Key Issues
Managing Material Condition and Equipment Reliability at U.S. Nuclear Power Plants
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July 2009
Key Facts
July 2009
Key Facts
- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires every company that operates a nuclear power plant to monitor the effectiveness of plant maintenance programs.
- As part of preventive maintenance, companies monitor the performance and condition of components and systems to ensure they are being maintained adequately. For example, plant employees check the amount of vibration in the turbine while it is operating, measure the flow of water through pumps, and examine lubricating oil from bearings in the turbine generator to identify any indications of unusual wear. These activities allow companies to track the performance history of important components and gain greater insight into their maintenance.
- Corrective maintenance is done on equipment that fails tests, breaks down during operation or doesn’t perform as expected. In the event of repetitive failures, or a single failure on important equipment, maintenance engineers perform a root-cause analysis so that proper corrective actions can be taken.
- The material condition of nuclear power plants has a direct bearing on safe, reliable operation. Historically, the industry addressed materials reliability issues through several major programs. In general, these programs were successful. However, new problems continued to arise. For example, in the early 2000s, the V.C. Summer, Oconee and Davis-Besse plants found deterioration of metal components and welds in areas where they had not seen these effects before. The discovery of corrosion at these plants prompted the nuclear energy industry to examine its programs for management of materials issues.
- The executive task force that studied the industry’s approach to managing materials issues concluded that the programs were reactive, addressing issues once they became problems rather than preventing those problems. To increase the emphasis on prevention, the industry developed a proactive, integrated program to manage materials reliability. This program was implemented industrywide in 2003.
- Every nuclear power plant now has an integrated plan for managing the condition of plant systems, structures and components. This life-cycle management plan includes preventive and corrective maintenance.
