RBG-44355, Cycle 8 Startup Physics Test Summary

Cycle 8 Startup Physics Test Summary

ML20199B065
Person / Time
Site:	River Bend
Issue date:	01/19/1998
From:	King R ENTERGY OPERATIONS, INC.
To:	NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM)
References
RBF1-98-0026, RBF1-98-26, RBG-44355, NUDOCS 9801280174
Download: ML20199B065 (8)

Text

Ent:rgy Cper:tiJns,Inc.

River Bend Station e

5485 U. S H.ghway 61 PO. Box 220 l 2'25 Fax 504 635 5008 Rick J. King 4 c ar SWety & n.,sulatory Af' airs Jar.uary 19,1998 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Document Control Desk, OPI-17 Washington,DC 20555

Subject:

River Bend Station - Unit 1 Docket No. 50-458 Cycle 8 Startup Report File No.: G9.5, G9.25.1.4 RBI 1-98-0026 l* RBG-44355 Ladies and Gentlemen:

In accordance with River Bend Station (RBS) Techmcal Requirements Manual TR 5.6.8, enclosed is a Startup Report that piovides a summary of the startup physics testing conducted on the Cycle 8 core reload, if you have any questions, please contact Mr. T. W. Gates at (504) 381-4866.

Sincerely, h

RJK/rWG/bni ,

enclosure t

.}(p g 9601290174 900119 PDR ADOCK 05000458 p PDR iil Il l

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cc: NRC Resident Inspector P. O. Box 1050

. St. Francisville, LA 70775 U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region IV 611 Ryan Plaza Drive, Suite 400 Arlington,TX 76011 LA Department of Environmental Quality

' Radiation Protection Division P. O. Box 82135 Baton Rouge, LA 70884-2135 Attn: Administrator Mr. David L. Wigginton NRR Project Manager U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission M/S OWFN 13-H-13 Washington, DC 20555

e ENCLOSURE River Bend Station Unit 1 Cycle 8  %

St:stup Physics Test Summary 1

Cnclost.te Cycle 8 Startup Repon -

Page_1of5-OVERVIEW-River Bend Station (RBS) resumed commercial operation in Cycle 8 on October 19,1997 q following a Refueling / Maintenance Outage, The Cycle 8 reload consisted of replacing .

- 212 GE8B General Electric fuel assemblies with 212 GEiI fuel assemblies The

following startup tests were performed during Refueling Outage RF07 and while -

attaining full power after RF07 and are summarized in this repon:

.1) Core Loading Verification

2) Control Rod Functional Testing

- 3) Shutdown Margin Determination- '

t l' 4) TIP Asymmetry In rddition to the above startup physics tests, the startup test program included:- Core Monitoring System Verification and ' Recirculation System Calibration as well as other L serveillance testing required by RBS Technical Specifications. The additional test results -  ;

- are available at the site on request.

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Enclosure

_ Cycle 8 Startup r. port

_p _ Page 2 of 5 CORE LOAll.NG VERIFICATION Purpose -

Ensure each reactor fuel assembly is: R

• - in its correct core location

-* oriented properly -

Le1 seated properly in its support piece Criteria -

The reactor core is visually checked ?.o verify conformance to the vendor supplied core

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- loading pattein. Fuel assembly serial numbers, orientations, and core locations are recorded. A height check is performed to verify all assemblies are properly seated. ,

Results 1

' The as-loaded core was verified for proper fuel assembly serial numbem, locations, orientation and seating in accordance with the RBS Cycle 8 core load:ag pattern. There '

were no location or orientation deviations from the Cycle 8 core loading pattern. .

The core verification procedure was successfully conipleted on October 1,' 1997. ..

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J' Enclosure

.,_ Cycle 8 Startup Report

,g ._ Page 3 of 5 CONTROL ROD FUNCTIONAL TESTING

Purpose:

l Verify operability of each control rod by:

. *L performing normal withdrawals and insertions '

. _ ensuring it is latched'to its control rod drive J. assuring that it moves at design speeds without excessive friction t

Criteria L Functional testing of each control rod is performed to ensure proper operability. This testing includes withdrawal and insertion timing, coupling . verification, friction testing .

_ where required, and scram time testing.

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.Results Friction testing was required for 21 control rods based on the channel management l analysis for cycle 8. This testing was performed per REP-0037,-LPRM Operatality,"

prior to startup.

Each individual control rod was timed during a normal withdrawal and insertion -

sequence. Control rods with stroke times outside the tolerance of normal stroke time +/-

20% were readjusted to within the normal strokt time +/- 10%. This was in accordance with GE recommendations.

( Each control rod was scram time tested during reactor startup in accordance with RBS

' Technical Specification Surveillance Requirement 3.1.4.1. All of the control rod scram times were within the allowable limits.

'A control rod coupling check was performed in accordance with RBS Technical

. Specification Surveillance Requirement 3.1.3.5 each time a control rod was fully 1 withdrawn.

The fhnge 0-rings of a Control Rod Drive Mechanism were replaced during the outage.

. This one control rod was SCRAM'd at atmospheric pressure prior to startup and scram time tested during reactor start-up in accordance with Technical Specification Surveillanee Requirements 3.1.4.3 and 3.1.4.4 with satisfactory results.

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Enclosure L

Cycle 8_Startup Report

- Page 4 of 5 l

SHUTDOWN MARGIN DETERMINATION Purpose

To ensure that:

• - - the reactor can be made suberitical from all operating conditions ei the reactivity transients associated with postulated accident conditions are controllable wMin acceptable limits e the reactor will be maintained sufficiently suberitical to preclude inadvertent critically in the shutdown condition

- Critenia The suberitical demonstration verifies the reactor remains suberitical with the analytically determined strongest worth control rod fully withdrawn.

l The in-sequence roc Nwal shutdown margin calculation ' . gins by withdrawing control rods in their stanumd sequence until criticality is achi <ed. The shutdown margin

- of the core is determined from calculations based on the critical rod pattem, the reactor period, and the moderator temperature.

Reactivity Anomaly verification is performed in accordance with Technical Specification Surveillt.nce Requirement 3.1.2.1 after reaching equilibrium xenon concentrations at greater than 80% reactor power.-

Results The suberitical demonstration was performed on October 2,1997.  !

1 The in-sequence critical shutdown margin surveillance procedure was completed on

. October 19,' 1997. The shutdown margin (SDM) at the beginning-of-cycle (BOC) was calculated to be 1.34 % delta k/k. The Cycle 8 "R" value is equal to 0.0% delta k/k.

Therefore, the Cycle 8 minimum shutdown margin at the most reactive point in the fuel cycle is 1.34 % delta k/k which is well within the RBS Technical Specification 3.1.1 requirement of 0.38% delta k/k.

It was verified on October 26,1997 that no reactivity anamoly was present by performance ofTechnical Specification Surveillance Requirement 3.1.2.1.

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7 Cycle 8 Startup Report -

Page5of5.

TIP ASYMMETRY CHECK Purpose -

To determine the reproducibility of tlie Traversing Incore Probe (TIP) system readings .

Criteria =

An asymmetry determination is performed as part of a detailed statistical uncertainty -

. evaluat.'on of the TIP System. A complete set of TIP data is obtained at steady state conditions while greater than 50% rated core thermal power. A total TIP statistical' evaluation is then performed by assessment of the random noise and geometric

. uncertainties. The results are evaluated to assure proper operation of the TIP System.

Resu'.ts The TIP reproducibility and symmetry uncertainty calculations were performed on l

October 29,1997 at 100% core thermal power The total TIP uncertainty was evaluated to

.l be equal to 3.2336 % which is less than the limit value of 6%.

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