Using condition-based maintenance and reliability-centered maintenance to improve maintenance in nuclear power plants

HUANG Li-jun, JIANG Hong, CHEN Yu, and CHEN Shi-jun

Suzhou Nuclear Power Research Institute (SNPI), China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corporation (CGNPC), Shenzhen 518026 China (huanglijun@cgnpc.com.cn)

Abstract: Maintenance optimization process in nuclear power plants (NPPs) has, in recent decades, been driving the transition of maintenance strategies from time-based preventive maintenance to systematic strategies depending on both equipment condition and reliability analysis. Starting with a comparison of various types of maintenance strategies in current NPPs, this paper highlights the evident advantages of condition-based maintenance (CBM) in both technical feasibility and cost-effectiveness. This paper also expounds the theoretical foundation and application methodology of CBM, as well as the complementary relationship between CBM and RCM. Taking Daya Bay nuclear power base as a case example, we introduce in detail the experience of using Reliability-centered Maintenance (RCM) and CBM to drive maintenance improvement in NPPs, which serves as a cornerstone for the application of RCM analysis-based CBM maintenance in other plants.
Keyword: reliability-centered maintenance (RCM); condition based maintenance (CBM); maintenance optimization; equipment reliability; nuclear power plants (NPPs)