ML20235U535

Forwards Revised SAR & Tech Specs for Ohio State Univ Research Reactor.Facility Currently Undergoing Conversion to low-enriched U Fuel,Per Recently Passed NRC Regulations & Change in Operating Power

ML20235U535
Person / Time
Site:	Ohio State University
Issue date:	10/07/1987
From:	Redmond R OHIO STATE UNIV., COLUMBUS, OH
To:	Murley T Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
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ML20235U539	List: ML20235U535
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NUDOCS 8710140125
Download: ML20235U535 (11)

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Engineering Experiment Station 142 Hitchcock Hall O' "

2070 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH 43210-1275 M O9 k A a-4 Phone 614-292-2411 u).

UNIVI:RSFfY October 7, 1987 Dr. Thomas E. Murley, Director Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington DC 20555

Dear Dr. Murley:

This lettet accompanies submission of a revised Safety Analysis Report and Tech-nical Speci Scations for The Ohio State University Research Reactor, License No.

R-75, Docket tu 50-150.

This facility is currently undergoinB conversion to I

l low enriched uranswi (LEU) fuel, in accordance with recently passed NRC regu-lations, and a change in operating power. This work is funded in part by Depart-ment of Energy Grant No. DE-FG02-85ER75201. The documents being submitted cover both fuel and power change.

We have been advised by our project manager, Mr. Ted Michaels, that the fuel conversion will likely be addressed by an NRC-issued directive to perform the fuel conversion, while the power change would be handled through license amendments.

We would request that the order covering fuel conversion contain provisions to allow simultaneous possession of both low and high-enrichment uranium (HEU) fuel on a temporary basis. The HEU fuel elements would be stored in a designated, secure area of the facility while the LEU core is loaded and tested. We would commit to shipment of the HEU fuel elements upon successful completion of the LEU core loading and startup tests.

Ples.se send any official communications concerning the status of this submission to my attention at this office, with copies to Dr. Don Miller, Director of the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory, Mr. Joseph Talnagi, Senior Research Associate, and Mr.

Richard Myser, Associate Director of the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory. The address of the Nuclear Reactor Laboratory is 1298 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212 (phone 614/292-6755). Questions on the technical content of the Safety Analysis Report should be directed to Mr. Talnagi.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely, 87i0140125 B % h o (rne<T l

ADOm O PDR gDR Robert F. Redmond Director, EES RFR/sh l

enclosure gQ c:

T. Michaels, NRC Os

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gh D. Miller J. Talnagi R. Myser College of Engineering

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Preface to the Safety Analysis Report and Technical Specifications for The Ohio State University Research Reactor License No. R-75 Docket No. 50-150 September, 1987 l

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1.0 Introduction I

1.1 Purpose The Safety Analysis Report (SAR) for The Ohio State University Research Reactor (OSURR), completed in September of 1987, contains a significant amount of information related to the operation and safety of the facility when operated with low-enrichment uraniuse (LEU) fuel at This> mode of-a steady-state thermal power level of 500 kilowatts.

operation represents a change from the initial operatingcharact The purpose of this Preface high-enrichment uranium (HEU) fuel.

document is to cite those ecctions related specifically to the change from HEU to LEU fuel, those portions related only to the change in operating power, those parts related to both changes, and those sections related to neither the power nor fuel change, but simply reflect non-safety-related changes to the facility or the original-safety' analysis (e.g., updates to the reactor instrumentation, more current information on the facility site, etc.).

1.2 Background and Licensing Approach In the early stages of the program undertaken at the.0SURR facility to convert the fuel of the reactor and change its:cperating power, it was clear that the SAR for the facility would have to be The decision to significantly enhanced to reflect those changes.

produce a single, unified set of updated Technical Specifications and a Safety Analysis Report covering all aspects of the proposed facility modifications was based on the following considerations:

A single report would allow analysis of the OSURR in a single 1.

step, and allow the documents discussing these changes to be

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written only once, l

If only the fuel conversion were discussed, many of the 2.

analyses would have to be duplicated for the operating power y

For example, the fuel conversionLplanned for the change.

OSURR involves a change in the fuel geometry from,that Such a change requires a thermal hydraulic

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presently used.

For the analytical phase, it is more analysis of the core.

logical to do this analysis once at a higher power, than to I

duplicate the analysis for both low and higher power operation.

From a licensing viewpoint, it seems logical that if the SAR 3.

can demonstrate safe operation of the OSURR at 500 kilowatts

.l steady-state thermal power. the Commission would have the l

option of addressing the fuel conversion and power change in For example. It would be possible separate licensing actions.

to address the fuel change through a Commission order, while handling the power change request through the usual license amendment process.

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Thus, the submission of unified documents covering both aspects of the OSURR conversion allows the Commission flexibility in addressing these proposed changes. An initial order could be issued to address the fuel

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conversion, while other changes could be addressed in subsequent Commission actions through the license amendment process.

Such an approach has advantages for both the Commission and the licensee.

1.3 Document Organization The following sections of this document will review the SAR on a chapter-by-chapter basis.

Within each section, a brief overview of each chapter will be presented, and those sections relevant to the fuel conversion, power change, both conversion and power change, and nettner conversion nor power-change will be cited. Where elaboration is I

L necessary on the classification of the citations,.it is given as a supplement to the citation.

2.0 SAR Review and Classification 2.1 SAR Chapter 1 2.1.1 Chapter 1 Overview Chapter 1 is a largely narrative section which introduces the SAR and gives general information about the OSURR facility. There are some portions of this chapter which discuss, in limited detail, both the reactor fuel and operating power. This section is noted below. Other information is general and relates to neither the fuel conversion nor power change.

2.1.2 Fuel Conversion and Power Change The following sections are relevant:

1.2:

General Facility Description 2.1.3 Neither Fuel Conversion Nor Power Change All other sections of Chapter 1.

2.2 SAR Chapter 2 2.2.1 Chapter 2 Overview Chapter 2 of the SAR contains a general discussion of the facility site and characterizes the important features of the area.

The entire chapter is not specifically directed to either the fuel-conversion of power change, but does provide updated information on the topics discussed. Thus, this entire chapter need not be reviewed for either aspect of the overall facility modifications.

2.3 SAR Chapter 3 2.3.1 Chapter 3 Overview

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io This chapter presents a detailed discussion of the reactor system (O

and related facilities.

Some sections'of this chapter describe the j-systems associated with or affected by the fuel conversion and power change. These sections are noted below.

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2.3.2 Fuel Conversion Only Section 3.1.1.2 (Fuel Description)

Section 3.1.2.3 (Core Arrangements) 2.3.3 Power Change only 3

Section 3.1 4 5 (Tempepture Sensors and Locations)

Section 3.1.4.6 (Water Level Sensors and Locations)

Section 3.2.1 (General Features of the' Cooling System) l Section 3.2.2 (Cooling System Description) l Section 3.4 (Cooling System. Controls)

.l Section 3.6.3!(Scram Functions and Setpoints)

- 4 Section'3.7.2 (ARM Detectors and Locations) l 2.3.4 Neither Fuel Conversion Not Power Change i

All othw sections of Chapter 3.

2.4 SAR Chapter 4 p

2.4.1 Chapter 4 Overview

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The operating characteristics of the OSURR under normal conditions are analyzed in Chaptar 4.

The entire chapter deals with-aspects of the fuel conyersion and/or power change.

Aside from the power change, the fuel coriversion for the OSURR would require a thermal hyn culic analysis of the. core. This is required since the geometry of tic LEU fuel assemblie3} differs from s

that of the HEG fuel elements.

Tja LEU fuel assemblies contain reore fuel plates than do the HEU asasimblies, but the fuel plates are.

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thinner.

The overall lengt Tof/thef. elates does not change, nor does the " outline" of the fu el' ' Meat" within each. plates. However, because there are more (but thiever)1 plates in each fuel element, and because the outside dimensions'of the HEU and LEU fuel elements are identical, the gap between each fuel plate, through which the cooling.(and

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moderator) water fl9ws, is thinner than those for the HEU elements.

The fuel element geometry change also requires analysis of core neutroales. A-neutronics analysis is.also necessitated by the higher loading ofe the LEU fuel plates, and the dse of " dummy" aluminum plates in each fuet element (which helps keep core size reasonable).

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E The need for/a complete analysis of-core neutronics and thermal hydraulics goes considerably beyond the scope of the somewhat j

simple analysis of these topics given in the original SAR for the OSURR i

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l operated at 10 kilowatts with_HEU fuel. Thus, Chapter 4 presents information required by both the fuel conversion and' power' change.

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2.4.2 Fuel Change Only 1

Section 4.1 (Core Loading.and Critical Mass).

Section 4.4.1 (Control Rod System)

Section 4.4.3 (Control Rod Worths) l Section 4.5 (Temperature and Void Coefficients cf l

Reactivity)'

Section 4.6 (Neutronics)

Section 4.7 (Effects of Core Geometry) 2.4.3 Power Change Only Section 4.4.2 (Cooling System Control) 2.4.4 Both Fuel Conversion and Power Chenge j

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Section 4.2 (Reactivity Requirements)

Section 4.3 (Neutron and Gamma Environments)

Section 4.8 (Heat Transfer Characteristics).

Section 4.9 (Fluid Dynamics) r 2.5 SAR Chapter 5 2.5.1 Chapter 5 Overview r

Chapter 5 is a short descriptive chapter describing the auxiliary systems of the OSURR facility. As such, the contents'of Chapter 5 as not specifically related to either the fuel conversion or power change.

2.6 SAR Chapter 6 2.6.1 Chapter 6 Overview This chapter discusses the radioactive waste production and management at the OSURR facility. All calculations in Chapter 6 have been done assuming a 500 kilowatts power level.

In this' sense, all of Chapter 6 can be considered as related only to the power change.

If the OSURR is operated at its present 10 kilowatt power level, the production of radioactive effluents would be greatly reduced and would likely-be negligible. The results shown in this chapter could probably be reduced by a factor of 50 and yield a reasonable approximation to the effluent production at 10 kilowatts.

Other sections of Chapter 6 deal with more general _ topics.

For example, sections 6.4 through 6.6 are of a general enough nature.to apply to OSURR operation t,t either 10 or 500 kilowatts.

There is no part of Chapter 6 which deals with aspects related'only to fuel conversion.

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2.7 SAR Chapter 7 i

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'2.7.1 Chapter 7 Overview This chapter is similar to the preceding chapter in that calculations have been done assuming a 500 kilowatt power level.

Again, the results of this analysis could p'robably be reduced linearly with operating power and give reasonable results for lower power operation. Thus, the entire chapter could be considered related only 1

to the change in reactor power, and not to the conversion of the reactor fuel.

l Several sections of Chapter 7 are of a general nature and would apply to either low of higher-powered operation.

These include sections 7.2 and 7.3.

Again, there is no part of Chapter 7 that relates only to fuel conversion.

2.8 SAR Chapter 8 2.8.1 Chapter 8 Overview Chapter 8 presents the safety analysis for the OSURR under abnormal conditions. The analysis presented is considerably more detailed than that presented in the original SAR for the OSURR.

The analyses presented in Chapter 8 require certain' input parameters.

Some of these input data are the result of the fuel

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conversion (e.g., control rod worths, step reactivity input, etc.), and.

some result from the power change (e.g., operating power at the time of l

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j reactivity insertion). Thus, this chapter contains information related to fuel conversion and power change.

The specific sections are noted below.

2.8.2 Fuel Conversion Only Section 8.4.3.1 (Reactivity Insertion Mechanisms)

Section 8.4.3.2 (Design Basis Accident) i 2.8.3 Power Change Only Section 8.4.4 (Damaged Fuel Plate)

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2.8.4 Both Fuel Conversion and Power Change l

Section 8.2 (Scenario Construction)

Section 8 3 (Analytical Methods and Tools)

Section 8.4.1 (Loss of Heat Sink)

Section 8.4.3 (Reactivity Insertion) 2.8.5 Neither Fuel Conversion Nor Power Change i

Section 8.5 (Natural Phenomena)

Section 8.6 (Man-Made Phenomena) gs

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2.9 SAR Chapter 9 2.9.1 Chapter 9 Overview This is a largely descriptive chapter dealing with facility administration and administrative controls. There are no sections of this chapter specifically dealing with either' fuel conversion or power change as issues in,themselves. The discussion includes updated information on facility management and quality control.

2.10 SAR Appendix A 2.10.1 Appendix A Overview The Technical Specifications for the OSURR are contained in Appendix A of the Safety Analysis Report..This document differs somewhat from the main body of the SAR.

Revision of the Technical Specifications required consideration of facility changes resulting from the fuel conversion and' power change, and also formatting of the Technical Specifications according to guidelines set forth in the standard document denoted ANSI /ANS 15.1-1982.

Also,' revisions in'the Technical Specifications contain changes resulting from updating of non-safety related information in the original Technical Specifications, which may or may not have been required by the guidelines of ANSI /ANS 15.1-1982.

Because of the varied nature of the content of the Technical Specifications and the revisions to them, the document containing the revised specifications was written and reviewed separately from the main sections of the SAR, and later incorporated into the SAR as Appendix A.

On the following pages, the revisions to the Technical Specifications are cited and discussed, i

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('~3 sections of the Technical Specifications.

Each ' number refers to a specific section of the Technical Specifications.

The letter beside each number is an explanation as to how or why the specifications were changed.

A.

The change relates to the required fuel change only.

1 B.

The change relates to the requested power level change only.

C.

The change rela'tes to both fuel change and power level change.

l D.

The change relates to neither the fuel change nor the power level change.

Often it is simply an addition or a change to the old Technical Specifications, perhaps required by-ANSI /ANS 15.1-1982.

E.

The change is simply an original Technical Specification in the format of ANSI /ANS 15.1-1982.

Technical Specifications 1.1 (D) 3.3.2 (E)

(3) (D) 5.4 (E) jg 1.2 (D) i

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1.3 (D) 3.3.3 (D) 4.2.2 (D) 6.0 (D)

N.J 2.1 (C) 3.3.4 (D) 4.3.1 (D) 2.2 (C) 3.3.5 (B) 4.3.2 (B) l 3.1.1(C) 3.4 (D) 4.4 (D) 1 3.2.1(E) 3.5 (E) 4.5 (D)

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3.2.2(E) 3.6.1 (1) (D) 4.6.1 (D)

(2) (B) 3.2.3.1(B)

(3) (E) 4.6.2 (D) 3.2.3.2(B)

(4) (E) 3.2.3.3(E)

(5) (D) 4.6.3 (D) 3.2.3.4(B) 3.2.3.5(B) 3.6.2 (1) (D) 4.6.4 (D) 3.2.3.6(D)

(2) (D) 3.2.3.7(E) 5.1.1 (E) 3.2.3.8(D) 3.7.1 (E) l 3.2.3.9(E) 3.7.2 (E) 5.1.2 (E) 3.2.3.10(D) 3.2.3.11(E) 4.1.1 (1) (E) 5.2.1 (B) 3.2.3.12(E) 4.1.1 (2) (D) 3.2.3.13(D) 5.2.2 (B)

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4.2.1 (1) (D)

Q 3.3.1(B)

(2) (D) 5.3 (A) 7

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O Section 1.0 is basically an a'ddition to the original Technical Specifications for the OSURR.

For example, there were no definitions in our original specifications'.

Now, as required by ANSI /ANS 15.1, we can refer to numerous definitions when interpreting our specifications.

This first section also serves as the introduction to the document.

Section 2.0 establishes both the safety limit and ' saf ety system settings to assure the safety limit is not exceeded.

This is information not found in the original specifications but required by ANSI /ANS 15.1..This does, however, relate to both the fuel change and the power increase.

Regardless of the type of fuel, we would have the same safety limit.

Due to > the power increase our _ safety system settings are established at higher levels.

There are various reasons for the Limiting conditions for Operation in Section 3.0.

Due to the power increase and lower enriched fuel we will require a higher excess reactivity (3.1.1).

Rod drop requirements are the same as the original technical specifications (3.2.1) as are the reactivity insertion rates (3.2.2).

Most (9) of the specifications relating to scram channels (3.2.3) are original specificatluns put in the proper format or new specifications.

The others, 3.2.3.1, 3.2.3.2, 3.2.3.4, and 3.2.3.5, are basically.

required because of the power increase.

3.2.3.1 and 3.2.3.2 would have been included even if power was not increased but the levels would have been different.

Since the coolant pumps would not be needed unless we were requesting a power increase, specification 3.3.1 is needed only because of this.

Although power is to be increased, the same minimum quantity of water (coolant and shielding) is required over and around the core.

Therefore specification 3.3.2 is simply a format change.

Specification 3.3.3 deals with pool water conductivity. This value was changed from the original specifications.

The specification to detect the loss of primary coolant (3.3.4) is an addition to the original technical specifications.

3.3.5 relates directly to the power increase since there would be no secondary coolant unless the power were being upgraded.

In the original specifications, only the ventilation fan was required to be operable.

In order to assure isolation capability, specification 3.4 was written which added the operability of doors and windows.

3.5 is an old specification in the new format.

The fan capacity is additional information.

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3.6.1 (1) is a change to allow operation of the effluent monitor in two

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modes.

It does not relate to either power or fuel change.

3.6.1 (2) is an' addition of a rabbit effluent monitor due to the power increase.

1 3.6.1 (3) is basically a reformat of the original specification.

We will also monitor a location near the primary cooling system when operating.

I 3.6.1 (4) is a reformat of the original specification.

3.6.1 (5) is a change patterned after ANSI /ANS 15.1.

Specifications for liquid and gaseous radioactivity releases, 3.6.2.(1) and 3.6.2.(2) are additions based on ANSI /ANS 15.1.

l Reactivity limits for experiments are the same as in the original specifications.

3.7.1 and 3.7.2 are, therefore, format changes only.

l Sections 4.1.1 (1) and (2) are format changes and additions to the l

original specifications, respectively.

Specifications for the control rods, 4.2.1 (1, 2,

3) are changes and additions to the original specifications.

Section 4.2.2 includes additions and changes to the original (Qj specifications.

Only 4.2.2 (5) a, c, and d relate to the power change.

v 4.3.1 is also an addition to the current specifications since the frequency of this surveillance is now specified.

4.3.2 is basically related to the power change L1though part of it is also a change in the original specifications.

I The ANSI /ANS technical specification guide requires the surveillance l

found in Sections 4.4 and 4.5 as they relate to containment and i

ventilation.

l Changes and additions to surveillance requirements in Section 4.6, Radiation Monitoring Systems and Radioactive Effluents, were based on l

ANSI /ANS 15.1.

They needed updating whether or not fuel or power were changed.

Sections 5.1 and 5.4 contain information in the original specifications placed in the new format.

5.2, Reactor Coolant Systems, is included because of the power increase request and 5.3, Reactor Core and Fuel, is included because of the fuel change.

Section 6.0, Administrative Controls is also required to be included in

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s) the Technical Specifications by ANSI /ANS 15.1.

Some of this

'Q information was in the original Hazards Summary Report for the OSURR.

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