Code Case OMN-20, Inservice Test Frequency

Code Case OMN-20

Inservice Test Frequency

http://www.istog.net/library/ASME Code Cases 1-29-2013.pdf

Inquiry: What alternative(s) may be applied to the test frequencies for pumps and valves specified in ASME OM Division: 1 Section IST 2009 Edition through OMa-2011 Addenda and all earlier editions and addenda of ASME OM Code?

Reply: It is the opinion of the Committee that for the test frequencies for pumps and valves specified in ASME OM Division: 1 Section IST 2009 Edition through OMa-2011 Addenda and all earlier editions and addenda of ASME OM Code, the below requirements may be applied.

ASME OM Division: 1 Section IST and earlier editions and addenda of ASME OM Code specify component test frequencies based either on elapsed time periods (e.g., quarterly, 2 years, etc.) or based on the occurrence of plant conditions or events (e.g., cold shutdown, refueling outage, upon detection of a sample failure, following maintenance, etc.).

a) Components whose test frequencies are based on elapsed time periods shall be tested at the frequencies specified in Section IST with a specified time period between tests as shown in the table below. The specified time period between tests may be reduced or extended as follows:

1) For periods specified as less than 2 years, the period may be extended by up to 25% for any given test.

2) For periods specified as greater than or equal to 2 years, the period may be extended by up to 6 months for any given test.

3) All periods specified may be reduced at the discretion of the owner (i.e., there is no minimum period requirement).

Period extension is to facilitate test scheduling and considers plant operating conditions that may not be suitable for performance of the required testing (e.g., performance of the test would cause an unacceptable increase in the plant risk profile due to transient conditions or other ongoing surveillance, test or maintenance activities). Period extensions are not intended to be used repeatedly merely as an operational convenience to extend test intervals beyond those specified.

Period extensions may also be applied to accelerated test frequencies (e.g., pumps in Alert Range) and other less than two year test frequencies not specified in the table below. Period extensions may not be applied to the test frequency requirements specified in Subsection ISTD, Preservice and Inservice Examination and Testing of Dynamic Restraints (Snubbers) in Light-water Reactor Nuclear Power Plants, as Subsection ISTD contains its own rules for period extensions.

Updated 1/29/13

Frequency	Specified Time Period Between Tests
Quarterly (or every 3 months)	92 days
Semiannually (or every 6 months)	184 days
Annually (or every year)	366 days
x Years	x calendar years where ‘x’ is a whole number of years ≥ 2

b) Components whose test frequencies are based on the occurrence of plant conditions or events may not have their period between tests extended except as allowed by ASME OM Division: 1 Section IST 2009 Edition through OMa-2011 Addenda and earlier editions and addenda of ASME OM Code.