RIS 2008-10, Vermont Yankee July 2008 Evidentiary Hearing - Intervenor Exhibit NEC-JH 23, NRC, NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2008-10 Fatigue Analysis of Nuclear Power Plan Components (April 11, 2008)

Vermont Yankee July 2008 Evidentiary Hearing - Intervenor Exhibit NEC-JH_23, NRC, NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2008-10 Fatigue Analysis of Nuclear Power Plan Components (April 11, 2008)

ML082340969
Person / Time
Site:	Vermont Yankee File:NorthStar Vermont Yankee icon.png
Issue date:	04/11/2008
From:	Michael Case Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:	NRC/SECY/RAS
SECY RAS
References
06-849-03-LR, 50-271-LR, Entergy-Intervenor-NEC-JH_23, RAS M-195 RIS-08-010
Preceding documents:	RIS 2008-10, 2008/04/11-Vermont Yankee July 2008 Evidentiary Hearing - Intervenor Exhibit NEC-JH 23, Nrc, NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2008-10 Fatigue Analysis of Nuclear Power Plan Components (April 11, 2008) (11 April 2008)
Download: ML082340969 (4)

NEC-JH_23 UNITED STATES

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION

WASHINGTON, DC 20555-0001 April 11, 2008 NRC REGULATORY ISSUE SUMMARY 2008-10

FATIGUE ANALYSIS OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT COMPONENTS

ADDRESSEES

All holders of operating licenses for nuclear power reactors, except those who have permanently ceased operations and have certified that fuel has been permanently removed from the reactor vessel.

INTENT

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this regulatory issue summary (RIS)

to inform licensees of an analysis methodology used to demonstrate compliance with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (ASME Code)

fatigue acceptance criteria that could be nonconservative if not correctly applied.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Title 10 of the Code of FederalRegulations (10 CFR) Part 54, "Requirements for Renewal of Operating Licenses for Nuclear Power Plants," requires that applicants for license renewal perform an evaluation of time-limited aging analyses relevant to structures, systems, and components within the scope of license renewal. The fatigue analysis of the reactor coolant pressure boundary components is an issue that involves time-limited assumptions. In addition, the staff has provided guidance in NUREG-1800, Rev. 1, "Standard Review Plan for Review of License Renewal Applications for Nuclear Power Plants," issued September 2005.

NUREG-1 800, Rev. 1, specifies that the effects of the reactor water environment on fatigue life be evaluated for a sample of components to provide assurance that cracking because of fatigue will not occur during the period of extended operation. Since the reactor water environment has a significant impact on the fatigue life of components, many license renewal applicants have performed supplemental detailed analyses to demonstrate acceptable fatigue life for these components.

10 CFR 50.55a, "Codes and Standards," specifies the ASME Code requirements for operating reactors. Some operating facilities may have performed supplemental detailed analysis of components because of new loading conditions identified after the plant began operation.

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SUMMARY OF ISSUE

The staff identified a concern regarding the methodology used by some license renewal applicants to demonstrate the ability of nuclear power plant components to withstand the cyclic loads associated with plant transient operations for the period of extended operation. This particular analysis methodology involves the use of the Green's function to calculate the fatigue usage during plant transient operations such as startups and shutdowns.

The Green's function approach involves per-forming a detailed stress analysis of a component to calculate its response to a step change in temperature. This detailed analysis is used to establish an influence function, which is subsequently used to calculate the stresses caused by the actual plant temperature transients. This methodology has been used to perform fatigue calculations and as input for on-line fatigue monitoring programs. The Green's function methodology is not in question. The concern involves a simplified input for applying the Green's function in which only one value of stress is used for the evaluation of the actual plant transients.

The detailed stress analysis requires consideration of six stress components, as discussed in ASMVE Code,Section III, Subsection NB, Subarticle NB-3200. Simplification of the analysis to consider only one value of the stress may provide acceptable results for some applications;

however, it also requires a great deal of judgment by the analyst to ensure that the simplification still provides a conservative result.

The staff has requested that recent license renewal applicants that have used this simplified Green's function methodology per-form confirmatory analyses to demonstrate that the simplified Green's function analyses provide acceptable results. The confirmatory analyses retain all six stress components. To date, the confirmatory analysis of one component, a boiling-water reactor feedwater nozzle, indicated that the simplified input for the Green's function did not produce conservative results in the nozzle bore area when compared to the detailed analysis.

However, the confirmatory analysis still demonstrated that the nozzle had acceptable fatigue usage.

Licensees may have also used the simplified Green's function methodology in operating plant fatigue evaluations for the current license term. For plants with renewed licenses, the staff is considering additional regulatory actions if the simplified Green's function methodology was used.

BACKFIT DISCUSSION

This RIS informs addressees of a potential nonconservative calculation methodology and reminds them that the ASME Code fatigue analysis should be performed properly. For license renewal, metal fatigue is evaluated as a time-limited aging analysis in accordance with

10 CFR 54.21(c). The associated staff review guidance appears in Section 4.3, "Metal Fatigue Analysis," of NUREG-1800, Rev. 1. For operating reactors, the ASME Code requirements appear in 10 CFR 50.55a. This RIS does not impose a new or different regulatory staff position.

It requires no action or written response and, therefore, is not a backfit under 10 CFR 50.109,

"Backfitting." Consequently, the NRC staff did not perform a backfit analysis.

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTIFICATION

A notice of opportunity for public comment on this RIS was not published in the FederalRegister because the RIS is informational.

CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW ACT

The NRC has determined that this RIS is not a rule as designated by the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. §§801-808) and; therefore, is not subject to the Act.

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT

This RIS does not contain information collection requirements that are subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Public Protection Notification The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a request for information or an information collection requirement unless the requesting document displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget control number.

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CONTACT

Please direct any questions about this matter to the technical contacts listed below.

IRA/

Michael J. Case, Director Division of Policy and Rulemaking Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Technical Contacts: Kenneth C. Chang, NRR John R. Fair, NRR

301-415-1913 301-415-2759 E-mail: kxc2t)Nrc..qov E-mail: irf(@nrc.qov Note: The NRC's generic communications may be found on the NRC public Web site, http://www.nrc.qov, under Electronic Reading Room/Document Collections.