Field Report: Discover pragmatic examples of customer benefits
Outage Optimization - brochure
Nuclear measurement: guarantee radiation protection
Number 1 in nuclear measurements
Study, radiation protection & measurement product line
Industrial Operator product line
Health physics, Studies and Measurements - leaflet
Special maintenance product line
Brazil: integrated maintenance of a power plant
Specialized Maintenance - product line leaflet
TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION: QUALITY AND LEAD TIMES
AREVA's Nuclear Services business unit ensures service offers within installed bases. It owns resources and equipment to develop and implement technical solutions and innovative tools aimed at improving the operation of customers' power plants. Thanks to its international organization, it draws on teams of highly qualified and experienced specialists in France, Germany and the United States to bring personalized service to our customers.
In-service inspection and monitoring
In order to remain at the cutting edge of technology, the Nuclear Services business unit, within existing installed bases, designs and manufactures its inspection techniques and tools itself, from sensors through to the complete chain.
In this regard AREVA runs an international technical center for non-destructive examinations, NETEC, established in 2007, reinforces the group’s technological leadership in this field. This center also enables the increased integration of international resources for developing non-destructive examinations in order to further improve the product offer.
Examples of remote-controlled inspection and testing systems developed at the center:
- The reactor vessel inspection systems, MIS 7 and TWS, have benefited from innovations in terms of robotics and inspection software, which have enabled a considerable reduction in maintenance times, while at the same time improving the reliability of results.
- The underwater robot SUSI enables internal structures or combustible elements to be examined in great detail.
- The new tool, JASPER, which facilitates the reliable inspection of control rod drive bars.
- Finally, RANGER, our brand new machine for inspecting the tubes in steam generators, was designed for rapid installation in inspection areas. It contributes, among other things, to a reduction in employee radiation exposure.
These tools help reduce unit outages and improve their operation and availability. Thanks to their design, they also help to limit maintenance workers’ radiation exposure time.
An international Technical Center
AREVA's Technical Center is the first link in the development chain for new technologies. One of the Center's objectives is to help develop the solutions and tools offered to plant operators in specific fields.
It is spread across 4 sites: two in Erlangen and Karlstein, in Germany, and two in Chalon/Saint Marcel and Le Creusot, in France.
These development centers enable the group to offer innovative solutions that incorporate continuous feedback and the best technologies. 350 engineers work in collaboration with the most up-to-date equipment and test loops.
This center is complemented by regional centers which focus more specifically on the development, deployment and implementation of equipment. They work in connection with the test installations, enabling the proposed services to be assessed and classified.
The Technical Center develops new technologies and provides services, operational aids and expert advice in the following fields:
- Materials technology, failure analyses
- Corrosion, chemistry
- Mechanics, wear and friction
- Radiochemistry, and analytical chemistry, dosimetry, hot cells
- Thermal hydraulics and fluid dynamics
- Welding and related technologies
- Manufacturing of special components
- Component and system testing
- Fluid and structural mechanics
