Safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) benefits from R&D advances and related technical solutions. The OECD Halden Reactor Project (HRP) at the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE), a joint undertaking of national organizations in 20 countries sponsoring a jointly financed program under the auspices of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, is an international network fostering these advances with programs devised to provide answers in a direct and effective manner. The project's strong international profile and solid technical basis represent an asset for the nuclear community at a time in which maintaining centers of expertise at accessible cost becomes increasingly important.
Many utilities in the energy sector are moving toward different maintenance strategies, based on condition monitoring, in order to minimize outage time and increase the capacity factor. Nevertheless, better methods and systems for supporting plant personnel in assessing plant conditions during normal operation modes are needed to optimize plant operation and minimize maintenance costs. Early detection and recognition of faults on both system and component levels is an important topic in this respect. Detection of faulty sensors, small leaks, and component degradation is important to prevent thermal losses in the turbine cycle. Accurate and reliable determination of thermal power is important to maximize power output, because thermal power determines the safety limits. However, there are emerging indications that the benefits of training are asymptotically approaching the limit beyond which availability cannot be improved, and that plant personnel errors might also be approaching a comparable lower limit. Indeed, further improvement appears to be dependent on the effective introduction and use of plant operational support systems.
Research on selected aspects of computer-assisted plant surveillance and diagnosis is an ongoing activity at the OECD Halden Project of the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE). The practical examples, which can be seen in some details in the book mentioned below, are: (1) signal validation and on-line calibration monitoring