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NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, July-August 2016
Making
Plants
Safer and
Economical
By David Howell and Mark Marano,
Westinghouse Electric Company.
David Howell
David Howell heads Westinghouse
Electric Company Operating Plants
Business, where he has operational
responsibility for
all products and
services related
to operating plant
services including
Instrumentation and
control systems,
outage support and
plant modification
services as well as
engineering products
and nuclear parts
for pressurized
water reactors
and boiling water
reactors worldwide.
He is a member of
the Westinghouse
Operating Committee and a past
member of the Westinghouse Board of
Directors.
He holds six patents for innovative
equipment serving this market, is a
certified Customer 1st Leader and
a black belt in Six Sigma and Lean
processes.
Mr. Howell holds a bachelor’s degree
in mechanical engineering from Geneva
College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania
(USA). He is a registered professional
engineer in Pennsylvania and is a
member of the Geneva College Advanced
Board.
An interview by Newal Agnihotri, Editor
of Nuclear Plant Journal, at the Nuclear
Energy Institute’s Nuclear Energy Assembly
in Miami, Florida on May 24, 2016.
1.
How is Westinghouse applying the
current technology to reduce the O & M
cost at the nuclear power plants?
David Howell
:We have been working
hard to support utilities in their efforts to
reduce generation costs. Operations and
maintenance (O&M) costs are major
contributors to generation costs and this is
why Westinghouse now invests 75 percent
of our innovation dollars to products and
services that support long-term operations
of the operating fleet. We are removing
certain costs from the equation by
innovating and improving technologies in
robotics, and inspection and welding.
The Zephyr
®
Advanced Acquisition
System for steam generator inspections
(referenced in the interview for the March-
April 2016 issue) is
one of those technolo-
gies. This system rep-
resents Westinghouse
innovation and posi-
tively impacts many
aspects of the steam
generator eddy current
inspection
process.
It has allowed us to
achieve up to a 40%
reduction in inspection
time; up to 65% reduc-
tion in dose; and up to
50% reduction of ra-
dioactive waste, which
also reduces disposal
costs for the customer.
The probes also last up
to 45% longer. The system makes use of
our Pegasys™ robot, which is controlled
by software, we developed specifically to
optimize efficiency with the new Zephyr
probe delivery.
We have also reduced the number
of personnel needed onsite, as well as
the time required of those who are onsite
during an outage. This includes data
analysts with the use of our newTITAN™
Single Pass Auto Analysis program – our
total integrated tube analysis system,
which reduces opportunity for human
error and the time needed to analyze the
data. All of this adds up to significant
savings for our customers, they have
recognized reduction in critical path time
of up to 22 hours. PaloVerde recently won
a Top Innovative Practice award using
our Zephyr technology. Using results
from their experience, implementation
of this system at all 107 steam generator
inspection outages expected in the U.S.
through 2020 could result in industry cost
savings of over $220 million, 100 person-
rem saved and reduced environmental
impacts and costs from radioactive waste.
In welding, while we have many
effective high-tech welding technologies
in use across the industry, we are also
working with the Electric Power Research
Institute to test and qualify what we call
the next-generation welding technology –
hot wire laser welding. This technology is
being developed as a direct replacement
for arc welding in fabrication, production
and repair. It will reduce weld volume and
increase deposition rates, significantly
decreasing welding times for thick-section
materials, potentially by up to 90 percent.
2.
What is Westinghouse’s effort in
reducing the cost of the fuel to the utilities?
Mark Marano
: From the vendor
perspective, we are always examining how
we can reduce production costs of the
overall fuel product, including overhead.
We review and try to optimize efficiency
at every step, from direct manpower to
manufacturing to transportation, literally
every aspect of what it costs us to deliver
a top-quality fuel end product to our
customers.We understand market conditions
and are always looking for improvements
to deliver our fuel at the lowest possible
cost and highest possible value. Less than
20% of the fuel cost is associated with fuel
fabrication. The majority of the fuel value
is associated with the uranium owned and
supplied to Westinghouse for inclusion in
the fuel assemblies, so optimizing uranium
utilization is paramount. Our Zirconium
Diboride integral fuel burnable absorber,
which has no residual penalty, and robust
fuel designs optimize uranium utilization.
We are also exploring the use of off-
specification enriched uranium products for
lower uranium prices.
We are also consistently investing
some of our retained earnings into new fuel
innovation. Part of our current investment in
fuel is with a program for the Department of
Energy for accident tolerant fuel. Accident
tolerant fuel will be the next truly significant
fuel market mover and utilities are very
interested in it. Westinghouse has made
significant development and testing progress
in this area, our accident tolerant fuel
program will culminate in manufacturing
fuel rods that will undergo significant testing
before being introduced in commercial
reactors. We expect that our first set of
lead test rods will be ready for insertion in
