POWER STATION SCHEMES AND GENERATOR-BREAKER ASPECTS OF AVALABILITY, ECONOMY AND OPERATION

Many representative investigations in recent years have dealt intensively with the failure-rate and failure-duration of power-station components. Common to all these investigations is the search for a general valid statement about the typical failure probability of components. That this is not so simple, is shown by the fact that the figures in some cases vary quite considerably. The scatter in these figures is influenced appreciably by the fabrication quality of the components and maintenance, but also by the methods and accuracy of data-acquisition. Investigations concerning the effects of component reliability on the power-station system are limited in many cases to single aspects (such as for example, "black" closing-down, running-up, contuse analysis, etc.) and are predominantly confined to specific power station configurations. The entire subject of the economic-, operational- and reliability-aspects is gaining more and more in importance, above all at the present time, where the building of new power stations is becoming increasingly difficult. The aim of this study is to show, by comparing various simple concepts, the general aspects and relationship of availability, economics and operation. Nuclear power stations present special cases, 'Because here strenuous government handicaps or prerequisites partly push the above aspects into the background. They will therefore not be considered here, nevertheless, the findings may be applied in the same sense.