ML23277A127
| ML23277A127 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 07201042 |
| Issue date: | 10/24/2023 |
| From: | Yoira Diaz-Sanabria Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch |
| To: | Narayanan P TN Americas LLC |
| References | |
| EPID L-2023-LLR-0037, CAC 01028 | |
| Download: ML23277A127 (5) | |
Text
UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 Prakash Narayanan, Chief Technical Officer TN Americas LLC 7160 Riverwood Drive, Suite 200 Columbia, MD 21046
SUBJECT:
PROPOSED ADDITIONAL ALTERNATIVE TO THE AMERICAN CONCRETE INSTITUTE CODE, CONCRETE TEMPERATURE LIMITS, FOR CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE NO. 1042, AMENDMENT NOS. 1, 2 & 3 (DOCKET NO.
72-1042, CAC NO. 001028, ENTERPRISE PROJECT IDENTIFIER:
Dear Prakash Narayanan:
The purpose of this letter is to communicate the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval of your request to use an additional code alternative to American Concrete Institute (ACI) 349-06, Appendix E, Section E.4, Concrete Temperatures, in accordance with Section 4.4.4 of Certificate of Compliance (CoC) No. 1042, Appendix A, NUHOMS EOS System Generic Technical Specifications (TS), for Amendment Nos. 1, 2, & 3.
By letter dated August 23, 2023 (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
[ADAMS] Accession No. ML23235A066), TN Americas LLC (TN) requested an additional code alternative to the ACI Code for concrete temperature limits, in accordance with the identical section 4.4.4 provision of the TS cited for each CoC No. 1042 amendment listed below:
CoC No. 1042, Amendment No. 1 CoC No. 1042, Amendment No. 2 CoC No. 1042, Amendment No. 3 As stated in the TS for the amendments referenced above, proposed alternatives to the ACI code may be used when the proposed alternatives are authorized by the Director of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, or designee. The TS also state that the applicants request should demonstrate that the proposed alternative provides an acceptable level of quality and safety, or compliance with the specified requirements of the ACI code would result in hardship or unusual difficulty without a compensating increase in the level of quality and safety.
The NRC staff reviewed the proposed alternative to the temperature limits in ACI-349 for concrete produced using American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) C595, Standard Specification for Blended Hydraulic Cements. The staff has accepted the use of ACI-349 for the design of concrete structures in the Standard Review Plan (SRP) for storage systems in NUREG-2215, Standard Review Plan for Spent Fuel Dry Storage Systems and Facilities, section 8.5.8, Concrete and Reinforcing Steel. Further, the staff has accepted alternatives to the temperature limits in ACI-349 concrete produced using ASTM C150 Type II cement as described in NUREG-2215 section 8.5.8.2, Concrete Design and Temperature Limits. ACI-349 October 24, 2023
P. Narayanan 2
allows the use of multiple ASTM specifications for cement, including the use of ASTM C595 and ASTM C150, Standard Specification for Portland Cement. Concrete using cement meeting the ASTM C150 Type II specification is consistent with the ACI code alternative temperature limits in the SRP. However, the proposed alternative is for concrete produced with cement meeting the ASTM C595 specification rather than ASTM C150 Type II cement.
In addition to the ACI-349 Code requirements and the information provided by the applicant to support the proposed code alternative, the staff also reviewed (1) the available information on the properties and durability of concrete produced using ASTM C595 blended hydraulic cements compared to concrete produced using ASTM C150 Portland cement, and (2) factors that affect temperature tolerance of concrete. Specifically, the staff reviewed the following documents to support the review of the code alternative request:
ACI 232.1R-12, Report on the Use of Raw or Processed Natural Pozzolans in Concrete, Farmington Hills, MI: American Concrete Institute, July 2012.
ACI 232.2R-18, Report on the Use of Fly Ash in Concrete, Farmington Hills, MI:
American Concrete Institute, April 2018.
ACI 226.1R-87, Ground Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag as a Cementitious Constituent in Concrete, Farmington Hills, MI: American Concrete Institute, January 1988.
ACI 233R-17, Guide to the Use of Slag Cement in Concrete and Mortar, Farmington Hills, MI: American Concrete Institute, September 2017.
ACI 349, Code Requirements for Nuclear Safety-Related Concrete Structures and Commentary, Farmington Hills, MI: American Concrete Institute.
ASTM International, C150/C150M - 22, Standard Specification for Portland Cement, West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International, 2021.
ASTM International, C595/C595M - 21, Standard Specification for Blended Hydraulic Cements, West Conshohocken, PA: ASTM International, 2021.
Georgia Department of Transportation, Assessment of Limestone Blended Cements for Transportation Applications, Forest Park, GA: Georgia Department of Transportation, September 2017.
Oregon State University, CALTRANS (California Department of Transportation): Impact of the Use of Portland-Limestone Cement on Concrete Performance as Plain or Reinforced Material, Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University, June 29, 2021.
Portland Cement Association R&D SN3148, State-of-the-Art Report on Use of Limestone in Cements at Levels of up to 15%, Prepared by P. D. Tennis, M. D. A.
Thomas, and W. J. Weiss, Skokie IL: Portland Cement Association, September 2014.
The staff found that numerous studies have been conducted to compare the properties of concrete produced using ASTM C595 blended hydraulic cements compared to concrete produced using ASTM C150 Portland cement. The studies evaluated the durability of concrete produced using cements specified in ASTM C595 to determine if they are comparable to concrete produced using cements specified in ASTM C150. The studies showed that concrete property and durability tests generally showed concrete produced using ASTM C595 Portland-limestone cement had similar performance to concrete produced ASTM C150 Type I/II Portland cement (Oregon State University 2021, Georgia Department of Transportation 2017, Portland Cement Association 2014). In particular, the results of testing with concrete produced with Portland Pozzolan cement (ASTM C595 Type IP) indicated the addition of a pozzolan typically provides lower permeability; reduced heat of hydration; reduced alkali-aggregate
P. Narayanan 3
reactivity; higher strengths at later ages; and increased resistance to attack from sulfates, compared with concrete that does not contain pozzolan (ACI 2018, 2012). Concrete produced with Portland slag cement (ASTM C595 Type IS) has increased strength after curing, improved sulfate resistance, reduced permeability which reduced chloride migration without affecting the modulus of elasticity, creep and shrinkage, freeze-thaw resistance, or the passivity of the reinforcing steel (ACI 1987, 2017). Concrete produced with ternary blended cement (ASTM C595 Type IT) generally has increased durability compared to concrete produced using Portland cement. In addition, the ternary blends can be formulated to improve chloride and sulfate resistance, as well as control alkali-silica reaction (ASR) when reactive aggregates are present. Specific improvements regarding chloride resistance and ASR control were reported when ternary blends containing silica fume and slag cement were used (Oregon State University 2021, Georgia Department of Transportation 2017, Portland Cement Association 2014, ACI 2017).
The effects of temperature on the properties of concrete produced with a range of cement chemistries and aggregates is assessed in NUREG/CR-7031, A Compilation of Elevated Temperature Concrete Material Property Data and Information for Use in Assessments of Nuclear Power Plant Reinforced Concrete Structures. An important conclusion in NUREG/CR-7031 is that the aggregate-cement paste bond region has been shown to be a limiting factor for concrete strength at elevated temperatures. Aggregate characteristics of importance to behavior of concrete at elevated temperature include physical properties (e.g., thermal conductivity and thermal expansion coefficient), chemical properties (e.g., chemical stability at temperature), and thermal stability. The applicant has already incorporated the important aggregate characteristics identified in NUREG-2215 section 8.5.8.2 into the NUHOMS EOS updated final safety analysis report section 8.2.1, Applicable Codes and Standards and Alternatives. In addition, to support the code alternative request, the applicant has conducted thermal compatibility tests conducted on concrete mixes using ASTM C595 and ASTM C150 Type II cement. The results of these tests show comparable strength results with no signs of degradation due to exposure to elevated temperatures.
The staff determined that the proposed alternative submitted by the applicant to apply the concrete temperature limits included in NUREG-2215, section 8.5.8.2 may be applied to concrete produced using ASTM C595 cement because (1) the applicant has conducted thermal compatibility tests to show that the strength of the concrete produced using ASTM C595 cement was comparable to the properties and strength of concrete produced using ASTM C150 Type II cement with no signs of degradation due to exposure to elevated temperatures; (2) the results of durability testing of concrete produced using ASTM C595 cement demonstrated it was similar to concrete produced using ASTM C150 cement, and (3) the applicant has followed the guidance in NUREG-2215 section 8.5.8.2 with respect to the thermal properties of the aggregate, which is the primary factor that determines the temperature tolerance of concrete.
Based on the discussion above, the NRC staff concludes that the proposed additional code alternative is acceptable for the cited amendments in this letter, because it provides an acceptable level of quality and safety.
P. Narayanan 4
In accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 2, Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure, a copy of this letter will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room (PDR) or from the Publicly Available Records component of the NRCs ADAMS. ADAMS is accessible from the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. The PDR is open by appointment. To make an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact Christian Jacobs, of my staff, at 301-415-6825, or christian.jacobs@nrc.gov. Please reference the Enterprise Project Identifier number above in any correspondence related to this action.
Sincerely, Yoira Diaz Sanabria, Chief Storage and Transportation Licensing Branch Division of Fuel Management Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Docket No. 72-1042 CAC No. 001028 EPID: L-2023-LLR-0037 Signed by Diaz-Sanabria, Yoira on 10/24/23
P. Narayanan 5
SUBJECT:
PROPOSED ADDITIONAL ALTERNATIVE TO THE AMERICAN CONCRETE INSTITUTE CODE, CONCRETE TEMPERATURE LIMITS, FOR CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE NO. 1042, AMENDMENT NOS. 1, 2 & 3 (DOCKET NO.
72-1042, CAC NO. 001028, ENTERPRISE PROJECT IDENTIFIER:
DOCUMENT DATE:
DISTRIBUTION:
DFM r/f NMSS r/f ADimitriadis, RI BDesai, RII MKunowski, RIII GWarnick, RIV HLindsay, NMSS ADAMS Accession Number: ML23277A127 OFFICE NMSS/DFM NMSS/DFM NMSS/DFM NMSS/DFM NMSS/DFM NAME CJacobs ELove YKim DDunn WWheatley DATE 10/04/2023 10/04/2023 10/06/2023 10/10/2023 10/12/2023 OFFICE NMSS/DFM NMSS/DFM NMSS/DFM NMSS/DFM NMSS/DFM NAME CJacobs TBoyce MDavis for ARiveraVarona CJacobs YDiazSanabria DATE 10/13/2023 10/19/2023 10/20/2023 10/24/2023 10/24/2023 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY October 24, 2023