ML19210E564
| ML19210E564 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Limerick  |
| Issue date: | 11/20/1979 |
| From: | Grier B NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION I) |
| To: | Boyer V PECO ENERGY CO., (FORMERLY PHILADELPHIA ELECTRIC |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 7912050273 | |
| Download: ML19210E564 (1) | |
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UNITED STATES y
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D Kf NG OF PRUSSIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19406
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9.....,o Docket Nos. 50-352 20Ing 50-353 Philadelphia Electric Company Attention:
Mr. V. S. Boyer Vice President Engineering and Research 2301 Market Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19101 Gentlemen:
The enclosed IE Bulletin 79-26 is forwarded to you for information. No written response is required. If you desire additional information regarding this matter, please contact this office.
Sincerely,
% $o
$n yce H. Grier rector
Enclosures:
1.
List of Recently Issued IE Bulletins CONTACT:
D. L. Caphton (215-337-5266) 1500 158 7912050[h
ENCLOSURE 1 UNITED STATES SSINS:
6820 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Accession No.:
OFFICE OF INSPECTION AND ElFORCEMENT 7910250475 WASHINGTON, D.C.
2t555 IE Belletin No. 79-26 Date: November 20, 1979 Page 1 of 4 B0RON LOSS FROM BWR CONTROL BLADES Description of Circumstances:
The General Electric Company (GE) has informed us of a failure mode for control blades which can cause a loss of boron poison material.
Hot cell examinations of both foreign and domestic blades lave revealed cracks near the upper end of stainless steel tubing and loss of boron from the tubes.
The cracks and boron loss have so far been g nfined to locations in the poison tubes with more than 50 percent Boron-10 (B ) local depletion.
Observed crack sizes range from a quarter to a half inch in length and from one to two mils in width.
GE has postulated that the cracking is due to stress corrosion induced by solidification of boron carbide (C C) particles and swelling of the compacted B C as helium and lithium concentrltions grow.
Once primary coolant penetrates 4tne cladding (i.e., the cracking has progressed through the cladding wall and thehelium-lithiumpressur3saresufficienttoopenthecrack),gronis leached out of the tube at locations with more than 50 percent B local depletion (local depletion is considered to be twice the average depletion).
Itwasfurtherfoundwithsimilarcrackingbutwithlessthan50percentlocal y
depletion of 8
, that leaching did not occur even though primary coolant had penetrated the cladding.
The (. racking and boron loss shorten the design life of the control blade.
Accordirg to the GE criteria the end of design life is reached when the reactivity w gth o' the blade is reduced by 10 percent, which corresponds to 42 percent B
depletionaveragedoverthetopquarterofthecontrolglade.
Because of y
the leaching mechanism, GE has reduced the allowance for B depletion averaged over the top quarter of the control blade from the 42 percent value to 34 percent.
The safety significance of boron loss is its impact on shutdown capability and scram reactivity.
Although shutdown capability is demonstrated by shutdown margin tests after refueling, the calcu tests are based on the assumption that in scram reactivity due to boron loss c Power Ratio (CPR) reductions during the DUPLICATE DOCUMENT the consequences of control rod drop ac Entire document previously entered into system under:
1500 159 nNo 79/02fo Y 7f N o.
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