ML20055B375
| ML20055B375 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Maine Yankee |
| Issue date: | 07/08/1982 |
| From: | Clark R Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| To: | Garrity J Maine Yankee |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8207210597 | |
| Download: ML20055B375 (4) | |
Text
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& D 8 Emi2 DISTRIBUTION Wocket File Local PDR ORB Rdg E senhut Docket No. 50-309 OI&E(1)
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-Tech-Branch Mr. John H. Garrity. Senior Director se Nuclear Engineering and Licensing 3
Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company ACRS (10) 83 Edison Drive ha e
Augusta, Maine 04336 e 9 DPowers
Dear Mr. Garrity:
SUBJECT:
CEA AND FUEL ASSEMBLY FRETTING WEAR INSPECTIONS AT MAINE YANKEE The Maine Yankee Startup Test Report dated October 23, 1981, provided a summary description of fretting wear surveillance performed, during the Cycle-6 outage, on control element assemblies (CEAs) and fuel as-sembly guide tube sleeves. We have reviewed this submittal and request your response to the questions listed in the enclosure.
Please note that questions 1 and 2 deal with relaxation of CEA guide tube wear related requirements. Your response to questions 1 and 2 need only be a statement of your intended actions.
Please provide the information requested in conjunction with your Cycle-7 reload safety analysis report or by September 1,1982, whichever comes first.
The reporting and/or recordkeeping requirements contained in this request i
affect fewer than ten respondents; therefore, OMB clearance is not required under P.L.96-511.
Sincerely.
Original signed by Robert A. Clark Robert A. Clark, Chief Operating Reactors Branch #3
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Enclosure:
Request for Additional Information cc: See next page
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OFFiClAL RECORD COPY ucom mi_mma hRC FORM 318 (tO-80) NRCM 024a
N Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company cc':
E. W. Thurlow, President Judith M. Barrows, President Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company-SAFE POWER FOR MAINE I
Edison Drive Post Office Box 2204.
Augusta, Maine 04336 Augusta, Maine 04330 l
Mr. Donald E. Vandenburgh First Selectman of Wiscasset Vice President - Engineering Municipal Building Yankee Atomic Electric Company U. S. Route 1 20 Turnpike Road Wiscasset, Maine 04578 Westboro, Massachusetts 01581 John A. Ritsher, Esquire Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Ropes & Gray U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 225 Franklin Street Washington, D. C.
20555 Boston, Massachusetts 02110 David Santee Miller, Esq.
Mr. Rufus E. Brown 213 Morgan Street, N. W.
Deputy Attorney General Washington, D. C.
20001 State of Maine Augusta, Maine 04330 Mr. Paul Swetland Resident Inspector / Maine Yankee Mr. Nicholas Barth c/o U.S.N.R.C.
Executive Director P. G. Box E Sheepscot Valley Conservation Wiscasset, Maine 04578 Association, Inc.
P. O. Box 125 Mr. Charles B. Brinkman Alan, Maine 04535 Manager - Washington Nuclear Operations Combustion Engineering Inc.
Wiscasset Public Library Association 4853 Cordell Avenue, Suite A-1 High Street Bethesda, Maryland 20014 Wiscasset, Maine 04578 Mr. Robert H. Groce Mr. Twbet H. Macdonald, Jr.
Senior Engineer - Licensing Office of Energy Resources Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company State House Station #53 1671 Worcester Road i
Augusta, Maine 04333 Framingham, Massachusetts 01701 I
Robert M. Lazo, Esq., Chairman Atomic Safety and Licensing Board U.S. Environmental Protection Agency U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region I Office Washington, D. C.
20555 ATTN:
Regional Radiation Representative JFK Federal Building Dr.' Cadet H. Hand, Jr., Director Boston, Massachusetts 02203 Bodega Marine Laboratory University of California Bodega Bay, California 94923 Mr. E. C. Wood, Plant Manager Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company State Planning Officer P. O. Box 3270 Executive Department Wiscasset, Maine 04578 189 State Street Augusta, Maine 04330 Regional Administrator Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Region I Office of Executive Director for Operations 631 Park Avenue King of Prussia, Pennsylvania 19406 l
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Additional Information Request CEA and Fuel Assembly Frettino Wear
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Inspections at Maine Yankee 1.
Fuel assembly guide tube sleeve fretting wear surveillance currently required (Ref.1) by NRC may no longer be necessary because of favorable surveillance results obtained at Maine Yankee (e.g., Ref. 2) and other operating reactors.
If future cycles of Maine Yankee will employ sleeved guide tubes in all fuel assemblies that are rodded, then NRC surveillance require-ments might be relaxed if the licensee makes such a request and provides appropriate justification.
(Of course, MYAPC may wish to continue use of limited numbers of unsleeved demonstration assemblies in rodded positions.)
If surveillance relief is sought, the appropriate vehicle of request could be either an amendment to the Maine Yankee FSAR or a revision to the Maine Yankee Technical Specifications.
2.
If sleeved fuel assembly guide tubes are going to be used in rodded positions indefinitely (except for the possible use of a limited number of test assemblies), then in light of favorable fuel asseably guide tube sleeve wear surveillance there might be no need to continue the fully withdrawn CEA programming (i.e;,
periodic repositioning of CEAs within the top 3-inch interval (4 steps) of CEA travel).
If appropriately justified, we would consider a MYAPC request for a modification of the Maine Yankee Technical Specifications (i.e., page 3.10-1) to redefine the fully withdrawn CEA limit to be the original upper electrical limit.
If the fully withdrawn CEA limit is to remain at the present 4-steps-in level, please continue to address the impact on safety analyses (e.g., peaking factors) in reload submittals.
Due to fretting wear degradation, the most worn Maine Yankee CEA could reach the end of its useful lifetime in the next cycle of operation. Wear of this severity has not been reported by any other NSSS owner.
Please provide the following information:
3.
How are CEA cladding wear measurements at Maine Yankee performed?
What is the accuracy of this method?
4.
What criteria are used to establish the degree of permissible l
CEA claddi.ng wear? How are CEA lifetime predictions made?
I What is the confidence in these extrapolations? Has the CEA claddi.ng wear rate increased after inclusion of the fuel assembly guide tube sleeves? If so, has this increased wear rate been accounted for in the predictions of minimum time to end of CEA li fe? If not, please provide such a reassessment.
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2 5.
As reported in the Cycle-6 startup report (Ref. 2), the most worn CEA could reach the end of its useful lifetime in the next cycle of operation. Wear of this severity has not been reported by any other NSSS owner.
Please describe the reason for the high rate of CEA wear in Maine Yankee.
6.
What are the consequneces of loss of CEA hermiticity? Other than during times of outage surveillance, when and how would perforated CEAs be detected? We understand that shutdown CEA banks are never subjected to worth or symmetry checks and that few of the 77 CEAs have ever been examined for fretting wear.
Please comment.
7.
What are the Cycle-7 outage plans for CEA wear inspections? Which CEAs will be examined (most life limited, duals, those never pre-viously examined, those closest to outlet nozzles, all)? Please provide a description of the inspec~ tion program planned for the Cycle-7 outage.
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REFERENCES 1.
R. W. Reid (NRC) letter R. H. Groce (YAPC), dated March 7,1980.
Contains Amendment Number 48 to Facility Operating License Number DPR-36.
2.
R. H. Groce (MYAPC) letter to B. H. Grier (NRC),
Subject:
Maine Yankee Startup Test Report, dated October 23, 1980 (sic. 1981).
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