Operational Challenges to Feedwater/Steam Generator Water Level Control

Abstract

Feedwater control and turbine control have historically been at the top of the list of contributors to unplanned outages and forced curtailments in the nuclear industry, and they remain so according to recent industry data. Much has been done and is available by way of measures to improve this area and, in spite of much progress, opportunities remain to extend implementation. Toward this end, this paper aims to focus upon feedwater control and provide background on associated characteristics and attributes as a context for identifying the issues which are key challenges that lie at the root of this concern. Primary groupings of these issues will be discussed in order to better define their nature and to establish a basis for a presentation of the range of solutions which have been implemented and remain available to address them. The need for a systems engineering approach, and the role of I and C and field-mounted equipment to application of these solutions will be discussed.