Operation of Ageing Reactors: Approaches and associated Research in the European Union
Plant Life Management (PLiM) of existing nuclear power plants in EU may consider longer term operability. This becomes an option with specific advantages and is under consideration in some Member States. It however unveils number of challenges that are closely related with extending the operational life of structures and components (SC) beyond the established operational time frame at the time they were designed. Safety related aspects of long term operations are obvious; for those SC important to safety that are selected for evaluation it is necessary to demonstrate that they perform the intended safety functions with sufficient safety margins for the entire period of operations. The ageing phenomena needs to be timely and carefully considered, in particular by structural integrity assessment, accident analysis, nuclear power plant ageing assessment and mitigation, systems interactions and risk assessment with related human factor aspects. A broad and effective dissemination of related scientific results is a further objective.
The European Union, which sees a large diversity of nuclear plant types, needs a targeted investigation to upgrade knowledge on their objective safety levels. Research activities therefore concentrate on providing the scientific and technical knowledge in relation to safety important issues needed for Community policy support and for helping to enhance nuclear safety in EU and beyond. The European Commission launched within the EURATOM framework programme FP7 a research and support programme related to PLiM issues under progress at Joint Research Centre and involves partners from nuclear industry and Technical Support Organizations through several dedicated networks and projects.
This report aims to provide overview of approaches proposed or followed in the USA and in EU countries when longer term operability (LTO) is considered as part of PLiM. A special attention is given to discussing existing regulatory framework available, as well as requirements set for ageing reactors in the corresponding IAEA safety reports and safety guides. A comparison of the US Licence Renewal Rule and Periodic Safety Review as a tool for assessment of Structure, Systems and Components (SSC) for PLiM and LTO is provided too.
The present report also discuses several current challenges, and shows some examples how the research is supporting / or can support the safety assessment of ageing nuclear power plants in the European Union.
DUCHAC Alexander;
BRUYNOOGHE Christiane;
MARTIN Oliver;
2012-02-16
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC68051
978-92-79-22564-2 (print),
978-92-79-22565-9,
1018-5593 (print),
1831-9424 (online),
EUR 25142 EN,
OP LD-NA-25142-EN-C (print),
OP LD-NA-25-142-EN-N (online),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC68051,
10.2790/39477 (print),
10.2790/40255 (online),
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