Key Issues
Managing Material Condition and Equipment Reliability at U.S. Nuclear Power Plants
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Long-Term Maintenance of Plant Equipment
Commercial nuclear power plants in the United States are licensed to operate for 40 years, and many will operate for up to 60 years as their operating licenses are renewed. Regardless of how long a plant operates, sensible asset management requires prudent investments in the plant—including routine maintenance—to keep it in good operating condition.
Life-cycle management for a nuclear power plant depends on regular maintenance—a wide range of plant activities geared to maintaining the excellent working order of important safety equipment, as well as repairing or replacing worn-out equipment.
Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance consists of routine, scheduled activities to keep a plant’s components running or capable of performing their functions should they be needed. The companies that operate nuclear plants perform preventive maintenance on all of their equipment.
Preventive maintenance includes monitoring the performance and condition of certain components to determine if they are being adequately maintained. For example, plant employees check the amount of vibration in the turbine while it is operating and measure the actual flow of water through a pump.
Nuclear energy companies also examine basic elements of important equipment—such as lubricating oil from bearings
in the turbine generator—to determine if there are 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
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. Because plant management’s handling of analyses and corrective actions is important to overall plant safety, it is routinely evaluated by the NRC.
Inspections and evaluation of findings are key to successful implementation of the initiative.
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Long-Term Maintenance of Plant Equipment
Commercial nuclear power plants in the United States are licensed to operate for 40 years, and many will operate for up to 60 years as their operating licenses are renewed. Regardless of how long a plant operates, sensible asset management requires prudent investments in the plant—including routine maintenance—to keep it in good operating condition.
Life-cycle management for a nuclear power plant depends on regular maintenance—a wide range of plant activities geared to maintaining the excellent working order of important safety equipment, as well as repairing or replacing worn-out equipment.
Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance consists of routine, scheduled activities to keep a plant’s components running or capable of performing their functions should they be needed. The companies that operate nuclear plants perform preventive maintenance on all of their equipment.
Preventive maintenance includes monitoring the performance and condition of certain components to determine if they are being adequately maintained. For example, plant employees check the amount of vibration in the turbine while it is operating and measure the actual flow of water through a pump.
Nuclear energy companies also examine basic elements of important equipment—such as lubricating oil from bearings
in the turbine generator—to determine if there are 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
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. Because plant management’s handling of analyses and corrective actions is important to overall plant safety, it is routinely evaluated by the NRC.
Inspections and evaluation of findings are key to successful implementation of the initiative.
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