ML18106A772

Requests Use of Portion of 1992 Edition of ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code Section XI (IWA-4500).During Tenth Refueling Outage,Feedwater Nozzle Insps Will Be Performed & Weld Repair on SG Feedwater Nozzles May Be Required

ML18106A772
Person / Time
Site:	Salem
Issue date:	07/16/1998
From:	Eric Simpson Public Service Enterprise Group
To:	NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM)
References
LR-N980345, NUDOCS 9807270319
Download: ML18106A772 (3)

Text

• Public Service Electric and Gas Company E. C. Simpson Public Service Electric and Gas Company P.O. Box 236, Hancocks Bridge, NJ 08038 . 609-339-1700 Senior Vice President - Nuclear Engineering JUL 16 1998 LR-N980345 United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555 Gentlemen:

ASME CODE SECTION XI REPAIR, REPLACEMENT AND MODIFICATION PROGRAM SALEM GENERATING STATION UNIT NO. 2 DOCKET NO. 50 - 311

. Pursuant to 10CFR50.55 (a) (g) (5) (iii), Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) hereby submits a request to use a portion of the 1992 Edition of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section XI (IWA-4500). During the Salem Unit No. 2 tenth refueling outage (2R10), feedwater nozzle inspections will be performed.

Subsequently the need for weld repair on the steam generator feedwater nozzle(s) inner diameter (ID) surface areas may be required. The nozzle(s) is constructed of SA-508 Class 2 material (P3 - Group 3), and would require Post Weld Heat Treatment (PWHT).

• Because ofthe change in sectional thickness of the feedwater nozzle along its principal axis, post weld heat treatment of these repair welds is extremely difficult and represents undue hardship. Additionally, the performance of any post weld heat treatment would unnecessarily contribute to the total permissible cumulative post weld heat treatment time, qualified during the original construction of the Salem generators. Consequently, it is desirable to employ a welding technique that does not require post welt heat treatment.

PSE&G Salem Unit 2 is committed to the ASME Code,Section XI; 1986 Edition. This version of ASME XI only permits the use of the Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) process to accomplish such repairs. It is preferred to employ an automatic (machine)

Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) process, in lieu of the manual SMAW process.

The GTAW process is inherently superior for controlling vital process variables, which contribute to the intrinsic quality of such welds.

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• JUL 16 1998 Document Control Desk LR_,N980345 NRC approved Code Case N-432 allows the Gas Tungsten Arc Welding process for temperbead repairs on Class 1 components. However, full compliance with this Code Case requires that the welding procedure qualification test assembly be* made from the same material (i.e., specification, type, grade, class, including a post weld heat treatment at least equivalent to the time and temperature already _applied to the material being repaired). When Code Case N-432 was incorporated into the 1992 Edition of the ASME Code,Section XI, some relaxations of these requirements were provided.

Although the 1992 Edition of the ASME Code has not been approved by the NRC, the 1992 Edition allows the procedure qualification test assembly to meet the same P number and group number of the material being repaired. This change provides acceptable material properties for the procedure qualification test assembly, without imposing undue complications of replicating the materials for the test assembly to that which is being repaired.

NRC approved a similar relief request for PSE&G's Salem Unit 1 Nuclear Generating Station on May 3, 1995, and for Southern California Edison's the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station on July 27, 1993. Approval of this relief request is to support the 2R 10 refueling outage (Scheduled to start in April 1999).

If you have any questions concerning this submittal, do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincere CC:

95-4933

Document Control Desk LR-N9803,45

• JUL 16 1998 Attachments (2)

C Mr. Hubert J. Miller, Administrator - Region I U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 475 Allendale Road King of Prussia, PA 19406 Mr. P. Milano, Licensing Project Manager - Salem U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission One White Flint North 11555 Rockville Pike Mail Stop 14E21 Rockville, MD 20852 Mr. S. Morris - Salem (S09)

USNRC Senior Resident Inspector

.Mr. K. Tosch, Manager, IV NJ Department of Environmental Protection Division of Environmental Quality Bureau of Nuclear Engineering CN 415 Trenton, NJ 08625 95-4933