JUSTIFICATION OF POSSIBILITY OF UKRANIAN NPP’S EXPLOITATION TIME ASSESSMENT BY EXPERT METHODS

Abstract

The goal of research is the study of problems, which are connected with Ukrainian NPPs life cycle. Particular attention in the study of the problem of the resource of complex objects, such as nuclear power plants, must be paid to the set of technical characteristics of equipment and pipelines that determine the possibility of their operation, and the resource of operation. From an organizational point of view, the assessment of the resource characteristics of complex objects takes place based on a systematic approach to interacting, highly reliable, unique equipment with limited operational information, which has a significant distinction. Therefore, models have been built for expert evaluation of the resource characteristics of complex objects, involving the use of subject area to study the dynamics of changes in the resource of equipment for critical systems. In particular, in nuclear industry, there is the problem of assessing the real level of the resource of complex objects that are exposed during operation to the effects of aging, fatigue, wear and degradation. The influence of the human factor on their longevity should also be considered.Up to date, a large number of Ukrainian NPP’s nuclear blocks are on the verge of exhaustion of the assigned resource, which is equal to 30 years of operation. However, the practice of operation shows that nuclear power units, generally, still have a sufficient resource reserve. Thus, the operating organizations face with the problem of deciding either to extend the life of the equipment of the NPP, or to replace it. This decision should be fully justified by the safety requirements of nuclear power plants, as well as economically. The basis for such a decision should be the assessment and prediction of the real condition of the equipment, its resource characteristics, satisfying scientifically based requirements. Therefore, a systematic study of the resource characteristics of the components of nuclear power units, the identification of problems and deficiencies in the field of the quality of assessment and forecasting of these characteristics is relevant. In this paper, problems, which are connected with justification of possibility of Ukrainian NPP’s exploitation time assessment by expert methods, were considered