Integrated flow and heat removal performance evaluation for cooling water systems in operating nuclear power generating stations

In nuclear power plant safety-related cooling systems, such as the Component Cooling Water System, performance must be closely monitored and characterized in order to ensure that the plant's ability to safely shut down during a Design Basis Accident is not compromised, and other operating requirements are met. This paper describes an integrated flow and heat removal performance analysis approach which greatly simplifies the task of evaluating system performance, when degraded by fouling and/or modified by design changes, thereby allowing improvement in performance and availability. Using this performance model it was also possible to refine plant administrative procedures for operating the plant during maintenance of the system as well as gaining a better understanding of the various modes of operation of the system