Benefits of Effective Component Management
Effective management of critical components in a nuclear plant, as offered by BWX Technologies’ Life-Cycle Management Engineering Services, brings numerous advantages to operating utilities. These benefits include improved equipment reliability, heightened safety measures, a reduced risk of forced outages, and optimized inspection plans. By implementing such strategies, utilities can cut down on inspection durations, leading to a decrease in outage schedules, costs, and radiation exposure. Moreover, Life-Cycle Management provides a framework for long-term asset management, offering recommendations to extend the lifespan of critical components and enhancing the ability to assess remaining equipment life.
Applications of Life Cycle Management
BWXT’s Life Cycle Engineering team specializes in developing comprehensive Life Cycle Management plans for plant components, regardless of their age or condition, and tailoring outage-specific inspection plans accordingly. By highlighting areas with actual or potential degradation that might impact a component’s safety or reliability, BWXT ensures that the most critical areas are targeted for inspection. The team employs a variety of inspection techniques such as ECT, UT, visual inspections, or tube removals based on the nature and extent of degradation. Post-inspection, the plan is updated to reflect the latest findings and can also suggest options for major repairs or eventual component replacements, enabling utilities to make cost-effective decisions.
Capabilities and Expertise
BWXT’s Life Cycle Engineering team boasts expertise in various critical areas such as materials engineering, statistical methods for predicting degradation rates, inspection techniques including ET and UT, remote and site outage support, as well as chemical engineering to optimize water chemistry. This comprehensive skill set allows the team to address various aspects related to component degradation and plant reliability. By leveraging tools and methodologies such as statistical predictions, advanced inspection techniques, and water chemistry optimization, BWXT aids utilities in ensuring the continued safety, reliability, and efficiency of their nuclear plants.