Commissioning of two Siemens Robicon Perfect Harmony Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) systems for reactor recirculation pump speed control at Exelon plant
– By Stephen Heiser –
AREVA recently successfully completed installation and commissioning of two Siemens Robicon Perfect Harmony Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) systems for reactor recirculation pump speed control at Exelon’s Quad Cities Unit 1 in Cordova, Ill.
AREVA’s Instrumentation & Controls (I&C) and Electrical Systems team was responsible for the equipment, engineering and overall project management for the installation. A VFD is a system for controlling the rotational speed of an AC electric motor by controlling the frequency of the electrical power supplied to the motor. Siemens Robicon Perfect Harmony VFDs are field-proven in more than 4,000 installations around the world.
The new drives are designed to enable more precise reactor recirculation flow control, reduce in-house load due to increased electrical efficiencies, and reduce required maintenance. These efficiencies are expected to result in significant savings for the plant, increasing its profitability.
"By packaging the Siemens Robicon Perfect Harmony Variable Frequency Drive technology for the nuclear industry as part of our I&C solutions, AREVA is providing customers with a solution to improve plant performance while reducing house load,” said Carl Fisher, Vice President of I&C and Electrical Systems, AREVA NP Inc. “This is just one example of how we are working with our customers to improve plant reliability and profitability."
Increasing the efficiency and reliability of existing nuclear power plants is a cost-effective way to ensure a dependable, domestic energy supply for our nation. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission projects that more than 2,600 megawatts of electric generating capacity at existing nuclear power plants will have been added through efficiency gains alone by 2013.