Impacts in Nuclear Power Generation
Canada’s fleet of nuclear power plants avoided losses of hundreds of millions of dollars in energy production following research into…
Turbine runners for hydroelectric powerplants can cost up to $10 million each, and sudden failures during peak electricity demand can result in catastrophic losses, amounting to tens of millions of dollars. Therefore, ensuring the reliability of these critical components is paramount, as they must be designed to last for 70 years or more.
However, the growing demand for clean energy is driving hydroelectric powerplants to increase their electricity output. This has spurred research and innovation aimed at enhancing the performance of turbine runners. With so much at stake, it is crucial that these advancements do not compromise reliability.
To ensure turbine runners operate reliably, the industry needs an international standard for their design and for making fitness-for-service decisions during inspections. Hydro-Québec is collaborating with major international suppliers, others major utilities and universities to establish a standard rooted in deep scientific understanding of the material’s properties.
Some aspects of the standard depend on residual stress measurements collected through neutron beams and other methods. These sections establish limits on the acceptable residual stress in the turbine runners. These stress values will be used during the runner’s design stage to ensure that any structural damage expected to accumulate over time remains within acceptable levels.
The Institut de recherche d’Hydro-Québec (IREQ), Hydro-Québec’s research division, obtained vital stress data at the former Canadian Neutron Beam Centre to improve the industry’s understanding of the material properties of the runner that determine its reliability, as reported previously. This data has been used for a decade in fatigue life calculations—and helped the industry to understand the importance of the manufacturing processes on the reliability of the turbines.
The proposed standard, along with the improved reliability across hydroelectric powerplants worldwide that will result, highlights the ongoing impact of research using neutron beams.
The proposed standard is anticipated to be finalized this year and published by the International Electrotechnical Commission as IEC 63230 in 2025.
