Nuclear Knowledge Management Topics arising from Facility Refurbishment in Canada. Paper by : J.Hopwood IAEA:Third International Conference on Nuclear Knowledge Management,June 2015 2016-11-10 1
Current Scene Climate Change: Continuing and expanding nuclear power production in the next decades is an essential response Canada: Common issues with other longterm nuclear countries, plus focus on Canadian nuclear technology CANDU Demographics: First generation of nuclear engineers passing the torch Canada: recent agreements with Ontario government mean continuing operation of existing units till 2063 another 50 years Life extension of Canadian CANDU units means intensive re-fit projects, new robotics technologies etc 2016-11-10 2
CANDU Life-Extension: Operation to 60 years plus CANDU Units original design included fuel channel components with life to 25 years or more Most recent manufacturing and R&D improvements have shown current fuel channel life of 30 years plus. As units reach this milestone, replacement of fuel channel components becomes a practical option to extend life for another 30 years Re-tube and refurbishment projects are a major refit, including other components as well as fuel channels; they typically come at a time when a full-scale safety review is appropriate The demographics of the nuclear industry mean that a renewal of staffing often occurs in parallel 2016-11-10 3
Point Lepreau Life Extension Project: CANDU Life-Extension: Plant outage from March 2008 to October 2012 Involved fuel channel components replacement plus extensive additional equipment refurbishment and replacement Both Nuclear Island and Balance of Plant; Regulatory approval included Fukushima review Plant owned by single-nuclear-unit utility No continuity from other utility units High degree of transformation of operating organization during re-tube/refurbishment project Strong degree of coordinated industry support Need to support and rebuild operating team 2016-11-10 4
Groups involved in the life-extension project: CANDU Life-Extension: Utility owner/operator leads project, using plant leadership team and staff; recommissioning and turnover to operations OEM/Designer/Technology Supplier: National nuclear laboratories: Regulator: Component suppliers, manufacturers Project Management: Canadian Utility support/cog: Governments UNENE and universities 2016-11-10 5
Challenges met: First-of-a-kind project CANDU Life-Extension: Transitions; operations project operations Evolving Regulatory Setting and approvals Renewing supplier base Ensuring industry infrastructure Re-building operations team 2016-11-10 6
CANDU Life-Extension: Knowledge Management for Life Extension Need to retain living details of plant configuration Need to have living details of plant licensing basis Need to maintain established, robust technology basis know-why as well as know-how Need to train and embed new groups (!) of knowledgeable engineers for next 30 years Need to retain knowledge at detailed component level including manufacturing and installation 2016-11-10 7
CANDU Life-Extension: Results Point Lepreau back on-line and improving operations Teething troubles, parallel to initial start-up experiences includes equipment NOT refurbished Operating culture and processes rebuilt as well as knowledge base Team effort involved Utility focus also on strong life management for the long-term 2016-11-10 8
CANDU Life-Extension: Lessons-Learned Plant-specific knowledge base must be fully-detailed, accurate and up-to-date Linking plant info to supplier info is important supplier info may outlive suppliers! Managing evolving licensing basis: key to social acceptance, approval to operate Plant knowledge base must be supported by robust, accessible technology base know-why Ultimately, knowledge depends on people continually renewing the team is essential, both by formal training, technology experience and role-specific training 2016-11-10 9