Report
Teaser, summary, work performed and final results
Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TeaM Cables (European Tools and Methodologies for an efficient ageing management of nuclear power plant Cables)
Teaser
The lifetime of existing NPPs can potentially be extended to between 60 and 80 years if safety and operability of facilities can be guaranteed. With an average of 25 000 cables for a total length of 1 500 km per nuclear power plant (NPP) unit, all organisations involved in the...
Summary
The lifetime of existing NPPs can potentially be extended to between 60 and 80 years if safety and operability of facilities can be guaranteed. With an average of 25 000 cables for a total length of 1 500 km per nuclear power plant (NPP) unit, all organisations involved in the current and next generation of NPPs have recognised the importance of cable qualification, condition monitoring, and ageing management. Cables, especially their insulation and jacket materials made of polymers, are vulnerable to ageing degradation during normal operation and accidents and means must be established to ensure that cable ageing does not lead to unsafe operation. Latest developments in polymer ageing research have revealed important limits in current methods for estimating the lifetime of NPP cables. These are related to the lack of representativeness of accelerated ageing and the lack of consideration of the polymer composition (e.g. fillers, additives, antioxidants) in cable ageing models.
The main objective of TeaM Cables is to develop a novel multiscale approach for a more precise estimation of the cable lifetime. The project analyses the effects of irradiation and temperatures on cables from micro- to macroscale level, in order to develop multiscale models of ageing. Ageing in both normal operation conditions and accidental conditions is addressed. The unique multi-scale and kinetic models produced by the project will be integrated into an open access tool – the TeaM Cables tool – which is built on the merger of a currently used European cable management tool with a cable ageing modelling tool. In parallel, criteria and protocols for on-site use of non-destructive testing techniques are proposed. The aim is to allow NPP operators to safely extend the plant life duration of generation II and III reactors thanks to the TeaM Cables multiscale modelling approach and associated tools, and thus contribute to the production of sustainable energy responding to future energy needs.
Work performed
During the first 18 months of the TeaM Cables project, the required model materials and test samples were produced so that the ageing experiments could start. Partners have conducted experiments of cables ageing under various conditions and temperatures, both in normal and accidental conditions. Aged samples that have been withdrawn from the test stage were then distributed to the relevant partners for properties measurements. These measurements allow to characterise the material evolution during ageing, depending on scale and conditions. They are recorded in a database created by the project. Based on the collection of the first measurements, partners have started to work on the establishment of kinetic and multiscale models. This allows the consortium to start the work on non-destructive testing techniques to be applied in NPPs. Besides, the coding of the TeaM Cables tool has also started.
While the scientific activities of the project were progressing, the TeaM Cables consortium has also initiated many dissemination activities in order to raise awareness of the project. The first communication materials were produced: mainly a public website and a leaflet, as well as a standard presentation and a poster used for participation in international events. The first scientific publications of the project have also been prepared and will soon be available.
Final results
TeaM Cables is expected to have impacts at several levels:
• Contribute to helping NPPs to efficiently respond to the new requirements of the amended Nuclear Safety Directive and thereby reinforcing safety of generation II and III reactors by providing them with a new solution to better estimate safety of cables under both normal and accidental conditions;
• Improve the market profile of EU-based reactor designs and strengthen the competitiveness of the EU nuclear sector;
• Contribute to sustainable and affordable energy production by making nuclear technology, which is low-carbon, more competitive and optimised;
• Scientific impact in both academic and industrial research communities as both fundamental and applied scientific questions will be answered in the project;
• Impact on other industry sectors since findings on cables in NPPs are extendable to cables used in other sectors, in particular aerospace and automobile;
• Economic impacts, mainly by helping NPP operators to confirm a safe extension of the lifetime of NPP cables;
• Socially important impacts, by improving public perception of nuclear safety through specific dissemination actions;
• Contribution to new or improved standards through committees of the IEC - International Electrotechnical Commission
• Improving innovation capacity and integration of knowledge by helping companies increase the reliability of safety measurements in NPPs.
Website & more info
More info: https://www.team-cables.eu/.