MANAGEMENT OF REMAINING LIFE OF POWER-PLANT COMPONENTS BY MEANS OF INTELLIGENT SOFTWARE TOOLS DEVELOPED AT MPA STUTTGART

In last years a series of large intelligent information management and decision support systems (''intelligent software ''tools'') has been developed at the MPA Stuttgart (MPA - Staatliche Materialprufungsansta lt - State Institute for Testing of Materials), Germany. The projects have been sponsored mainly by power plant industry (electric utility c ompanies, usually) and by The Commission of the European Communities w ithin its framework programs like BRITE and SPRINT. This paper highlig hts some of these projects and intelligent software tools developed wi thin these projects for analysis and assessment of remaining life, dam age evolution and similar issues relevant for the modern power plant l ife management. Tools developed in two large European projects (Sprint SP249 and BRITE BE5935), for component life assessment and inspection planning, respectively, will be presented more in detail. Tools devel oped in SP249 cover issues like large high temperature materials datab ase, large hypertext documentation base, various methods for life pred iction (e.g. the those based on German TRD standards, A-parameter anal ysis, oxide thickness measurements, hardness-based methods, etc.). Too ls developed in BE5935 support planning of annual inspection in power plants. They suggest answers to questions like when to inspect, using which techniques, to what extent, etc. Practical examples given in the paper illustrate abilities, usability and applicability limits of the se systems.