhouse effect has become an issue of worldwide debate. Carbon dioxide is the most serious emission of the greenhouse gases. Fossil-fired power plants have in the recent past been responsible for almost 30 % of the total CO{sub 2} emissions in Germany. Against this background the paper will describe the present development of CO{sub 2} emissions from power stations and present actual and future opportunities for CO{sub 2} reduction. The significance attached to hard coal as one of today`s prime sources of energy with the largest reserves worldwide, and, consequently, its importance for use in power generation, is certain to increase in the years to come. The further development of conventional power plant technology, therefore, is vital, and must be carried out on the basis of proven operational experience. The main incentive behind the development work completed so far has been, and continues to be, the achievement of cost reductions and environmental benefits in the generation of electricity by increasing plant efficiency, and this means that, in both the short and the long term, power plants with improved conventional technology will be used for environmentally acceptable coal-fired power generation.

  8. Improving performance on core processes of care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Austin, John Matthew; Pronovost, Peter J

    2016-06-01

    This article describes the recent literature on using extrinsic and intrinsic motivators to improve performance on core processes of care, highlighting literature that describes general frameworks for quality improvement work. The literature supporting the effectiveness of extrinsic motivators to improve quality is generally positive for public reporting of performance, with mixed results for pay-for-performance. A four-element quality improvement framework developed by The Armstrong Institute at Johns Hopkins Medicine was developed with intrinsic motivation in mind. The clear definition and communication of goals are important for quality improvement work. Training clinicians in improvement science, such as lean sigma, teamwork, or culture change provides clinicians with the skills they need to drive the improvement work. Peer learning communities offer the opportunity for clinicians to engage with each other and offer support in their work. The transparent reporting of performance helps ensure accountability of performance ranging from individual clinicians to governance. Quality improvement work that is led by and engages clinicians offers the opportunity for the work to be both meaningful and sustainable. The literature supports approaching quality improvement work in a systematic way, including the key elements of communication, infrastructure building, training, transparency, and accountability.

  9. Contributions of welding technology to power plant performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Childs, W.J.

    1995-01-01

    Welding repairs can be a very major factor in the time and cost of maintenance outages of a power plant. The use of advanced equipment and procedures for welding can contribute significantly to reducing maintenance costs and increasing reliability. Plant failures have too often been caused by problems associated with welding, some due to improper choice of base materials, others due to welding defects. For example, stress corrosion cracking in weldments in BWR austenitic stainless steel piping was a major source of loss of availability in the 1980s. Examples of the use of improved welding equipment and procedures has been demonstrated to reduce outage time and improved weld integrity in several major areas. New welding techniques, such as laser welding, have the potential for addressing maintenance problems that can not be addressed at all with conventional welding technology and/or may provide a means of reducing greatly the time and cost of welding fabrications or repair. Methods of ensuring that the best available technology is applied in weld repair is a major problem today in the utility industry. Solutions need to be sought to remedy this situation. The key role of welding in minimizing plant outages is being recognized and steps taken to further the development and use of optimum technology

  10. Inter-plant coordination and its relationships with supply chain integration and operational performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Cheng; Chaudhuri, Atanu; Farooq, Sami

    2016-01-01

    Based on the data obtained from the sixth version of International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS VI), this paper explores the relationships at the level of plant between (1) inter-plant coordination and operational performance, and (2) between inter-plant coordination and internal/external ......Based on the data obtained from the sixth version of International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS VI), this paper explores the relationships at the level of plant between (1) inter-plant coordination and operational performance, and (2) between inter-plant coordination and internal...

  11. Availability improvement factors at Taipower's nuclear power plant system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, J.H.

    1985-01-01

    Sufficient electricity to meet the needs of a growing industrial economy, is one of the most important factors in the total economic development of a nation. Currently, nuclear power is considered one of the most economical and available sources of energy. To keep pace with Taiwan's rapid economic development, while also observing our government's policy of diversifying the requirements for imported forms of energy, Taiwan Power Company has embarked upon an ambitious of nuclear power plant construction. This paper discusses the improvement of Taiwan's nuclear power plants. At the present time, Taipower has completed three nuclear power plants. Two of these are located in northern Taiwan, along the East China Sea, while the third is on the southern tip of Taiwan, bordering the South China Sea. These three plants, each with two nuclear generating units, comprise a total nuclear generating capacity of 5144 MWe

  12. State regulation and power plant productivity: background and recommendations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1980-09-01

    This report was prepared by representatives of several state regulatory agencies. It is a guide to some of the activities currently under way in state agencies to promote increased availability of electrical generating power plants. Standard measures of plant performance are defined and the nature of data bases that report such measures is discussed. It includes reviews of current state, federal, and industry programs to enhance power plant productivity and provides detailed outlines of programs in effect in California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas. A number of actions are presented that could be adopted by state regulatory agencies, depending on local conditions. They include: develop a commission position or policy statement to encourage productivity improvements by utilities; coordinate state efforts with ongoing industry and government programs to improve the acquisition of power plant performance data and the maintenance of quality information systems; acquire the capability to perform independent analyses of power plant productivity; direct the establishment of productivity improvement programs, including explicit performance objectives for both existing and planned power plants, and a performance program; establish a program of incentives to motivate productivity improvement activities; and participate in ongoing efforts at all levels and initiate new actions to promote productivity improvements

  13. Bayesian calibration of power plant models for accurate performance prediction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boksteen, Sowande Z.; Buijtenen, Jos P. van; Pecnik, Rene; Vecht, Dick van der

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Bayesian calibration is applied to power plant performance prediction. • Measurements from a plant in operation are used for model calibration. • A gas turbine performance model and steam cycle model are calibrated. • An integrated plant model is derived. • Part load efficiency is accurately predicted as a function of ambient conditions. - Abstract: Gas turbine combined cycles are expected to play an increasingly important role in the balancing of supply and demand in future energy markets. Thermodynamic modeling of these energy systems is frequently applied to assist in decision making processes related to the management of plant operation and maintenance. In most cases, model inputs, parameters and outputs are treated as deterministic quantities and plant operators make decisions with limited or no regard of uncertainties. As the steady integration of wind and solar energy into the energy market induces extra uncertainties, part load operation and reliability are becoming increasingly important. In the current study, methods are proposed to not only quantify various types of uncertainties in measurements and plant model parameters using measured data, but to also assess their effect on various aspects of performance prediction. The authors aim to account for model parameter and measurement uncertainty, and for systematic discrepancy of models with respect to reality. For this purpose, the Bayesian calibration framework of Kennedy and O’Hagan is used, which is especially suitable for high-dimensional industrial problems. The article derives a calibrated model of the plant efficiency as a function of ambient conditions and operational parameters, which is also accurate in part load. The article shows that complete statistical modeling of power plants not only enhances process models, but can also increases confidence in operational decisions

  14. Improved electrical efficiency and bottom ash quality on waste combustion plants. Appendix A11 to A14

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hedegaard Madsen, O.; Boejer, M.; Jensen, Peter A.; Dam-Johansen, K.; Lundtorp, K. (Technical Univ. of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark)); Mogensen, Erhardt (Babcock and Wilcox Voelund A/S, Glostrup (Denmark))

    2010-07-01

    Investigations making it possible to evaluate and further develop concepts to improve electrical efficiency in a waste combustion plant were performed. Furthermore, one objective of the study was to investigate the possibilities of improving waste bottom ash leaching properties by use of a rotary kiln treatment. The project work included construction of a bench-scale rotary kiln, performing ash rotary kiln treatment experiments, conducting gas suction probe measurements on a waste incineration plant and making some concept evaluations. The influence of the rotary kiln thermal treatment on the leaching of Ca, Al, Si, Mg, Ba, Sr, Cl, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Mo, sulfate, DOC and carbonate was determined. As a result of these tests, the rotary kiln thermal treatment of bottom ashes can be recommended for reducing the leaching of Cu, Pb, Cl, Zn and DOC; however, an increased leaching of Cr and Mo should be expected. The combustion conditions above the grate of a waste incineration plant were investigated and the release and concentration of volatile ash species in the flue gas such as Cl, Na, K, Ca, Pb, Zn and S were measured. The conducted measurements show that flue gas from grate sections 3 and 4 can produce a sufficiently hot flue gas that contains only low concentrations of corrosive species, and therefore can be used to increase superheater temperatures. Implementation of the so-called flue gas split concept together with other steam circle modifications on a waste combustion plant, and using a reasonable increase in final steam temperature from 400 to 500 deg. C, have the potential to increase electrical efficiency from 24 to 30% (with respect to lower fuel heating value) in a waste combustion plant. The appendices deal with electrical efficiency by dividing the combustion products; release of potentially corrosive constituents from the grate; CFD modeling of grate with and without vertical divider. (Author)

  15. Improved electrical efficiency and bottom ash quality on waste combustion plants. Appendix A1 to A3

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nesterov, I.; Jensen, Peter A.; Dam-Johansen, K.; Kloeft, H.; Boejer, M. (Technical Univ. of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark)); Mogensen, Erhardt (Babcock and Wilcox Voelund A/S, Esbjerg (Denmark))

    2010-07-01

    Investigations making it possible to evaluate and further develop concepts to improve electrical efficiency in a waste combustion plant were performed. Furthermore, one objective of the study was to investigate the possibilities of improving waste bottom ash leaching properties by use of a rotary kiln treatment. The project work included construction of a bench-scale rotary kiln, performing ash rotary kiln treatment experiments, conducting gas suction probe measurements on a waste incineration plant and making some concept evaluations. The influence of the rotary kiln thermal treatment on the leaching of Ca, Al, Si, Mg, Ba, Sr, Cl, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Mo, sulfate, DOC and carbonate was determined. As a result of these tests, the rotary kiln thermal treatment of bottom ashes can be recommended for reducing the leaching of Cu, Pb, Cl, Zn and DOC; however, an increased leaching of Cr and Mo should be expected. The combustion conditions above the grate of a waste incineration plant were investigated and the release and concentration of volatile ash species in the flue gas such as Cl, Na, K, Ca, Pb, Zn and S were measured. The conducted measurements show that flue gas from grate sections 3 and 4 can produce a sufficiently hot flue gas that contains only low concentrations of corrosive species, and therefore can be used to increase superheater temperatures. Implementation of the so-called flue gas split concept together with other steam circle modifications on a waste combustion plant, and using a reasonable increase in final steam temperature from 400 to 500 deg. C, have the potential to increase electrical efficiency from 24 to 30% (with respect to lower fuel heating value) in a waste combustion plant. The appendices deal with incineration bottom ash leaching properties; design and construction of rotary kiln facility; manual to rotary kiln experiments. (Author)

  16. Impact of different improvement measures on the thermal performance of a solar collector field for district heating

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bava, Federico; Furbo, Simon

    2018-01-01

    The paper describes the impact of different measures to improve the thermal performance of a solar heating plant for district heating applications. The impact of the different measures was evaluated through a validated TRNSYS-Matlab model. The model included details such as effect of the flow...... temperature of the collector field, control strategy based on weather forecast and use of different heat transfer fluids. The results showed that accurate input to the control strategy improved the yearly energy output of the plant by about 3%. If accurate input is not technically or economically feasible...... regime in the absorber pipes on the collector efficiency, flow distribution in the collector field, thermal capacity of the pipes and shadows from row to row. The improvement measures included variation of the operating temperatures, accurate input to the control strategy, feedback control on the outlet...

  17. Thermal performance advisor expert system development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McClintock, M.; Hirota, N.; Metzinger, R.

    1991-01-01

    In recent years the electric industry has developed an increased interest in improving efficiency of nuclear power plants. EPRI has embarked upon a research project RP2407, Nuclear Plant Performance Improvements which is designed to address needs in this area. One product of this project has been the Thermal Performance Diagnostic Manual for Nuclear Power Plants (NP-4990P). The purpose of this manual is to provide engineering personnel at nuclear power plants with a consistent way in which to identify thermal performance problems. General Physics is also involved in the development of another computer system called Fossil Thermal Performance Advisor (FTPA) which helps operators improve performance for fossil power plants. FTPA is a joint venture between General Physics and New York State Electric and Gas Company. This paper describes both of these computer systems and uses the FTPA as an interesting comparison that illustrates the considerations required for the development of a computer system that effectively addresses the needs of the users

  18. Inter-varietal interactions among plants in genotypically diverse mixtures tend to decrease herbivore performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grettenberger, Ian M; Tooker, John F

    2016-09-01

    Much research has explored the effects of plant species diversity on herbivore populations, but far less has considered effects of plant genotypic diversity, or how abiotic stressors, like drought, can modify effects. Mechanisms by which plant genotypic diversity affects herbivore populations remain largely unresolved. We used greenhouse studies with a model system of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and bird cherry-oat aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi L.) to determine whether the genotypic diversity of a plant's neighborhood influences performance and fitness of herbivores on a focal plant and if drought changes the influence of neighborhood diversity. Taken across all varieties we tested, plant-plant interactions in diverse neighborhoods reduced aphid performance and generated associational resistance, although effects on aphids depended on variety identity. In diverse mixtures, drought stress greatly diminished the genotypic diversity-driven reduction in aphid performance. Neighborhood diversity influenced mother aphid size, and appeared to partially explain how plant-plant interactions reduced the number of offspring produced in mixtures. Plant size did not mediate effects on aphid performance, although neighborhood diversity reduced plant mass across varieties and watering treatments. Our results suggest inter-varietal interactions in genotypic mixtures can affect herbivore performance in the absence of herbivore movement and that abiotic stress may diminish any effects. Accounting for how neighborhood diversity influences resistance of an individual plant to herbivores will help aid development of mixtures of varieties for managing insect pests and clarify the role of plant genotypic diversity in ecosystems.

  19. Nuclear power plant licensing: opportunities for improvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1977-06-01

    On April 20, 1977, the Commission directed that recently completed licensing actions be reviewed by the staff for the purpose of identifying ways to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of NRC nuclear power plant licensing activities. This report summarizes the results of a study undertaken by an internal ad hoc Study Group established in response to that directive. The Study Group limited its considerations to safety and environmental review activities. The background, scope, assumptions and objectives of the study are discussed. A prime assumption of this study was that improvements in the efficiency should not be permitted to reduce the current quality achieved in the licensing process. This consideration underlies the conclusions and recommendations of the study

  20. Using wind plant data to increase reliability.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peters, Valerie A. (Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA); Ogilvie, Alistair B.; McKenney, Bridget L.

    2011-01-01

    Operators interested in improving reliability should begin with a focus on the performance of the wind plant as a whole. To then understand the factors which drive individual turbine performance, which together comprise the plant performance, it is necessary to track a number of key indicators. Analysis of these key indicators can reveal the type, frequency, and cause of failures and will also identify their contributions to overall plant performance. The ideal approach to using data to drive good decisions includes first determining which critical decisions can be based on data. When those required decisions are understood, then the analysis required to inform those decisions can be identified, and finally the data to be collected in support of those analyses can be determined. Once equipped with high-quality data and analysis capabilities, the key steps to data-based decision making for reliability improvements are to isolate possible improvements, select the improvements with largest return on investment (ROI), implement the selected improvements, and finally to track their impact.

  1. Windows with improved energy performances

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laustsen, Jacob Birck; Svendsen, Svend

    2003-01-01

    Heat loss through windows represents a considerable part of the total heat loss from houses. However, apart from providing daylight access and view, windows offer a unique potential for solar gain to be exploited during the heating season. Until now valuation of the energy performance of windows...... has primary focused on the heat loss coefficient, U-value. However, as the U-value, especially for the glazing part, has improved considerably during the last years, the total solar energy transmittance, g-value, has become equally important to the total energy performance of windows. Improved energy...... resulted in a window with a positive net energy gain (in short the Net Gain Window), which means that it contributes to the space heating of the building. All improvements are based on existing technology and manufacturing methods. The results from this work show that the energy performances of windows can...

  2. Improvement of Networked Control Systems Performance Using a New Encryption Algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyed Ali Mesbahifard

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Networked control systems are control systems which controllers and plants are connected via telecommunication network. One of the most important challenges in networked control systems is the problem of network time delay. Increasing of time delay may affect on control system performance extremely. Other important issue in networked control systems is the security problems. Since it is possible that unknown people access to network especially Internet, the probability of terrible attacks such as deception attacks is greater, therefore presentation of methods which could decrease time delay and increase system immunity are desired. In this paper a symmetric encryption with low data volume against deception attacks is proposed. This method has high security and low time delay rather than the other encryption algorithms and could improve the control system performance against deception attacks.

  3. Improving Aquatic Plant Management in the California Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bubenheim, David L.; Potter, Chris

    2018-01-01

    Management of aquatic weeds in complex watersheds and river systems present many challenges to assessment, planning and implementation of management practices for floating and submerged aquatic invasive plants. The Delta Region Areawide Aquatic Weed Project (DRAAWP), a USDA sponsored area-wide project, is working to enhance planning, decision-making and operational efficiency in the California Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Satellite and airborne remote sensing are used map (area coverage and biomass), direct operations, and assess management impacts on plant communities. Archived satellite records going are used to review results from previous climate and management events and aide in developing long-term strategies. Modeling at local and watershed scales provides insight into land-use effects on water quality. Plant growth models informed by remote sensing are being applied spatially across the Delta to balance location and type of aquatic plant, growth response to altered environments, phenology, environmental regulations, and economics in selection of management practices. Initial utilization of remote sensing tools developed for mapping of aquatic invasive weeds improved operational efficiency by focusing limited chemical use to strategic areas with high plant-control impact and incorporating mechanical harvesting when chemical use is restricted. These assessment methods provide a comprehensive and quantitative view of aquatic invasive plants communities in the California Delta, both spatial and temporal, informed by ecological understanding with the objective of improving management and assessment effectiveness.

  4. The basic planning for the environmental relationship of improved nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Seungho; Jung, Hoonseok; Lee, Dongheup

    2003-01-01

    The Improved Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) which design has been emphasized on the safety, technology and environmental relationship is about to be realized after hard works of design improvements, largely changes made from existing PWR nuclear power plants for three years. It will undoubtedly play a leading role of nuclear power generation industry as a main electric power source and secure a place as a successful issue between development and environment throughout nation-wide understanding and support. (author)

  5. 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.

  6. Predictors of operator performance at a simulated nuclear power plant control task

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spettell, C.M.

    1986-01-01

    Male undergraduates participated in two experiments as operators of a simple dynamic nuclear power plant simulated on a personal computer. Their task involved monitoring the temperature and power output of the plant and controlling the flow of coolants and the position of the control rods to ensure that the plant operated at the desired temperature and output levels. Quality of performance was defined as the operator's ability to minimize the deviations in temperature and output from optimal values during the trials. Operator inputs and the status of all plant variables were recorded on-line every two seconds. Based on a review of human factors engineering and psychological literature, a number of personality, background, and process variables were measured and correlated with operator performance. Results of both experiments indicated that the strongest predictors of operator performance were the rate, magnitude, and accuracy of operator inputs. Input rate and magnitude were negatively related to overall performance; input accuracy was positively related to performance. These process variables and overall performance were relatively stable across trials of varying difficulty

  7. Anatomy of event and human performance management in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Jinhua

    2014-01-01

    This article analyzes the occurrence mechanism of events in nuclear power plants, and explains the four factors of human errors and the relations among them, then probes into the occurrence mechanism and characteristics of human errors in nuclear power plants. Moreover, the article clarifies that the principle of human performance training in nuclear power plants is all-member training, and that the implementation approach is to develop different human performance tools for different staff categories as workers, knowledge workers and supervisors, which are categorized based on characteristics of work of different staff. (author)

  8. Hyperaccumulator straw improves the cadmium phytoextraction efficiency of emergent plant Nasturtium officinale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Keqiang; Lin, Lijin; Wang, Jin; Xia, Hui; Liang, Dong; Wang, Xun; Liao, Ming'an; Wang, Li; Liu, Li; Chen, Cheng; Tang, Yi

    2017-08-01

    With the development of economy, the heavy metal contamination has become an increasingly serious problem, especially the cadmium (Cd) contamination. The emergent plant Nasturtium officinale R. Br. is a Cd-accumulator with low phytoremediation ability. To improve Cd phytoextraction efficiency of N. officinale, the straw from Cd-hyperaccumulator plants Youngia erythrocarpa, Galinsoga parviflora, Siegesbeckia orientalis, and Bidens pilosa was applied to Cd-contaminated soil and N. officinale was then planted; the study assessed the effect of hyperaccumulator straw on the growth and Cd accumulation of N. officinale. The results showed that application of hyperaccumulator species straws increased the biomass and photosynthetic pigment content and reduced the root/shoot ratio of N. officinale. All straw treatments significantly increased Cd content in roots, but significantly decreased Cd content in shoots of N. officinale. Applying hyperaccumulator straw significantly increased the total Cd accumulation in the roots, shoots, and whole plants of N. officinale. Therefore, application of straw from four hyperaccumulator species promoted the growth of N. officinale and improved the phytoextraction efficiency of N. officinale in Cd-contaminated paddy field soil; the straw of Y. erythrocarpa provided the most improvement.

  9. Plant Research Department annual report 2001

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kossmann, J.; Gissel Nielsen, G.; Jakobsen, Iver

    2002-01-01

    of plants to resist fungal attack, and to optimise flowering time. Two programmes are devoted to improving the market value of plant products. Plants withenhanced nutritional value, or that contain novel renewable resources, are designed to add value to the European Agro-Industries. A sixth programme......The Plant Research Department integrates modern post-genomic tools to improve our understanding of plants. The aim is to develop crops with improved agronomic traits and to engineer high-value plants, which are able to meet the growth conditions of thefuture environment. The department is divided...... into six research programmes that are linked through their individual expertise delivered to the rest of the department. Three programmes are engaged in improving the agronomic performance of plants. Genetictools are being developed to enhance the nutrient efficiency of plants, to strengthen the ability...

  10. Feasibility studies to improve plant availability and reduce total installed cost in IGCC plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sullivan, Kevin [General Electric Company, Houston, TX (United States); Anasti, William [General Electric Company, Houston, TX (United States); Fang, Yichuan [General Electric Company, Houston, TX (United States); Subramanyan, Karthik [General Electric Company, Houston, TX (United States); Leininger, Tom [General Electric Company, Houston, TX (United States); Zemsky, Christine [General Electric Company, Houston, TX (United States)

    2015-03-30

    The main purpose of this project is to look at technologies and philosophies that would help reduce the costs of an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plant, increase its availability or do both. GE’s approach to this problem is to consider options in three different areas: 1) technology evaluations and development; 2) constructability approaches; and 3) design and operation methodologies. Five separate tasks were identified that fall under the three areas: Task 2 – Integrated Operations Philosophy; Task 3 – Slip Forming of IGCC Components; Task 4 – Modularization of IGCC Components; Task 5 – Fouling Removal; and Task 6 – Improved Slag Handling. Overall, this project produced results on many fronts. Some of the ideas could be utilized immediately by those seeking to build an IGCC plant in the near future. These include the considerations from the Integrated Operations Philosophy task and the different construction techniques of Slip Forming and Modularization (especially if the proposed site is in a remote location or has a lack of a skilled workforce). Other results include ideas for promising technologies that require further development and testing to realize their full potential and be available for commercial operation. In both areas GE considers this project to be a success in identifying areas outside the core IGCC plant systems that are ripe for cost reduction and ity improvement opportunities.

  11. Improved verification methods for safeguards verifications at enrichment plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lebrun, A.; Kane, S. C.; Bourva, L.; Poirier, S.; Loghin, N. E.; Langlands, D.

    2009-01-01

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has initiated a coordinated research and development programme to improve its verification methods and equipment applicable to enrichment plants. The programme entails several individual projects to meet the objectives of the IAEA Safeguards Model Approach for Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plants updated in 2006. Upgrades of verification methods to confirm the absence of HEU (highly enriched uranium) production have been initiated and, in particular, the Cascade Header Enrichment Monitor (CHEM) has been redesigned to reduce its weight and incorporate an electrically cooled germanium detector. Such detectors are also introduced to improve the attended verification of UF 6 cylinders for the verification of the material balance. Data sharing of authenticated operator weighing systems such as accountancy scales and process load cells is also investigated as a cost efficient and an effective safeguards measure combined with unannounced inspections, surveillance and non-destructive assay (NDA) measurement. (authors)

  12. Improved verification methods for safeguards verifications at enrichment plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lebrun, A.; Kane, S. C.; Bourva, L.; Poirier, S.; Loghin, N. E.; Langlands, D. [Department of Safeguards, International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramer Strasse 5, A1400 Vienna (Austria)

    2009-07-01

    The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has initiated a coordinated research and development programme to improve its verification methods and equipment applicable to enrichment plants. The programme entails several individual projects to meet the objectives of the IAEA Safeguards Model Approach for Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plants updated in 2006. Upgrades of verification methods to confirm the absence of HEU (highly enriched uranium) production have been initiated and, in particular, the Cascade Header Enrichment Monitor (CHEM) has been redesigned to reduce its weight and incorporate an electrically cooled germanium detector. Such detectors are also introduced to improve the attended verification of UF{sub 6} cylinders for the verification of the material balance. Data sharing of authenticated operator weighing systems such as accountancy scales and process load cells is also investigated as a cost efficient and an effective safeguards measure combined with unannounced inspections, surveillance and non-destructive assay (NDA) measurement. (authors)

  13. Methodological approach to organizational performance improvement process

    OpenAIRE

    Buble, Marin; Dulčić, Želimir; Pavić, Ivan

    2017-01-01

    Organizational performance improvement is one of the fundamental enterprise tasks. This especially applies to the case when the term “performance improvement” implies efficiency improvement measured by indicators, such as ROI, ROE, ROA, or ROVA/ROI. Such tasks are very complex, requiring implementation by means of project management. In this paper, the authors propose a methodological approach to improving the organizational performance of a large enterprise.

  14. Improving plant bioaccumulation science through consistent reporting of experimental data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fantke, Peter; Arnot, Jon A.; Doucette, William J.

    2016-01-01

    Experimental data and models for plant bioaccumulation of organic contaminants play a crucial role for assessing the potential human and ecological risks associated with chemical use. Plants are receptor organisms and direct or indirect vectors for chemical exposures to all other organisms. As new...... experimental data are generated they are used to improve our understanding of plant-chemical interactions that in turn allows for the development of better scientific knowledge and conceptual and predictive models. The interrelationship between experimental data and model development is an ongoing, never......-ending process needed to advance our ability to provide reliable quality information that can be used in various contexts including regulatory risk assessment. However, relatively few standard experimental protocols for generating plant bioaccumulation data are currently available and because of inconsistent...

  15. Overall performance assessment of a combined cycle power plant: An exergo-economic analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahin, Ahmet Z.; Al-Sharafi, Abdullah; Yilbas, Bekir S.; Khaliq, Abdul

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • An exergo-economic analysis is carried out for a combined cycle power plant. • An overall performance index (OPI) is defined to analyze the power plant. • Four performance indicators and three scenarios are considered in the analysis. • The optimum configuration of the power plant differs for each scenarios considered. - Abstract: An exergo-economic analysis is carried out for a combined cycle power plant using the first law and the second law of thermodynamics, and the economic principles while incorporating GT PRO/PEACE Software Packages. An overall performance index (OPI) is defined to assess and analyze the optimum operational and design configurations of the power plant. Four performance indicators are considered for the analysis; namely, energy efficiency (ENE), exergy efficiency (EXE), levelized cost of electricity (COE), and the total investment (TI) cost. Three possible scenarios are considered in which different weight factor is assigned to the performance indicators when assessing the performance. These scenarios are: (i) the conventional case in which the levelized cost of electricity is given a high priority, (ii) environmental conscious case in which the exergy efficiency is given a high priority, and (iii) the economical case in which the total cost of investment is given a high priority. It is shown that the optimum size and the configuration of the power plant differ for each scenarios considered. The selection and optimization of the size and configuration of the power plant are found to be depending on the user priorities and the weight factors assigned to the performance indicators.

  16. Variable geometry gas turbines for improving the part-load performance of marine combined cycles - Combined cycle performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Haglind, Fredrik

    2011-01-01

    The part-load performance of combined cycles intended for naval use is of great importance, and it is influenced by the gas turbine configuration and load control strategy. This paper is aimed at quantifying the effects of variable geometry gas turbines on the part-load efficiency for combined...... cycles used for ship propulsion. Moreover, the paper is aimed at developing methodologies and deriving models for part-load simulations suitable for energy system analysis of various components within combined cycle power plants. Two different gas turbine configurations are studied, a two-shaft aero......-derivative configuration and a single-shaft industrial configuration. The results suggest that by the use of variable geometry gas turbines, the combined cycle part-load performance can be improved. In order to minimise the voyage fuel consumption, a combined cycle featuring two-shaft gas turbines with VAN control...

  17. Improved methods for prediction of creep-fatigue in next generation conventional and nuclear plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Payten, Warwick

    2012-01-01

    Materials technology poses a major challenge in the design and construction of next generation super critical/ultra super critical power plant (SC/USC) and Generation IV (GenIV) nuclear plant. New plant is expected to have in the order of a 60 year life-time, imposing complex design difficulties in areas of creep rupture and creep fatigue damage. For SC/USC plant, the main goal is the enhancement of performance by raising the steam pressure and temperatures. In order to achieve these goals materials with acceptable creep rupture strength at design temperatures and pressures must be used. In GenIV designs, the issue is more complex, with both low and high tempera-ture designs. A key requirement in the majority of the designs, however, will be acceptable resistance to creep rupture, fatigue cracking, creep fatigue interactions, with the additional effects of void swelling and irradiation creep. The accumulation of creep fatigue damage over time in both SC/USC and GenIV plant will be one of the principal damage mechanisms. This will eventually lead to crack initiation in critical high temperature equipment. Hence, improved knowledge of creep and fatigue interactions is a necessary development as components in power-generating plants move to operate at high temperature under cyclic conditions. The key to safe, reliable operation of these high-energy plants will depend on understanding the factors that affect damage initiation and propagation, as well as developing and validating technologies to predict the accumulation of damage in systems and components.

  18. Performance analysis and optimization of power plants with gas turbines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Besharati-Givi, Maryam

    The gas turbine is one of the most important applications for power generation. The purpose of this research is performance analysis and optimization of power plants by using different design systems at different operation conditions. In this research, accurate efficiency calculation and finding optimum values of efficiency for design of chiller inlet cooling and blade cooled gas turbine are investigated. This research shows how it is possible to find the optimum design for different operation conditions, like ambient temperature, relative humidity, turbine inlet temperature, and compressor pressure ratio. The simulated designs include the chiller, with varied COP and fogging cooling for a compressor. In addition, the overall thermal efficiency is improved by adding some design systems like reheat and regenerative heating. The other goal of this research focuses on the blade-cooled gas turbine for higher turbine inlet temperature, and consequently, higher efficiency. New film cooling equations, along with changing film cooling effectiveness for optimum cooling air requirement at the first-stage blades, and an internal and trailing edge cooling for the second stage, are innovated for optimal efficiency calculation. This research sets the groundwork for using the optimum value of efficiency calculation, while using inlet cooling and blade cooling designs. In the final step, the designed systems in the gas cycles are combined with a steam cycle for performance improvement.

  19. Olkiluoto 1 and 2 - Plant efficiency improvement and lifetime extension-project (PELE) implemented during outages 2010 and 2011

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kosonen, M.; Hakola, M. [Teollisuuden Voima Oyj, F- 27160 Eurajoki (Finland)

    2012-07-01

    Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) is a non-listed public company founded in 1969 to produce electricity for its stakeholders. TVO is the operator of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant. TVO follows the principle of continuous improvement in the operation and maintenance of the Olkiluoto plant units. The PELE project (Plant Efficiency Improvement and Lifetime Extension), mainly completed during the annual outages in 2010 and 2011, and forms one part of the systematic development of Olkiluoto units. TVO maintains a long-term development program that aims at systematically modernizing the plant unit systems and equipment based on the latest technology. According to the program, the Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 plant units are constantly renovated with the intention of keeping them safe and reliable, The aim of the modernization projects is to improve the safety, reliability, and performance of the plant units. PELE project at Olkiluoto 1 was done in 2010 and at Olkiluoto 2 in 2011. The outage length of Olkiluoto 1 was 26 d 12 h 4 min and Olkiluoto 2 outage length was 28 d 23 h 46 min. (Normal service-outage is about 14 days including refueling and refueling-outage length is about seven days. See figure 1) The PELE project consisted of several single projects collected into one for coordinated project management. Some of the main projects were as follows: - Low pressure turbines: rotor, stator vane, casing and turbine instrumentation replacement. - Replacement of Condenser Cooling Water (later called seawater pumps) pumps - Replacement of inner isolation valves on the main steam lines. - Generator and the generator cooling system replacement. - Low voltage switchgear replacement. This project will continue during future outages. PELE was a success. 100 TVO employees and 1500 subcontractor employees participated in the project. The execution of the PELE projects went extremely well during the outages. The replacement of the low pressure turbines and seawater pumps improved the

  20. Olkiluoto 1 and 2 - Plant efficiency improvement and lifetime extension-project (PELE) implemented during outages 2010 and 2011

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kosonen, M.; Hakola, M.

    2012-01-01

    Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) is a non-listed public company founded in 1969 to produce electricity for its stakeholders. TVO is the operator of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant. TVO follows the principle of continuous improvement in the operation and maintenance of the Olkiluoto plant units. The PELE project (Plant Efficiency Improvement and Lifetime Extension), mainly completed during the annual outages in 2010 and 2011, and forms one part of the systematic development of Olkiluoto units. TVO maintains a long-term development program that aims at systematically modernizing the plant unit systems and equipment based on the latest technology. According to the program, the Olkiluoto 1 and Olkiluoto 2 plant units are constantly renovated with the intention of keeping them safe and reliable, The aim of the modernization projects is to improve the safety, reliability, and performance of the plant units. PELE project at Olkiluoto 1 was done in 2010 and at Olkiluoto 2 in 2011. The outage length of Olkiluoto 1 was 26 d 12 h 4 min and Olkiluoto 2 outage length was 28 d 23 h 46 min. (Normal service-outage is about 14 days including refueling and refueling-outage length is about seven days. See figure 1) The PELE project consisted of several single projects collected into one for coordinated project management. Some of the main projects were as follows: - Low pressure turbines: rotor, stator vane, casing and turbine instrumentation replacement. - Replacement of Condenser Cooling Water (later called seawater pumps) pumps - Replacement of inner isolation valves on the main steam lines. - Generator and the generator cooling system replacement. - Low voltage switchgear replacement. This project will continue during future outages. PELE was a success. 100 TVO employees and 1500 subcontractor employees participated in the project. The execution of the PELE projects went extremely well during the outages. The replacement of the low pressure turbines and seawater pumps improved the

  1. Methodological approach to organizational performance improvement process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marin Buble

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available Organizational performance improvement is one of the fundamental enterprise tasks. This especially applies to the case when the term “performance improvement” implies efficiency improvement measured by indicators, such as ROI, ROE, ROA, or ROVA/ROI. Such tasks are very complex, requiring implementation by means of project management. In this paper, the authors propose a methodological approach to improving the organizational performance of a large enterprise.

  2. Potential of in vitro mutation breeding for the improvement of vegetatively propagated crop plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Constantin, M.J.

    1984-01-01

    Significant progress has been realized in a number of technologies (e.g., protoplast cultures), collectively referred to as plant cell and tissue culture, within the last decade. In vitro culture technologies offer great potentials for the improvement of crop plants, both sexually and asexually propagated; however, to realize these potentials plant regeneration from selected cells must be achieved for the species of interest. Where whole plants have been regenerated from selected cells, the mutant trait was expressed in some but not in all cases, and the inheritance patterns included maternal, recessive, semi-dominant and dominant (epigenetic events have also been reported). Improved cultivars of sugarcane have been developed from in vitro culture selections. In vitro mutation breeding can be done using an array of physical and chemical mutagens that has been found to be effective in the treatment of seeds, pollen, vegetative plant parts and growing plants. Selection at the cell level for a range of mutant traits has been demonstrated; however, innovative selection schemes will have to be developed to select for agriculturally important traits such as date of maturity, resistance to lodging, height etc. An interdisciplinary team approach involving the combined use of in vitro culture technology, mutagenesis, and plant breeding/genetics offers the greatest probability for success in crop improvement. (author)

  3. Effects of various planting ratios on the performance of maize and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma to evaluate the performance of maize and cowpea planted at various replacement ratios. Weight of grains per plant and grain yield were higher in cowpea in maize-cowpea intercrop planted in ratio 2:1. Based on the ...

  4. Estimation of uncertainty bounds for the future performance of a power plant

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Odgaard, Peter Fogh; Stoustrup, Jakob

    2009-01-01

    on recent data and the other is based on operating points as well. The third proposed scheme uses dynamical models of the prediction uncertainties, like in H-infinity-control. The proposed schemes are subsequently applied to experimental data from a coal-fired power plant. {Two sets of data from an actual......} the future performance of these plants is that available models of the plants are uncertain. In this paper three schemes for predicting uncertain dynamical systems are presented. The schemes estimate upper and lower bounds on the system performance. Two of the schemes are statistically based, one only based......Prediction of the future performance of large-scale power plants can be very relevant for the operators of these plants, as the predictions can indicate possible problems or failures due to current operating conditions and/or future possible operating conditions. {A problem in predicting...

  5. Maintaining the safe operation of U.S. nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skavdahl, R.E.

    1991-01-01

    The more than one hundred nuclear power plants in the U.S. are a vital resource that provides about 20% of the electrical power production. Although about half the plants are more than 15 years old, there is no evidence of age-related deterioration in any of the key indicators of industry performance; indeed, the continuing improvement in all these indicators shows the industry is maturing, not growing old. The Institute for Nuclear Power Operations's performance assessment and training programs have spurred a heavy industry-wide commitment to improved training. These efforts are the key to excellence in the performance of operations and maintenance personnel. The interface between the reactor and the operator has been improved through control room design reviews, the implementation of a Safety Parameter Display System, and emergency procedure guidelines. These improvements ensure that the operators will be able to perform their functions under any circumstances they may encounter. Led by NUMARC, the industry initiative to improve plant maintenance programs incorporates such elements as the INPO performance standards, enhanced monitoring through the use of the Nuclear Plant Reliability Data System, Reliability Centered Maintenance, and improvements in plant technical specifications. These elements bring the latest available technology to plant maintenance programs. Equipment replacements are frequently made to take advantage of improvements in technology. Aside from the performance enhancements they offer, such replacements also serve to keep the plants young. By leveraging their resources through the owners groups, utilities are able to quickly and efficiently solve problems together that they could not afford to attack individually. Even the highly unlikely hypothetical severe accidents are addressed in a systematic fashion through the application of Probabilistic Risk Assessments. 15 figs

  6. 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.

  7. Modernization of turbines in fossil and nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harig, T.; Oeynhausen, H.

    2004-01-01

    Steam turbine power plants have a big share in power generation world-wide. In view of their age structure, they offer the biggest potential for increasing power plant performance, availability and environmental protection. Modernisation and replacement of key components by improved components will reduce fuel consumption and improve power plant performance by higher capacity, higher power, shorter start-up and shutdown times, and reduced standstill times. Modern steam turbine bladings will result in further improvements without additional fuel consumption. (orig.)

  8. 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

  9. A Study on Nonconformance and Construction Method Improvement for Nuclear Power Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jong Yeob; Roh, Myung Sub

    2014-01-01

    Advanced power reactor was developed by domestic technology, and finally exported to abroad. In order to place the current nuclear power industrial base, construction has played a big role. Without magnificent construction technology, it would have been impossible to get a safe nuclear power plant on time and in budget. Construction industry occupies very large portion of the economy in South Korea and it has been a core of South Korea's economic growth. With a competitive construction industry and advanced nuclear power plant construction know-how, South Korea could provide safe and reliable nuclear power plants in domestic and world. However there are many repairs and number of corrective actions are in actual construction. Thus, this paper suggested the result of nonconformance and construction method improvement for nuclear power plant. Constructional engineering is a kind of science that has a variety of disciplines including structure, geology, mechanical equipment and other fields. Thus, the development of constructional engineering is closely associated with experience from failure and application advanced construction method. The recent experience in nuclear power plants construction has shown that those improved methods are fully applicable and can help shorten the construction schedule. The future of nuclear power plant construction seems to be more encouraged, even though it has many obstacles

  10. EFFECT OF USING SOME MEDICINAL PLANTS (ANISE, CHAMOMILE AND GINGER) ON PRODUCTIVE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE OF JAPANESE QUAIL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    ABU TALEB, A.M.; HAMODI, S.J.; EL AFIFI, SH.F.

    2008-01-01

    This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of adding medicinal plants to Japanese quail diet on their performance and some metabolic functions. Four hundred, one day old, unsexed Japanese quails were used in this study. Quails were divided equally into four groups of 100 birds each according to medicinal plant additives. Group one was control (without additives, and the other groups contained 0.3% from anise (group 2), chamomile (group 3) and ginger (group 4). The end of the experiment was terminated when birds were 6 weeks old. Body weight, feed intake, some organs weight and some blood parameters were measured.The results indicated that addition of medicinal plants (anise, chamomile and ginger) improved growth rate, carcass and the relative weights of spleen, ovary and testis. Also, significant increases were observed in RBC, WBC, Hb, PCV, total protein and globulin. There was reduction in cholesterol in treated groups as compared to the control.The present results confirmed the beneficial effects of dietary medicinal plants (anise, chamomile and ginger) to improve the health condition as well as the productive and physiological characteristics of quails

  11. Cost benefit justification of nuclear plant reliability improvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Sayed, M.A.H.; Abdelmonem, N.M.

    1986-01-01

    Nuclear power costs are evaluated on the bases of general ground rules (a) vary from time to time (b) vary from country to another (c) even vary from one reactor type to another. The main objective of an electric utility is to provide the electric energy to the different consummers at the lowest possible cost with reasonable reliability level. Rapid increase of the construction costs and fuel prices in recent years have stimulated a great deal of interest in improving the reliability and productivity of new and existing power plants. One of the most important areas is the improvement of the secondary steam loop and the reactor cooling system. The method for evaluating the reliability of steam loop and cooling system utilizes the cut-set technique. The developed method can be easily used to show to what extent the overall reliability of the nuclear plant is affected by the possible failures in the steam and cooling subsystem. The cost reliability trade-off analysis is used to evaluate alternative schemes in the design with a view towards meeting a high reliability goal. Based on historical or estimated failure and repair rate, the reliability of the alternate scheme can be calculated

  12. Modern Breeding Methods for Improving Protein Quality and Quantity in Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dumanovic, J.; Ehrenberg, L. [Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine and Forestry, Belgrade, Yugoslavia (Serbia)

    1968-07-01

    Against the background of the world's urgent need for increased protein production and for an improved quality of vegetable proteins, the ability of plant breeding to contribute to this need is discussed. With examples especially from maize and wheat, existing variations in protein content and protein composition are surveyed, together with the interdependence of these characteristics and their co-variation with the yield. It is shown that plant breeding has a great potential for improving the world's food situation. It is also shown that more rapid achievements are possible than is generally considered to be characteristic of plant-breeding techniques. Special emphasis is stressed on: (a) The capacity of mutation breeding, alone and in conjunction with other methods, to contribute to an increased production of high quality protein; (b) The necessity for the success of programmes whereby fast, cheap, and if possible non-destructive analytical procedures are developed to determine protein and amino acids; (c) The importance of the close collaboration of plant breeders with specialists in related subjects such as soil fertilization, physiology and nutrition, food technology, and biochemistry; (d) The importance of international co-operation and co-ordination. (author)

  13. An overview of the United States Department of Energy Plant Lifetime Improvement Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosinski, S.T.; Clauss, J.M.; Harrison, D.L.

    2004-01-01

    Since 1985, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been working with the nuclear industry and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to establish and demonstrate the option to extend the life of nuclear power plants through the renewal of operating licenses. This paper focuses primarily on DOE'S Plant Lifetime Improvement (PLIM) Program efforts to develop the technical criteria and bases for effective aging management and lifetime improvement for continued operation of nuclear power plants. This paper describes current projects to resolve generic technical issues, including degradation of long-lived components, reactor pressure vessel (RPV) embrittlement management approaches, and analytical methodologies to characterize RPV integrity. (author)

  14. Performance Results of CMMI-Based Process Improvement

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Gibson, Diane L; Goldenson, Dennis R; Kost, Keith

    2006-01-01

    .... There now is evidence that process improvement using the CMMI Product Suite can result in improvements in schedule and cost performance, product quality, return on investment and other measures of performance outcome...

  15. Do the Czech Production Plants Measure the Performance of Energy Processes?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zuzana Tučková

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The research was focused to the actual situation in Performance Measurement of the energy processes in Czech production plants. The results are back – upped by the previous researches which were aimed to performance measurement methods usage in the whole organizational structure of the plants. Although the most of big industrial companies declared using of modern Performance Measurements methods, the previous researches shown that it is not purely true. The bigger differences were found in the energy area – energy processes. The authors compared the Energy concepts of European Union (EU and Czech Republic (CZ which are very different and do not create any possibilities for manager’s clear decision in the process management strategy of energy processes in their companies. Next step included the Energy department’s analysis. The significant part of energy processes in the production plants is still not mapped, described and summarized to one methodical manual for managing and performance measurement.

  16. Effect of excess air on second-generation PFB combustion plant performance and economics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robertson, A.; Garland, R.; Newby, R.; Rehmat, A.; Rubow, L.; Bonk, D.

    1990-01-01

    This paper presents a conceptual design of a 1.4-MPa (14-atm) coal-fired second-generation pressurized fluidized bed (PFB) combustion plant and identifies the performance and economic changes that result as the excess air and thus gas turbine-to-steam turbine power ratio, is changed. The performance of these plants, another second- generation PFB combustion plant, and a conventional pulverized-coal (PC)-fired plant with wet limestone flue gas desulfurization is compared. Depending upon the conditions selected, the PFB combustion plant can achieve a 45 percent efficiency (based on the higher heating value of the coal used as fuel) and a cost of electricity at least 20 percent lower than that of the conventional PC-fired plant

  17. Fiscal 1994 achievement report. Development of entrained bed coal gasification power plant (Part 5 - Survey of demonstration plant); 1994 nendo seika hokokusho. Funryusho sekitan gaska hatsuden plant kaihatsu - Sono 5. Jissho plant ni kansuru chosa kenkyu hen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-07-01

    A survey was conducted of a demonstration plant for developing the technology of integrated coal gasification combined cycle power generation. In fiscal 1994, based on the studies of pilot plant operation conducted up to the preceding fiscal year and on the studies of a demonstration plant (conceptual design of a demonstration plant), systems were examined for still higher performance and economical efficiency. For optimizing the heat source for pulverized coal drying air, an extracted air heat utilizing system was adopted, excellent in performance (approximately 0.5% improvement in absolute value) and in economical efficiency. For reducing the consumption of inert gas for the fluidized bed desulfurization facility, an approximately 30% reduction was found to be possible dependent on gas regeneration conditions in the regeneration tower. For performance improvement with the combined cycle equipment placed under a partial load, the generating-end efficiency was improved approximately 0.2% when only SGC (syngas cooler) was loaded 80% or less and kept at a constant pressure. Studies were also made about how to maintain a constant output with the equipment exposed to air temperature changes. (NEDO)

  18. CO2 control technology effects on IGCC plant performance and cost

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Chao; Rubin, Edward S.

    2009-01-01

    As part of the USDOE's Carbon Sequestration Program, an integrated modeling framework has been developed to evaluate the performance and cost of alternative carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies for fossil-fueled power plants in the context of multi-pollutant control requirements. This paper uses the newly developed model of an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant to analyze the effects of adding CCS to an IGCC system employing a GE quench gasifier with water gas shift reactors and a Selexol system for CO 2 capture. Parameters of interest include the effects on plant performance and cost of varying the CO 2 removal efficiency, the quality and cost of coal, and selected other factors affecting overall plant performance and cost. The stochastic simulation capability of the model is also used to illustrate the effect of uncertainties or variability in key process and cost parameters. The potential for advanced oxygen production and gas turbine technologies to reduce the cost and environmental impacts of IGCC with CCS is also analyzed

  19. The impact of multi-criteria performance measurement on business performance improvement

    OpenAIRE

    Kasie, Fentahun Moges; Belay, Alemu Moges

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between multi-criteria performance measurement (MCPM) practice and business performance improvement using the raw data collected from 33 selected manufacturing companies. In addition, it proposes modified MCPM model as an effective approach to improve business performance of manufacturing companies. Design/methodology/approach:Research paper. Primary and secondary data were collected using questionnaire survey, interview an...

  20. The Development and Full-Scale Experimental Validation of an Optimal Water Treatment Solution in Improving Chiller Performances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen-Yu Chiang

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available An optimal solution, in combining physical and chemical water treatment methods, has been developed. This method uses a high voltage capacitance based (HVCB electrodes, coupled with biocides to form a sustainable solution in improving chiller plant performances. In this study, the industrial full-scale tests, instead of laboratory tests, have been conducted on chiller plants at the size of 5000 RT to 10,000 RT cooling capacities under commercial operation for more than two years. The experimental results indicated that the condenser approach temperatures can be maintained at below 1 °C for over two years. It has been validated that the coefficient of performance (COP of a chiller can be improved by over 5% by implementing this solution. Every 1 °C reduction in condenser approach temperature can yield approximately 3% increase on chiller COP, which warrants its future application potential in the HVAC industry, where Ta can degrade by 1 °C every three to six months. The solution developed in this study could also reduce chemical dosages and conserve makeup water substantially and is more environment friendly.

  1. Risk-based performance indicators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Azarm, M.A.; Boccio, J.L.; Vesely, W.E.; Lofgren, E.

    1987-01-01

    The purpose of risk-based indicators is to monitor plant safety. Safety is measured by monitoring the potential for core melt (core-melt frequency) and the public risk. Targets for these measures can be set consistent with NRC safety goals. In this process, the performance of safety systems, support systems, major components, and initiating events can be monitored using measures such as unavailability, failure or occurrence frequency. The changes in performance measures and their trends are determined from the time behavior of monitored measures by differentiation between stochastical and actual variations. Therefore, degradation, as well as improvement in the plant safety performance, can be determined. The development of risk-based performance indicators will also provide the means to trace a change in the safety measures to specific problem areas which are amenable to root cause analysis and inspection audits. In addition, systematic methods will be developed to identify specific improvement policies using the plant information system for the identified problem areas. The final product of the performance indicator project will be a methodology, and an integrated and validated set of software packages which, if properly interfaced with the logic model software of a plant, can monitor the plant performance as plant information is provided as input

  2. South Ukraine NPP: Safety improvements through Plant Computer upgrade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brenman, O.; Chernyshov, M. A.; Denning, R. S.; Kolesov, S. A.; Balakan, H. H.; Bilyk, B. I.; Kuznetsov, V. I.; Trosman, G.

    2006-01-01

    This paper summarizes some results of the Plant Computer upgrade at the Units 2 and 3 of South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). A Plant Computer, which is also called the Computer Information System (CIS), is one of the key safety-related systems at VVER-1000 nuclear plants. The main function of the CIS is information support for the plant operators during normal and emergency operational modes. Before this upgrade, South Ukraine NPP operated out-of-date and obsolete systems. This upgrade project wax founded by the U.S. DOE in the framework of the International Nuclear Safety Program (INSP). The most efficient way to improve the quality and reliability of information provided to the plant operator is to upgrade the Human-System Interface (HSI), which is the Upper Level (UL) CIS. The upgrade of the CIS data-acquisition system (DAS), which is the Lower Level (LL) CIS, would have less effect on the unit safety. Generally speaking, the lifetime of the LL CIS is much higher than one of the UL CIS. Unlike Plant Computers at the Western-designed plants, the functionality of the WER-1000 CISs includes a control function (Centralized Protection Testing) and a number of the plant equipment monitoring functions, for example, Protection and Interlock Monitoring and Turbo-Generator Temperature Monitoring. The new system is consistent with a historical migration of the format by which information is presented to the operator away from the traditional graphic displays, for example, Piping and Instrument Diagrams (P and ID's), toward Integral Data displays. The cognitive approach to information presentation is currently limited by some licensing issues, but is adapted to a greater degree with each new system. The paper provides some lessons learned on the management of the international team. (authors)

  3. Advanced power plant materials, design and technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roddy, D. (ed.) [Newcastle University (United Kingdom). Sir Joseph Swan Institute

    2010-07-01

    The book is a comprehensive reference on the state of the art of gas-fired and coal-fired power plants, their major components and performance improvement options. Selected chapters are: Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant design and technology by Y. Zhu, and H. C. Frey; Improving thermal cycle efficiency in advanced power plants: water and steam chemistry and materials performance by B. Dooley; Advanced carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) gas separation membrane development for power plants by A. Basile, F. Gallucci, and P. Morrone; Advanced flue gas cleaning systems for sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and mercury emissions control in power plants by S. Miller and B.G. Miller; Advanced flue gas dedusting systems and filters for ash and particulate emissions control in power plants by B.G. Miller; Advanced sensors for combustion monitoring in power plants: towards smart high-density sensor networks by M. Yu and A.K. Gupta; Advanced monitoring and process control technology for coal-fired power plants by Y. Yan; Low-rank coal properties, upgrading and utilisation for improving the fuel flexibility of advanced power plants by T. Dlouhy; Development and integration of underground coal gasification (UCG) for improving the environmental impact of advanced power plants by M. Green; Development and application of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) storage for improving the environmental impact of advanced power plants by B. McPherson; and Advanced technologies for syngas and hydrogen (H{sub 2}) production from fossil-fuel feedstocks in power plants by P. Chiesa.

  4. Resveratrol biosynthesis: plant metabolic engineering for nutritional improvement of food.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giovinazzo, Giovanna; Ingrosso, Ilaria; Paradiso, Annalisa; De Gara, Laura; Santino, Angelo

    2012-09-01

    The plant polyphenol trans-resveratrol (3, 5, 4'-trihydroxystilbene) mainly found in grape, peanut and other few plants, displays a wide range of biological effects. Numerous in vitro studies have described various biological effects of resveratrol. In order to provide more information regarding absorption, metabolism, and bioavailability of resveratrol, various research approaches have been performed, including in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo models. In recent years, the induction of resveratrol synthesis in plants which normally do not accumulate such polyphenol, has been successfully achieved by molecular engineering. In this context, the ectopic production of resveratrol has been reported to have positive effects both on plant resistance to biotic stress and the enhancement of the nutritional value of several widely consumed fruits and vegetables. The metabolic engineering of plants offers the opportunity to change the content of specific phytonutrients in plant - derived foods. This review focuses on the latest findings regarding on resveratrol bioproduction and its effects on the prevention of the major pathological conditions in man.

  5. The performance regulatory approach in quality assurance: Its application to safety in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sajaroff, Pedro M.

    2000-01-01

    In early 1991, the IAEA assembled an Advisory Group on the Comprehensive Revision of the Code and the Safety on Quality Assurance of the NUSS Programme. The Group was made up by specialists from a number of countries and from ISO, FORATOM, the EC and the IAEA itself, and its objective was completed in June 1995. This paper is aimed at describing the conceptual contents of the final draft of the revision 2 of the 50-C-QA Code 'Quality Assurance for Safety in Nuclear Power Plants and other Nuclear Facilities' (hereinafter, the Code) which is essentially based on performance. Although the performance regulatory approach is not new in Argentina and in other countries, what is indeed novel is applying performance based QA. In such a way the Code will contribute to preventing both QA misinterpretations (i.e., a formalistic regulatory requirement) and the execution of non-effective work without attaining the needed quality level (what may be seen as a pathological deviation of QA). The Code contains ten basic requirements to be adopted when QA programmes are established and implemented in nuclear power plants. The goal is improving safety through an improvement in the methods applied for attaining quality. In line with the current developments in quality management techniques, priority is given to effectiveness of the QA programme. All the involved individuals (that is those in the managerial level, those performing the work and those assessing the work performed) must contribute to quality in a co-ordinated manner. The revised Safety Guides are being introduced, standing out those non existing before. Interrelation between quality assurance, safety culture and quality culture is to be noted. Besides QA for safety-related software mentioned as an issue to be considered by the IAEA. (author)

  6. C-E productivity improvement program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiu, C.; Ching, B.; Van Haltern, M.L.

    1984-01-01

    This paper describes the C-E Productivity Improvement Program (CEPIP), which is a computer algorithm for heat rate monitoring and diagnostics for a nuclear power plant. CEPIP uses the pattern recognition technique to identify cause(s) of heat rate degradation. The benefits of such an automated program to the plant performance engineer include early identification of the degrading component(s), provision of necessary economic information (cost of energy loss) to the performance engineer so that he can decide when to repair the degrading components, and identification of operator actions resulting in heat rate degradation (such as closing the valve on the live steam extraction line for the second stage of reheat). In summary, CEPIP improves the overall plant performance by increasing the capacity factor. CEPIP was developed to meet the growing needs of the utilities for an automated performance program. The diagnostic capability has been verified by plant data

  7. Improving the performance of industrial clarifiers using three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shankhadeep Das

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Sedimentation is one of the most popular wastewater treatment processes, and is used to separate solid particles from carrier fluid in settling tanks known as clarifiers. The clarifier, as the last major facility in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs, can limit or define the performance of the overall WWTP. This paper presents a novel three-dimensional unsteady computational fluid dynamics (CFD model to improve the efficiency of an industrial clarifier that had been experiencing underperformance and reduction in wastewater handling capacity. We propose a numerical technique to address the transient process of removing sludge from the floor of clarifiers by using rotating rakes. The CFD model was first applied to analyzing the ramifications of the current clarifier geometry on performance. The results show that the root causes for underperformance are related to the unconventional top side feed design of the clarifier, which leads to significant asymmetry in the flow distribution. The CFD model was next used to investigate various design modifications with the goal of improving the clarifier performance. A few geometry modification ideas such as an inward baffle, dissipating inlets, and a submerged skirt were found to create a more uniform flow distribution in the clarifier, significantly reducing the backflow into the feedwell and the velocity of the flow exiting the feedwell, which helps the solid particles to settle in the clarifier. These three designs were found to reduce the effluent total suspended solids (TSS by more than 80% and thus significantly improve clarifier performance. It is believed that the CFD model developed in this study can become a computationally efficient tool for investigating the performance of industrial clarifiers with complex geometries and rotating rakes.

  8. 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

  9. Next-generation sequencing approaches for improvement of lactic acid bacteria-fermented plant-based beverages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jordyn Bergsveinson

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Plant-based beverages and milk alternatives produced from cereals and legumes have grown in popularity in recent years due to a range of consumer concerns over dairy products. These plant-based products can often have undesirable physiochemical properties related to flavour, texture, and nutrient availability and/or deficiencies. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB fermentation offers potential remediation for many of these issues, and allows consumers to retain their perception of the resultant products as natural and additive-free. Using next-generation sequencing (NGS or omics approaches to characterize LAB isolates to find those that will improve properties of plant-based beverages is the most direct way to product improvement. Although NGS/omics approaches have been extensively used for selection of LAB for use in the dairy industry, a comparable effort has not occurred for selecting LAB for fermenting plant raw substrates, save those used in producing wine and certain types of beer. Here we review the few and recent applications of NGS/omics to profile and improve LAB fermentation of various plant-based substrates for beverage production. We also identify specific issues in the production of various LAB fermented plant-based beverages that such NGS/omics applications have the power to resolve.

  10. Energetic and environmental performance of three biomass upgrading processes integrated with a CHP plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kohl, Thomas; Laukkanen, Timo; Järvinen, Mika; Fogelholm, Carl-Johan

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► We simulate CHP-integrated production of wood pellets, torrefied wood pellets and pyrolysis slurry. ► Integration increases operation hours and district heat output by up to 38% and 22%. ► Additionally installed equipment reduces yearly power generation by up to 7%. ► Wood pellet production performs best energetically and environmentally. ► Integrated concepts substantially reduce fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions. - Abstract: In order to react on future expected increased competition on restricted biomass resources, communal combined heat and power (CHP) plants can be integrated with biomass upgrading processes that add valuable products to the portfolio. In this paper, outgoing from a base case, the retrofit integration of production of wood pellets (WPs), torrefied wood pellets (TWPs) and wood fast pyrolysis slurry (PS) with an existing wood-fired CHP plant was simulated. Within the integration concept, free boiler capacity during times of low district heat demands is used to provide energy for the upgrading processes. By detailed part-load modelling, critical process parameters are discussed. With help of a multiperiod model of the heat duration curve, the work further shows the influence of the integration on plant operating hours, electricity production and biomass throughput. Environmental and energetic performance is assessed according to European standard EN 15603 and compared to the base case as well as to stand-alone production in two separate units. The work shows that all three integration options are well possible within the operational limits of the CHP plant. Summarising, this work shows that integration of WP, TWP and PS production from biomass with a CHP plant by increasing the yearly boiler workload leads to improved primary energy efficiency, reduced CO 2 emissions, and, when compared to stand-alone production, also to substantial fuel savings

  11. A computer based I and C to improve nuclear power plant operation and safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Appell, Bernard; Beltranda, Guy

    1995-01-01

    Chooz B1 is the head of 1400 MW N4 series (up to now, a programme of 4 identical units have been ordered) will be put on the French national grid this year (1995). Hot tests were performed last autumn. Loading fuel is scheduled in June 95. Chooz B2 will follow 6 months later. This nuclear power plant series is fully French designed. It comprises, compared to the former 1300 MW series, evolution concerning mainly the turbine, the steam generators, the primary pumps, the I and C and the man machine interface. A major improvement for the plant operation and safety is the computerised I and C which comprises the protection system (specific controllers), the process automation system (off the shelf equipment), the computer based and conventional man machine interfaces associated. These systems were put in service last year. This paper is focused on them. (author)

  12. Performance of Generating Plant: Managing the Changes. Supporting paper: The evolution of the electricity sector and renewable sources in Italy: opportunities and problems for wind power integration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salvaderi, Luigi [IEEE Fellow (Italy)

    2008-05-15

    The WEC Committee on the Performance of Generating Plant (PGP) has been collecting and analysing power plant performance statistics worldwide for more than 30 years and has produced regular reports, which include examples of advanced techniques and methods for improving power plant performance through benchmarking. A series of reports from the various working groups was issued in 2008. This document serves as a supporting paper. Sections include: features of Italian energy and electricity; the evolution of liberalisation; support mechanism for renewables; connection to wind farm transmission network; wind source integration into power system; and, final comments.

  13. Computer Program Application Study for Newly Constructed Fossil Power Plant Performance Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Hyun; Park, Jong Jeng [Korea Electric Power Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1996-12-31

    The power plant is affected in its availability and economy significantly by the equipment degraded gradually as operation continues, which makes it quite important to evaluate the plant performance more accurately and analyze its effects to the plant economy quantitatively. The methodology thereof includes many calculation steps and requires huge man hours and efforts but would produce relatively less precise results than desired. The object of the project first aims to figure out a methodology which can analyze numerically the inherent effects of each equipment on the cycle performance as well as its performance evaluation and which further helps to determine more reasonable investment for the effective plant economy. Another aspect of the project results in the implementation of the methodology which is embodied in the sophisticated computer programs based on the conventional personal computer with the interactive graphic user interface facilities. (author). 44 refs., figs.

  14. Computer Program Application Study for Newly Constructed Fossil Power Plant Performance Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Hyun; Park, Jong Jeng [Korea Electric Power Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1997-12-31

    The power plant is affected in its availability and economy significantly by the equipment degraded gradually as operation continues, which makes it quite important to evaluate the plant performance more accurately and analyze its effects to the plant economy quantitatively. The methodology thereof includes many calculation steps and requires huge man hours and efforts but would produce relatively less precise results than desired. The object of the project first aims to figure out a methodology which can analyze numerically the inherent effects of each equipment on the cycle performance as well as its performance evaluation and which further helps to determine more reasonable investment for the effective plant economy. Another aspect of the project results in the implementation of the methodology which is embodied in the sophisticated computer programs based on the conventional personal computer with the interactive graphic user interface facilities. (author). 44 refs., figs.

  15. Training and plant performance: a strategic planning partnership

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coe, R.P.

    1987-01-01

    The nuclear industry as a whole, and specifically GPU Nuclear, is refocusing its attention on performance indicators. This standardized assessment of plant operational performance surfaces numerous examples of how performance-based training positively impacts plant performance. Numerous examples of high dollar savings range from scram reduction programs to reducing personnel rem exposures. The deeper the authors look the more they find that training is making a difference. The question now is, how long can they continue to afford the ever increasing demands of the pursuit of excellence. Early in 1985, the Training and Education Department at GPU Nuclear proactively began its strategic planning effort in order to address the increasing industry initiatives while facing flat or reduced commitments of resources. The Training Strategic Plan addresses detailed plans for each of the following areas: curriculum planning; program development; training and education organizational structure; training and education administrative procedures; training advisory structure and priority process; financial strategies. All of the above strategies are designed to assure training effectiveness. With the nuclear option under such strong public scrutiny, it is in the best interest of all of the nuclear utilities to assure the most cost effective approach to successful operation while achieving their standards of excellence

  16. 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.

  17. Proceedings: Power Plant Electric Auxiliary Systems Workshop

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-06-01

    The EPRI Power Plant Electric Auxiliary Systems Workshop, held April 24--25, 1991, in Princeton, New Jersey, brought together utilities, architect/engineers, and equipment suppliers to discuss common problems with power plant auxiliary systems. Workshop participants presented papers on monitoring, identifying, and solving problems with auxiliary systems. Panel discussions focused on improving systems and existing and future plants. The solutions presented to common auxiliary system problems focused on practical ideas that can enhance plant availability, reduce maintenance costs, and simplify the engineering process. The 13 papers in these proceedings include: Tutorials on auxiliary electrical systems and motors; descriptions of evaluations, software development, and new technologies used recently by electric utilities; an analysis of historical performance losses caused by power plant auxiliary systems; innovative design concepts for improving auxiliary system performance in future power plants

  18. Improved electrical efficiency and bottom ash quality on waste combustion plants. Appendix A4 to A6

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kloeft, H.; Jensen, Peter A.; Nesterov, I.; Hyks, J.; Astrup, T. (Technical Univ. of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark)); Mogensen, Erhardt (Babcock and Wilcox Voelund A/S, Glostrup (Denmark))

    2010-07-01

    Investigations making it possible to evaluate and further develop concepts to improve electrical efficiency in a waste combustion plant were performed. Furthermore, one objective of the study was to investigate the possibilities of improving waste bottom ash leaching properties by use of a rotary kiln treatment. The project work included construction of a bench-scale rotary kiln, performing ash rotary kiln treatment experiments, conducting gas suction probe measurements on a waste incineration plant and making some concept evaluations. The influence of the rotary kiln thermal treatment on the leaching of Ca, Al, Si, Mg, Ba, Sr, Cl, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Mo, sulfate, DOC and carbonate was determined. As a result of these tests, the rotary kiln thermal treatment of bottom ashes can be recommended for reducing the leaching of Cu, Pb, Cl, Zn and DOC; however, an increased leaching of Cr and Mo should be expected. The combustion conditions above the grate of a waste incineration plant were investigated and the release and concentration of volatile ash species in the flue gas such as Cl, Na, K, Ca, Pb, Zn and S were measured. The conducted measurements show that flue gas from grate sections 3 and 4 can produce a sufficiently hot flue gas that contains only low concentrations of corrosive species, and therefore can be used to increase superheater temperatures. Implementation of the so-called flue gas split concept together with other steam circle modifications on a waste combustion plant, and using a reasonable increase in final steam temperature from 400 to 500 deg. C, have the potential to increase electrical efficiency from 24 to 30% (with respect to lower fuel heating value) in a waste combustion plant. The appendices deal with collection of slags for the rotary kiln experiments; overview of the thermal treatment experiments - phase 1; a journal paper with the title ''Quantification of leaching from waste incineration bottom ash treated in a rotary kiln

  19. Improved electrical efficiency and bottom ash quality on waste combustion plants. Appendix A7 to A10

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hyks, J.; Astrup, T.; Jensen, Peter A.; Nesterov, I.; Boejer, M.; Frandsen, F.; Dam-Johansen, K.; Hedegaard Madsen, O.; Lundtorp, K. (Technical Univ. of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark)); Mogensen, Erhardt (Babcock and Wilcox Voelund A/S, Glostrup (Denmark))

    2010-07-01

    Investigations making it possible to evaluate and further develop concepts to improve electrical efficiency in a waste combustion plant were performed. Furthermore, one objective of the study was to investigate the possibilities of improving waste bottom ash leaching properties by use of a rotary kiln treatment. The project work included construction of a bench-scale rotary kiln, performing ash rotary kiln treatment experiments, conducting gas suction probe measurements on a waste incineration plant and making some concept evaluations. The influence of the rotary kiln thermal treatment on the leaching of Ca, Al, Si, Mg, Ba, Sr, Cl, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Mo, sulfate, DOC and carbonate was determined. As a result of these tests, the rotary kiln thermal treatment of bottom ashes can be recommended for reducing the leaching of Cu, Pb, Cl, Zn and DOC; however, an increased leaching of Cr and Mo should be expected. The combustion conditions above the grate of a waste incineration plant were investigated and the release and concentration of volatile ash species in the flue gas such as Cl, Na, K, Ca, Pb, Zn and S were measured. The conducted measurements show that flue gas from grate sections 3 and 4 can produce a sufficiently hot flue gas that contains only low concentrations of corrosive species, and therefore can be used to increase superheater temperatures. Implementation of the so-called flue gas split concept together with other steam circle modifications on a waste combustion plant, and using a reasonable increase in final steam temperature from 400 to 500 deg. C, have the potential to increase electrical efficiency from 24 to 30% (with respect to lower fuel heating value) in a waste combustion plant. The appendices deal with the influence of kiln treatment on incineration bottom ash leaching; the influence of kiln treatment on corrosive species in deposits; operational strategy for rotary kiln; alkali/chloride release during refuse incineration on a grate. (Author)

  20. Operating trends and performance of nuclear power plants in IAEA member states

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galori, F.

    1984-01-01

    The present status and short-term development of nuclear power programmes in IAEA member states is reviewed. A description of the IAEA Power Reactor Information System (PRIS) is given and the objectives for data collection and treatment are discussed. As indicated by the reports at the IAEA International Conference on Nuclear Power experience in 1982, there are considerable differences in the performances of nuclear power plants even within classes of plants which technically should be very similar and thus perform equally well. PRIS permist at least some preliminary conclusions about the reasons for differences to be drawn. It is becoming clear that reasons for good or bad performance must be sought in a number of factors including: type of plant (on-load/off-load refuelling, GCR, PHWR, LWR); age and vintage of plant; manufacturer of the main plant system; degree of standardization in plant and construction; competence of operating organization; regulatory climate. Analysis of the reported outages shows that major problems are: stress corrosion cracking in primary piping, also denting and wall thinning in tubes of steam generators; thermal fatigue cracking in the feedwater system and excessive errosion/corrosion problems in turbines. It is emphasized that international cooperation is important for creating an effective system for learning from operating experience

  1. Improving operational performance by influencing shopfloor behavior via performance management practices

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Leeuw, S.L.J.M.; van den Berg, J.P.

    2011-01-01

    It is generally believed that companies applying performance management practices outperform those that do not measure and manage their performance. Studies examining the link between performance management and performance improvement implicitly assume that performance management affects behavior of

  2. Plant status monitor system description

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prather, W.A.; Sly, G.A.

    1987-01-01

    In today's regulatory and financial environment, improving plant efficiency and safety are necessary elements of plant operations. Public utility commissions are making rate rulings based, in part, on plant availability performance; and the NRC is putting more emphasis on plant operational aspects. This comes at a time when operating, maintaining, and managing a plant are becoming increasingly complex; moreover, the desired number of experienced plant personnel are becoming more difficult to find. This situation can be partially resolved by using computer software tools to assist operations, maintenance, engineering, and management personnel. These software tools provide information and interpretations based on plant and equipment status. They support improved plant availability, technical specification compliance, and administrative functions. A key element or computerization is the ability to operate on integrated information

  3. Plant breeding and genetics

    Science.gov (United States)

    The ultimate goal of plant breeding is to develop improved crops. Improvements can be made in crop productivity, crop processing and marketing, and/or consumer quality. The process of developing an improved cultivar begins with intercrossing lines with high performance for the traits of interest, th...

  4. Energetic and exergetic analysis of cogeneration power combined cycle and ME-TVC-MED water desalination plant: Part-1 operation and performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Almutairi, Abdulrahman; Pilidis, Pericles; Al-Mutawa, Nawaf; Al-Weshahi, Mohammed

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Develop a comprehensive model for a very advanced cogeneration plant using real data. • Evaluate ME-TVC-MED unit using the latest thermodynamic properties of seawater. • Evaluate the desalination unit contribution to the overall efficiency. • Evaluate the stage exergetic efficiency in the ME-TVC-MED unit. • Numerous possibilities have been suggested to improve the proposed system. - Abstract: A comprehensive model of cogeneration plant for electrical power and water desalination has been developed based on energetic and exergetic analyses using real operational data. The power side is a combined cycle power plant (CCPP), while the desalination side is a multi-effect thermal vapour compression plant coupled with a conventional multi-effect plant (ME-TVC-MED). IPSEpro software was utilized to model the process, which shows good agreement with the manufacturer's data and published research. The thermodynamic properties of saline water were obtained from the latest published data in the literature. The performance of the cogeneration plant was examined for different ambient temperatures, pressure ratios, loads, feed water temperatures, number of effects and entrainment ratios. The results show that gas turbine engines produce the highest level of useful work in the system at around 34% of the total fuel input. At the same time, they constitute a major source of irreversibility, which accounts for 84% of the total exergy destruction in the plant, while the lowest source of irreversibility is in the steam turbine of 3.3% due to the type of working fluid and reheating system. In the ME-TVC-MED desalination unit, the highest source of irreversibilities occurs in the effects and in the thermo-compressor. The first two effects in the ME-TVC parallel section were responsible for about 40.6% of the total effect exergy destruction, which constitutes the highest value among all the effects. Operating the system at full load while reducing ambient

  5. EnergiTools(R) - a power plant performance monitoring and diagnosis tool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ancion, P.V.; Bastien, R.; Ringdahl, K.

    2000-01-01

    Westinghouse EnergiTools(R) is a performance diagnostic tool for power generation plants that combines the power of on-line process data acquisition with advanced diagnostics methodologies. The system uses analytical models based on thermodynamic principles combined with knowledge of component diagnostic experts. An issue in modeling expert knowledge is to have a framework that can represent and process uncertainty in complex systems. In such experiments, it is nearly impossible to build deterministic models for the effects of faults on symptoms. A methodology based on causal probabilistic graphs, more specifically on Bayesian belief networks, has been implemented in EnergiTools(R) to capture the fault-symptom relationships. The methodology estimates the likelihood of the various component failures using the fault-symptom relationships. The system also has the ability to use neural networks for processes that are difficult to model analytically. An application is the estimation of the reactor power in nuclear power plant by interpreting several plant indicators. EnergiTools(R) is used for the on-line performance monitoring and diagnostics at Vattenfall Ringhals nuclear power plants in Sweden. It has led to the diagnosis of various performance issues with plant components. Two case studies are presented. In the first case, an overestimate of the thermal power due to a faulty instrument was found, which led to a plant operation below its optimal power. The paper shows how the problem was discovered, using the analytical thermodynamic calculations. The second case shows an application of EnergiTools(R) for the diagnostic of a condenser failure using causal probabilistic graphs

  6. Key performance indicators in plant asset management: hype, burden or real help?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jovanovic, A. (Steinbeis Advanced Risk Technologies, Stuttgart (Germany)); Bareiss, J.M. (EnBW, Stuttgart (Germany))

    2010-05-15

    The paper tackles the increasing role and use of indicators (e.g. the key performance indicators, KPIs) in asset management in power and process plants, in particular for risk and safety management (safety performance indicators, SPIs), inspection, maintenance, emerging risks analysis and aging management. The two main aspects of the use of indicators are monitoring of performance (e.g. of a single unit) and benchmarking (e.g. among different units). The basis for the considerations presented in the paper are several international projects in the field, showing that the main issue in the field is not and cannot be just the introduction of new indicators as such. They deal with the principles of establishing indicators, establishing generally accepted indicators (goal 'globally accepted' indicators), creating of 'repositories' of indicators in industry and respective tools. The repository/tool developed in the EU project iNTeg-Risk is presented in more detail. The main proposed criteria for successful introduction are the acceptance, transparency and clear added value, e.g. when the indicators help in finding solutions for the issues where the conventional analysis, e.g. the one based on engineering models and analysis is too expensive, complex or simply unavailable. Three practical cases are briefly shown in the paper: one for the improved asset management in a refinery, one for the identification of indicators helping to deal with emerging risks (how to identify them and how to assess risks of a new technology) and one for the implementation of a complex aging management program for industrial plants. (orig.)

  7. Key performance indicators in plant asset management: hype, burden or real help?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jovanovic, A.; Bareiss, J.M.

    2010-01-01

    The paper tackles the increasing role and use of indicators (e.g. the key performance indicators, KPIs) in asset management in power and process plants, in particular for risk and safety management (safety performance indicators, SPIs), inspection, maintenance, emerging risks analysis and aging management. The two main aspects of the use of indicators are monitoring of performance (e.g. of a single unit) and benchmarking (e.g. among different units). The basis for the considerations presented in the paper are several international projects in the field, showing that the main issue in the field is not and cannot be just the introduction of new indicators as such. They deal with the principles of establishing indicators, establishing generally accepted indicators (goal 'globally accepted' indicators), creating of 'repositories' of indicators in industry and respective tools. The repository/tool developed in the EU project iNTeg-Risk is presented in more detail. The main proposed criteria for successful introduction are the acceptance, transparency and clear added value, e.g. when the indicators help in finding solutions for the issues where the conventional analysis, e.g. the one based on engineering models and analysis is too expensive, complex or simply unavailable. Three practical cases are briefly shown in the paper: one for the improved asset management in a refinery, one for the identification of indicators helping to deal with emerging risks (how to identify them and how to assess risks of a new technology) and one for the implementation of a complex aging management program for industrial plants. (orig.)

  8. Improvement of QA/QC activities in the construction of nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jinji Tomita; Shigetaka Tomaru

    1987-01-01

    Construction of commercial nuclear power plants in Japan started at around 1965. In this presentation are described quality assurance (QA) activities of a plant supplier who is a manufacturer of the key components as well. The QA activities until now are divided into several periods of the construction history in Japan. First term is 1960's when the QA activities are featured as the study and implementation through the construction of imported plants. Since then technologies and procedures of our own have been established and improved for the construction of high reliability plants. Our present QA activities are based on the active reflection of those lessons learned of past experiences. (author)

  9. 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...

  10. Performance evaluation of 10 MW grid connected solar photovoltaic power plant in India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Shiva Kumar

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The growing energy demand in developing nations has triggered the issue of energy security. This has made essential to utilize the untapped potential of renewable resources. Grid connected PV systems have become the best alternatives in renewable energy at large scale. Performance analysis of these grid connected plants could help in designing, operating and maintenance of new grid connected systems. A 10 MW photovoltaic grid connected power plant commissioned at Ramagundam is one of the largest solar power plants with the site receiving a good average solar radiation of 4.97 kW h/m2/day and annual average temperature of about 27.3 degrees centigrade. The plant is designed to operate with a seasonal tilt. In this study the solar PV plant design aspects along with its annual performance is elaborated. The various types of power losses (temperature, internal network, power electronics, grid connected etc. and performance ratio are also calculated. The performance results of the plant are also compared with the simulation values obtained from PV syst and PV-GIS software. The final yield (Y F of plant ranged from 1.96 to 5.07 h/d, and annual performance ratio (PR of 86.12%. It has 17.68% CUF with annual energy generation of 15798.192 MW h/Annum.

  11. The effects of ant nests on soil fertility and plant performance: a meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farji-Brener, Alejandro G; Werenkraut, Victoria

    2017-07-01

    Ants are recognized as one of the major sources of soil disturbance world-wide. However, this view is largely based on isolated studies and qualitative reviews. Here, for the first time, we quantitatively determined whether ant nests affect soil fertility and plant performance, and identified the possible sources of variation of these effects. Using Bayesian mixed-models meta-analysis, we tested the hypotheses that ant effects on soil fertility and plant performance depend on the substrate sampled, ant feeding type, latitude, habitat and the plant response variable measured. Ant nests showed higher nutrient and cation content than adjacent non-nest soil samples, but similar pH. Nutrient content was higher in ant refuse materials than in nest soils. The fertilizer effect of ant nests was also higher in dry habitats than in grasslands or savannas. Cation content was higher in nests of plant-feeding ants than in nests of omnivorous species, and lower in nests from agro-ecosystems than in nests from any other habitat. Plants showed higher green/root biomass and fitness on ant nests soils than in adjacent, non-nest sites; but plant density and diversity were unaffected by the presence of ant nests. Root growth was particularly higher in refuse materials than in ant nest soils, in leaf-cutting ant nests and in deserts habitats. Our results confirm the major role of ant nests in influencing soil fertility and vegetation patterns and provide information about the factors that mediate these effects. First, ant nests improve soil fertility mainly through the accumulation of refuse materials. Thus, different refuse dump locations (external or in underground nest chambers) could benefit different vegetation life-forms. Second, ant nests could increase plant diversity at larger spatial scales only if the identity of favoured plants changes along environmental gradients (i.e. enhancing β-diversity). Third, ant species that feed on plants play a relevant role fertilizing soils

  12. Improving coal mining production performance through the application of total production management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Emery, J.C. [Devman Consulting Pty Ltd. (Australia)

    1998-12-31

    This paper describes the application of the Total Productive Management (TPM) technique as a performance improvement initiative for a coal mining operation. It discusses the objectives of TPM, with the driver for improved production performance being the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) of the equipment or process, and with the development of ownership as the behavioral approach to equipment management and continuous improvement through cross-functional and area-based teams. It illustrates the concept of equipment management as defects management. The scope for application of TPM to the coal mining industry is immense. The harshness of the operating environment can be a major generator of equipment defects, and a current paradigm in the industry accepts these defects as an unavoidable outcome defining maintenance costs in this environment. However recent benchmarking studies have highlighted that maintenance costs per operating hour in some mining operations are more than double the vendor`s estimate of best practice. The paper refers to these studies which also compare maintenance costs of fixed and mobile plant and equipment to best practice outcomes in comparable process industries. The ultimate goal of any operating strategy must be to translate results to the bottom line through adding revenue from increased volume and quality of operations output, better safety performance, and reducing costs of production through lower operating and maintenance costs. These lower costs result from removal of defects generators, improved maintenance planning, and identification and reduction of hidden operating costs resulting from poor equipment maintenance. Finally the paper outlines the minesite procedures required for successful implementation of TPM to sustain these desired results for all stakeholders. 3 refs., 6 figs.

  13. Altitude control performance improvement via preview controller for unmanned airplane for radiation monitoring system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Masayuki; Muraoka, Koji; Hozumi, Koki; Sanada, Yukihisa; Yamada, Tsutomu; Torii, Tatsuo

    2017-01-01

    This paper is concerned with the design problem of preview altitude controller for Unmanned Airplane for Radiation Monitoring System (UARMS) to improve its control performance. UARMS has been developed for radiation monitoring around Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant which spread radiation contaminant due to the huge tsunamis caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake. The monitoring area contains flat as well as mountain areas. The basic flight controller has been confirmed to have satisfactory performance with respect to altitude holding; however, the control performance for variable altitude commands is not sufficient for practical use in mountain areas. We therefore design preview altitude controller with only proportional gains by considering the practicality and the strong requirement of safety for UARMS. Control performance of the designed preview controller was evaluated by flight tests conducted around Fukushima Sky Park. (author)

  14. Analysis of human performance problems at the Swedish nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bento, J.P.

    1988-01-01

    The last five years of operation of all Swedish nuclear power plants have been studied with respect to human performance problems by analysing all scrams and licensee event reports (LERs). Thus, the study covers 165 scrams and 1318 LERs. As general results, 39% of the scrams and 27% of the LERs, as an average for the years 1983-1987, are caused by human performance problems. Among the items studied, emphasis has been put on the analysis of the causal categories involved in human performance problems resulting in plant events. The most significant causal categories appear to be Work organization, Procedures not followed, Work place ergonomics and Human variability

  15. Final Report on the Operation and Maintenance Improvement Program for Concentrating Solar Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cohen, Gilbert E.; Kearney, David W.; Kolb, Gregory J.

    1999-01-01

    This report describes the results of a six-year, $6.3 million project to reduce operation and maintenance (O ampersand M) costs at power plants employing concentrating solar power (CSP) technology. Sandia National Laboratories teamed with KJC Operating Company to implement the O ampersand M Improvement Program. O ampersand M technologies developed during the course of the program were demonstrated at the 150-MW Kramer Junction solar power park located in Boron, California. Improvements were made in the following areas: (a) efficiency of solar energy collection, (b) O ampersand M information management, (c) reliability of solar field flow loop hardware, (d) plant operating strategy, and (e) cost reduction associated with environmental issues. A 37% reduction in annual O ampersand M costs was achieved. Based on the lessons learned, an optimum solar- field O ampersand M plan for future CSP plants is presented. Parabolic trough solar technology is employed at Kramer Junction. However, many of the O ampersand M improvements described in the report are also applicable to CSP plants based on solar power tower or dish/engine concepts

  16. Final Report on the Operation and Maintenance Improvement Program for Concentrating Solar Power Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cohen Gilbert E.; Kearney, David W.; Kolb, Gregory J.

    1999-06-01

    This report describes the results of a six-year, $6.3 million project to reduce operation and maintenance (O&M) costs at power plants employing concentrating solar power (CSP) technology. Sandia National Laboratories teamed with KJC Operating Company to implement the O&M Improvement Program. O&M technologies developed during the course of the program were demonstrated at the 150-MW Kramer Junction solar power park located in Boron, California. Improvements were made in the following areas: (a) efficiency of solar energy collection, (b) O&M information management, (c) reliability of solar field flow loop hardware, (d) plant operating strategy, and (e) cost reduction associated with environmental issues. A 37% reduction in annual O&M costs was achieved. Based on the lessons learned, an optimum solar- field O&M plan for future CSP plants is presented. Parabolic trough solar technology is employed at Kramer Junction. However, many of the O&M improvements described in the report are also applicable to CSP plants based on solar power tower or dish/engine concepts.

  17. 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.

  18. Performance analysis of a bio-gasification based combined cycle power plant employing indirectly heated humid air turbine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mukherjee, S., E-mail: sankha.deepp@gmail.com; Mondal, P., E-mail: mondal.pradip87@gmail.com; Ghosh, S., E-mail: sudipghosh.becollege@gmail.com [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, Howrah – 711103, West Bengal (India)

    2016-07-12

    Rapid depletion of fossil fuel has forced mankind to look into alternative fuel resources. In this context, biomass based power generation employing gas turbine appears to be a popular choice. Bio-gasification based combined cycle provides a feasible solution as far as grid-independent power generation is concerned for rural electrification projects. Indirectly heated gas turbine cycles are promising alternatives as they avoid downstream gas cleaning systems. Advanced thermodynamic cycles have become an interesting area of study to improve plant efficiency. Water injected system is one of the most attractive options in this field of applications. This paper presents a theoretical model of a biomass gasification based combined cycle that employs an indirectly heated humid air turbine (HAT) in the topping cycle. Maximum overall electrical efficiency is found to be around 41%. Gas turbine specific air consumption by mass is minimum when pressure ratio is 6. The study reveals that, incorporation of the humidification process helps to improve the overall performance of the plant.

  19. Performance Evaluation of Fabry-Perot Temperature Sensors in Nuclear Power Plant Measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Hanying; Miller, Don W.; Talnagi, Joseph W.

    2003-01-01

    The Fiso Fabry-Perot fiber-optic temperature sensor was selected for performance evaluation and for potential application in nuclear power plants because of its unique interferometric sensing mechanism and data-processing technique, and its commercial availability. It employs a Fizeau interferometer and a charge-coupled device array to locate the position of the maximum interference fringe intensity, which is directly related to the environmental temperature. Consequently, the basic sensing mechanism is independent of the absolute transmitted light intensity, which is the most likely parameter to be affected by external harsh environments such as nuclear irradiation, high pressure/temperature, and cyclical vibration.This paper reports research on the performance of two Fiso Fabry-Perot temperature sensors in environmental conditions expected in nuclear power plants during both normal and abnormal (i.e., accident) conditions. The environmental conditions simulated in this paper include gamma-only ( 60 Co) irradiation, pressure/temperature environmental transient, and mixed neutron/gamma field, respectively.The first sensor exhibited no failure or degradation in performance during and following gamma-only irradiation in which a total dose of 15 kGy was delivered at a dose rate of 2.5 kGy/h. Following gamma irradiation, this sensor was then tested for 10.75 days in a thermohydraulic environment prescribed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEEE323-1983. Intermittent behavior was observed throughout the latter portions of this test, and degradation in performance occurred after the test. Visual evaluation after opening the sensor head indicated that the internal welding methodology was the primary contributor to the observed behavior during this test. Further consultation with the vendor shows that the robustness and reliability of Fiso sensors can be substantially improved by modifying the internal welding methods.The second Fiso temperature

  20. Performance of mashbean intercropped in cotton planted in different planting patterns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, M.B.; Ahmad, S.; Khaliq, A.

    2004-01-01

    Performance of mashbean as intercrop in cotton was studied at the Agronomic Research Area University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (Pakistan) during the years 1996-1997 and 1997-98. cotton variety NIAB 78 was planted in 80-cm apart single rows and 120-cm spaced double row strips. Experiment was laid out in a RCBD with four replications. Net plot size was 7 m x 4.8 m. Mashbean was sown as intercrop in the space between 80-cm apart single rows as well as 120-cm spaced double row strips. Mashbean was also sown as a sole crop (P/sub 3/). The inter crops produce substantially smaller yields when grown in association with cotton in either planting pattern compared to the sole crop yields. However, additional produce obtained from intercrop compensated the losses in cotton production. Intercropping of mashbean, in 120-cm apart double row strips of cotton proved to be feasible as well as convenient for farm operations. (author)

  1. The performance of plant species in removing nutrients from ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2011-10-26

    Oct 26, 2011 ... but offered no explicit guidance about how these water quality targets might be achieved. ... the limited knowledge that exists about the performance of local plant ...... reuse: designing biofiltration systems for reliable treatment.

  2. 32 CFR 644.486 - Disposal of buildings and improvements constructed under emergency plant facilities (EPF) or...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Disposal of buildings and improvements constructed under emergency plant facilities (EPF) or similar contracts. 644.486 Section 644.486 National... Disposal of buildings and improvements constructed under emergency plant facilities (EPF) or similar...

  3. A Design Tool for Matching UAV Propeller and Power Plant Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mangio, Arion L.

    A large body of knowledge is available for matching propellers to engines for large propeller driven aircraft. Small UAV's and model airplanes operate at much lower Reynolds numbers and use fixed pitch propellers so the information for large aircraft is not directly applicable. A design tool is needed that takes into account Reynolds number effects, allows for gear reduction, and the selection of a propeller optimized for the airframe. The tool developed in this thesis does this using propeller performance data generated from vortex theory or wind tunnel experiments and combines that data with an engine power curve. The thrust, steady state power, RPM, and tip Mach number vs. velocity curves are generated. The Reynolds number vs. non dimensional radial station at an operating point is also found. The tool is then used to design a geared power plant for the SAE Aero Design competition. To measure the power plant performance, a purpose built engine test stand was built. The characteristics of the engine test stand are also presented. The engine test stand was then used to characterize the geared power plant. The power plant uses a 26x16 propeller, 100/13 gear ratio, and an LRP 0.30 cubic inch engine turning at 28,000 RPM and producing 2.2 HP. Lastly, the measured power plant performance is presented. An important result is that 17 lbf of static thrust is produced.

  4. Improving Mobility Performance in Wheelchair Basketball.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veeger, Thom T J; De Witte, Annemarie M H; Berger, Monique A M; Van Der Slikke, Rienk M A; Veeger, Dirkjan H E J; Hoozemans, Marco J M

    2017-10-16

    This study aimed to investigate which characteristics of athlete, wheelchair and athlete-wheelchair interface are the best predictors of wheelchair basketball mobility performance. Sixty experienced wheelchair basketball players performed a wheelchair mobility performance test to assess their mobility performance. To determine which variables were the best predictors of mobility performance, forward stepwise linear regression analyses were performed on a set of 33 characteristics, including ten athlete, nineteen wheelchair and four athlete-wheelchair interface characteristics. Eight of the characteristics turned out to be significant predictors of wheelchair basketball mobility performance. Classification, experience, maximal isometric force, wheel axis height and hand rim diameter - which both interchangeable with each other and wheel diameter - camber angle, and the vertical distance between shoulder and rear wheel axis - which was interchangeable with seat height - were positively associated with mobility performance. The vertical distance between the front seat and the footrest was negatively associated with mobility performance. With this insight, coaches and biomechanical specialists are provided with statistical findings to determine which characteristics they could focus on best to improve mobility performance. Six out of eight predictors are modifiable and can be optimized to improve mobility performance. These adjustments could be carried out both in training (maximal isometric force) and in wheelchair configurations (e.g. camber angle).

  5. Improvement of in-service inspection in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-07-01

    During the nuclear power plant's (NPPs) operating lifetime, the operating organisation should examine the systems, structures and components (SSCs) for possible deterioration so as to determine whether they are acceptable for continued safe operation or whether remedial measures should be taken. In-service inspection (ISI) provides the systematic framework for these examinations. An effective ISI programme ensures both that the safety of the plant is not adversely affected after the commencement of operation and that the levels of reliability and availability of all plant SSCs remain in accordance with the assumptions and intent of the design and, consequently, a cost effective electricity generation is guaranteed. This report was prepared under one of the IAEA projects, 'Integrated NPP life cycle management including decommissioning'. The main objective of an integrated life cycle management programme is to enable NPPs to compete, without compromising safety, successfully in the changing energy markets throughout their service life and to facilitate life extension and eventual decommissioning through improved engineering, technological, economic and managerial actions. The Technical Working Group on NPP Life Management and other advisory groups nominated by the Member States provide recommendations on high priority needs of Member States in this area. The purpose of this TECDOC is to: discuss and evaluate the status of ISI and its evolution in NPPs of IAEA Member States; discuss and evaluate the criteria for effective ISI and the constitutive elements; discuss and evaluate the implication of the introduction of risk informed ISI (RI-ISI) concepts; generate a common recommendation as to how to benefit from utilising the potential of RI-ISI concepts for further development and, possibly, improvement of ISI effectiveness. The specific concept of this report is to treat the two key issues, i.e. inspection qualification and RI-ISI, and their complementarities, to

  6. Improvement of operational efficiency based on fast startup plant concepts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grumann, Ulrich; Kurz, Harald; Meinecke, Gero; Pickard, Andreas

    2010-09-15

    The power generation sector is currently confronted with new challenges relating to the conservation of dwindling fuel reserves. At the same time we must reduce CO2 emissions in order to counteract global warming. This paper shows that power plant operation, which employs shutdowns during periods of low load demand coupled with the optimization of startup procedures are a key to reducing CO2 emissions and to conserving resources. The startup technology developed by Siemens also offers grid support in the event of naturally occurring failures of renewable energy sources. Additionally, plant profitability is improved due to the resulting savings in fuel.

  7. Plant corrosion: prediction of materials performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strutt, J.E.; Nicholls, J.R.

    1987-01-01

    Seventeen papers have been compiled forming a book on computer-based approaches to corrosion prediction in a wide range of industrial sectors, including the chemical, petrochemical and power generation industries. Two papers have been selected and indexed separately. The first describes a system operating within BNFL's Reprocessing Division to predict materials performance in corrosive conditions to aid future plant design. The second describes the truncation of the distribution function of pit depths during high temperature oxidation of a 20Cr austenitic steel in the fuel cladding in AGR systems. (U.K.)

  8. Realizing the benefits of improved plant monitoring in DCC upgrade applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stephens, K.L.

    2001-01-01

    The basic design of current CANDU control centres was established in the early 1970's and plants constructed since then have maintained the same basic design. Over the ensuing years AECL and utility owners have implemented an evolutionary approach to ensuing years AECL and utility owners have implemented an evolutionary approach to control centre improvements. This continues to be the approach as refurbishment and retrofits are being considered for aging CANDU plants. The Advanced Control Centre information System (ACCIS), AECL's plant display system product, can be applied in an evolutionary manner within the control centre. ACCIS provides users with the advanced information necessary to meet the key operational goals of safety and production. AECL is presently deploying ACCIS in the Qinshan Unit l and 2 Control Centres and the Training Simulator. In this installation ACCIS provides supplemental display capabilities together with an integrated DCC/ACCIS annunciation function. This solution provides a working example of how ACCIS could be applied in a retrofit situation and provides useful information on its utilization in future retrofits. This paper describes ACCIS functionality, particularly focusing on features and functions critical to providing improved monitoring. The applications of these functions are described within the context of the Qinshan Plant Display System (QPDS) installation. This information is then extended to its application within future retrofits. (author)

  9. Using systematic aging assessments to improve effectiveness of plant maintenance programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watson, P.; Yang, J.X.; Dam, R.F.; Nickerson, J.H.

    2003-01-01

    Nuclear plant equipment aging assessment studies provided by AECL include life assessments, condition assessments or systematic assessments of maintenance. AECL has developed several tools to apply the results of aging assessment studies to improve the effectiveness of actual plant maintenance programs. The Systematic Assessment of Maintenance and the SYSTMS tool generate maintenance tasks for a system. The System Maintenance Datastore tool assesses the maintenance resources on a system basis, and can thus quantify the savings realized by optimizing the maintenance program. Long term trends in condition-based maintenance due to component aging can be predicted, and resource savings due to optimum timing of component replacement or general plant refurbishment can be quantified. The System based Adaptive Maintenance Process ensures the maintenance program is continually updated to reflect the latest plant equipment condition and maintenance strategy information. (author)

  10. Design of nuclear power plant control rooms: some findings and possible improvements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bohr, E.

    1984-01-01

    Major findings are described of a study on the present status and possible improvements in the design of nuclear power plant control rooms according to ergonomic principles and criteria. The findings have been acquired by observing the performance of control room operators, by interviewing operators and management personnel, and by analysing major characteristics of the man-machine interface. The methods currently used for developing and designing control rooms have also been examined. The results of the study indicate that there is a growing awareness and consideration of physical factors affecting performance. More attention should be paid to the essential cognitive characteristics of work in the control room with the aim of avoiding unnecessary hindrances and possible errors. Examples are given of some of these problems, and approaches, ways and means for solving or mitigating them are indicated. A more deliberate consideration of factors affecting operator performance and reliability is suggested, based on a systems ergonomics approach. Analyses of critical tasks would be a major feature of this approach. Its main objective is to ensure that operators are able to carry out their tasks reliably. (author)

  11. Low Proportion of Dietary Plant Protein among Athletes with Premenstrual Syndrome-Related Performance Impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamada, Keiko; Takeda, Takashi

    2018-02-01

    Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is psychosomatic disorder that are limited to the late luteal phase in the menstrual cycle. PMS could impair athletic performance. To investigate associations between proportions of dietary plant and animal protein and PMS-related impairment of athletic performance, we surveyed 135 female athletes aged 18-23 years attending Kindai University. Participants belonged to authorized university clubs, all of which have high rankings in Japanese university sports. Participants completed self-administered questionnaires on diet history, demographics, and PMS-related impairment of athletic performance. Total protein, animal protein, and plant protein intake were examined, and the proportion of dietary plant protein was calculated for each participant. We divided athletes into two groups: those without PMS-related impairment of athletic performance (n = 117) and those with PMS-related performance impairment (n = 18). A t-test was used to compare mean values and multivariable adjusted mean values between groups; adjustment variables were energy intake, body mass index, and daily training duration. Total protein intake was not significantly different between the groups. However, athletes whose performance was affected by PMS reported higher intake of animal protein (mean 50.6 g) than athletes whose performance was unaffected by PMS (mean 34.9 g). Plant protein intake was lower among athletes with PMS-related impairment (mean 25.4 g) than among athletes without impairment (mean 26.9 g). The proportion of dietary plant protein was lower among athletes with PMS-related impairment (39.3%) than those without impairment (45.9%). A low proportion of dietary plant protein may cause PMS-related athletic impairment among athletes.

  12. Primary water chemistry improvement for radiation exposure reduction at Japanese PWR Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nishizawa, Eiichi [Omiya Technical Institute, Saitama-ken (Japan)

    1995-03-01

    Radiation exposure during the refueling outages at Japanese Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) Plants has been gradually decreased through continuous efforts keeping the radiation dose rates at relatively low level. The improvement of primary water chemistry in respect to reduction of the radiation sources appears as one of the most important contributions to the achieved results and can be classified by the plant operation conditions as follows

  13. South Bank Coke Ovens heating performance improvements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fraser, A.J. [South Bank Coke Ovens (United Kingdom)

    1995-12-31

    The coke oven batteries at South Bank Coke Ovens had a history of refractory failure, overheating, and poor environmental performance despite repeated attempts to solve the problem. The fundamental design was poor, but previous upgrade attempts had a history of short term improvements followed by renewed decline, suggesting that the problem may not merely with the equipment. An audit of the area showed multiple morale, equipment and communications problems, although a significant proportion of the workforce were interested in improving the situation. A group of those interested in performance improvements was called together and objectives agreed upon. Communications were upgraded and problem walls analysed for their particular weaknesses. A team approach was used for maintenance, leading to slowly improving pushing emission factors. Temperature control equipment ensured better environmental performance and lower electricity consumption. 5 refs., 3 figs.

  14. Genetic Improvement of Switchgrass and Other Herbaceous Plants for Use as Biomass Fuel Feedstock

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vogel, K.P.

    2001-01-11

    It should be highly feasible to genetically modify the feedstock quality of switchgrass and other herbaceous plants using both conventional and molecular breeding techniques. Effectiveness of breeding to modify herbages of switchgrass and other perennial and annual herbaceous species has already been demonstrated. The use of molecular markers and transformation technology will greatly enhance the capability of breeders to modify the plant structure and cell walls of herbaceous plants. It will be necessary to monitor gene flow to remnant wild populations of plants and have strategies available to curtail gene flow if it becomes a potential problem. It also will be necessary to monitor plant survival and long-term productivity as affected by genetic changes that improve forage quality. Information on the conversion processes that will be used and the biomass characteristics that affect conversion efficiency and rate is absolutely essential as well as information on the relative economic value of specific traits. Because most forage or biomass quality characteristics are highly affected by plant maturity, it is suggested that plant material of specific maturity stages be used in research to determining desirable feedstock quality characteristics. Plant material could be collected at various stages of development from an array of environments and storage conditions that could be used in conversion research. The same plant material could be used to develop NIRS calibrations that could be used by breeders in their selection programs and also to develop criteria for a feedstock quality assessment program. Breeding for improved feedstock quality will likely affect the rate of improvement of biomass production per acre. If the same level of resources are used, multi-trait breeding simply reduces the selection pressure and hence the breeding progress that can be made for a single trait unless all the traits are highly correlated. Since desirable feedstock traits are likely

  15. Improved safety of the system 80+TM standard plants design through increased diversity and redundancy of safety systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matzie, Regis A.; Carpentino, Frederick L.; Robertson, James E.

    1996-01-01

    Safely systems in the System 80+ TM Standard Plant are designed with more redundancy, diversity and simplicity than earlier nuclear power plant designs. These gains were accomplished by an evolutionary process that preserved the desirable and proven features in currently operating nuclear plants, while improving reliability and defense-in-depth. The System 80+ safety systems are the primary contributors to a core damage frequency that is more than 100 times lower than 1980's vintage U. S. designs, including the predecessor System 80 R standard nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) design. The System 80+ design includes significant improvements to the safety injection system, emergency feedwater system, shutdown cooling system, containment spray system, reactor coolant gas vent system, and to their vital support systems. These improvements enhance performance for traditional design basis events and significantly reduce the probability of a severe accident. The System 80+ design also incorporates safety systems to mitigate a severe accident. The added systems include the rapid depressurization system, the in-containment refueling water storage tank, the cavity flooding system. These systems fully address the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (US NRC) severe accident policy. The System 80+ safety systems are integrated with the System 80+ Nuclear Island (NI) design. The NI general arrangement provides quadrant separation of the safety systems for protection from fire and flooding, and large equipment pull spaces and lay down areas for maintenance. This paper will describe the System 80+ safety systems advanced design features, the improved accident prevention and mitigation capabilities, and startup, operating and maintenance benefits

  16. An Adaptive Middleware for Improved Computational Performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bonnichsen, Lars Frydendal

    , we are improving computational performance by exploiting modern hardware features, such as dynamic voltage-frequency scaling and transactional memory. Adapting software is an iterative process, requiring that we continually revisit it to meet new requirements or realities; a time consuming process......The performance improvements in computer systems over the past 60 years have been fueled by an exponential increase in energy efficiency. In recent years, the phenomenon known as the end of Dennard’s scaling has slowed energy efficiency improvements — but improving computer energy efficiency...... is more important now than ever. Traditionally, most improvements in computer energy efficiency have come from improvements in lithography — the ability to produce smaller transistors — and computer architecture - the ability to apply those transistors efficiently. Since the end of scaling, we have seen...

  17. An overview of the United States Department of Energy plant lifetime improvement program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosinski, S.T.; Clauss, J.M.; Harrison, D.L.

    1993-01-01

    Today, 109 nuclear power plants provide over 20 percent of the electrical energy generated in the US. The operating license of the first of these plants will expire in the year 2000; one third of the operating licenses will expire by 2010 and the remaining plant licenses are scheduled to expire by 2033. The National Energy Strategy assumes that 70 percent of these plants will continue to operate beyond their current license expiration to assist in ensuring an adequate, diverse, and environmentally acceptable energy supply for economic growth. In order to preserve this energy resource in the US three major tasks must be successfully completed: (1) establishment of the regulations, technical standards, and procedures for the preparation and review of a license renewal application; (2) development, verification, and validation of the various technical criteria and bases for needed monitoring, refurbishment, or replacement of plant equipment; and (3) demonstration of the regulatory process. Since 1985, the US Department of Energy (DOE) has been working with the nuclear industry and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to establish and demonstrate the option to extend the life of nuclear power plants through the renewal of operating licenses. This paper focuses primarily on DOE's Plant Lifetime Improvement (PLIM) Program efforts to develop the technical criteria and bases for effective aging management and lifetime improvement for continued operation of nuclear power plants. This paper describes current projects to resolve generic technical issues, including degradation of long-lived components, reactor pressure vessel (RPV) embrittlement management approaches, and analytical methodologies to characterize RPV integrity

  18. Analysis on nuclear power plant control room system design and improvement based on human factor engineering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao Feng; Liu Yanzi; Sun Yongbin

    2014-01-01

    The design of nuclear power plant control room system is a process of improvement with the implementation of human factor engineering theory and guidance. The method of implementation human factor engineering principles into the nuclear power plant control room system design and improvement was discussed in this paper. It is recommended that comprehensive address should be done from control room system function, human machine interface, digital procedure, control room layout and environment design based on the human factor engineering theory and experience. The main issues which should be paid more attention during the control room system design and improvement also were addressed in this paper, and then advices and notices for the design and improvement of the nuclear power plant control room system were afforded. (authors)

  19. Improved expression of recombinant plant-made hEGF.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, David Rhys; Walmsley, Amanda Maree

    2014-11-01

    The yield of recombinant hEGF was increased approximately tenfold through a range of optimisations. Further, the recombinant protein was found to have biological activity comparable to commercial hEGF. Human epidermal growth factor (hEGF) is a powerful mitogen that can enhance the healing of a wide range of injuries, including burns, cuts, diabetic ulcers and gastric ulcers. However, despite its clinical value, hEGF is only consistently used for the treatment of chronic diabetic ulcers due to its high cost. In this study, hEGF was transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana plants and targeted to the apoplast, ER and vacuole. Several other approaches were also included in a stepwise fashion to identify the optimal conditions for the expression of recombinant hEGF. Expression was found to be highest in the vacuole, while targeting hEGF to the ER caused a decrease in total soluble protein (TSP). Using a codon optimised sequence was found to increase vacuolar targeted hEGF yield by ~34 %, while it was unable to increase the yield of ER targeted hEGF. The use of the P19 silencing inhibitor was able to further increase expression by over threefold, and using 5-week-old plants significantly increased expression compared to 4- or 6-week-old-plants. The combined effect of these optimisations increased expression tenfold over the initial apoplast targeted construct to an average yield of 6.24 % of TSP. The plant-made hEGF was then shown to be equivalent to commercial E. coli derived hEGF in its ability to promote the proliferation of mouse keratinocytes. This study supports the potential for plants to be used for the commercial production of hEGF, and identifies a potential limitation for the further improvement of recombinant protein yields.

  20. 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)

  1. Impact of improvements in HYLIFE-II on safety, performance and cost

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoffman, M.A.; Lee, Y.T.

    1995-01-01

    The HYLIFE-II fusion power plant conceptual design has evolved and improved continually over the past four years to its present form. This paper describes the FY93 reference case H1-B (nominally 1 GW(e) net output) and the enhanced case HE-B (nominally 2 GW(e) net output), which take advantage of improvements in the tritium management system to eliminate the intermediate loop and the intermediate heat exchangers (IHXs). The improvements in the heat-transport system and the steam power plant are described and the resulting cost reductions are evaluated. The new estimated cost of electricity (in 1990 dollars) is 5.1 cents kWh -1 for reference case H1-B and 3.6 cents kWh -1 for the enhanced case HE-B. (orig.)

  2. Fuel performance of licensed nuclear power plants through 1974

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bobe, P.E.

    1976-01-01

    General aspects of fuel element design and specific design data for typical Pressurized and Boiling Water Reactors are presented. Based on a literature search, failure modes and specific failures incurred through December 31, 1974 are described, together with a discussion of those problems which have had a significant impact upon plant operation. The relationship between fuel element failures and the resultant coolant activity/radioactive gaseous effluents upon radiation exposure, plant availability and capacity factors, economic impact, and waste management, are discussed. An assessment was made regarding the generation, availability, and use of fuel performance data

  3. Effects of genetic modifications to flax (Linum usitatissimum) on arbuscular mycorrhiza and plant performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wróbel-Kwiatkowska, Magdalena; Turnau, Katarzyna; Góralska, Katarzyna; Anielska, Teresa; Szopa, Jan

    2012-10-01

    Although arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are known for their positive effect on flax growth, the impact of genetic manipulation in this crop on arbuscular mycorrhiza and plant performance was assessed for the first time. Five types of transgenic flax that were generated to improve fiber quality and resistance to pathogens, through increased levels of either phenylpropanoids (W92.40), glycosyltransferase (GT4, GT5), or PR2 beta-1,3-glucanase (B14) or produce polyhydroxybutyrate (M50), were used. Introduced genetic modifications did not change the degree of mycorrhizal colonization as compared to parent cultivars Linola and Nike. Arbuscules were well developed in each tested transgenic type (except M50). In two lines (W92.40 and B14), a higher abundance of arbuscules was observed when compared to control, untransformed flax plants. However, in some cases (W92.40, GT4, GT5, and B14 Md), the mycorrhizal dependency for biomass production of transgenic plants was slightly lower when compared to the original cultivars. No significant influence of mycorrhiza on the photosynthetic activity of transformed lines was found, but in most cases P concentration in mycorrhizal plants remained higher than in nonmycorrhizal ones. The transformed flax lines meet the demands for better quality of fiber and higher resistance to pathogens, without significantly influencing the interaction with AMF.

  4. Five training sessions improves 3000 meter running performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riiser, A; Ripe, S; Aadland, E

    2015-12-01

    The primary aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of two weeks of endurance training on 3000-meter running performance. Secondary we wanted to assess the relationship between baseline running performance and change in running performance over the intervention period. We assigned 36 military recruits to a training group (N.=28) and a control group. The training group was randomly allocated to one of three sub-groups: 1) a 3000 meter group (test race); 2) a 4x4-minutes high-intensity interval group; 3) a continuous training group. The training group exercised five times over a two-week period. The training group improved its 3000 meter running performance with 50 seconds (6%) compared to the control group (P=0.003). Moreover, all sub-groups improved their performance by 37 to 73 seconds (4-8%) compared to the control group (Ptraining group. We conclude that five endurance training sessions improved 3000 meter running performance and the slowest runners achieved the greatest improvement in running performance.

  5. A unified plant information network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niederauer, G.F.

    1986-01-01

    Technology is bringing power plants fully into the age of computerization. Microcomputers, data base managers, networking, and friendly, expert software are principal technology factors. Monitoring will improve, and the number and power of computers is increasing. The huge information flow will cause computers to be integrated into a communication network. The total plant operating triangle includes process, engineering, and management systems. The total network will integrate all of these into a Total Unified Plant Information Network (TUPIN). Software will take the type of information beyond monitored data. Analysis will improve through direct access to logical, physical, and procedural models by end users. Information management will improve through widespread use of hierarchical, relational, and expert data base managers. Expert systems will aid in diagnostics and interpretation. The goal is to automate plant operations to enhance safety and performance and to reduce cost by making both the plants and the personnel more expert

  6. Do plant-based amendments improve soil physiochemical and microbiological properties and plant growth in dryland ecosystems?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kneller, Tayla; Harris, Richard; Muñoz-Rojas, Miriam

    2017-04-01

    Background Land intensive practices including mining have contributed to the degradation of landscapes globally. Current challenges in post-mine restoration revolve around the use of substrates poor in organic materials (e.g. overburden and waste rock) and lack of original topsoil which may result in poor seedling recruitment and in later stages in soil nutrient deficiency, metal toxicity, decreased microbial activity and high salinity (Bateman et al., 2016; Muñoz-Rojas et al., 2016). Despite continuous efforts and advances we have not proportionally advanced our capability to successfully restore these landscapes following mining. Recent attempts to improve plant establishment in arid zone restoration programs have included the application of plant based amendments to soil profiles. This approach usually aims to accelerate soil reconstruction via improvement of soil aggregate stability and increase of soil organic carbon, and water holding capacity. Whilst a significant amount of recent research has focused on the application of such amendments, studies on the potential application of plant based materials to recover soil functionality and re-establish plant communities in post-mined landscapes in arid regions are limited. Here we will discuss our work investigating the application of a plant based amendment on soil substrates commonly used in post mining restoration in the Pilbara region, Western Australia. Methodology The study was conducted in a glasshouse facility where environmental conditions were continuously monitored. Using two growth materials (topsoil and waste rock) and a plant based amendment (dry biomass of the most common grass in the Pilbara, Triodia wiseana) five different treatments were tested. Treatments consisted of control soil treatments (topsoil, waste and a mixture of the former soil types (mixture)) and two amended soil treatments (waste amended and mixture amended). Additionally, three different vegetation communities were studies

  7. MCNP Progress & Performance Improvements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brown, Forrest B. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Bull, Jeffrey S. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Rising, Michael Evan [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2015-04-14

    Twenty-eight slides give information about the work of the US DOE/NNSA Nuclear Criticality Safety Program on MCNP6 under the following headings: MCNP6.1.1 Release, with ENDF/B-VII.1; Verification/Validation; User Support & Training; Performance Improvements; and Work in Progress. Whisper methodology will be incorporated into the code, and run speed should be increased.

  8. A coordinated MIMO control design for a power plant using improved sliding mode controller.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ataei, Mohammad; Hooshmand, Rahmat-Allah; Samani, Siavash Golmohammadi

    2014-03-01

    For the participation of the steam power plants in regulating the network frequency, boilers and turbines should be co-ordinately controlled in addition to the base load productions. Lack of coordinated control over boiler-turbine may lead to instability; oscillation in producing power and boiler parameters; reduction in the reliability of the unit; and inflicting thermodynamic tension on devices. This paper proposes a boiler-turbine coordinated multivariable control system based on improved sliding mode controller (ISMC). The system controls two main boiler-turbine parameters i.e., the turbine revolution and superheated steam pressure of the boiler output. For this purpose, a comprehensive model of the system including complete and exact description of the subsystems is extracted. The parameters of this model are determined according to our case study that is the 320MW unit of Islam-Abad power plant in Isfahan/Iran. The ISMC method is simulated on the power plant and its performance is compared with the related real PI (proportional-integral) controllers which have been used in this unit. The simulation results show the capability of the proposed controller system in controlling local network frequency and superheated steam pressure in the presence of load variations and disturbances of boiler. © 2013 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Plan for research to improve the safety of light-water nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-03-01

    This is the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's first annual report to Congress on recommendations for research on improving the safety of light-water nuclear power plants. Suggestions for reactor safety research were identified in, or received from, various sources, including the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, the NRC regulatory staff, and the consultants to the Research Review Group. After an initial screening to eliminate those not related to improved reactor safety, all the suggestions were consolidated into research topics. It is recommended that the following research projects be carried out: alternate containment concepts, especially vented containments; alternate decay heat removal concepts, especially add-on bunkered systems; alternate emergency core cooling concepts; improved in-plant accident response; and advanced seismic designs

  10. Technical improvement of ATE system of Ling'ao Nuclear Power Plant Phase II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Xingbao; Xiong Jingchuan; Liang Qiaohong

    2009-01-01

    In order to solve the problem that the content of SO 4 2- in Steam Generator significantly increased beyond the criteria after the use of the condensate treatment (ATE) system in Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant and Ling'ao Nuclear Power Plant Phase I, technical improvement have been conducted on the sizes of the fore cation bed and the mixed bed, water distributing devices, ion exchange resins and separation facility. The effectiveness for the ion exchange of the mixed bed is improved, the resolved substance of cation resin is decreased; it is more impossible for fragments and powder which would lead high SO 4 2- content in Steam Generator. Finally, the quality of the steam-water could be improved and ensured. (authors)

  11. Improvements of water chemistry for moderating environmental impacts of BWR plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Otoha, Kei-ichi; Uetake, Naohito; Uchida, Shunsuke.

    1997-01-01

    In order to cause fewer environmental impacts, nuclear power plant systems and operational procedures with fewer radwaste sources, lower occupational exposures and smaller operational areas contaminated by radioactivity which will minimize internal exposure, have been established. Collaborative efforts have demonstrated that the combined application of major improvements in the systems and better operational procedures (e.g., (1) prevention of fuel defects, (2) application of low cobalt containing and corrosion resistant materials for the primary cooling system, (3) improvement of condensate water cleanup system and the resins applied to it, and (4) careful water chemistry control) is resulting in BWRs involved in the Japanese Improvement and Standardization Program (JISP BWRs) having occupational exposure of less than 0.5 man·Sv/yr, minimized contaminated areas in turbine buildings to only around the main steam turbines, and radwaste sources producing fewer than 500 drums/yr. Additionally, the JISP BWRs have high reliability with more than a 75% duty factor and unscheduled plant shutdown occurrences of fewer than once in 10 years. (author)

  12. Operational safety performance and economical efficiency evaluation for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Yachun; Zou Shuliang

    2012-01-01

    The economical efficiency of nuclear power includes a series of environmental parameters, for example, cleanliness. Nuclear security is the precondition and guarantee for its economy, and both are the direct embodiment of the social benefits of nuclear power. Through analyzing the supervision and management system on the effective operation of nuclear power plants, which has been put forward by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO), the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and other organizations, a set of indexs on the safety performance and economical efficiency of nuclear power are explored and established; Based on data envelopment analysis, a DEA approach is employed to evaluate the efficiency of the operation performance of several nuclear power plants, Some primary conclusion are achieved on the basis of analyzing the threshold parameter's sensitivity and relativity which affected operational performance. To address the conflicts between certain security and economical indicators, a multi-objective programming model is established, where top priority is given to nuclear safety, and the investment behavior of nuclear power plant is thereby optimized. (authors)

  13. Sodium bicarbonate improves swimming performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindh, A M; Peyrebrune, M C; Ingham, S A; Bailey, D M; Folland, J P

    2008-06-01

    Sodium bicarbonate ingestion has been shown to improve performance in single-bout, high intensity events, probably due to an increase in buffering capacity, but its influence on single-bout swimming performance has not been investigated. The effects of sodium bicarbonate supplementation on 200 m freestyle swimming performance were investigated in elite male competitors. Following a randomised, double blind counterbalanced design, 9 swimmers completed maximal effort swims on 3 separate occasions: a control trial (C); after ingestion of sodium bicarbonate (SB: NaHCO3 300 mg . kg (-1) body mass); and after ingestion of a placebo (P: CaCO3 200 mg . kg (-1) body mass). The SB and P agents were packed in gelatine capsules and ingested 90 - 60 min prior to each 200 m swim. Mean 200 m performance times were significantly faster for SB than C or P (1 : 52.2 +/- 4.7; 1 : 53.7 +/- 3.8; 1 : 54.0 +/- 3.6 min : ss; p bicarbonate were all elevated pre-exercise in the SB compared to C and P trials (p < 0.05). Post-200 m blood lactate concentrations were significantly higher following the SB trial compared with P and C (p < 0.05). It was concluded that SB supplementation can improve 200 m freestyle performance time in elite male competitors, most likely by increasing buffering capacity.

  14. Role of marine macroalgae in plant protection & improvement for sustainable agriculture technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seham M. Hamed

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Marine macroalgae are plant-like organisms with simple internal structures that generally live in coastal areas. They mainly include different communities of red, brown and green macroalgae. Marine macroalgae commonly occupy intertidal and sublittoral-to-littoral zones on rocks and other hard substrata. They are considered to be an excellent natural biosource in different aspects of agricultural fields. They have great proficiency in improving soil physical and chemical properties. Marine macroalgae are also characterized by producing a large array of biologically active biocidal substances against plant-infecting pathogens. Unfortunately, most available literatures on marine macroalgae and their derivatives mainly focused on their pharmaceutical applications but their potential utilization in sustainable agriculture development is still often regarded as a secondary goal. However, a relatively considerable dataset on marine macroalgae showed that they could play a major role in plant protection and improvement. This review summarizes different aspects of potential macroalgal applications in agriculture. Commercial production and exploitation of specific compounds with interesting biotechnological importance from marine macroalgae including microbicides, nematicides, insecticides, biofertilizers, biostimulators and soil conditioners are highlighted and discussed in detail. Bioactive compounds like fatty acids (in particular polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs, proteins (amino acids, bioflavonoids, sulfated polysaccharides, carotenoids, polyphenols and carbohydrates are considered to have bactericidal, antiviral and fungicidal effects against some plant-infecting pathogens. These biocontrol agents provide multiple benefits and act as useful pointers for improving cultivation practices in diverse habitats. Marine macroalgae can be generally considered as promising multifunctional bioinoculants and ecofriendly environmental tools in recent trends

  15. Objective 1: Extend Life, Improve Performance, and Maintain Safety of the Current Fleet Implementation Plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robert Youngblood

    2011-01-01

    Nuclear power has reliably and economically contributed almost 20% of electrical generation in the United States over the past two decades. It remains the single largest contributor (more than 70%) of non-greenhouse-gas-emitting electric power generation in the United States. By the year 2030, domestic demand for electrical energy is expected to grow to levels of 16 to 36% higher than 2007 levels. At the same time, most currently operating nuclear power plants will begin reaching the end of their 60 year operating licenses. Figure E 1 shows projected nuclear energy contribution to the domestic generating capacity. If current operating nuclear power plants do not operate beyond 60 years, the total fraction of generated electrical energy from nuclear power will begin to decline—even with the expected addition of new nuclear generating capacity. The oldest commercial plants in the United States reached their 40th anniversary in 2009. The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy’s Research and Development (R&D) Roadmap has organized its activities in accordance with four objectives that ensure nuclear energy remains a compelling and viable energy option for the United States. The objectives are as follows: (1) develop technologies and other solutions that can improve the reliability, sustain the safety, and extend the life of the current reactors; (2) develop improvements in the affordability of new reactors to enable nuclear energy to help meet the Administration’s energy security and climate change goals; (3) develop sustainable nuclear fuel cycles; and (4) understand and minimize risks of nuclear proliferation and terrorism. The Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program is the primary programmatic activity that addresses Objective 1. This document describes how Objective 1 and the LWRS Program will be implemented. The existing U.S. nuclear fleet has a remarkable safety and performance record and today accounts for 70% of the low greenhouse

  16. Objective 1: Extend Life, Improve Performance, and Maintain Safety of the Current Fleet Implementation Plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robert Youngblood

    2011-02-01

    Nuclear power has reliably and economically contributed almost 20% of electrical generation in the United States over the past two decades. It remains the single largest contributor (more than 70%) of non-greenhouse-gas-emitting electric power generation in the United States. By the year 2030, domestic demand for electrical energy is expected to grow to levels of 16 to 36% higher than 2007 levels. At the same time, most currently operating nuclear power plants will begin reaching the end of their 60 year operating licenses. Figure E 1 shows projected nuclear energy contribution to the domestic generating capacity. If current operating nuclear power plants do not operate beyond 60 years, the total fraction of generated electrical energy from nuclear power will begin to decline—even with the expected addition of new nuclear generating capacity. The oldest commercial plants in the United States reached their 40th anniversary in 2009. The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy’s Research and Development (R&D) Roadmap has organized its activities in accordance with four objectives that ensure nuclear energy remains a compelling and viable energy option for the United States. The objectives are as follows: (1) develop technologies and other solutions that can improve the reliability, sustain the safety, and extend the life of the current reactors; (2) develop improvements in the affordability of new reactors to enable nuclear energy to help meet the Administration’s energy security and climate change goals; (3) develop sustainable nuclear fuel cycles; and (4) understand and minimize risks of nuclear proliferation and terrorism. The Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program is the primary programmatic activity that addresses Objective 1. This document describes how Objective 1 and the LWRS Program will be implemented. The existing U.S. nuclear fleet has a remarkable safety and performance record and today accounts for 70% of the low greenhouse

  17. Objective 1: Extend Life, Improve Performance, and Maintain Safety of the Current Fleet; Implementation Plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Youngblood, Robert

    2011-01-01

    Nuclear power has reliably and economically contributed almost 20% of electrical generation in the United States over the past two decades. It remains the single largest contributor (more than 70%) of non-greenhouse-gas-emitting electric power generation in the United States. By the year 2030, domestic demand for electrical energy is expected to grow to levels of 16 to 36% higher than 2007 levels. At the same time, most currently operating nuclear power plants will begin reaching the end of their 60 year operating licenses. Figure E 1 shows projected nuclear energy contribution to the domestic generating capacity. If current operating nuclear power plants do not operate beyond 60 years, the total fraction of generated electrical energy from nuclear power will begin to decline - even with the expected addition of new nuclear generating capacity. The oldest commercial plants in the United States reached their 40th anniversary in 2009. The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy's Research and Development (R and D) Roadmap has organized its activities in accordance with four objectives that ensure nuclear energy remains a compelling and viable energy option for the United States. The objectives are as follows: (1) develop technologies and other solutions that can improve the reliability, sustain the safety, and extend the life of the current reactors; (2) develop improvements in the affordability of new reactors to enable nuclear energy to help meet the Administration's energy security and climate change goals; (3) develop sustainable nuclear fuel cycles; and (4) understand and minimize risks of nuclear proliferation and terrorism. The Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program is the primary programmatic activity that addresses Objective 1. This document describes how Objective 1 and the LWRS Program will be implemented. The existing U.S. nuclear fleet has a remarkable safety and performance record and today accounts for 70% of the low greenhouse

  18. Improved flooding tolerance and carbohydrate status of flood-tolerant plant Arundinella anomala at lower water temperature.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao Qi Ye

    Full Text Available Operation of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR, China imposes a new water fluctuation regime, including a prolonged winter submergence in contrast to the natural short summer flooding of the rivers. The contrasting water temperature regimes may remarkably affect the survival of submerged plants in the TGR. Plant survival in such prolonged flooding might depend on the carbohydrate status of the plants. Therefore, we investigated the effects of water temperature on survival and carbohydrate status in a flood-tolerant plant species and predicted that both survival and carbohydrate status would be improved by lower water temperatures.A growth chamber experiment with controlled water temperature were performed with the flood-tolerant species Arundinella anomala from the TGR region. The plants were submerged (80 cm deep water above soil surface with a constant water temperature at 30°C, 20°C or 10°C. The water temperature effects on survival, plant biomass and carbohydrate content (glucose, fructose and sucrose and starch in the viable and dead tissues were investigated.The results showed that the survival percentage of A.anomala plants was greatly dependent on water temperature. The two-month submergence survival percentage was 100% at 10°C, 40% at 20°C and 0% at 30°C. Decreasing the water temperature led to both later leaf death and slower biomass loss. Temperature decrease also induced less reduction in glucose, fructose and sucrose in the roots and leaves (before decay, p 0.05. Different water temperatures did not alter the carbon pool size in the stems, leaves and whole plants (p > 0.05, but a clear difference was found in the roots (p < 0.05, with a larger pool size at a lower temperature.We concluded that (1 A. anomala is characterized by high flooding tolerance and sustained capability to mobilize carbohydrate pool. (2 The survival percentage and carbohydrate status of submerged A. anomala plants were remarkably improved by lower water

  19. Interplant coordination, supply chain integration, and operational performance of a plant in a manufacturing network

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Cheng; Chaudhuri, Atanu; Farooq, Sami

    2016-01-01

    Purpose The objective of this paper is to investigate the relationships at the level of plant in a manufacturing network, labelled as networked plant in the paper, between (1) inter-plant coordination and operational performance, (2) supply chain integration (SCI) and operational performance......, and (3) inter-plant coordination and SCI. Design/methodology/approach This paper is developed based on the data obtained from the sixth version of International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS VI). Specifically, this paper uses a subset of the IMSS VI data set from the 606 plants that identified...

  20. Assessment of Plant-Probiotic Performance of Novel Endophytic Bacillus sp. in Talc-Based Formulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basheer, Jasim; Ravi, Aswani; Mathew, Jyothis; Krishnankutty, Radhakrishnan Edayileveettil

    2018-01-25

    Endophytic bacteria are considered to have a plethora of plant growth promoting and anti-phytopathogenic traits to live within the plants. Hence, they have immense promises for plant probiotic development. In the current study, plant probiotic endophytic Bacillus sp. CaB5 which has been previously isolated from Capsicum annuum was investigated for its performance in talc-based formulation. For this, CaB5 was made into formulation with sterile talc, calcium carbonate, and carboxymethyl cellulose. The viability analysis of the formulation by standard plate count and fluorescence methods has confirmed the stable microbial count up to 45 days. Plant probiotic performance of the prepared formulation was analyzed on cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and lady's finger (Abelmoschus esculentus). The results showed the formulation treatment to have enhancement effect on seed germination as well as plant growth in both selected plants. The results highlight the potential of CaB5-based formulation for field application to enhance growth of economically important plants.