ML19296C085

Requests NRC Review Need for User to Calibr Wire Cloth Sieves Employed to Perform Tests on Concrete Aggregates & Soil Matls

ML19296C085
Person / Time
Site:	Grand Gulf
Issue date:	11/06/1979
From:	Levelius W PROFESSIONAL SERVICE INDUSTRIES, INC. (FORMERLY PTL-I
To:	Haass W Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Shared Package
ML19296C067	List: ML19296C072 ML19296C077 ML19296C085
References
NUDOCS 8002250192
Download: ML19296C085 (5)

Text

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November 6, 1979 9

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9 . U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Connission g Ouality Assurance Branch Division of Project !!anagement ~"

Office of NRR Washington, DC 20555 Attention: Mr. W. Haass, Chief

Subject:

Sicy Calibration -

Gentlemen:

Pittsburgh Testing Laboratory (PTL) is currently

, providing construction phase testing and inspection ser-

, vices for.several nuclear power plant projects in the i United States. These testing and inspection activities i are perforned in accordance with the applicable portions j of 10CFR50 Appendix B, ASME Section III, and ANSI N45.2.

" Sone.of the tests we perform are on concrete and soil construction naterials and require.the use of wire

, cloth sieves manufactured in accordance with ASTM Ell, Standard Specification for Wire Cloth Sieves for Testing Purposes.

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During the course,of Nuclear Regulatory Connission (NRC) , inspections at various projects, a question has been

. raised concerning the need for the user to " calibrate" sicves employed.to perform tests on concretc aggregates and soil materials.

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/ITT S U UIlGil TESTING L A 0 0 Fi ATO).

(;()pgr Nuclear Berulatory g Comnionion

• Pa,-^ Teo Povcnhcr 6, 1979 The purnose of thic Ictter is to present PTL'n cor-porste position on this natter and to request the VDC'n concurrence in order to resolve this c.ucction indu:try wide rather than debatir.' thn,incue en a project by prc-ject bacic.

PTL's position in t here $r ne technical requirerent

- or reed to verify the cctuel rize of the nieve openin a by the user. A recular visual inspaction of the ci<ve for tears, enrre o, or other distortion 'n sufficient te resure thrt the nanufectured quality of the cieve in ncirtaineri. In eupport of this position, PTL offers the followinr information:

1. In nctordanca vith I.5TP. f-ll, para. 4.1.2, a latc1 in required to be affixed to each rieve ddpotin.- that sieve conforms to the specified

.requirenentn. li certificate of confor.9ance is also avriinble fron the r.anufacturer which attests to the c cec i fic..t i on cor.:pliar.co . The Jabel or certificate provides the objective evidence that the cieve hr.s becn ranufactured to the specifications of AST;! ?-11.

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2." ASTM F-11 references ASTM-STP-447, Manual on Test Sievin- Methodc. Thic docurent., preparcd by I.ST: Co:~ittee P-F t:hich has jurirdictior.

over the ASTF '?-11 ctandard , cteten, 'If prop- -

erly handled, a tant c.jeve cheule retain the accuracy of its openin"c throurhout the life of the cieve cince ordir;nry t'ccr is on top of '

L. ' ' ' the knuckles of the wire cloth and no neasur-t able wenr occurs in the openintc."

! 3. ASTM E-ll is intended to be a ranufacturin-i standard as supported by the .stetesent in l ASTS-STP 447, pa ra . 4.1. The ricorous enli-bration procedures outlined in the f.f rendi:'

to ASTM E-11 are not intended or practical to apply to a user, especially under field lat-oratory conditions. The class sphere method i is not pernitted to detcenine conformance to l . ASTM E-11 specifications, in addition to uhich 1 the M9S traceabic spheren are of ten not avrill-at.l e for all sieve nizes and can vary consid-l cre.bly after just one use.

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' ' PITTSDUR G H TESTING L AnoR AToRY Nuclear Der ~ulatory

• o Connission J@S COPY Pa"c Three

. cP November 6, 1979 f;p}3{y'p M

n Extrene accuracy in sieve toleranccc used for m , 4.

_j$1 f,cneral construction naterials is not neccccary

,f';' nor appropriate. The gradinr, linits of these d'; x 'V natcrials is quite broad and for concrete ar.-

09{'- r,regates is intended prinarily to prevent M " gap" grading or extreme uniformity of sinc.

The sicvinr,of these caterials does not re-quire highly sensitive or analytical neasure-nents.

5. PTL has corresponded with the First Vice Chair-non of the ASTM E-29 Cornittee. Enclosed is a copy of his response to our inquiry regardin.c sieve calitration.

6. The Concrete & Cenent Eaference Laboratcry (CCHL), which is a qualified national authority, does not', as part of its equipment inspection of concercial laboratorics, netsure the' actual size of the openings in uire cloth sieves. A visual exanination 13 perforned, which is also the sane policy of the U.S. Corps of Engineers durinr,their inspection of connercial labora-Lorics.

7 AUSI U45.2, cuality Assurance Procran P.equire-nents for Nuclear Facilities, under the section addressing Control of I:casuring and Test Equip-nent, states, "To assure accuracy, inspection and neasuring test equipnent shall be controlled, calibrated . . . This requirenent is not in-tended to icply a need for special calibration *i

and control neasures on relers, tape mcasurcs, Icycls, and such other devices if normal con-i

' nercial practices provide adequate accuracy."

! PTL considers that sieves fall under this the category since the ranufacturer certified item and no neasurable wear occurs with use.

Variousotherorg$nizationshavesuggestedaconpari-son of gradings betueen " working" sieves and so enlled

" standard" sicves.by establishinr artificial acceptancc limits. It is PIL's profeccional opinion that thisconfor- prac-tice would serve no useful purpose in deternininrs mance of sicves to specification requirements and, in fact, could risrepresent the quality of the sieve.

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..J M PITTSDURGH TESTING L ADOR ATO . (

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• fiuclear Re,ulatory

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• November 6, 1979 If there is concern over the quality of sicves being used, then this concern should be directed toward

- the nanufacturer, who is required to produce a certified product, and not the user.<

In summary, uc believe that because: the sicyc is I

j initially certified by the manufacturer, no measurable wear occurs in the sicyc openinr,3, extreme accuracy is 3

1 not warranted for construction natcrials, national auth-

, orities do not verify actual sicyc openings durinr,co..-

i nercial laboratory inspections and A".SI 1:45.2 exempts 1 these types of equipment; only a routine visual increc-

- tion by the sieve user is neccccary to provide adequate quality control of sieves. This natter should be re-viewed with consideration to the practical limitations 1 of ficJd laboratory facilitics and the actual benefits cxpected to be achieved if a sophisticated progran is mandated.

Uc respectfully request NBC concurrence of the above present,cd data. ,

Very truly yours, W. H.' Levelius Vice President WSM/WHL/pb

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,,N ks Mr. W. S. McKay, Manager .p W Onalit y A sso ra nce h\s\u t ' N i.

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Dear Mr. McKay:

With ref erenc e 1iyour h ' t e. of is . y : l ', , t o. ( re er nas discus m i w it h -ome m embe r s o f C . u n m i t t e e E .' '! r ei;.. r o. .ese ;p e r.i r. g v e r i t i c t t o :.

O by the user of ASTM E- 11.

A ttac hed is a copy of ^,STM Specification i. N. ' ion will not e there is nof la ng specific in tla s s pecif.c:.t t o:. r e: ' rdu c a : t a r.i tio n o ' sieves on a r egular ba sis. 'I he manu f a c tu r er o: t es ti n- ~; eve 1:rne hes s t eves i n a ccorela nc e w it h ASTM E- 11 and it is t he writ er'. c ;n m o n t h a t , if the sies "

.i t e n ed on rlet ermination 0: r o n c r e t e a g g r e ;:a t e .- ' i.e r e t h e s i c v i rg is l . . .. oc i' a-

.it. einite nr . ol, it is not nece a ry to t e v e r . f '. i infor riut s to speciticalt."

if the user inspects the sieve: <2 s u a ll:. 10 : d.u na , . ,, t ea r :. , d e r.t s o r w a r p.' 6 c.

G ene ra ll y s pealu ng, u nl e u s' t h e sie <c i t d- . m r ed r dipperI i n aci<l s olu t io ns , no mea surable w ea r occu rs on t he 'ie.c o p"ni n g. If ve rit tcation is r cepo r ed, t he si ev es. < ould b e s ent t o t he . .at o.: :1 Hurea of S t a r.d r. r<; . i n Wa s hinntun o r r etit rncil to llic ma nu f..c t u r e r f or < c r it icati on. We trust this gives you the information desi red.

V ei y truly yua rs, ,

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W. I t e r C. M. hli g ,

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