Identification of performance indicators for nuclear power plants

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.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2001

Author dc:creator

• Sui, Yu, 1973-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• M.W. Golay and K.F. Hansen.

• Nuclear Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• 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.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/29997

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/29997