Identification of performance indicators for nuclear power plants

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, 2001.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Sui, Yu, 1973-
Other Authors: M.W. Golay and K.F. Hansen.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2006
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/29997
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author Sui, Yu, 1973-
author2 M.W. Golay and K.F. Hansen.
author_facet M.W. Golay and K.F. Hansen.
Sui, Yu, 1973-
author_sort Sui, Yu, 1973-
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description Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, 2001.
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spelling mit-1721.1/299972022-01-25T21:10:23Z Identification of performance indicators for nuclear power plants Sui, Yu, 1973- M.W. Golay and K.F. Hansen. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Nuclear Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering Nuclear Engineering. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, 2001. Includes bibliographical references (p. 160-162). Performance indicators have been assuming an increasingly important role in the nuclear industry. An integrated methodology is proposed in this research for the identification and validation of performance indicators for assessing and predicting nuclear power plant overall performance (i.e., both economic and safety performance) in a systematic and quantitative way. The methodology consists of four steps: the selection of target sites/plants, the identification and refinement of candidate indicators, the collection of historical operating records of selected indicators, and the identification and evaluation of correlations between selected indicators and plant performance through data analysis. The methodology is centered upon individual plants, using plant-specific operation records to identify and validate plant-specific correlations. It can also be applied to multiple plants and the results from different plants can be compared to identify and analyze commonalities and differences in plant operations across-plant. Case studies of the proposed methodology were performed at three target plants. A list of candidate performance indicators was identified through a sensitivity analysis on a quantitative model of nuclear power plant operation. The list was validated and supplemented through interviews with plant personnel and a refined, plant-specific list was obtained for each target plant. Historical operating records of candidate indicators in the lists were collected from target plants. Data analyses, including correlational analysis, multivariate regression analysis, and lead/lag time analysis, were performed using the historical data collected. (cont.) The methodology was originally intended for the identification of leading indicators, which can provide advance warnings of deterioration of performance before the direct outcome indicators are affected. A regression-based lead/lag time analysis method was proposed and applied in the case studies to evaluate lead/lag relationships between candidate indicators and plant performance. However, the method did not produce stable and reliable results by using the data currently available at the target plants and was not able to identify leading indicators with certainty. As a result, we shifted the focus of our data analysis to identifying correlations between candidate indicators and plant performance through correlational analysis and multivariate regression analysis. Several findings are noteworthy: (1) Data analysis results were sensitive to the indicators and data points used, mainly due to the small number of data points (30-60) available for use in the analyses; (2) Data analysis results generally agreed with our knowledge and expectation, with a few exceptions; (3) Correlations showed large variations from plant to plant; (4) Correlations varied from time to time at most target plants; (5) The outcome indicators with smoother patterns (e.g., the INPO performance index) tended to correlate better with candidate indicators than the outcome indicators that measured relatively rare events and had sharp changes in their patterns (e.g., unplanned capability loss factor); (6) Work order backlogs stood out as important indicators for all three target plants; ... by Yu Sui. Ph.D. 2006-03-24T18:10:18Z 2006-03-24T18:10:18Z 2001 2001 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/29997 55001302 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 175 p. 6941876 bytes 6941683 bytes application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Nuclear Engineering.
Sui, Yu, 1973-
Identification of performance indicators for nuclear power plants
title Identification of performance indicators for nuclear power plants
title_full Identification of performance indicators for nuclear power plants
title_fullStr Identification of performance indicators for nuclear power plants
title_full_unstemmed Identification of performance indicators for nuclear power plants
title_short Identification of performance indicators for nuclear power plants
title_sort identification of performance indicators for nuclear power plants
topic Nuclear Engineering.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/29997
work_keys_str_mv AT suiyu1973 identificationofperformanceindicatorsfornuclearpowerplants