On-line monitoring for improving performance of nuclear power plants. Pt. 1: Instrument channel monitoring

The IAEA's work in the area of nuclear power plant operating performance and life cycle management is aimed at increasing Member State capabilities in utilizing good engineering and management practices developed and transferred by the IAEA. In particular, the IAEA supports activities such as improving nuclear power plant performance, plant life management, training, power uprating, operational licence renewal and the modernization of instrumentation and control (I and C) systems of nuclear power plants in Member States. The subject of improving the performance of nuclear power plants by utilizing on-line monitoring of instrumentation and control systems in nuclear power plants was suggested by the Technical Working Group on Nuclear Power Plant Control and Instrumentation (TWG-NPPCI) in 2003. The subject was then approved by the IAEA and included in the programmes for 2004-2007. On-line monitoring techniques have been under development for a variety of applications in process and power industries. These techniques utilize existing on-line data available from existing sensors and data acquisition computers of the plant's standard I and C systems. Signal processing tools include trend monitoring, averaging of redundant signals, comparison with baselines, noise analysis and statistical evaluations. In the nuclear power industry, on-line monitoring techniques have been considered for instrument calibration verification, as well as process and component condition monitoring and diagnostics. This report is the first in an intended series of reports on on-line monitoring, whose goal is to provide guidelines for the use of on-line monitoring techniques for a variety of applications in nuclear power plants. For this first report in the series, instrument calibration verification of instrument channels measuring process signals, such as flux, temperature, pressure, level, flow and other variables was selected as the main topic. As such, this report covers the background of on-line calibration monitoring developments, the techniques for collection and processing of on-line monitoring data and a review of other applications of on-line monitoring such as sensor response time testing. Also, the economic and safety benefits that can be derived from the implementation of various on-line monitoring techniques are reviewed in this report. The second report on on-line monitoring, IAEA Nuclear Energy Series No. NP-T-3, covers the area of improving nuclear power plant performance by on-line monitoring and diagnostics of nuclear power plant processes and components. The objective of this report is to provide guidance and a consistent overview of the prerequisites, underlying principles, good practices and benefits of using on-line monitoring techniques for calibration reduction purposes. A large variety of applications and potential future developments are discussed in this report. This report also provides guidance to engineering project managers and nuclear regulators on the implementation and licensing of new on-line monitoring applications