ML20033A925
| ML20033A925 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Big Rock Point File:Consumers Energy icon.png |
| Issue date: | 10/20/1981 |
| From: | Birkle A CONSUMERS ENERGY CO. (FORMERLY CONSUMERS POWER CO.) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| ISSUANCES-OLA, NUDOCS 8111300168 | |
| Download: ML20033A925 (7) | |
Text
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OdED COR?1srczucz 5 ~.n UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 00; METED NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSIO!I US!$C
'81 NOV 23 PS:10 BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD CE CF SECRETARY LiriG & SEiiVICE BRANCH In the Matter of
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) Docket No. 50-155-OLA CONSUMERS POWER COMPANY
) (Spent Fuel Pool
)
Modification)
(Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Plant)
)
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'q ;lj.f h' f Y lYV e AFPIDAVIT OF A. JOHN BIRKLE
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District of Columbia:
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I, A. John Birkle, SectionHeadoftheMaterial$Se'chion at Consumera Power Company, of. lawful age, being first duly l
sworn, upon my oath certify.that the statements and informa-tion contained in the six-page Statement Concerning O'Neill Contention IB-5 are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Executed at Washington, D. C.
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Subscribed and sworn to before me this 20th day of October, 1981.
A b w d & b:. g h k ) L Notary Public in and for 6
the District of Columbia l~
My Ccumixin E@u h"9 s 19M pd My commission er.pires 5
1/i 8111300168 811120 PDR ADOCK 050001b5 C
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFET'1 AND LICENSING BOARD In the Matter of
)
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Docket No. 50-155 OLA CONSUMERS POWER COMPANY
)
(Spent Fuel Pool
)
Modification)
(Big Rcck Point Nuclear Power Plant)
)
STATEMENT OF A.
JOHN BIRKLE CONCERNING O'NEILL CONTENTION IB-5 My name is A. John Birkle.
I res: fe at 2340 Vandemere Drive, Jackson, Michigan.
Since April 1971, I have been employed by Consumers Power Company.
I am pres-ently the Section Head of the Materials Section concerned with various aspects of metallurgical engineering.
My professional qualifications and work experience are set forth in my Affidavit which was filed in connection with Consumers Power Company's Motion for Summary Disposition on Christa-Maria Contention 3.
l I believe I am qualified to testify on the cor-rosion aspects of O'Neill Contention IB-5, which states:
The corrosion and degradation of the materials of construction of the pool, pool liner, fuel ele-ents, and racks (for example, concrete, stainless steel, and aluminum) will be accelerated by l
the stresses caused by expansion and, as a result, the pool and ye-we-W--
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racks will not retain their integrity through the remain-ing term of the operating license.
Analysis In the discussion below, I will review the effects of general corrosion and stress-corrosion cracking on the new spent fuel racks and the pool liner, the effects of general corrosion on the existing aluminum racks, and finally, the effects of general corrosion on the Zircaloy cladding of the spent fuel.
I will also review the materials of con-struction for these items to assess the possibility that the rate of corrosion may increase as a result of expanding the capacity of the Big Rock Point spent fuel pool from 193 to 441 spent fuel assemblies.
General Corrosion of Type 304 Stainless Steel The spent fuel pool liner has been, and the new proposed spent fuel racks will be, fabricated from Type 304 stainless steel.
The Contention suggests that the corrosion rate for this raterial will be accelerated by the expansion of the spent fuel pool from 193 to 441 fuel assemblies.
I conclude that the corrosion rate will not be accelerated by virtue of the expansion of the spent fuel pool.
General corrosion is defined as the uniform thin-ning due to chemical dissolution of a material, such as Type
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.' 304 stainless steel, in a water environment.
The general corrosion rate for Type 304 stainless steel has been measured experimentally in field and laboratory tests by determining the weight difference of the material before and after exposure to a corrosive environment.
One such set of experiments performed by the International Nickel Company, a highly c pected authority in the field, determined that the general corrosion rate of Type 304 stainless steel in de-mineralized water (similar to the water chemistry at the Big Rock spent fuel pool) at temperatures of 450 F to 572 F was less than 0.0001 inch per year.
This rate of corrosion is highly sensitive to temperature and, even at the high temperatures used in the International Nickel tests, the corrosion rate was barely perceptible.
It is highly unlikely that the corrosion rate of the material in the new racks and pool liner would be detectable at the low temperatures, i.e.,
88 F to 101 F, calculated by Dr. Prelewicz in his Affidavit.
Moreover, the temperature rise due to the spent fuel pool expansion of approximately 5 F for the normal refueling case and 2 F for the full core offload case, as determined by Dr. Prelewicz, has no measurable effect on the corrosion rate of the new racks and liner.
Therefore, I conclude that the general corrosion rate for the new racks will be insignificant, and pool liner corrosion rate will not be accelerated by the pool expansion.
Stress-Corrosion Cracking of Type 304 Stainless Steel Stress-corrosion cracking of Type 304 stainless steel, as previously discussed in my Affidavit which was filed in connection with Consumers Power Company's Motion for Summary Disposition on Christa-Maria Contention 3, is produced by the synergistic action of a systained tensile stress and a specific corrosion environment.
A water temperature in the range of 300 F to 400 F increases the susceptibility of Type 304 stainless steel to stress-corrosion cracking.
However, the Big Rock Point spent fuel pool temperature of 101 F or less, resulting from the pro-posed expansion of the pool's capacity to 441 spent fuel assemblies, is well under the 300 F to 400 F range of in-fluence.
In addition, the potential for stress-corrosion cracking is not increased since, as discussed in the Affidavit of Mr. Sacra:ao, the service stresses on the liner and new racks are not increased by the expansion of the spent ruel pool capacity.
Therefore, I conclude that stress-corrosion cracking will not be accelerated by the expansion of the spent fuel pool.
i Aluminum Alloys The general corrosion rate of aluminum alloys, l
like Type 304 stainless steel, is sensitive to water tem-perature.
Laboratory investigations which were conducted in L
-S-demineralized water at temperatures of 122 F to 200 F indicate that the cumulative corrosion for aluminum alloys such as the 6061-T6 alloy used for the fabrication of the existing racks would be less than 1.0 mil over a 20-year period.
Since the minimum thickness of the aluminum spent fuel pool racks at Big Rock Point is 250 mils and the pool wacer temperature does not exceed 101 F, I conclude that the general corrosion rate for the aluminum racks is negligible, and that the difference due to the temperature rises cal-culated by Dr. Prelewicz is even more insignificant.
Zircaloy Cladding A number of investigators have performed experi-ments to determine the corrosion rate of Zircaloy cladding.
Water temperature increares the rate of corrosion of Zircaloy l'
clade: hg.
The rate has been determined to be.0002 mils per year in a water temperature of 932 F.
This is a low rate of corrosion.
In addition, zirconium and its alloys have a strongly passivating oxide film which protects the surface frora the effects of corrosion.
As a result, the corrosion rate tends to decrease in a parabolic manner over a ten-year period.
Thereafter, the rate of corrosion is negligible.
Consequently, I conclude that at a temperature of 101 F, the general corrosion rate for the Zircaloy cladding l
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,' on the spent fuel in the Big Rock Point V ol'is negligible.
Moreover, the effect on the corrosion rate due to the tem-perature rises calculated by Dr. Prelewicz is equally insignificant.
Conclusion I have reviewed the potential for general cor-rosion and/or stress-corrosion cracking of the Zircaloy cladding on the spent fuel, the existing aluminum racks, the pool liner, and the new proposed stainless steel racks, and the possibility of increased susceptibility due to the expansion to 441 assemblies in the pool, and I conclude that there will be no detrimental effect.
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