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 A Technical Publication for Advancing the Practice of Operating Asset Condition Monitoring, Diagnostics, and Performance Optimization - Over 40,000 printed copies distributed worldwide - Volume 26, No. 3 (Dec 2006)A Nuclear Renaissance My earliest recollection of nuclear power was as a middle school student on a field trip to the Trojan Nuclear Plant. I remember very little about the trip other than the vague sense that splitting atoms to generate heat was "high tech" compared to the logs that fueled the quaint wood-burning stove we used to heat our home. On second thought, I remember one other thing-ardently wishing for a way to safely harness that technology on a residential basis because it would mean I no longer had to split and stack wood, my most dreaded of all chores.I hadn't really thought much about the plant until this summer, nearly 30 years later, as I headed north on the first leg of a vacation road trip. It made me feel, well, old, to see that the plant had been completely de-commissioned with even the familiar-shaped cooling tower no longer a part of the landscape visible from the freeway. There's nothing left anymore, unless you count the very cool video of the tower being dismantled floating around on the internet at places like www.youtube.com. For the last several decades, many of us have assumed that nuclear power was a dying breed, as extinct as the dinosaurs whose remains we now burn in our fossil-fueled plants. But with new concerns over the effect those same fossil fuels may be having on the global environment, nuclear is no longer the bad word it was even 10 years ago, leading to a resurgence in interest. In this issue of ORBIT, GE's Brian Jordan takes an in-depth look at the nuclear power generation industry-where it's been, where it's going, what's driving it-and concludes with a conversation with Andy White, President and CEO of GE Energy's nuclear business. We introduce you to some new products, including vibration transducers specifically designed for nuclear environments, and we provide our usual assortment of applications articles and case histories, including one that examines the shaft crack problems that can plague the coolant and recirculation pumps common in many nuclear plants. Even if you aren't directly involved in the nuclear power industry, I'm confident you'll find something of interest in this issue. With each publication of ORBIT, our mission is to provide useful technical information on monitoring and optimizing your plant's assets, applicable to just about any industry where machinery is used. As we finish our 26th year of bringing this magazine to you, it's good to know we're succeeding in that mission. Steve Sabin Editor |
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