Pump system characterization and reliability enhancement

Pump characterization studies were performed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to review and analyze six years (1990-1995) of data from pump systems at domestic nuclear plants. The studies considered not only pumps and pump motors but also pump-related circuit breakers and turbine drives (i.e., the pump system). One significant finding was that the number of 'significant' failures of the pump circuit breaker exceeds the number of significant failures of the pump itself. The study also shows how regulatory code testing was designed for the pump only and therefore did not lead to the discovery of other significant pump system failures. Potential diagnostic technologies, both experimental and mature, suitable for on-line and off-line pump testing were identified. The study does not select or recommend technologies but proposes diagnostic technologies and monitoring techniques that should be further evaluated/developed for making meaningful and critically-needed improvements in the reliability of the pump system. (author)