Systems Engineering Final

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Training, quality assurance, and solid procedures will ensure proper licensing is maintained.

A sampling of the NRC approval process is listed below. This process just shows one small fraction of the required site surveys. The surveys are taken over a year to account for season changes in topography, rivers, snowfall, rainfall, earthquakes, tsunamis, tidal affects, etc.

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- Prototype, models, simulations:

Simulators for nuclear power operations are well established and used by the military and commercial applications to qualify new personnel as well as continuous training for all personnel. Simulators will have to reflect LFTR plant parameters and generate expected responses based on operator input. The simulator will generate all sounds, alarms, and indications expected for normal, emergent, and catastrophic operations to prepare all operators for the various expected plant conditions.

A prototype is recommended but not required due to the long history of nuclear power and the abundance of subject matter experts in the field.

A model is recommended, but does not have to be a physical model. CAD scale renderings will suffice in lieu of a physical model.

- Major milestones:

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NRC Approval is based upon many facets as shown under #7. Each facet can take several months to year to accomplish; each must be finished before approval is granted. It is only after this approval is granted that the state and federal governments will entertain licensing.

State approval and federal government approval timelines will depend on many things ranging from public opinion, world events (such as Fukushima Daiichi), unemployment, and lobbyist interests. Much of the state and federal approval begins before the NRC approval process to see if a nuclear power plant is a feasible endeavor. This is why I gave it a few year timeline, because much of the paperwork, application, and lobbying will occurred several years before.

Construction can start before federal approval is granted, but not before NRC approval. Final approval from the federal government tends to occur during the final stages of construction because the inspection process is incredibly intensive. Construction takes several years and is the only source of greenhouse gas generated during the life of a nuclear power plant.

Training is continuous, but a baseline of training achievement must be attained before initial criticality. Training will occur onsite, at simulators, and in classroom settings well before construction is complete and continue well after initial criticality. Lessons learned are continually incorporated into operations and procedures to ensure the safest operations possible. Qualifications for the Senior Reactor Operators and Reactor Operators, as well as all Auxiliary Operators, must be complete before initial criticality. This is mandated by procedure, policy, and is enforced by the local LFTR plant as well as NRC.

Operations are the end point of this major milestone because it signifies the end of the beginning. Operations have their own timeline, which incorporates training, refueling, maintenance outages, etc.

- Test Strategy

The test strategy shall be to initially test components upon installation. Component testing shall test the component to identify problems before full system testing is initiated. This will mitigate the likelihood of multiple or cascading failures upon full system testing.

Subsystems shall be tested once component testing is complete and subsystem is completely installed. This follows the logic of component testing to prevent multiple or cascading failures.

Complete system dry runs shall be complete to ensure all subsystem and component level items have been correctly installed and incorporated. Full system testing will be completed upon a successful dry run test.

Construction and installation of equipment and system components for a new power plant will take years. It is imperative to test as installation occurs, and once tested, periodically tested or run to ensure continued, correct operation. A preventative maintenance schedule will be implemented and tracked to ensure compliance with policy.

- Maintainability Issues

Maintainability issues will be to ensure continuous operation and continuity of power to the electrical grid. This will be accomplished by:

- High quality parts and equipment

- High quality parts ensured by rigorous non-destructive testing (NDT) as well as destructive testing. The testing will increase cost of equipment and material initially but this extra cost will be mitigated by the longevity of the material and equipment used.

- Preventative maintenance schedules (PMS)

- PMS will be established for each component, for example, coolant pumps, condensate pumps, and brine water pumps can have different periodicities and checks performed because they have different operational impact to the plant, operational temperatures and pressures, and overall function.

- PMS will be scheduled in such a manner that redundant equipment can perform the normal working load of the system so as to not degrade overall system availability.

- PMS will be adjusted as history is established on equipment and increased or decreased based on actual need of the components.

- QA shall be present for “critical” maintenance steps that, if performed incorrectly, would cause less than first time satisfactory work.

- QA shall document all maintenance practice mishaps for lessons learned training.

- Corrective maintenance

- Qualified and licensed technicians shall perform corrective maintenance with oversight from the Quality Assurance (QA) department.

- QA shall be present for “critical” maintenance steps that, if performed incorrectly, would cause less than first time satisfactory work.

- QA shall document all maintenance practice mishaps for lessons learned training.

- Separation of radioactive systems

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