Physics-Based Prognostics for Optimizing Plant Operations

Scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have examined the necessity for optimization of energy plant operation using 'DSOM{reg_sign}'--Decision Support Operation and Maintenance and this has been deployed at several sites. This approach has been expanded to include a prognostics components and tested on a pilot scale service water system, modeled on the design employed in a nuclear power plant. A key element in plant optimization is understanding and controlling the aging process of safety-specific nuclear plant components. This paper reports the development and demonstration of a physics-based approach to prognostic analysis that combines distributed computing, RF data links, the measurement of aging precursor metrics and their correlation with degradation rate and projected machine failure.