Prediction of Remaining Useful Life (RUL) of Electronic Components in the POSAFE-Q PLC Platform under NPP Dynamic Stress Conditions

Abstract

In the Korean domestic nuclear industry, to analyze the reliability of instrumentation and control (I&C) systems, the failure rates of the electronic components constituting the I&C systems are predicted based on the MIL-HDBK-217F standard titled ‘Reliability Prediction of Electronic Equipment’. Based on these predicted failure rates, the mean time to failure of the I&C systems is calculated to determine the replacement period of the I&C systems. However, this conventional approach to the prediction of electronic component failure rates assumes that factors affecting the failure rates such as ambient temperature and operating voltage are static constants. In this regard, the objective of this study is to propose a prediction method for the remaining useful life (RUL) of electronic components considering mean time to failure calculations reflecting dynamic environments, such as changes in ambient temperature and operating voltage. Results of this study show that the RUL of electronic components can be estimated depending on time-varying temperature and electrical stress, implying that the RUL of electronic components can be predicted under dynamic stress conditions.