Advanced Nuclear Power - AREVA
Advanced Nuclear Power - AREVA
Advanced Nuclear Power - AREVA
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Nuke NotesNuke NotesJAPANPipe Crawler InspectionsExtend Service Life of PipingFramatome ANP has built andsupplied a new remote-controlledin-pipe manipulator - called a pipecrawler for Japanese customers. Thecrawler can easily be inserted into thepiping through valve bodies after thevalve trim has been removed (e.g.wedge-type gate valves, angle valves orcheck valves) and is capable of examiningthe entire inner surface of a pipefor cracks. If defects are found, theySLOVENIAExchanger Replacementin Kr koFramatome ANP replaced one regenerativeheat exchanger on the primaryside of the 660 MWe PWR unit ofKr ko during the recent 2001 outage.Decontamination of the oldexchanger and piping was completedprior to replacement and reduced thedose by a factor of 20. The replacementwas completed on schedule andwithin dosimetry parameters byFramatome ANP and its local partner,NUMIP.Framatome ANP has replacedmore than 31 heat exchangers inFrance, South Africa, the US,and Germany.Installing a heat exchanger in Kr kocan be removed by grinding using ahigh-precision grinding head. Thegrinding process has been speciallyqualified for such applications. Fulldocumentation is provided for allinspection results.The new crawler is designed fordeployment in pipes with nominaldiameters ranging from 8" (DN 200)to 40" (DN 1000) and has alreadybeen used with success in nuclearpower plants all over the world.SPAINTrillo Standby Offsite<strong>Power</strong> System Connectionto be UpgradedThe operator of the Spanish PWRnuclear power plant, Trillo has awardedFramatome ANP a contract toupgrade the plant's standby offsitepower system connection for auxiliarypower supply. A new 220-kV standbyconnection is to be installed that willtake over the functions currently performedby the plant's 132-kV standbyconnection. In the future, the 132-kVconnection will serve as a secondstandby offsite power system connection.The supply and services scopeincludes two transformers (220/10/10kV, each rated for 76 MVA), 220-kVcables, 10-kV switchgear panels, transformervoltage control and protectionequipment, modernization of theentire auxiliary power supply transfersystem as well as all associated instrumentationand control (I&C) equipment.The last of these items is to bebased on a digital process control system(TELEPERM XP from Siemens).This will be the first time that digitalI&C is being implemented at Trilloand will provide the groundwork forupgrading other plant systems withdigital I&C in the future.Some of the engineering work -particularly civil engineering has beenNew pipe crawler for Japanesecustomerscontracted out to Spanish companies.Performance of the electrical upgradeat Trillo requires not only know-howin electrical engineering but also indepthknowledge of plant processengineering, especially for the loadreconnection programs - one of themain reasons why this upgrade wasawarded to Framatome ANP.SWITZERLANDBeznau Awards ATEA ContractSociété Atlantique de TechniquesAvancées (ATEA), a wholly ownedsubsidiary of Framatome ANP, hasbeen awarded a contract for the cleaningand eddy current inspection ofthimble tubes for the two Beznaunuclear units for outages in 2001 and2002. ATEA's experience in designingand supplying incore instrumentationas well as development of specialprocesses and tooling contributed tothe success of this award.ATEA has been building equipmentfor PWR nuclear power plantsfor over 25 years, in particular in-coreinstrumentation systems, fuel handlingand control rod guide tubes. Theyhave built in excess of 70 in-coreinstrumentation systems.USAIngenuity Reduces Dose LevelsDuring the VC Summer hot-leg pipereplacement non-destructive examination(NDE), visual inspection showedexcessive weld buildup in the insidediameter of the pipe. Thus, grindingfrom the inside diameter (ID) of thepipe was required. Due to the locationof the weld root and the dose insidethe pipe, a special tool was designedand fabricated to perform this grindingoperation.Access to the work area wasthrough the steam generator via theman-way. The remote-controlledcrawler had to fit through the manway,drive through the steam generatorbowl, into the pipe and around severalobstacles en-route to the weld. Onceat the weld location, the crawler wassteered to align with the weld usingremote video. Grinding was thenaccomplished by driving the crawleraround the circumference of the pipewhile operating a standard grindermounted in the center of the tool.This simple tool reduced doselevels from 5R per hour to less than1mr per hour.Framatome ANP Createsa Special Inconel 600Weld Project TeamSeveral plants have reported problemswith their control rod drive mechanism(CRDM) nozzle vessel headwelds. Cracks have been detected inboth the inner diameter (ID) and theouter diameter (OD) areas of thenozzles, some causing leaks. To addressthis need, Framatome ANP hascreated a special I-600 Weld ProjectTeam to focus on solutions toproblems related to CRDM nozzlevessel welds. As the issues surroundingInconel 600 welds emerge,Framatome ANP's project team willidentify problem welds and executerepairs, including replacing reactorvessel heads.The I-600 Weld Project Teamincludes high-level representativesfrom engineering and licensing, componentfabrication, welding, remotetooling, contracts, resource procurementas well as technical consultants.Framatome ANP's team performsinspection, welding repair, Ni plating,temper bead repair and remediation toprovide plants with short-term solutions.Specialized tooling for remoteoperation has been designed to reducedose levels. The Framatome ANPteam will customize and implementthe optimum solution for each repair.Framatome ANP MakesTechnical Papers AvailableEngineers and managers are deliveringtechnical papers on a wide range ofsubjects at meetings and conferencesthroughout the year. Up to now, thesehave been available only toFramatome ANP personnel. Now,customers and other interested partieshave access to them through a newlink on the Framatome ANP website.The Framatome ANP website canbe accessed via:www.Framatome-anp.comOnce on the site, go to Literaturewhere either product bulletins or technicalpapers can be accessed. Paperscan be downloaded or read on line.Permanent Canal Seal PlateReduces Dose and CostsAmerGen's TMI has awardedFramatome ANP a contract for thedesign, fabrication and installation of apermanent reactor vessel canal sealplate (PCSP). The PCSP installationreduces the time required to performstandard refueling outage operationswhich in turn reduces personnelradiation dose levels and the costsassociated with performing therefueling outage activities.This PCSP installation is consideredan nth-of-a-kind activity(NOAK) and will be the 9th PCSPinstalled by Framatome ANP personnel.As with all past Permanent CanalSeal Plates, Oscar Fields Inc. (OFI) ofRichmond, Virginia will perform thehardwarefabrication activities underthe supervision of Framatome ANPpersonnel. The contract includes adesign change package and will beinstalled in the October 2001 outage.EVENTSTIP Awards Presented atRecent NEA MeetingAt the recent <strong>Nuclear</strong> EnergyAssembly (NEA) in Washington DC,US, the "Top Industry Awards" (TIP)were presented. These awards provideindustry-wide recognition of nuclearcompanies who have developed aninnovative new process or equipmentwithin the last three years. Criteriainclude safety, cost-saving impact,productivity/efficiency, innovation,outstanding attributes and transferability.Out of a total of 77 entries, a totalof 8 awards were given, with "The Bestof the Best" chosen from the winners.Four NSSS vendors sponsorawards: Framatome ANP, GE <strong>Nuclear</strong>Energy, Westinghouse, andWestinghouse CE <strong>Nuclear</strong>. Inaddition there are 5 NEI Awardspresented.The Framatome ANP winner for2000 was VC Summer for their reactorvessel nozzle leak repair. Otheraward winners included:Calvert Cliffs for their IntegratedRisk Management (IRM) processSouth Texas for their boraflexremoval project "Best of the BestAward"Arkansas <strong>Nuclear</strong> One (ANO) forelimination of the Post AccidentSampling SystemExelon for their RPV and InternalsAsset Management StrategyBraidwood station Steam GeneratorHigh Impact TeamDetroit Edison's Fermi 2 nuclearplant for their Utilities ServiceAlliance implementation projectQuad Cities Unit 1 RecirculationRiser Pipe Repair36 <strong>Advanced</strong> <strong>Nuclear</strong> <strong>Power</strong> 08/2001 08/2001 <strong>Advanced</strong> <strong>Nuclear</strong> <strong>Power</strong> 37