ML19253C122
| ML19253C122 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | South Texas  |
| Issue date: | 11/20/1979 |
| From: | Seyfrit K NRC OFFICE OF INSPECTION & ENFORCEMENT (IE REGION IV) |
| To: | Eric Turner HOUSTON LIGHTING & POWER CO. |
| References | |
| IEB-79-26, NUDOCS 7911300016 | |
| Download: ML19253C122 (1) | |
Text
/,.I.- C
.a UNITED STATES
/pa "E%,#'o,i NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OD f/
REGION IV II C, /-I o 611 RY AN PLAZA DRIVE, SUITE 1000 ARLINGTON, TEXAS 76012 g-%; oflf November 20, 1979 In Reply Refer To:
RIV Docket Nos. 50-498/IE Bulletin No. 79-20 50-499/IE Bulletin No. 79-20 llouston Lighting & Power Company ATTN:
Mr. E. A. Turner, Vice President Power Plant Construction and Technical Services Post Office Box 1700 llouston, Texas 77001 Gentlemen:
The enclosed IE Bulletin No. 79-26 is forwarded to you for information.
No written response is required.
If you desire additional information re-garding this matter, please contact this office.
Sincerely,
[-
C Karl V.
eyfrit Director
Enclosures:
1.
List of Recently Issued IE Bulletins 1443
?30 016' 7911300
UNITED STATES SSINS: 6820 NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Accccsion No.-
0FFICE OF INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT 7910250475 WASHINGTON, D.C.
20555 IE Bulletin No. 79-26 Date: November 20, 1979 Page 1 of 4 BORON 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 have 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 (B C) particles and swelling of the compacted 4
B C as helium and lithium concentrations grow. Once primary coolant penetrates g
the cladding (i.e., the cracking has progressed through the cladding wall and the helium-lithium pressures are sufficient to open the gack), boron is 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).
It was furtijgr found with similar cracking but with less than 50 percent local depletion of B, that leaching did not occur even though primary coolant had penetrated the cladding.
The cracking and boron loss shorten the design life of the control blade.
According to the GE criteria the end of design life is reached when the re-activity ygrth of the blade is reduced by 10 percent, which corresponds to 42 percent B depletionaveragedoverthetopquarterofthecontrolblge Because of 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 calculated control blade worths used in the tests are based on the assumption that no boron loss has occurred. Reduction in scram reactivity due to boron loss could increase the severity of Critical Power Ratio (CPR) reductions during the plant transients and could increase the consequences of control rod drop accidents.
Because the locations of limiting Average Planar LHGR (APLHGR) are n monitoring is not affected by boro DUPLICATE DOCUMENT ) /{ d. } 2 } )
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