Dan J Naus

Materials Degradation in Light Water Reactors: Life After 60,???

Nuclear reactors present a very harsh environment for components service. Components within a reactor core must tolerate high temperature water, stress, vibration, and an intense neutron field. Degradation of materials in this environment can lead to reduced performance, and in some cases, sudden failure. A recent EPRI-led study interviewed 47 US nuclear utility executives to gauge perspectives on long-term operation of nuclear reactors. Nearly 90% indicated that extensions of reactor lifetimes to beyond 60 years were likely. When polled on the most challenging issues facing further life extension, two-thirds cited plant reliability as the key issue with materials aging and cable/piping as the top concerns for plant reliability. Materials degradation within a nuclear power plant is very complex. There are many different types of materials within the reactor itself: over 25 different metal alloys can be found with can be found within the primary and secondary systems, not to mention the concrete containment vessel, instrumentation and control, and other support facilities. When this diverse set of materials is placed in the complex and harsh environment coupled with load, degradation over an extended life is indeed quite complicated. To address this issue, the USNRC has developed a Progressive Materials Degradation Approach (NUREG/CR-6923). This approach is intended to develop a foundation for appropriate actions to keep materials degradation from adversely impacting component integrity and safety and identify materials and locations where degradation can reasonably be expected in the future. Clearly, materials degradation will impact reactor reliability, availability, and potentially, safe operation. Routine surveillance and component replacement can mitigate these factors, although failures still occur. With reactor life extensions to 60 years or beyond or power uprates, many components must tolerate the reactor environment for even longer times. This may increase susceptibility for most components and may introduce new degradation modes. While all components (except perhaps the reactor vessel) can be replaced, it may not be economically favorable. Therefore, understanding, controlling, and mitigating materials degradation processes are key priorities for reactor operation, power uprate considerations, and life extensions. This document is written to give an overview of some of the materials degradation issues that may be key for extend reactor service life. A detailed description of all the possible forms of degradation is beyond the scope of this short paper and has already been described in other documents (for example, the NUREG/CR-6923). The intent of this document is to present an overview of current materials issues in the existing reactor fleet and a brief analysis of the potential impact of extending life beyond 60 years. Discussion is presented in six distinct areas: (1) Reactor pressure vessel; (2) Reactor core and primary systems; (3) Reactor secondary systems; (4) Weldments; (5) Concrete; and (6) Modeling and simulations. Following each of these areas, some research thrust directions to help identify and mitigate lifetime extension issues are proposed. Note that while piping and cabling are important for extended service, these components are discussed in more depth in a separate paper. Further, the materials degradation issues associated with fuel cladding and fuel assemblies are not discussed in this section as these components are replaced periodically and will not influence the overall lifetime of the reactor.

State-of-the-art of non-destructive testing methods and technologies for application to nuclear power plant safety-related concrete structures

The inspection of nuclear power plant concrete structures presents challenges different from conventional civil engineering structures. Wall thicknesses can be in excess of one meter and the structures often have increased steel reinforcement density with more complex detailing. The accessibility for any testing method may be limited due to the presence of liners and other components and there can be a number of penetrations or cast-in-place items present. The objective of the report is to present the state-of-the art of non-destructive testing methods and technologies for the inspection of thick, heavily-reinforced nuclear power plant concrete cross-sections with particular respect to: •locating steel reinforcement and identification of its cover depth •locating tendon ducts and identification of the condition of the grout materials •detection of cracking, voids, delamination, and honeycombing in concrete structures •detection of inclusions of different materials or voids adjacent to the concrete side of...

Nuclear containment steel liner corrosion workshop : final summary and recommendation report.

This report documents the proceedings of an expert panel workshop conducted to evaluate the mechanisms of corrosion for the steel liner in nuclear containment buildings. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) sponsored this work which was conducted by Sandia National Laboratories. A workshop was conducted at the NRC Headquarters in Rockville, Maryland on September 2 and 3, 2010. Due to the safety function performed by the liner, the expert panel was assembled in order to address the full range of issues that may contribute to liner corrosion. This report is focused on corrosion that initiates from the outer surface of the liner, the surface that is in contact with the concrete containment building wall. Liner corrosion initiating on the outer diameter (OD) surface has been identified at several nuclear power plants, always associated with foreign material left embedded in the concrete. The potential contributing factors to liner corrosion were broken into five areas for discussion during the workshop. Those include nuclear power plant design and operation, corrosion of steel in contact with concrete, concrete aging and degradation, concrete/steel non-destructive examination (NDE), and concrete repair and corrosion mitigation. This report also includes the expert panel members recommendations for future research.

Nuclear Concrete Materials Database Phase I Development

The FY 2011 accomplishments in Phase I development of the Nuclear Concrete Materials Database to support the Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program are summarized. The database has been developed using the ORNL materials database infrastructure established for the Gen IV Materials Handbook to achieve cost reduction and development efficiency. In this Phase I development, the database has been successfully designed and constructed to manage documents in the Portable Document Format generated from the Structural Materials Handbook that contains nuclear concrete materials data and related information. The completion of the Phase I database has established a solid foundation for Phase II development, in which a digital database will be designed and constructed to manage nuclear concrete materials data in various digitized formats to facilitate electronic and mathematical processing for analysis, modeling, and design applications.

A New Test Method for Determining the Strength and Fracture Toughness of Cement Mortar and Concrete

The Spiral Notch Torsion Fracture Toughness Test (SNTT) was developed recently to determine the intrinsic fracture toughness (KIC ) of structural materials. The SNTT system operates by applying pure torsion to uniform cylindrical specimens with a notch line that spirals around the specimen at a 45° pitch. KIC values are obtained with the aid of an in-house developed three-dimensional finite-element computer code, TOR3D-KIC. The SNTT method is uniquely suitable for testing a wide variety of materials used extensively in pressure vessel and piping structural components and weldments. Application of the method to metallic, ceramic, and graphite materials has been demonstrated. One important characteristic of SNTT is that neither a fatigue precrack nor a deep notch are required for the evaluation of brittle materials, which significantly reduces the sample size requirement. In this paper we report results for a Portland cement-based mortar to demonstrate applicability of the SNTT method to cementitious materials. The estimated KIC of the tested mortar samples with compressive strength of 34.45 MPa was found to be 0.19 MPa √m.Copyright

Phosphate Ions: Does Exposure Lead to Degradation of Cementitious Materials?

An assessment of the potential effects of phosphate ions on cementitious materials was made through a review of the literature, contacts with concrete research personnel, and conduct of a “bench-scale” laboratory investigation [1]. The objectives of this limited study were to: (1) review the potential for degradation of cementitious materials due to exposure to high concentrations of phosphate ions; (2) provide an improved understanding of any significant factors that may lead to a requirement to establish exposure limits for concrete structures exposed to soils or ground waters containing high levels of phosphate ions; (3) recommend, as appropriate, whether a limitation on phosphate ion concentration in soils or ground water is required to avoid degradation of concrete structures; and (4) provide a “primer” on factors that can affect the durability of concrete materials and structures in nuclear power plants. Results of a literature review, contacts with industry personnel, and a laboratory investigation indicate that no harmful interactions occur between phosphate ions and cememtitious materials unless phosphates are present in form of phosphoric acid. Relative to the “primer,” a separate NUREG report has been prepared that provides a review of pertinent factors that can affect the durability of nuclear power plant reinforced concrete structures.

Developing an Innovative Field Expedient Fracture Toughness Testing Protocol for Concrete Materials

The Spiral Notch Torsion Fracture Toughness Test (SNTT) was developed recently to determine the intrinsic fracture toughness (KIC) of structural materials. The SNTT system operates by applying pure torsion to uniform cylindrical specimens with a notch line that spirals around the specimen at a 45 pitch. KIC values are obtained with the aid of a three-dimensional finite-element computer code, TOR3D-KIC. The SNTT method is uniquely suitable for testing a wide variety of materials used extensively in pressure vessel and piping structural components and weldments. Application of the method to metallic, ceramic, and graphite materials has been demonstrated. One important characteristic of SNTT is that neither a fatigue precrack or a deep notch are required for the evaluation of brittle materials, which significantly reduces the sample size requirement. In this paper we report results for a Portland cement-based mortar to demonstrate applicability of the SNTT method to cementitious materials. The estimated KIC of the tested mortar samples with compressive strength of 34.45 MPa was found to be 0.19 MPa m.

Durability-Based Design Criteria for a Quasi-Isotropic Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastic Automotive Composite

This report provides recommended durability-based design properties and criteria for a quais-isotropic carbon-fiber thermoplastic composite for possible automotive structural applications. The composite consisted of a PolyPhenylene Sulfide (PPS) thermoplastic matrix (Fortrons PPS - Ticona 0214B1 powder) reinforced with 16 plies of carbon-fiber unidirectional tape, [0?/90?/+45?/-45?]2S. The carbon fiber was Hexcel AS-4C and was present in a fiber volume of 53% (60%, by weight). The overall goal of the project, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energys Office of Freedom Car and Vehicle Technologies and is closely coordinated with the Advanced Composites Consortium, is to develop durability-driven design data and criteria to assure the long-term integrity of carbon-fiber-based composite systems for automotive structural applications. This document is in two parts. Part 1 provides design data and correlations, while Part 2 provides the underlying experimental data and models. The durability issues addressed include the effects of short-time, cyclic, and sustained loadings; temperature; fluid environments; and low-energy impacts (e.g., tool drops and kickups of roadway debris) on deformation, strength, and stiffness. Guidance for design analysis, time-independent and time-dependent allowable stresses, rules for cyclic loadings, and damage-tolerance design guidance are provided.