Assessment Methodology of Practical Configuration Management (CM) for Sustainable Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs)

Abstract

Since the Fukushima accident in 2011, nuclear safety has emerged as a very important political and social issue. Under this circumstance, the importance of configuration management (CM) is emphasized in order to ensure the reliability and safety of facility. However, configuration management (CM) is still in its conceptual stage in the nuclear industry due to the ambiguity of CM definitions, insufficiency of CM procedures, paucity of computerized systems and lack of CM professionals. In an attempt to address this issue, a previous study proposed a comprehensive CM framework for nuclear power plants (NPPs) by comparing CM concepts in seven different industries where the CM is actively utilized. In order to facilitate the practical implementation of the conceptual framework, this paper proposes an assessment methodology for prioritizing the importance of CM application areas based on the physical subjects of NPP structures, systems, components (SSCs). The proposed methodology is composed of an ‘extended CM framework’ with further details and ‘evaluation criteria’ based on CM functions. This study developed an SSCs list by analyzing Design Control Document (DCD) of Westinghouse AP1000 and also identified evaluation criteria through an extensive literature review. The concept of CM in this study encompasses the entire NPP project life-cycle in order to promote the practical CM application. The results of case-study performed in this paper would provide the SSCs priorities and guidelines for practical configuration management (CM) for sustainable NPP facilities.

Upward Voice: Participative Decision Making, Trust in Leadership and Safety Climate Matter

“…A migration of those complex systems to an unsafe zone would compromise environmental protection, economic growth and social welfare. An accident may cause enormous human, environmental and economic costs [1].…”

“…However, only high safety standards can assure there is a positive nuclear energy contribution towards decarbonizing the power sector in a sustainable manner [5]. Despite accidents being rare in the nuclear industry, the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011 showed that safety can never be taken for granted [1,6]. A proactive approach to safety that takes into account employees' contribution to safety and adopts a systemic approach is needed to provide energy in a sustainable manner.…”

Multi-Power Joint Peak-Shaving Optimization for Power System Considering Coordinated Dispatching of Nuclear Power and Wind Power

“…Large-scale, random, intermittent wind power and large-capacity nuclear power plants are connected to the power grid, which puts higher requirements on the climbing rate of units such as thermal power [9,10]. With the continuous increase of peak-valley difference of load in coastal areas and the construction and development of wind and nuclear power units, the pressure of peak shaving in coastal areas will be seriously aggravated and the demand for wind and nuclear power to participate in daily peak shaving is becoming stronger [11][12][13].…”