Initiatives to Enhance Generation Safety of Paks NPP
Authors
PrimaryTamas Zsolt Siklossy— NUBIKI Kft. · siklossyt@nubiki.hu
Co-authorAttila Bareith— NUBIKI · bareith@nubiki.hu
Co-authoreigemann@nubiki.hu— eigemann@nubiki.hu Edit Profile Co-authornigicser@nubiki.hu— nigicser@nubiki.hu Edit Profile Co-authorPeter Siklossy— siklossy@nubiki.hu
The ageing of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and the occurrence of occasional unplanned shutdowns and power reductions (derates) due to corrective maintenance have increased the importance of systematically identifying the dominant failure modes leading to generation losses. A thorough understanding of these contributors enables the implementation of targeted measures to enhance plant availability and achieve tangible economic benefits, especially with regard to current plant life cycle management efforts. To support this objective, the approaches commonly used in Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) have been extended beyond the traditional focus on nuclear safety to help improve generation safety. Two complementary analytical initiatives have been launched: (1) the identification of Single Point Vulnerabilities (SPVs), and (2) Generation Risk Assessment (GRA). Components classified as SPVs are those whose failure may directly prevent continuous and stable power generation, thus representing significant contributors to generation risk. In order to minimize their impact, a dedicated SPV program was established, within which PSA models were utilized to the maximum practical extent to systematically identify SPVs. In parallel, a methodological framework for GRA was developed to quantify the probability and expected magnitude of future generation losses resulting from system and component failures. GRA provides a quantitative basis for risk-informed decision-making aimed at enhancing generation safety and operational reliability. The analysis of several balance-of-plant (BOP) systems is currently ongoing. To date, detailed generation risk models have been developed for 16 BOP systems and one safety-related system. Building on these analyses and the underlying GRA models, the development of a derate monitor has recently been initiated. This tool can quantify the frequency of plant outage and different levels of derate for a given plant configuration and identify dominant failures that require mitigation. This paper presents the methodological framework and summarizes the main results of these analysis efforts aimed at enhancing generation safety and availability at the Paks NPP.
✅Status: The abstract has been accepted!
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