Weir Flow Control service teams deliver a proactive method of diagnosis for EDF Energy

EDF Energy (EDF) is one of the largest energy suppliers in Europe and is responsible for the management and safe operation of some of the largest nuclear power plants in Europe, including those operating in Hinkley Point and Dungeness, UK., and as you can imagine, when it comes to operating and servicing a nuclear power station, safety is paramount. Any initiative which aims to proactively maintain the equipment and reduce any risk of breakdown or rupture is key.
Although it would be difficult to find a piece of machinery located within the fleet which is not crucial to operation, Air Operated Valves (AOV’s) are particularly important as a failure in this space can lead to a reactor trip if issues are not found early and rectified.
The Weir Flow Control service team started by identifying key AOV’s commonly referred to across the fleet as Single Point Vulnerability (SPV’s), these valves were permanently fitted with test points to enable portable diagnostic equipment to be connected without having to repeatedly break and remake pipe connections. During a planned outage, baseline measurements were taken for each valve. This form of valve profiling allowed the teams to establish if there had been any deterioration or change over time when each valve was retested and analysed. Testing after overhaul also allowed us to reassure our customer that their valves were in good condition to last until the next statutory outage.
This form of testing, proved to be very valuable – as the set up insured EDF suffered no operational impact and allowed service teams to constantly measure the fitness of key machinery and identify previously unrevealed faults, enabling action to be taken, only when required.