Technical

The Component Engineering Department has the main responsibility of ensuring the reliability of critical equipment for the safe and reliable operation of the plant.

To ensure the reliability of the equipment, the department carries out the following activities:

• Develops and implements preventive maintenance and lifetime management programs for equipment, including technical support programs for their smooth operation (predictive techniques, environmental qualification program, non-destructive inspection program, etc.);
• Develops and implements technical programs for monitoring the health of the equipment in operation and tracking the efficiency of the technical programs carried out to ensure their reliability;
• Develops and implements a program for monitoring the thermal performance of the plant;
• It provides the necessary technical support to the plant’s departments in addressing equipment problems (repairs, provision of spare parts, improvements, operation of equipment in abnormal conditions, investigation of defects and initiation of corrective actions to avoid recurrence).

The Components Engineering Department is composed of:

• Active Mechanical Components Service, responsible for:
  • Pump;
  • Compressors;
  • Ventilation, Heating and Air Conditioning Equipment;
  • Electrically actuated valves;
  • Air actuated valves;
  • Safety valves;
  • Retaining flaps;
  • Manual valves;
  • Mechanical filters;
  • Lubricants Program;
  • Valve sealing program.

• Electrical Components, Instrumentation and Automation Components Service, responsible for:
  • 0.4 KV electrical supply panels;
  • Electric motors;
  • Command and control relays;
  • Control equipment from pneumatic circuits (current/pressure converters, solenoid valves, pressure regulating valves, pneumatic amplifiers, positioning);
  • Process transducers/switches (temperature, pressure, flow, level);
  • Electric cables;
  • Electronic cards (alarm units, signal processing units; power sources; regulators, etc.).

• The Passive Components Service, responsible for:
  • Steam generators;
  • Fuel Channels;
  • The connection pipes between the Fuel Channels and the Primary Heat Transport System (feeders);
  • Heat exchangers and tanks;
  • Pipes and pipe elements (supports, shock absorbers, expansion compensators).

• Support Programs Service, responsible for:
  • Equipment environmental qualification program;
  • The program for monitoring the thermal performance of the plant;
  • The technological leakage reduction program;
  • Coordination of preventive maintenance programs;
  • Coordination of predictive maintenance programs;
  • Coordinating the life cycle management programs of the main components of the plant;
  • Coordination of the non-destructive inspection program.

The Design and Technical Support Department’s main function is to be the plant’s expert in managing engineering activities. The main areas of activity of DPST are:

• Ensuring the maintenance of the configuration of the plant project within the limits of the design and authorization bases;
• Elaboration of design solutions within project changes in order to improve system performance;
• Evaluation and approval of temporary changes necessary to ensure the maintenance of systems and components in operation;
• Elaboration of technical documentation regarding the replacement of obsolete components;
• Support activities for operation, maintenance, system engineering, procurement, etc. departments;
• Coordination of the supervision activities in operation of civil and hydrotechnical constructions
• Coordination of personnel and component authorization activities in accordance with PT-ISCIR requirements.

The Design and Technical Support Department consists of:

• Mechanical, Pipeline and Construction Design Service
• Electrical Design and Automation Service
• Engineering Service  for Procurement
• Office of Document Control and Design Administration
• Design Support Service

Mechanical, Pipeline and Construction Design Service

The main field of activity is the preparation of detailed technical solutions for permanent project modifications of systems, structures or mechanical or construction components within the limits of design requirements, codes, standards, authorizations or other restrictions imposed by nuclear security requirements.
The main areas of responsibility are :

• Elaboration of engineering solutions for project modifications of equipment and piping systems initiated according to the plant’s specific procedures;
• Analysis/acceptance of mechanical engineering solutions for equipment and pipelines proposed by other departments of the plant;
• Evaluation and approval of temporary changes necessary to ensure the maintenance of systems and components in operation;
• Coordination of subcontracted engineering activities with external organizations and approval of their works;
• Ensuring specialized technical assistance during the execution of maintenance works and the implementation of changes to the plant’s equipment and pipe systems;
• Providing specialized technical support to other departments in the plant (Procurement, Maintenance, Operation, Technical, etc.);
• Elaboration of technical documentation such as DCDR, DRP, DDRP, calculation briefs, procedures, technical specifications, data sheets, instructions, reports, evaluations and other documents stipulated in the plant’s procedures;
• Elaboration of new execution drawings or as changes to the initial project.

Electrical Design and Automation Service

The main field of activity is the preparation of detailed projects for permanent project modifications of systems, structures or electrical or automation components within the limits of design requirements, codes, standards, authorizations or other restrictions imposed by nuclear security requirements.
The main areas of responsibility are :

• Development of engineering solutions for project modifications of electrical and/or automation equipment;
• Analysis/acceptance of engineering solutions for electrical and/or automation equipment proposed by other departments of the plant;
• Coordination of subcontracted engineering activities with external organizations and approval of their works;
• Ensuring specialized technical assistance during the execution of maintenance works and the implementation of changes to the electrical and/or automation equipment of the plant;
• Providing specialized technical support to other departments in the Central Office (Procurement, Maintenance, Exploitation, Technical, etc.);
• Elaboration of technical documentation such as DCDR, DRP, DDRP, calculation briefs, procedures, technical specifications, data sheets, instructions, reports, evaluations and other documents stipulated in the plant’s procedures;
• Elaboration of new execution drawings or as changes to the initial project.

Engineering Service  for Procurement

The main field of activity is the provision of technical support in the process of procuring components and services with QA requirements and/or other special technical and clarity requirements so as to ensure that the project requirements are maintained and the design bases for the components and equipment of the plant remain unchanged. The main areas of responsibility are :

• The specification in the procurement documentation of the technical and quality assurance requirements for the requested equipment/components/parts;
• Evaluation of procurement requests from a technical point of view;
• Analyzing and approving offers from a technical point of view;
• Performing equivalence analyzes for replacement components of those initially installed in the plant’s systems and equipment;
• Administering the OBSOLENCE program, identifying and finding solutions for benchmarks declared as OBSOLETE;
• Administration of the TS/DS program (Technical Specifications/Data Sheets), validation and/or issuance of specifications and data sheets.

Office of Document Control and Design Administration

The field of activity is the administration of the issuance and circulation of documents within the plant, the administration and control of drawings, courier services and correspondence both between the departments of the Plant and with external collaborators.
The main areas of responsibility are :

• Receiving, verifying, recording and archiving documents or quality recordings during manufacturing or works in the plant including films, recordings on magnetic media or recordings in electronic form;
• Verification and classification of the retention period for the specified documents;
• Organization and optimization of the documentation process and transfer of information and documents between departments;
• Ensure the security and authorization of access to documents/information/records stored in the archive with AQ records;
• Ensuring the production, multiplication, reproduction and distribution of documentation upon request;
• Preparation, management, issuance and updating of databases with records of documents/records/drawings.

Design Support Service

The main areas of basic activity :

• Configuration control , by tracking the initiation, approval, preparation, implementation and closing of project changes and by controlling and updating the databases necessary for the activities in the headquarters with engineering information;
• Solving urgent technical problems , by  quickly solving the urgent problems arising in the operation of the two units (FIX-IT-NOW team) and by solving the problems sent by the Works Control Department to support the preventive maintenance and repairs program;
• The interface with ISCIR,  in relation to the design activities (project modifications) and inspection of the systems and equipment under the ISCIR incident and the supervision and technical verification of pressure installations and overpressure protection devices and lifting installations, through RSVTI operators;

The Process Systems Department’s main role is to ensure the operation of the plant’s systems in terms of safety and reliability, within the limits of the project and nuclear security, both under normal and abnormal conditions. In order to fulfill its function, this department implemented a vast program for monitoring the performance of the plant’s systems, put into practice by the Responsible System Engineers. Defined as the “System Health Monitoring Program” (eng.: “System Health Monitoring Program”), it consists of the following:

• collecting all the information that reflects, supports or has an impact on the functioning of the systems (such as operating parameters, preventive maintenance activities, exploitation activities, activities to modify its project);
• defining a set of performance indicators, having as input data the information defined above and some target values ​​related to these indicators;
• defining four levels of “health” for each system, based on performance indicators;
• periodic evaluation of the health status of the systems;
• identifying and tracking the fulfillment of all the actions necessary to maintain the responsibility systems at a maximum level of health, acting on the factors that define the latter.

Also, apart from the above, the process systems department:

• provides support to the operation department in order to operate the plant in safe conditions and according to the project, by being responsible for the content of the operation procedures;
• ensures compliance with the project, maintaining the operation of the plant within the project and safety limits; if necessary, initiate project changes, proposing solutions at a conceptual level;
• is involved in the coordination of complex projects of the plant;
• coordinates the activities of investigating abnormal situations related to the systems of responsibility (“Engineering Fix it Nnow” team);
• issues technical information reports;
• ensures “component engineering” (outside the department with the same name), for all those components, structures or equipment of the power plant with a specific character (follows the individual performance of the components, issues preventive/predictive maintenance programs for the respective components).

From an organizational point of view, the Process Systems Department is divided into five large services, each covering (from the point of view of responsibility) specific areas related to the processes in the plant that compete for the production of electricity of nuclear origin. Thus, the Process Systems Department consists of:

• Nuclear Systems Service
• Special Security Systems Service
• Digital Process Systems and Special Instrumentation Service
• Turbogenerator Service, Classic Systems and Support
• Electrical Systems Service

Nuclear Systems Service

The area of ​​responsibility mainly covers the nuclear part of the plant. The systems under responsibility are divided into two groups, each covering similar systems belonging to the two units, as follows:

• Main Heat Transport System Group, Moderator System and their auxiliaries

It covers: all the systems involved in transporting the heat generated by the nuclear fuel to the steam generators, which separates the nuclear part of the plant from the conventional part, as well as the system that ensures the moderation of the neutrons produced by the uranium in the fuel together with its auxiliaries.

• Group D2O and Ventilation

It covers all the ventilation and air conditioning systems in the critical areas of the plant (starting with the reactor building and ending with the turbine building). It is responsible for the entire management of heavy water together with its recovery, purification and enrichment systems.

Special Security Systems Service

The area of ​​responsibility covers the systems with special security functions of the plant as follows:

• Quick Stop and Tire Systems Group

It covers three of the four special safety systems of the plant: the rapid reactor shutdown systems (SOR#1 and SOR#2) and the envelope systems. Among the latter, we can distinguish (among others): the envelope isolation system (reactor building) and the personal/equipment access locks in/from the reactor building.

• Cooling Water Group in Case of Breakdown and Reactivity Mechanisms

It covers the fourth special security system (the active zone cooling system), together with the execution elements that ensure reactivity control in the reactor (mechanical reactivity control mechanisms, zonal liquid control system), as well as the instrumentation involved in reactivity control reactor (flow detectors, ionization chambers).

Digital Process Systems and Special Instrumentation Service

The area of ​​responsibility mainly covers all the digital systems that ensure the automatic control of the processes in the plant, as well as countless other monitoring or auxiliary systems, whose operation is assisted by the computer. Specific to this service is not only monitoring the operation of the systems out of responsibility, but also the entire management of the software applications used by these systems (writing or modifying programs). Organizationally, the service is divided into two groups, as follows:

• Digital Process Systems Group

It covers: the two large process computers (together with their programs), which ensure the control of all the processes competing for the production of electricity; the distributed control systems of the equipment on the classic side of the plant; management of s/w applications used by special instrumentation systems. The group writes and maintains all process-network computer interface software applications, which allow remote monitoring of process parameters and the status of certain systems, both through registered databases and in real time.

Main Control Room

• Special Instrumentation Systems Group

It covers nuclear instrumentation systems (detection and localization of defective fuel, detection of D2O in H2O leaks at the main heat exchangers, monitoring of D2O concentration in the air on the reactor exhaust pipe, monitoring of H2/D2/O2/N2 concentration in the He cover gas, monitoring temperature at the output feeders, measurement of deformation in the reactor casing, etc.), the fire detection system and the critical communication systems (signaling on boxes in the CCP, controlled access to the reactor building, radio communications, emergency siren, seismic monitoring, weather, etc.).

Turbogenerator Service, Classic Systems and Support

The area of ​​responsibility mainly covers the classical part of the plant. The systems under responsibility are divided into three groups, each covering similar systems belonging to the two units, as follows:

• Turbine and Generator Group

It covers: the systems involved in driving the generator shaft by transforming the kinetic energy of the steam from the steam generators into mechanical energy; the systems that control the turbine, protect the turbine in case of breakdowns and those that ensure good operation of the turbo-aggregate (turbine bearing lubrication oil, control fluid under pressure for operating the turbine valves, evacuation of residual heat by discharging steam directly to the condenser, etc. ).

Turbine-Generator overview

• Classical Systems Group

It covers: the systems involved in the steam condensation process from the turbine, the regenerative water heating systems, the water to steam transformation systems and the steam reintroduction systems in the turbine.

• Support Systems Group

It covers the systems that, by their function, serve all the other systems in the plant, or ensure the last stage of heat removal from the classic part of the electricity production process: instrumental air systems, service air, chilled water, recirculated cooling water, condenser cooling, etc.

Electrical Systems Service

The area of ​​responsibility covers all the systems that ensure the delivery of the electricity produced in the plant and the supply of electricity to the plant’s own services both under normal conditions and during abnormal or emergency conditions. The systems under responsibility are divided into two groups, each covering similar systems belonging to the two units, as follows:

• Production Support Electrical Systems Group

It covers: the main generators of the two units (electrical part) and the excitation control systems; 24 kV systems (starting from generator terminals); protection systems related to generators; transformers for power evacuation and power supply, own services; high voltage systems 400 kV, 110 kV (interconnection with the national energy system); the medium voltage systems (6kV and 10kV) related to the entire plant; low voltage distribution systems (0.4 kV).

Exhaust transformer

• Security Support Electrical Systems Group

It covers: emergency power supply systems, emergency power supply systems and uninterruptible power supply systems.