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Submitted on 1 Jan 1984
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MAGNET FAILURE WORKSHOP
P. Marston, H. Desportes, M. Morpurgo, P. Komarek, K. van Hulst, D.
Hackley, J. Young, K. Kibbe
To cite this version:
P. Marston, H. Desportes, M. Morpurgo, P. Komarek, K. van Hulst, et al.. MAGNET FAILURE WORKSHOP. Journal de Physique Colloques, 1984, 45 (C1), pp.C1-637-C1-641.
�10.1051/jphyscol:19841129�. �jpa-00223599�
J O U R N A L DE PHYSIQUE
Colloque C l , supplCment au n o 1, Tome 45, janvier 1984 page Cl-637
MAGNET F A I L U R E WORKSHOP
P.G. Marston*, H. ~ e s ~ o r t e s * , M. Morpurgo**, P. ~omarek***, K. Van ~ u l s t + , D. ~ a c k l e ~ + + , J .L. young+++ and K. Kibbe*
Massachusetts I n s t i t u t e of TechnoLogy, PZasma Fusion Center, Cambridge, M.4 02139, U.S.A.
* C . E.N. -SacLay, DPh-STIPE, 91191 Gif-sup-Yvette, France
** C.E.R.N., 1 2 1 1 Geneva 23, SwitzerZand
* * * ~ e r n f o r s c h u n ~ s z e n t m , Postfach 3640, 0-7500 KarZsruhe, F.R.G.
+ ~ n i v e r s i t ~ of Nijmegen, High Field Magnet ikboratory, NL-6525 ED Nijmegen, The Nether Lands
ener era^ Dynamics Convair, P.O. Boz 551247, San Diego, CA 92138, U.S.A.
+++~estinghouse E l e c t r i c Corporation, 700 Braddock Avenue, East Pittsburgh, PE 15112, U.S.A.
*oak Ridge NationaZ Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830, U.S.A.
1 . 0 I n t r o d u c t i o n
The d i c t i o n a r y d e f i n e s f a i l u r e a s nonperformance o r a n u n a c c e p t a b l e want of s u c c e s s . (The d e f i n i t i o n i m p l i e s t h a t t h e r e s u l t s s h o u l d have been a v o i d e d ) . I n a n emerging t e c h n o l o g y s u c h a s o u r s , t h e b o u n d a r i e s of e x p e c t a t i o n s and " u n a c c e p t a b l e s u c c e s s " a r e o f t e n ill d e f i n e d . F a i l u r e s a r e o f t e n t o u t e d a s hugh s u c c e s s e s ( o c c a s i o n a l l y r i g h t f u l l y s o ) and e x c e p t i o n a l t e c h n o l o g i c a l achievement can become d i s m a l f a i l u r e ( i f e x p e c t a t i o n s a r e t o o h i g h ) .
We a l l , however, have e x p e r i e n c e d problems of one s o r t o r a n o t h e r and t h e b a s i c p u r p o s e of t h e workshop was simply t o communicate t h e s e s o t h a t new o r f u t u r e workers d o n ' t make t h e same m i s t a k e s .
2.0 Summary of D i s c u s s i o n s
2 . 1 Marston began t h e d i s c u s s i o n w i t h a b r i e f d e s c r i p t i o n of a number of s p e c i f i c f a i l u r e s , many of which o c c u r r e d d u r i n g t h e t e c h n o l o g y ' s i n f a n c y when we d i d n ' t u n d e r s t a n d s t a b i l i t y , t r a n s p o s i t i o n , f r i c t i o n a l h e a t i n g e t c . * I<e emphasized t h a t t h e t e c h n o l o g y i s now a d e q u a t e l y m a t u r e t h a t f u t u r e problems w i l l r e s u l t p r i - m a r i l y from t h e f a i l u r e t o u s e r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n r a t h e r t h a n from some h i t h e r t o unknown p h y s i c a l phenomena.
2.2 D e s p o r t e s d i s c u s s e d two a s p e c t s of system d e s i g n which are of c o n t i n u e d concern. The f i r s t b e i n g t h e d i f f e r e n c e s i n technology and d e s i g n approach f o r l a r g e and f o r s m a l l s y s t e m s and t h e s e c o n d , t h e problems of m a n u f a c t u r i n g technology.
He d e s c r i b e d a problem w i t h t h e l a r g e , t h i n s o l e n o i d f o r t h e CELLO experiment w h e r e i n d e s p i t e a c a r e f u l and c o n s e r v a t i v e d e s i g n and v e r i f i c a t i o n t e s t program, t h e magnet f a i l e d b e c a u s e of a t i n y i n c l u s i o n i n t h e m o n o l i t h i c conductor c a u s i n g i t t o b r e a k . F o r t u n a t e l y t h e b r e a k was n e a r t h e end of t h e s o l e n o i d and was a b l e t o b e r e p a i r e d . He commented t h a t m u l t i s t r a n d c a b l e w i t h a d e q u a t e c a p a c i t y t o a l l o w a few b r e a k s might have avoided t h e problem.
2.3 Dave Hackley t h e n i n t r o d u c e d a new p o t e n t i a l problem which i s r e l a t e d t o t h e r e c e n t r a p i d e x p a n s i o n of a c t i v i t y i n l a r g e magnet systems. T h i s i s t h e need
'Chairman.
* t h o s e t h i n g s which, w i t h t h e wisdom of h i n d s i g h t , a r e s o o b v i o u s t h a t we s h o u l d r e c o g n i z e o u r c a p a b i l i t y f o r s t u p i d i t y ( a r e f l e c t i o n which may s e r v e u s w e l l i f we a r e t o a v o i d f u t u r e f a i l u r e s ) .
Article published online by EDP Sciences and available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/jphyscol:19841129
Cl-638 JOURNAL DE PHYSIQUE
f o r d e f i n i t i o n and d e l i v e r y of c l e a r i n s t r u c t i o n s f o r minimum r i s k o p e r a t i o n . The G e n e r a l Dynamics LCT c o i l i s one of s i x d i f f e r e n t d e s i g n s from s i x d i f f e r e n t manu- f a c t u r e r s . Documentation d e l i v e r e d w i t h t h e c o i l i s s o voluminous t h a t t h e r e i s a r e a l danger t h a t c e r t a i n s a f e t y c o n s i d e r a t i o n s w i l l be o v e r l o o k e d . GD h a s recog- n i z e d t h e p o t e n t i a l h a z a r d and i s now w r i t i n g c o n c i s e o p e r a t i n g and s a f e t y proce- d u r e s . Hackley a l s o noted t h a t h i s c o n f e r e n c e p a p e r d i s c u s s e d many of t h e d e s i g n and m a n u f a c t u r i n g problems e n c o u n t e r e d w i t h t h e i r "Large C o i l " .
2.4 Morpurgo i d e n t i f i e d some problems due t o m i s t a k e s d u r i n g d e s i g n , con- s t r u c t i o n and o p e r a t i o n and emphasized t h a t t h e l a t t e r i s most common. The most worrisome problems d u r i n g d e s i g n of new and d i f f e r e n t s y s t e m s a r e " t h e t h i n g s you d o n ' t t h i n k of". He d e s c r i b e d a problem w i t h t h e e a r l y Big European Bubble Chamber due t o an u n a n t i c i p a t e d t o r q u e on t h e u n t r a n s p o s e d conductor (Ref. P a r a . 3 . 4 ) . Problems d u r i n g c o n s t r u c t i o n and p a r t i c u l a r l y d u r i n g o p e r a t i o n of b o t h supercon- d u c t i n g and c o n v e n t i o n a l magnets r e s u l t from i n a d e q u a t e a t t e n t i o n t o i n s p e c t i o n and s a f e t y p r o c e d u r e s ( t a k i n g s h o r t c u t s , c e a s i n g t o worry about w e l l behaved s v s t e n s , e t c . ) . I t i s n o t u n u s u a l t o s e e p r o t e c t i v e c i r c u i t s bypassed o r p r o t e c t i v e d e v i c e s e l i m i n a t e d ( o r n o t r e p l a c e d when t h e y f a i l ) .
2.5 Lynn Young d i s c u s s e d some of t h e d e t a i l e d problems d u r i n g t h e d e s i g n and c o n s t r u c t i o n of t h e Westinghouse "Large C o i l " a r i s i n g from t h e r e q u i r e m e n t t o de- v e l o p an advanced conductor (NbgSn, ICCS) s i m u l t a n e o u s l y w i t h t h e development of a
s e v e r e l y c o n s t r a i n e d (by t h e o r i g i n a l s p e c i f i c a t i o n ) c o i l d e s i g n . T h e i r e x p e r i e n c e i s a good example of t h e problems t o be e x p e c t e d when working w i t h unproven ranu- f a c t u r i n p , technology. Be emphasized t h e need f o r e a r l y , f o r m a l i z e d F a u l t and R i s k A n a l y s i s which s h o u l d i n c l u d e t h e m a n u f a c t u r i n g technology and equipment when new p r o c e s s e s have t o b e developed t o s a t i s f y d e s i g n r e q u i r e m e n t s .
2.6 These comments l e d n a t u r a l l y t o a d i s c u s s i o n by P e t e r Komarek of s a f e t y a n a l y s i s about which h e i s t h e a u t h o r ( w i t h F r i e d r i c h Arendt) of a n e x c e l l e n t p a p e r . /1/ P e t e r d e s c r i b e d t h e " p a i n f u l " q u e s t i o n i n g by r e a c t o r s a f e t y p e o p l e a s f u s i o n e n t e r s t h e e n g i n e e r i n g phase and concluded t h a t we d o n ' t have t h e informa- t i o n t h a t we should t o p r e d i c t p r o b a b i l i t y of f a i l u r e a v a i l a b i l i t y , , l i f e t i m e , e t c . He d e s c r i b e d a few of t h e more i m p o r t a n t f a u l t s and abnormal o p e r a t i n g c o n d i t i o n s which a magnet s h o u l d s u r v i v e ( s e e Ref. 1 ) and a l s o p o i n t e d o u t t h e d a n g e r s of
a c c e p t i n g performance demands (from t h e p h y s i c i s t s ) which r e s u l t i n machine d e s i g n s having i n a d e q u a t e c o n s e r v a t i s m f o r r e l i a b l e o p e r a t i o n .
2.7 Van H u l s t ' s p r e s e n t a t i o n u n d e r s c o r e d two e l e m e n t s of f a i l u r e . The f i r s t b e i n g t h a t a l l system components have a f i n i t e l i f e t i m e and d e s i g n s s h o u l d accommo- d a t e t h e i r r o u t i n e i n s p e c t i o n , replacement and t h e consequences of p r e m a t u r e f a i l u r e . I n a h i g h f i e l d f a c i l i t y such a s Nijmegen, one such component i s winding i t s e l f f o r which burnout i s n o t uncommon. I n t h e f a i l u r e r e p o r t e d , however, an a r c o c c u r r e d which caused c u r r e n t t o flow r a d i a l l y i n c e r t a i n e l e m e n t s of a dewar s t r u c t u r e . The L o r e n t z i n t e r a c t i o n of t h i s c u r r e n t w i t h t h e l a r g e a x i a l f i e l d component t w i s t e d t h e dewar a p a r t . The a c c i d e n t i s a good example of t h e v e r y s t r o n g (and u n a n t i c i p a t e d ) f o r c e d i s t r i b u t i o n s which can o c c u r d u r i n g abnormal c o n d i t i o n s i n a m a g n e t i c system.
2.8 The f i n a l p a n e l i s t , K e i t h Kibbe, i s i n v o l v e d w i t h t h e t e c h n i c a l c o n t r a c t management f o r LCP and was t h e r e f o r e asked t o comment on t h e f i n d i n g s and recommend- a t i o n s o f t h e 1979 U. S. DOE " E l e c t r i c a l Problems Committee Report" which concluded t h a t many o f t h e problems had t h e i r r o o t s i n management. (The s a l i e n t ' comments o f t h e r e p o r t a r e reproduced below). Although i t was t h e g e n e r a l f e e l i n g of b o t h t h e p a n e l and t h e a u d i e n c e t h a t management was n o t a s e r i o u s problem, t h e chairman em- p h a s i z e d t h a t t h e management of l a r g e , f i r s t - o f - a - k i n d , h i g h technology p r o j e c t s i s t r i c k y b u s i n e s s , p a r t i c u l a r l y i f a l a r g e (and new) team must b e p u t i n p l a c e t o com- p l e t e t h e p r o j e c t .
3 . 0 S p e c i f i c Problems Discussed
3 . 1 HPDE (High Performance Demonstration Experiment) Cryogenic MHD Magnet/2/
T h i s v e r y l a r g e 6 T magnet ( 1 m s q u a r e x 7 m l o n g b o r e ) s u f f e r e d c a t a - s t r o p h i c s t r u c t u r a l f a i l u r e i n December, 1982.
The f o r c e c o n t a i n m e n t s t r u c t u r e f o r t h e w i n d i n g was f a b r i c a t e d from a l a r g e number of h i g h s t r e n g t h aluminum e l e m e n t s which were keyed and b o l t e d t o s e t h e r . The d e s i g n was complex, t h e r e were m u l t i p l e l o a d p a t h s and t h e m a t e r i a l was b r i t t l e a t low t e m p e r a t u r e . Although t h e s e f a c t o r s c o n t r i b u t e d , t h e p r i n c i p a l c a u s e of f a i l u r e was a d e s i g n e r r o r w h e r e i n t h e s t r e s s a n a l y s i s did n o t i d e n t i f y a v e r y h i g h l o c a l s t r e s s a s s o c i a t e d - w i t h d e f o r m a t i o n from a r e l a t i v e l y s m a l l t r a n s v e r s e l o a d .
Although t h e d e s i g n f l a w was a p p a r e n t ( a f t e r c o n s i d e r a b l e i n s p e c t i o n and a n a l y s i s ) , t o s u g g e s t t h a t ( i n t h i s c a s e ) t h e d e s i g n e r s were n o t competent o r t h a t t h e p r o j e c t d i d n o t proceed i n a c a r e f u l and c a u t i o u s manner would n o t o n l y b e un- f a i r t o t h e p r o j e c t s t a f f , b u t would o b v i a t e t h e impact of t h e l e s s o n t o b e l e a r n e d which i s t h a t m i s t a k e s c a n (and w i l l ) b e made, even i n w e l l managed, c o m p e t e n t l y s t a f f e d p r o j e c t s .
3 . 2 An e a r l y NASA s p l i t c o i l p a i r f a i l e d a s a r e s u l t of r a d i a l d e f o r m a t i o n of t h e winding a t i t s i n s i d e d i a m e t e r t h u s a l l o w i n g one of t h e I . D . t u r n s t o s l i p a x i a l l y . D e s i g n e r s s t i l l o f t e n u n d e r e s t i m a t e t h e s t i f f n e s s of w i n d i n g c o m p o s i t e s and t h u s u n d e r e s t i m a t e d e f o r m a t i o n s , winding s t r e s s e s and t h e p e r c e n t a g e of winding l o a d t a k e n by o u t e r s u p p o r t s t r u c t u r e .
3 . 3 On t h e f i r s t cooldown of t h e Argonne 12' Bubble Chamber it was i m p o s s i b l e t o f i l l t h e h e l i u m v e s s e l a d e q u a t e l y t o c o v e r t h e t o p c o i l . The c i r c u m f e r e n t i a l d i m e n s i o n of t h e a n n u l a r v e s s e l was s o l a r g e t h a t t h e p r e s s u r e d r o p of t h e b o i l o f f g a s f l o w i n g around t h e h a l f c i r c u m f e r e n c e t o t h e ( s i n g l e ) v e n t p i p e d e p r e s s e d t h e l i q u i d l e v e l (180' from t h e v e n t p i p e ) . M o d i f i c a t i o n t o a l l o w v e n t i n g a t two l o c a - t i o n s s o l v e d t h e problem.
3 . 4 T h e r e have been a number of problems a s s o c i a t e d w i t h u n a n t i c i p a t e d f o r c e d i s t r i b u t i o n s . Morpurgo's e x p e r i e n c e w i t h t h e Big European Bubble Chamber was t h e r e s u l t of t h e L o r e n t z i n t e r a c t i o n of p a r a s i t i c c u r r e n t l o o p s i n d u c e d i n t h e u n t r a n s - posed c o n d u c t o r by t h e r a d i a l f i e l d component ( n e a r t h e end of t h e s o l e n o i d a l w i n d i n g ) . A change i n f i e l d t h u s c r e a t e d a t o r q u e on t h e c o n d u c t o r u n t i l t h e i n d u c e d p a r a s i t i c c u r r e n t s decayed. The t w i s t i n g c o n d u c t o r c r e a t e d a n i n t e r m i t t e n t s h o r t t o t h e cryo- s t a t . A f t e r c o n s i d e r a b l e d i s c u s s i o n i t was d e c i d e d t o open up t h e magnet and f i n d t h e c a u s e of t h e problem (good d e c i s i o n - good l e s s o n ) .
On t h e f i r s t t e s t of t h e two r e g i o n h i g h f i e l d s u p e r c o n d u c t i n g magnet a t McGill, t h e o u t e r (NbTi) r e g i o n was e n e r g i z e d f i r s t w i t h z e r o c u r r e n t i n t h e i n n e r NbgSn t a p e r e g i o n . Induced, d i a m a g n e t i c c u r r e n t s and r e s u l t i n g L o r e n t z f o r c e s c r u s h e d t h e i n n e r r e g i o n .
3.5 S e v e r a l of t h e e a r l y magnets s u f f e r e d from f l u x jumps ( l a r g e f i l a m e n t , un- t w i s t e d c o n d u c t o r s ) . One was t h e 1969 MIT Hybrid's s l p e r c o n d u c t i n g r e g i o n w h e r e i n , a l t h o u g h t h e conductor was f u l l y s t a b l e , t h e energy i n t h e f l u x jumps was a d e q u a t e t o blow t h e h e l i u m c o m p l e t e l y o u t of t h e c o o l i n g c h a n n e l s .
Many of t h e e a r l y magnets a l s o s u f f e r e d from poor t h e r m a l i n s u l a t i o n , poor e l e c t r i c a l i n s u l a t i o n and "hard t o f i n d and r e p a i r " vacuum l e a k s . Continued problems s u c h a s t h e s e r e l a t e t o a l a r g e d e g r e e t o a s i m p l e l a c k of proven m a n u f a c t u r i n g t e c h n o l o g y . New d e v i c e s and p r o c e s s e s , however s i m p l e t h e y may b e , a r e i n v a r i a b l y f r a u g h t w i t h n a s t y l i t t l e s u r p r i s e s of t h e t y p e r e f e r e n c e d e a r l i e r by Lynn Young.
One of t h e Westinghouse LCP c o n d u c t o r problems was a s s o c i a t e d w i t h s m a l l m e t a l l i c
" s l i v e r s " which w e r e " r o l l e d " o u t of t h e ICCS s h e a t h by t h e t u b e m i l l . The LEL TPC magnet f a i l e d f o r t h e same r e a s o n . A p i e c e o f m e t a l which was " r o l l e d " o f f t h e s u r f a c e of t h e winding t u b e p u n c t u r e d t h e i n s u l a t i o n c a u s i n g a s h o r t which f o r t h e ( n e c e s s a r i l y ) h i g h c u r r e n t d e n s i t y winding of a " r a d i a t i o n t h i n " magnet s u c h a s TPC proved t o b e c a t a s t r o p h i c .
Magnet problems a r e o f t e n i n i t i a t e d by o t h e r e l e m e n t s of t h e system.
ESCAR, f o r i n s t a n c e , f a i l e d a s a r e s u l t of a power s u p p l y which w o u l d n ' t s h u t o f f when t o l d t o (by t h e p r o t e c t i o n c i r c u i t s ) . PLUTO s u f f e r e d a n a r c d u r i n g a n un- n e c e s s a r y "dump" caused by a f a l s e s i g n a l . A number of s u c h problems have been r e p o r t e d . Many a r e t h e r e s u l t of i n a t t e n t i o n t o d e t a i l d u r i n g t h e f i n a l s t a g e s of
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c o n s t r u c t i o n and e a r l y t e s t (when money i s low, t i m e i s s h o r t , and t e c h n i c i a n s a r e weary) .
4.0 Conclusion
The t e c h n o l o g y h a s s u f f e r e d t h e u s u a l growing p a i n s and problems and a few f a i l u r e s of s e r i o u s p r o p o r t i o n and consequence. It h a s a l s o produced some magni- f i c e n t achievements. It i s t o o soon f o r c o n c l u s i o n s more profound t h a n t h a t . 5.0 R e f e r e n c e s
1. F. Arendt and P . Komarek, " P o t e n t i a l F a i l u r e s and Hazards i n Superconducting Magnet Systems f o r Fusion R e a c t o r s , " N u c l e a r Technology/Fusion, Vol. 1, O c t o b e r , 1981.
2. H. Becker, J. M. T a r r h , and P. G. Marston, " F a i l u r e of a Large Cryogenic MHD Magnet," p r e s e n t e d a t MT-8 Conference, Grenoble, September, 1983.
ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS COMMITTEE INTRODUCTION
L a b o r a t o r i e s and companies responded o p e n l y and c a n d i d l y t o t h i s review.
I n many c a s e s , t h e y were a n x i o u s t o recommend changes t h a t can b e made t o im- p r o v e t h e e l e c t r i c a l equipment s i t u a t i o n .
@ L a b o r a t o r y management d i d n o t a p p e a r t o b e v e r y i n t e r e s t e d i n t h i s r e v i e w (PPPL was a n e x c e p t i o n t o t h i s comment)
ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS COMMITTEE FINDINGS Lack of P r o j e c t Approach
Hampers o b t a i n i n g t r o u b l e f r e e , t e s t e d equipment.
e (TFTR and MFTF have made good p r o g r e s s i n t h i s a r e a ) R e s u l t s i n l a c k of c l e a r d e f i n i t i o n of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y Resource l i m i t a t i o n s have r e s u l t e d i n
Lack of i n t e r e s t on t h e p a r t of l a r g e i n d u s t r i a l f i r m s e Limited s m a l l company p a r t i c i p a t i o n
e Compromises i n t e c h n i c a l performance
Resource l i m i t a t i o n s a l o n g w i t h s c h e d u l e p r e s s u r e s have r e s u l t e d i n " s h o r t c u t s "
b e i n g t a k e n t h a t h a v e r e s u l t e d i n c o s t and s c h e d u l e problems l a t e r on.
The program h a s evolved t o t h e p o i n t where t h e hardware r e q u i r e m e n t s and elec-.
t r i c a l equipment must be managed a s f u l l y e n g i n e e r e d s y s t e m s E n g i n e e r i n g must be a f u l l p a r t n e r w i t h p h y s i c s
E a r l y s y s t e m s d e f i n i t i o n , c o n f i g u r a t i o n and i n t e r f a c e d e f i n i t i o n and a n a l y s i s of t e c h n i c a l and s c h e d u l e r i s k s have been i n a d e q u a t e t o minimize problems w i t h hardware components and s y s t e m s performance.
The f u s i o n program can b e n e f i t from a commonality of e l e c t r i c a l equipment i n - c l u d i n g
MFE s t a n d a r d s S p a r e p o l i c y
0 P o o l i n g of equipment and s p a r e p a r t s
Problems i n e l e c t r i c a l equipment have r e s u l t e d from:
Incomplete s p e c i f i c a t i o n and procurement documents by t h e buyer L e s s t h a n thorough a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of t h e s e documents
e I n s u f f i c i e n t t e c h n i c a l involvement by t h e u s e r s t e c h n i c a l e x p e r t i s e i n t h e s u p p l i e r s and s u b - t i e r s u p p l i e r s p l a n t s d u r i n g d e s i g n , f a b r i c a t i o n , and t e s t i n g a c t i v i t i e s
I n a d e q u a t e communications between b u y e r and s e l l e r I n a d e q u a t e equipment documentation from s u p p l i e r I n a d e q u a t e t e s t i n g b o t h by s u p p l i e r and u s e r
I n s u f f i c i e n t c a r e i n u s i n g " s t a n d a r d " equipment i n "non-standard" a p p l i c a - t i o n s
The program h a s r e a c h e d t h e p h a s e where q u a l i t y a s s u r a n c e and r e l i a b i l i t y con- s i d e r a t i o n ' m u s t b e c o n s i s t e n t l y a p p l i e d
I n s u f f i c i e n t open d i s c u s s i o n of h a r d e n g i n e e r i n g problems w i t h i n t h e MFE pro- gram.
ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
A d d i t i o n a l s t e p s s h o u l d b e t a k e n by t h e MFE l a b o r a t o r i e s t o p r o j e c t i z e and t o i n c o r p o r a t e p r o j e c t methodology i n t o e l e c t r i c a l equipment development and p u r c h a s e a c t i v i t i e s . C l e a r d e f i n i t i o n of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i s a must.
DOE s h o u l d t a k e t h e n e c e s s a r y s t e p s t o f u r t h e r i n t e r e s t t h e l a r g e e l e c t r i c a l equipment s u p p l i e r s and t o a s s u r e t h e s m a l l companies of t h e i r c o n t i n u e d p a r t i c i p a t i o n t o s u p p l y r e l i a b l e , proven e l e c t r i c a l equipment needed t o s u p p o r t t h e MFE program. T h i s s h o u l d a l s o p r o v i d e a d d i t i o n a l t e c h n i c a l c a p a b i l i t y i n t h e d e s i g n , m a n u f a c t u r i n g , t e s t i n g and o p e r a t i o n of e l e c t r i c a l equipment.
Funding and s c h e d u l a r a l l o c a t i o n s s h o u l d be r e v i s e d t o s u p p o r t o b t a i n i n g r e - l i a b l e working equipment and f a c i l i t i e s .
E n g i n e e r i n g s h o u l d b e made an e q u a l p a r t n e r w i t h p h y s i c s .
A c t i o n s h o u l d b e t a k e n t o r e q u i r e e a r l y system d e f i n i t i o n , c o n f i g u r a t i o n and i n t e r f a c e d e f i n i t i o n and f o r m a l a n a l y s i s of t e c h n i c a l and s c h e d u l e r i s k s t o minimize problems w i t h hardware components and systems performance.
DOE s h o u l d work w i t h IEEE t o e s t a b l i s h a f u s i o n power e n g i n e e r i n g committee t o g e n e r a t e s t a n d a r d s f o r t h e MFE program.
DOE s h o u l d e s t a b l i s h a s p a r e s p o l i c y i n c l u d i n g d e l i v e r y of i n i t i a l s p a r e p a r t s w i t h equipment. T h i s s h o u l d i n c l u d e mechanisms f o r s h a r i n g between l a b o r a t o r i e s
and p r o j e c t s .
DOE s h o u l d t a k e a c t i o n t o b r i n g t o g e t h e r t h e l a b o r a t o r i e s t o e s t a b l i s h a more uniform p r o c e d u r e s and p r a c t i c e s f o r a c q u i r i n g , t e s t i n g , a c c e p t a n c e , i n s t a l l i n g , and documenting e l e c t r i c a l equipment.
R e l i a b i l i t y and QA programs s h o u l d be implemented and u t i l i z e d more e x t e n s i v e l y . Furthermore, a q u a l i t y a s s u r a n c e a u d i t s h o u l d b e conducted t o e s t a b l i s h t h e l e v e l of QA now b e i n g a p p l i e d and t o make recommendations.
The program s h o u l d promote and e n c o u r a g e more open p r o f e s s i o n a l d i s c u s s i o n of e n g i n e e r i n g problems w i t h i n t h e MFE program.
