Embalse refurbishment - pre-project condition assessment

Phase 1 of the Refurbishment and Life Extension (RLE) project for the Embalse Nuclear Power Station consists of all preparatory activities that are required to define the refurbishment scope and costs, for input into the utility business case for the RLE project. One of these activities is the Embalse Refurbishment - Pre-Project Plant Condition Assessment Project (PCAP), as part of an overall Plant Life Management (PLiM) program. One key element of the PLiM program at Embalse is aging assessments. These will be executed to determine which Systems, Structures, Components (SSCs) are recommended for inspection, modifications, replacement, or repair during the refurbishment outage and which may be performed during normal maintenance outages. They will also provide a health prognosis for continued operation of the SSCs for life attainment and life extension beyond the refurbishment outage, and may identify changes which are necessary and sufficient in order to deal with issues related to equipment obsolescence and aging effects. The paper will describe the Embalse Refurbishment - Pre-Project Plant Condition Assessment Project (PCAP), the novelties and improvements of the aging assessment methodology and progress made to date. (author)