Developing engineering analysis capabilities at a nuclear utility

When a nuclear plant is originally designed and constructed, a large staff of analytical and design personnel is used by the architectural and engineering (A/E) firm(s) and the nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) engineering firm(s) to provide the technical specifications needed for the plant to function and satisfy US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requirements. During this design process, thousands of calculations are performed, some using large sophisticated computer programs. Once the plant is operational, the utility assumes the large responsibility for plant design. Utility personnel must understand the fundamentals of operating the plant, the technical information in the updated safety analysis report, all calculations used to design the plant, and the input for all design specification documents. Without this knowledge, utility personnel cannot successfully perform modifications or new analyses required by the NRC, such as probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) and motor-operated valve programs, and maintain the safe and reliable operation of the plant. Therefore, it is very important to have on-site personnel who understand how the calculations are performed and used in the design basis. This paper discusses the organization of the engineering analysis group, which provides technical support for River Bend Station (RBS) of Gulf States Utilities