An intelligent hybrid methodology of on-line system-level fault diagnosis for nuclear power plant

Abstract To assist operators to properly assess the current situation of the plant, accurate fault diagnosis methodology should be available and used. A reliable fault diagnosis method is beneficial for the safety of nuclear power plants. The major idea proposed in this work is integrating the merits of different fault diagnosis methodologies to offset their obvious disadvantages and enhance the accuracy and credibility of on-line fault diagnosis. This methodology uses the principle component analysis-based model and multi-flow model to diagnose fault type. To ensure the accuracy of results from the multi-flow model, a mechanical simulation model is implemented to do the quantitative calculation. More significantly, mechanism simulation is implemented to provide training data with fault signatures. Furthermore, one of the distance formulas in similarity measurement—Mahalanobis distance—is applied for on-line failure degree evaluation. The performance of this methodology was evaluated by applying it to the reactor coolant system of a pressurized water reactor. The results of simulation analysis show the effectiveness and accuracy of this methodology, leading to better confidence of it being integrated as a part of the computerized operator support system to assist operators in decision-making.