Method and device for monitoring performance of internal pump

• US 6,619,111 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2001
• Issued: 09/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi-Ge Nuclear Energy Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Yasuda, Kenichi, Soneda, Hideo, Moriya, Kumiaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Hezron
• Assistant Examiner(s): GARBER, CHARLES D
• Application Number:
  US09/942,966
• Publication Number:
  US 20020170349A1
• Time in Patent Office: 746 Days
• Field of Search: 731/68, 73/11.6, 417/18, 417/19, 417/20, 417/21, 417/22, 417/23, 417/63, 702/34
• US Class Current: 73/168
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 2203/0208 Power
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 49/065 and making use of computers
• CPC Class Codes: G21C 17/00 Monitoring; Testing measuring in general G01; Maintaining
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 30/30 Nuclear fission reactors

Abstract

A method for monitoring the performance of internal pumps in a plant in which a coolant is driven through plural internal pumps, said method comprising measuring the pump motor power input to the motor driving said pump; estimating the power input to said pump motor during a test performed outside said plant corresponding to the pump speed and the pump flow measured within said plant; computing a pump motor input power ratio based on said measured value and said estimated value; and detecting the variation in the performance of said internal pumps.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring the performance of internal pumps in a nuclear power plant in which a coolant is driven through plural internal pumps placed inside the reactor vessel, the method comprising the steps of:

measuring a pump motor power input to each motor driving said pumps;

estimating the power input to said pump motor during a test performed outside said plant corresponding to the speed of each pump and the pump flow measured in the reactor pressure vessel;

computing a pump motor input power ratio based on said measured value and said estimated value; and

detecting the variation in the performance of said internal pumps.

2. A method for monitoring the performance of internal pumps according to claim 1, wherein said pump motor input power ratio is computed for each of said plural internal pumps, respectively, and when any one of said pump motor input power ratio decreases and drops below a threshold value set in advance, the pump performance of said one internal pump is determined as varied and said pump is specified.

3. A method for monitoring the performance of internal pumps in a nuclear power plant in which a coolant is driven through plural internal pumps placed inside the reactor vessel, the method comprising the steps of:

measuring a pump motor power input to each motor driving said pumps;

estimating the power input to said pump motor during a test performed outside said plant corresponding to the speed of each pump and the pump flow measured in the reactor pressure vessel;

computing a pump motor input power ratio based on said measured value and said estimated value; and

detecting the variation in the performance of said internal pumps;

wherein the pump flow used in estimating said power input to the pump motor utilizes a computed flow value computed based on the relation equation of the pump flow, the speed and the pump differential pressure prepared in advance based on the pump speed, the differential pressure of the pump portion, the pump flow and the fluid temperature measured respectively for each individual pump during said test performed outside the plant, and utilizing the pump speed, the differential pressure of the pump portion, and the measured fluid temperature being measured.

4. A method for monitoring the performance of internal pumps in a nuclear power plant in which a coolant is driven through plural internal pumps placed inside the reactor vessel, the method comprising the steps of:

measuring a pump motor power input to each motor driving said pumps;

estimating the power input to said pump motor during a test performed outside said plant corresponding to the speed of each pump and the pump flow measured in the reactor pressure vessel;

computing a pump motor input power ratio based on said measured value and said estimated value; and

detecting the variation in the performance of said internal pumps;

wherein if a power supply for driving the motors of plural internal pumps are shared by said plural internal pumps, instead of measuring the pump motor power input of the motor driving said pumps, said method utilizes as the pump motor power input an average output power computed by dividing said power output of said power supply by the number of internal pumps sharing said power supply.

5. A device for monitoring the performance of internal pumps in a nuclear power plant in which a coolant is driven through plural internal pumps placed inside a reactor pressure vessel, said device comprising a pump performance ratio computing unit for taking in the differential pressure of the pump portion, each pump speed, the pump motor power input of each motor driving said pump, and the pump flow which are measured for each of the actual pumps in the reactor pressure vessel, and computing the ratio of said pump motor power input of said actual pump to the pump motor power input based on the result of a test performed in advance outside said plant;

and a pump performance ratio display device for said computed input power ratio of the pump motor.

6. A device for monitoring the performance of internal pumps in a nuclear power plant in which a coolant is driven through plural internal pumps placed inside a reactor pressure vessel, said device comprising a pump performance ratio computing unit for taking in the differential pressure of the pump portion, each pump speed, the pump motor power input of each motor driving said pump, and the pump flow which are measured for each of the actual pumps in the reactor pressure vessel, and computing the ratio of said pump motor power input of said actual pump to the pump motor power input based on the result of a test performed in advance outside said plant;

and a pump performance ratio display device for said computed input power ratio of the pump motor;

wherein said pump performance ratio computing unit includes a means for selecting as a converted operation point the pump speed of the test performed outside said plant that is close to the pump speed of the actual plant;

a means for computing a converted flow quantity by converting the pump flow of the actual plant into the pump speed;

a means for computing based on a correlation equation the pump motor input power according to the test performed outside said plant corresponding to said converted flow;

a means for computing the motor efficiency using a motor efficiency correlation equation set in advance;

a means for computing the pump motor power input of the actual plant when said motor efficient is used for conversion into the pump speed at said converted operation point; and

a means for computing the ratio of the pump motor power input during said test performed outside said plant to the pump motor power input of said actual plant.