Open AccessAging and service wear of air-operated valves used in safety-related systems at nuclear power plants
Author(s) -
D.F. Cox,
K.L. McElhaney,
R.H. Staunton
Publication year - 1995
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/94555
Subject(s) - nuclear power , reliability engineering , variety (cybernetics) , nuclear power plant , power (physics) , service (business) , safety valve , computer science , automotive engineering , engineering , mechanical engineering , business , artificial intelligence , ecology , physics , quantum mechanics , marketing , nuclear physics , biology
Air-operated valves (AOVs) are used in a variety of safety-related applications at nuclear power plants. They are often used where rapid stroke times are required or precise control of the valve obturator is required. They can be designed to operate automatically upon loss of power, which is often desirable when selecting components for response to design basis conditions. The purpose of this report is to examine the reported failures of AOVs and determine whether there are identifiable trends in the failures related to predictable causes. This report examines the specific components that comprise a typical AOV, how those components fail, when they fail, and how such failures are discovered. It also examines whether current testing frequencies and methods are effective in predicting such failures