The principal leak detection system for primary to secondary leaks is monitoring of the Nitrogen-16 activity in the live steam at the exit of the steam generators (SG). This is supplemented by tritium measurement in the condensate or feedwater, Xenon measurement in the incondensible gases exhausted from the condenser and radioelement detection in the steam generator blowdowns. Tritium is especi...

Cooling of datacenters is estimated to have an annual electricity cost of 1.4 billion dollars in the United States and 3.6 billion dollars worldwide. Currently, refrigerated air is the most widely used means of cooling datacenter’s servers, which typically represents 40e45% of the total energy consumed in a datacenter. Based on the above issues, thermal designers of datacenters and server manuf...

This work develops and demonstrates a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) approach to assess the effect of aging and degradation of active components on plant risk. The work (a) develops a way to identify and quantify age-dependent failure rates of active components, and to incorporate them into PRA; (b) demonstrates these tools by applying them to a fluid-mechanical system, using the key eleme...

Seawater desalination facilities require an intake system capable of providing a reliable quantity of clean seawater with a minimum ecological impact. To meet these objectives, it is essential that a thorough assessment of site conditions be conducted. Physical characteristics, meteorological and oceanographic data, marine biology, and the potential effects of fouling, pollution, and navigation...

A main reverse osmosis (RO) limitation is the operational costs (including energy filtration costs), which are significantly affected by and expense of membrane maintenance. Both influent characteristics, including feedwater temperatures (T), electrical conductivity (EC), recovery set points. fuzzy logic advanced control system optimizes RO considering EC T as input values, setpoint a action. V...

Due to the increased sensitivity of instrumentation, analytical detection limits can now reach ng/L (ppt) levels on a routine basis, and even pg/L (ppq) levels under certain conditions. Confidence in the data recorded for these trace analyses relies on the control of several conditions and parameters. Besides the technical performance of instruments, careful sample handling and reagent purity a...