Page 44 - Nuclear Plant Journal March-April 2012
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44
Nuclear Plant Journal, March-April 2012
Meeting the...
NPJ Advertiser Web Directory
Anatec-LMT, a business
unit of Curtiss-Wright Flow
Control Company
AREVA NP, Inc.
Bechtel Power
Black & Veatch
Burndy
Diakont
Enercon Services, Inc.
Enertech, a business unit of
Curtiss-Wright Flow Control
Company
EXCEL Services
Corporation
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy
HukariAscendent
Joseph Oat Corporation
Kinectrics Inc.
Lockheed Martin
Corporation
Nova, a business unit of
Curtiss-Wright Flow Control
Company
Nuclear Logistics Inc.
Radiation Protection
Systems, Inc. (RPS)
Remote Ocean Systems
Rolls-Royce
SCHOTT North America,
Inc.
Seal Master
Structural Integrity
Associates, Inc.
The Shaw Group Inc.,
Nuclear Power Division
Thermal Engineering
International
Tri Tool Inc.
Westinghouse Electric
Company LLC
Zachry Nuclear Engineering,
Inc
Zetec, Inc.
similar to how the older breakers racked
into and out of the original switchgear
cells. An added benefit to using the
new breaker and cradle solution is that
modern breakers do not require overhauls
for the life of nearly all operating US
plants. Another benefit is that plants or
fleets having different manufacturers or
models of breakers can all standardize
on a common modern breaker by using
different cradles for each different legacy
breaker. This allows plants to have high
levels of interchangeability with very
minimal inventory.
Digital Controls
The nuclear industry has been slow
to adopt digital equipment, especially
for safety-related applications. Digital
devices can typically perform many more
functions than their analog ancestors,
but when replacing an existing analog
control device, many of those additional
functions are unneeded. This tilts the
risk-reward equation in favor of sticking
with analog. But one application that can
greatly benefit from digital technology is
chiller controls.
Chillers are vital pieces of equipment
and when they trip offline, plants may
have to shut down. But chillers are the
type of equipment that can take advantage
of the added features digital control units
offer. Unlike old analog chiller controls,
digital controls can take certain actions to
optimize the performance of a chiller or
reduce its output to prevent trips. Older
chillers are often incapable of operating
at peak performance. When stressed by
high loads, these chillers operate as well
as they can until they simply trip. But
with more sophisticated digital logic, the
output can be reduced slightly to prevent
trips, while still maintaining an adequate
output level.
The nuclear industry takes the notion
of caution to the extreme. For reasons
too numerous to list, we do not chase
technology like consumers that must
have the latest mobile device. We stick
with what works and has worked for
decades. But at some point one of two
things happens. First, we may reach the
point where the costs associated with
maintaining or obtaining older equipment
greatly exceed the costs associated with
adopting new technology. And second,
we may reach the point where the
performance benefits of new technology
far exceed the risks associated with that
of the new technology.
Interesting times indeed. New plant
construction, power uprates, plant life
extensions, and solutions to obsolescence
have driven the development and
qualification of new technologies for
nuclear. With many of these trails already
blazed, the operating units can take full
advantage of these new technologies
as the lives of these plants are extended
decades into the future.
Contact:
Mona
Nuckolls,
Contemporary Communications, 403
Temple Hall Hwy., Ste. 7, Granbury,
Texas 76049; telephone: (817) 578-3300
Logistics Inc., 536 Pima Canyon Court,
Las Vegas, Nevada 89144, telephone:
(702) 869-6300.
