Pump availability prediction using response surface method in nuclear plant

• Published in: Nuclear engineering and technology Vol. 56; no. 1; pp. 48 - 55
• Main Authors: Parasuraman Suganya, Ganapathiraman Swaminathan, Bhargavan Anoop
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: Availability; Raw water system; Water quality; Mean time to failure; Tableau; Response surface method
• ISSN: 1738-5733; 2234-358X

The safety-related raw water system's strong operational condition supports the radiation defense and biological shield of nuclear plant containment structures. Gaps and failures in maintaining proper working condition of main equipment like pump were among the most common causes of unavailability of safety related raw water systems. We integrated the advanced data analytics tools to evaluate the maintenance records of water systems and gave special consideration to deficiencies related to pump. We utilized maintenance data over a three-and-a-half-year period to produce metrics like MTBF, MTTF, MTTR, and failure rate. The visual analytic platform using tableau identified the efficacy of maintenance & deficiency in the safety raw water systems. When the number of water quality violation was compared to the other O&M deficiencies, it was discovered that water quality violations account for roughly 15% of the system's deficiencies. The pumps were substantial contributors to the deficit. Pump availability was predicted and optimized with real time data using response surface method. The prediction model was significant with r-squared value of 0.98. This prediction model can be used to predict forth coming pump failures in nuclear plant.