Addressing the Challenge of Inspecting Buried Nuclear Piping in Nuclear Power Plants

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Angell ◽  
Sheng-Hui Wang ◽  
Phil Simon ◽  
Hank Kleinfelder ◽  
Kevin Garrity ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Buried Pipe ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
River Site

Similar to many other industries, nuclear power plants (NPPs) have many kilometres of buried pipe that is not readily accessible for direct inspection. Given the nature of the systems, the nuclear industry experiences additional challenges as many services run in the same area, leading to what is described as a “spaghetti bowl” of piping. As a result, the traditional indirect, over the line, inspection practices developed for the oil and gas industry have not always been successfully applied at nuclear power plants. To address this issue, a collaborative Electric Power Research Institute/CANDU Owners Group (EPRI/COG) research project was established with Mears Group Inc. and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) Nuclear Laboratories. In this program, initial testing of four methods was carried out at the Mears Group Inc, test site that had been modified with additional grounding systems to simulate a nuclear power plant. This was followed by testing of the same methods at the AECL Nuclear Laboratories Chalk River site. This paper will discuss the results of those studies and present some of the findings that were made that can help to overcome the challenges faced by Nuclear Power Plants.

Guided Waves in Pitch-Catch Configuration: A Theoretical Framework to Steer Toward Experimental Tests

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Cordella ◽  
Mauro Cappelli ◽  
Francesco Bertoncini
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Analysis ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Guided Waves ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Guided Wave ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Discharge Pipe

Abstract Guided waves testing allows a long-range screening in pipes of different types and represents an effective and powerful non-destructing technique for defect detections using a limited number of points of measures. This kind of testing hence represents an appealing technique not only for the Oil and Gas industries but also for the Nuclear Industry, in particular regarding the Structural Health Monitoring of Nuclear Power Plants components. Another point of strength of this technique is that it can be applied in different configurations as the pulse-echo (the same probe is used both for transmission and signal receiving) or the pitch-catch (two symmetric probes are used one for the signal transmission and the second one for the signal receiving). In this way, the guided wave testing with magnetostrictive sensors can be reliably used for the short and long-term monitoring of Nuclear Power Plants components. The objective of this paper is to establish a strong theoretical background to pave the way for a robust experimental investigation. In particular, after the characterization through a general theoretical analysis, the focus is on a real steam discharge pipe with a high mechanical complexity used for many years in a research facility and now dismissed. The experimental method applied is the pitch-catch configuration of two magnetostrictive sensors. Preliminary experimental results conducted on a real complex steam discharge pipe are consistent with the theoretical analysis.

scholarly journals Innovative technologies in training and education for maintenance team of NPPs

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Róbert Soós ◽  
Bence Balogh ◽  
Gergely Dobos ◽  
Szabolcs Szávai ◽  
Judit Dudra
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Financial Loss ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Psychological Pressure ◽  
Temperature Radiation

Many industries, such as nuclear power plants, chemical industry, oil and gas industry have dangerous working environments and hazardous conditions for employees. Maintenance, inspection and decommissioning activities in these safety-critical areas mean a serious risk, downtime is a significant financial loss. The Virtual Reality Training Platform is reflecting on this shortcoming, by providing the possibility for maintenance workers to be trained and prepared for unexpected scenarios, and to learn complex maintenance protocols without being exposed to unnecessary danger, like high temperature, radiation, etc. Employees can have training for equipment maintenance, dismantling of facilities at closed NPP Units. One of the most significant and unique added value of the immersive virtual reality solution is that the operator can experience lifelike emergencies (detonation, shutdown) under psychological pressure, while all of the physiology indicators can be monitored like eye-tracking. Users can work together anywhere in the world. A huge financial outage in industrial production is the preparation and maintenance downtime, which can be significantly reduced by the Virtual Training platform. This method can increase the accuracy, safety, reliability, and accountability of the maintenance and decommissioning procedures, while operational costs can be reduced as well.

Inservice Testing Program Improvements for New Reactors Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald C. Lippy
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
The United States ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Small Modular Reactors ◽  
American Society ◽  
Construction Permit ◽  
Regulatory Commission

The nuclear industry is preparing for the licensing and construction of new nuclear power plants in the United States. Several new designs have been developed and approved, including the “traditional” reactor designs, the passive safe shutdown designs and the small modular reactors (SMRs). The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) provides specific Codes used to perform preservice inspection/testing and inservice inspection/testing for many of the components used in the new reactor designs. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews information provided by applicants related to inservice testing (IST) programs for Design Certifications and Combined Licenses (COLs) under Part 52, “Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,” in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 52) (Reference 1). The 2012 Edition of the ASME OM Code defines a post-2000 plant as a nuclear power plant that was issued (or will be issued) its construction permit, or combined license for construction and operation, by the applicable regulatory authority on or following January 1, 2000. The New Reactors OM Code (NROMC) Task Group (TG) of the ASME Code for Operation and Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants (NROMC TG) is assigned the task of ensuring that the preservice testing (PST) and IST provisions in the ASME OM Code to address pumps, valves, and dynamic restraints (snubbers) in post-2000 nuclear power plants are adequate to provide reasonable assurance that the components will operate as needed when called upon. Currently, the NROMC TG is preparing proposed guidance for the treatment of active pumps, valves, and dynamic restraints with high safety significance in non-safety systems in passive post-2000 reactors including SMRs.

scholarly journals Nuclear Power: Time to Start Again

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
William D. Rezak
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Electric Power ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Environmentally Friendly ◽  
Power Industry ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
The Us ◽  
Generating Capacity

One of America’s best kept secrets is the success of its nuclear electric power industry. This paper presents data which support the construction and operating successes enjoyed by energy companies that operate nuclear power plants in the US. The result—the US nuclear industry is alive and well. Perhaps it’s time to start anew the building of nuclear power plants. Let’s take the wraps off the major successes achieved in the nuclear power industry. Over 20% of the electricity generated in the United States comes from nuclear power plants. An adequate, reliable supply of reasonably priced electric energy is not a consequence of an expanding economy and gross national product; it is an absolute necessity before such expansion can occur. It is hard to imagine any aspect of our business or personal lives not, in some way, dependent upon electricity. All over the world (in 34 countries) nuclear power is a low-cost, secure, safe, dependable, and environmentally friendly form of electric power generation. Nuclear plants in these countries are built in six to eight years using technology developed in the US, with good performance and safety records. This treatise addresses the success experienced by the US nuclear industry over the last 40 years, and makes the case that this reliable, cost-competitive source of electric power can help support the economic engine of the country and help prevent experiences like the recent crisis in California. Traditionally, the evaluation of electric power generation facility performance has focused on the ability of plants to produce at design capacity for high percentages of the time. Successful operation of nuclear facilities is determined by examining capacity or load factors. Load factor is the percentage of design generating capacity that a power plant actually produces over the course of a year’s operation. This paper makes the case that these operating performance indicators warrant renewed consideration of the nuclear option. Usage of electricity in the US now approaches total generating capacity. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has pre-approved construction and operating licenses for several nuclear plant designs. State public service commissions are beginning to understand that dramatic reform is required. The economy is recovering and inflation is minimal. It’s time, once more, to turn to the safe, reliable, environmentally friendly nuclear power alternative.

Blowout preventer (BOP) risk model to assist critical decisions in offshore drilling

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Inge Alme ◽  
Angel Casal ◽  
Trygve Leinum ◽  
Helge Flesland
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Risk Model ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Risk Level ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Offshore Drilling ◽  
Drilling Rig

The BOP is a critical safety system of an offshore drilling rig, as shown in the 2010 Macondo accident. A challenge for the oil and gas industry is to decide what to do when the BOP is failing. Pulling the BOP to the surface during operations for inspection and testing is a costly and timely operation. Many of the potential failures are not critical to overall safety as multiple levels of redundancy are often available. Scandpower and Moduspec, both subsidiaries of Lloyd’s Register, have developed a BOP risk model that will assist the industry make the pull or no pull decisions. Scandpower’s proprietary software RiskSpectrum is used for the modelling. This software is used for equivalent decision support in the nuclear power industry, where the risk levels of total nuclear power plants are monitored live by operators in the control rooms. By modelling existing BOPs and their submerged control systems, and using risk monitor software for keeping track on the status of the BOP subsystems and components, the industry is able to define the real-time operational risk level the BOP is operating at. It, therefore, allows the inclusion for sensitivity modelling with possible faulty components factored in the model. The main task of the risk model is to guide and support energy companies and regulators in the decision process when considering whether to pull the BOP for repairs. Moreover, it will help the communication with the regulators, since the basis for the decisions are more traceable and easier to follow for a third party.

Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission: Readiness to Regulate SMRs in Canada

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Herstead ◽  
M. de Vos ◽  
S. Cook
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Safety Analysis ◽  
Reactor Power ◽  
Nuclear Safety ◽  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Plant Design ◽  
Regulatory Documents

The success of any new build project is reliant upon all stakeholders — applicants, vendors, contractors and regulatory agencies — being ready to do their part. Over the past several years, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has been working to ensure that it has the appropriate regulatory framework and internal processes in place for the timely and efficient licensing of all types of reactor, regardless of size. This effort has resulted in several new regulatory documents and internal processes including pre-project vendor design reviews. The CNSC’s general nuclear safety objective requires that nuclear facilities be designed and operated in a manner that will protect the health, safety and security of persons and the environment from unreasonable risk, and to implement Canada’s international commitments on the peaceful use of nuclear energy. To achieve this objective, the regulatory approach strikes a balance between pure performance-based regulation and prescriptive-based regulation. By utilizing this approach, CNSC seeks to ensure a regulatory environment exists that encourages innovation within the nuclear industry without compromising the high standards necessary for safety. The CNSC is applying a technology neutral approach as part of its continuing work to update its regulatory framework and achieve clarity of its requirements. A reactor power threshold of approximately 200 MW(th) has been chosen to distinguish between large and small reactors. It is recognized that some Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) will be larger than 200 MW(th), so a graded approach to achieving safety is still possible even though Nuclear Power Plant design and safety requirements will apply. Design requirements for large reactors are established through two main regulatory documents. These are RD-337 Design for New Nuclear Power Plants, and RD-310 Safety Analysis for Nuclear Power Plants. For reactors below 200 MW(th), the CNSC allows additional flexibility in the use of a graded approach to achieving safety in two new regulatory documents: RD-367 Design of Small Reactors and RD-308 Deterministic Safety Analysis for Small Reactors. The CNSC offers a pre-licensing vendor design review as an optional service for reactor facility designs. This review process is intended to provide early identification and resolution of potential regulatory or technical issues in the design process, particularly those that could result in significant changes to the design or analysis. The process aims to increase regulatory certainty and ultimately contribute to public safety. This paper outlines the CNSC’s expectations for applicant and vendor readiness and discusses the process for pre-licensing reviews which allows vendors and applicants to understand their readiness for licensing.

US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Perspective on Buried and Underground Piping Issues at Nuclear Power Plants in the United States

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Alley
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
The United States ◽  
Buried Pipe ◽  
Development Organizations ◽  
Regulatory Commission ◽  
License Renewal

This paper provides a historical perspective on the need for, and development of, buried and underground piping tanks programs at nuclear power plants. Nuclear power plant license renewal activities, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Buried Piping Action Plan, and the rationale for addressing the issue of buried pipe through an industry initiative as opposed to regulation are discussed. The paper also addresses current NRC activities including the results of Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspections of buried piping programs at nuclear power plants as well as Nuclear Regulatory Commission involvement in industry and standards development organizations. Finally, the paper outlines the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s future plans concerning the issue of buried piping at US nuclear power plants.

French Codes Used for EPR and Comparison With ASME Practices

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claude Faidy
Keyword(s):  
Radiation Protection ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Quality Level ◽  
General Philosophy ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Leak Before Break ◽  
Minimum Quality

On December 2005, the French regulator issued a new regulation for French nuclear power plants, in particular for pressure equipment (PE). This regulation need first to agree with non-nuclear PE regulation and add to that some specific requirements, in particular radiation protection requirements. Different advantages are in these proposal, it’s more qualitative risk oriented and it’s an important link with non-nuclear industry. Only few components are nuclear specific. But, the general philosophy of the existing Codes (RCC-M, KTA or ASME) have to be improved. For foreign Codes, it’s plan to define the differences in the user specifications. In parallel to that, a new safety classification has been developed by French utility. The consequences is the need to cross all these specifications to define a minimum quality level for each components or systems. In the same time a new concept has been developed to replace the well known “Leak Before Break methodology” by the “Break Exclusion” methodology. This paper will summarize the key aspects of these different topics and regularly compare with ASME practices.

Environment-Assisted Intergranular Cracking

MRS Bulletin ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 36-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.R. Scully
Keyword(s):  
High Purity ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Intergranular Cracking ◽  
Intergranular Stress Corrosion ◽  
Ferrous Alloys ◽  
Primary Coolant

Intergranular separation in polycrys-talline materials involves breaking metallic bonds along grain boundaries in response to stress. The surfaces created in this manner expose the grain facets on either side of the original boundary, as shown in Figure 1. This mode of fracture often occurs at much lower fracture stress and energy than cracking by ductile processes through the interior of grains. The exposure of specific materials to certain environments and stress can promote this low-energy, intergranular mode of separation, even when fracture of the same material in vacuum would occur along a ductile transgranu-lar path. Three types of environment-assisted intergranular cracking can occur in a wide variety of alloy/environment systems: intergranular stress-corrosion cracking (IGSCC), intergranular hydrogen embrittlement, and intergranular liquid-metal embrittlement.Figure 1 shows an example of IGSCC. This type of cracking is a pervasive problem in many technological applications, leading to extensive repairs, loss of service function, and safety concerns. IGSCC occurs in the weld-heat-affected zones of stainless-steel pipes in high-purity primary coolant waters within nuclear power plants, and in nickel-based alloys utilized as heat-exchanger tubing when exposed to the high-purity primary as well as secondary coolant waters in power plants. It is also seen in Al-based alloys used for fuselage skins and structural components in military and commercial aircraft when exposed to humid atmospheric conditions. Ferrous alloys used in the oil and gas industry are also susceptible. For instance, IGSCC of mild steels used in buried gas-transmission pipelines is a widespread international problem, leading to explosions when leaking natural gas ignites.

scholarly journals QSL: Subliminal Messaging by the Nuclear Industry in Germany during the 1980s

Heritage ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 2054-2080
Author(s):  
Dirk H. R. Spennemann
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
Power Industry ◽  
Nuclear Industry ◽  
Nuclear Power Industry ◽  
Nuclear Movement ◽  
Political Pressure ◽  
Amateur Radio

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, the German nuclear power industry came under considerable socio-political pressure from the growing environmental and anti-nuclear movement. As part of a diversified public relations strategy, the Kraftwerk Union (KWU, later Siemens) as the main manufacturer of nuclear power plants distributed pre-printed QSL cards to amateur radio enthusiasts. These cards carried images of the latest nuclear power plants built by KWU. This paper examines the history, iconography and distribution of these QSL cards in the context of the heritage of the German nuclear power industry. It is the first study of its kind to examine the heritage significance of QSL cards.

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