A numerical comparison of international light water reactor performance, 1975-1984

Abstract

A numerical comparison of international light water reactor operating performance from 1975 to 1984 was carried out in an attempt to identify trends and discrepancies in PWR and BWR performance. The countries examined were: France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Reactor performance losses for each country were broken down into many categories for examination and comparison including: Fuel, Reactor Coolant System, Steam Generators, Refueling, Turbines, Generators, Condensers, Circulatory/Service/Component Cooling Water Systems, Economic, Husan, Regulatory, and Unknown. Additionally, losses were also distinguished as forced or scheduled. All loss categories were plotted as functions of both time and reactor age. It was found that from 1975 to 1984 the Swiss PWR and BWR performance was the highest averaging 85.8X and 88.0X respectively. The lowest PWR performance was in Sweden averaging 54.4X. Germany was found to have the lowest BWR performance averaging 51.1X. For the PWR's, differences in regulatory, steam generator, and economic losses were found to be the common contributors to low performance. For BWR's, differences in regulatory, reactor coolant system, and fuel losses were found to be the common contributors to low performance. Time and age dependent trends were observed for losses in many of the loss categories.