POWER January 2012 - 40

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
EPRI Bridges Industry R&D Gaps
The technologies used to generate and distribute electricity will be radically
transformed during the coming decade. Amid that change, the power
industry must continue to meet customer reliability, safety, and cost-ofservice
expectations. Achieving the right balance among these oftenconflicting
goals is the primary focus of every utility. The Electric Power
Research Institute is helping utilities achieve that balance with R&D programs
for many new and emerging technologies.
By Arshad Mansoor, Electric Power Research Institute
T
he Electric Power Research Institute
(EPRI) is an independent research and
development (R&D) organization focused
on solving the power industry's most
challenging technology, system reliability,
environmental, and safety problems. In addition,
EPRI provides direction and research
support for emerging technologies of interest
to the industry. EPRI members generate more
than 90% of the electricity produced in the
U.S., and international membership extends
to 40 countries.
EPRI's goal is to develop a comprehensive
vision-broadly shared within the electricity
sector, as well as by its stakeholders-of the
innovations necessary to realize the industry's
opportunities and develop a comprehensive
plan to overcome the associated challenges.
EPRI is working closely with more than
1,400 industry and public advisors and its
Board of Directors to bring that vision to life.
It has identified six key innovation and research
paths that address both the opportunities for and
challenges to the continued delivery of reliable,
affordable, and environmentally responsible
electricity: Long-Term Operations, Near-Zero
Emissions, Renewable Resources and Integration,
Water Resource Management, Energy
Efficiency (End-to-End), and the Smart Grid.
Included in the discussion below of each category
are descriptions of several interesting projects
and a short project status report.
Long-Term Operations
Long-term operations (LTO) research seeks
to maximize the substantial value of existing
generation, transmission, and distribution
(T&D) assets. Obtaining the maximum
operational lifetime from current assets will
provide an essential economic buffer in the
utility planning process. For example, high
capacity factors and low operating costs
make nuclear power plants some of the
most economical, reliable, and environmentally
responsible power generators available.
Similarly, reliable, long-term performance of
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current fossil generation and T&D assets is
essential to achieving a stable transition to a
future electricity supply system.
Protect Nuclear Plants from Cyber Attack.
In 2010, various media outlets reported
that a computer worm called " Stuxnet " -designed
to hijack control systems-had infected
an Iranian nuclear fuel enrichment facility. This
potential vulnerability highlights the need for
more safeguards as nuclear plants replace old
analog electronics-based instrumentation and
control (I&C) systems with programmable digital
systems. In October 2010, EPRI released a
cyber security guideline that will help nuclear
plant managers ensure that new digital systems
comply with federal regulations designed to
keep nuclear reactors safe from cyber attacks.
Cyber security is not a new concern. In the
wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks, the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) mandated
that nuclear power plants consider cyber
security threats that could expose the public to
radiation. The NRC also requires nuclear plants
to maintain grid reliability. Therefore, the EPRI
guideline also addresses systems that, if hacked,
don't directly pose a radiological risk, such as
balance-of-plant control systems.
EPRI's cyber security guideline provides
procedures for implementing cyber security
controls in 138 different areas, from passwords
and wireless connections to encryption and intrusion
detection. The document also provides
four increasingly complex examples of how to
apply the procedures in an operating nuclear
plant. The examples range from a simple, firmware-based
programmable relay without digital
connections to other systems to a main turbine
generator control system with digital assets both
in the control room and on the turbine floor. Although
demonstrating compliance with all controls
requires extensive documentation, many
controls can be addressed with existing plant
programs such as the design change process
and configuration management program. Plant
owners and operators who incorporate cyber
security into the design process early can make
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the final assessment of digital systems a much
simpler process.
Because a variety of cyber security recommendations
already exist, instead of developing
controls and procedures from scratch,
EPRI researchers built on existing guidance.
The EPRI guideline can help plant managers
prepare for that assessment and ensure a reliable
transition to new digital I&C systems.
This year, the team will release a training
module outlining how to use the guidelines.
The training will provide a brief, multimedia
overview of the guidelines and procedures.
Monitor Equipment Health. EPRI has
established proof of concept on the use of transient
analysis methods for detecting indicators
of performance degradation and incipient failure
in electric motors and pumps before traditional
online monitoring techniques can detect
such degradation. Ongoing research is creating
a generic methodology for health monitoring
during startup and other transients to enhance
prognostics, condition-based maintenance, and
failure prevention for power plant equipment.
Initial development is focused on electric motors,
with field testing scheduled for 2012.
Current equipment-monitoring techniques,
including advanced pattern recognition, continuously
process steady-state sensor data to
look for anomalies that may represent precursors
of degradation, aging, and failure.
However, components often don't fail during
steady-state operation, but during startup,
load change, and shutdown cycles, when they
are under more stress. Traditional monitoring
techniques cannot easily detect anomalies during
transient operation. In 2010, EPRI initiated
exploratory research to determine whether
certain failure precursors may be stronger-
and more easily detected-during transients
as opposed to during normal conditions.
EPRI assessed existing mathematical methods
and algorithms that could be adapted to
transient analysis for a variety of high-value
components, such as electric motors, electric
pumps, and steam turbine generators. Then,
POWER | January 2012
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POWER January 2012

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