Information Notice 1996-68, Incorrect Effective Diaphragm Area Values in Vendor Manual Result in Potential Failure of Pneumatic Diaphragm Actuators

Incorrect Effective Diaphragm Area Values in Vendor Manual Result in Potential Failure of Pneumatic Diaphragm Actuators

ML031050477
Person / Time
Site:	Beaver Valley, Millstone, Hatch, Monticello, Calvert Cliffs, Dresden, Davis Besse, Peach Bottom, Browns Ferry, Salem, Oconee, Mcguire, Nine Mile Point, Palisades, Palo Verde, Perry, Indian Point, Fermi, Kewaunee, Catawba, Harris, Wolf Creek, Saint Lucie, Point Beach, Oyster Creek, Watts Bar, Hope Creek, Grand Gulf, Cooper, Sequoyah, Byron, Pilgrim, Arkansas Nuclear, Three Mile Island, Braidwood, Susquehanna, Summer, Prairie Island, Columbia, Seabrook, Brunswick, Surry, Limerick, North Anna, Turkey Point, River Bend, Vermont Yankee, Crystal River, Haddam Neck, Ginna, Diablo Canyon, Callaway, Vogtle, Waterford, Duane Arnold, Farley, Robinson, Clinton, South Texas, San Onofre, Cook, Comanche Peak, Yankee Rowe, Maine Yankee, Quad Cities, Humboldt Bay, La Crosse, Big Rock Point, Rancho Seco, Zion, Midland, Bellefonte, Fort Calhoun, FitzPatrick, McGuire, LaSalle, Fort Saint Vrain, Shoreham, Satsop, Trojan, Atlantic Nuclear Power Plant
Issue date:	12/19/1995
From:	Martin T Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:
References
IN-96-068, NUDOCS 9612160116
Download: ML031050477 (8)

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001 December 19, 1996 NRC INFORMATION

NOTICE 96-68: INCORRECT

EFFECTIVE

DIAPHRAGM

AREA VALUES IN VENDOR MANUAL RESULT IN POTENTIAL

FAILURE OF PNEUMATIC

DIAPHRAGM ACTUATORS

Addressees

All holders of operating

licenses or construction

permits for nuclear power reactors.

Purpose

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) is issuing this information

notice to alert addressees

to the fact that some vendors have published

incorrect

values for effective diaphragm

area for some spring-type

pneumatic

diaphragm

actuators

and that use of these incorrect

values may result in safety-related

air-operated

valves not fully closing under design basis conditions.

It is expected that recipients

will review the information

for applicability

to their facilities

and consider actions, as appropriate, to avoid similar problems.

However, suggestions

contained

in this information

notice are not NRC requirements;

therefore, no specific action or written response is required.Description

of Circumstances

On October 4, 1996, Commonwealth

Edison, licensee for the LaSalle County Station, issued a notification

puisuant to 10 CFR Part 21 (Accession

No. 9610080102).

The notification

identified

the deficiency

as incorrect

values for the effective

diaphragm

areas, as published by the original and current valve vendors, for certain models of pneumatic

actuators.

The original valve vendor, Black, Sivalls, and Bryson (13S&B), was later purchased

by WKM Valve Division of ACF Industries, then by Muesco, and by Anchor/Darling

Valve Company. The affected model of actuator is the Model 70-13 pneumatic

diaphragm

actuator, sizes 35, 70, 140, and 280. The size refers to the published

diaphragm

area in square inches. The affected actuators

are either direct acting (extends the valve stem when air pressure is applied) or reverse acting (retracts

the stem when air is applied) spring return actuators.

The Part 21 notification

included an attachment

providing

a Nuclear Plant Reliability

Data System (NPRDS) listing of valves of the applicable

model number by plant; however, the listing may not include all of the applicable

valves and may include valves that are not safety related or that are not required to isolate as are the primary containment

isolation 9612160116

`l D _, _j A

IN 96-68 December 19, 1996 valves at the LaSalle County Station. Some of the valves listed are not diaphragm

actuated valves and the identification

of some items is incomplete.

The present manufacturer, Anchor/Darling

Valve Company, was unable to compile a complete listing of the actuator applications

because purchase order records from the original vendor are unavailable.

Discussion

The licensee found discrepancies

in the bench set values of the actuators

during the LaSalle County Station refueling

outage that took place from February through April 1996. The published

bench set and the actual bench set values, indicated

from testing by the plant mechanics, were inconsistent. "Bench set" refers to the amount of preload and final compression

force placed on the actuator spring so that the applied spring force on loss of air will achieve the required travel of the valve stem. Bench set adjustments

are made by applying air pressure to the actuator in accordance

with the manufacturer's

published

values and adjusting

the spring compressive

force by means of an adjusting

screw to achieve the desired relationship

between air pressure and valve stem travel. When performing

bench set testing, incomplete

valve stroke is typically

indicative

of a stiffer-than-expected

spring.However, testing by the licensee indicated

that the springs were within manufacturer's

tolerances

and additional

testing with a known spring force, a known air supply pressure, and a known load indicated

that the actual effective

diaphragm

area, which relates to the force opposing the spring as well as to the compression

of the spring for proper preloading, was less than the published

values.Anchor/Darling

Valve Company was contacted

by the licensee and performed

a series of tests to determine

the actual effective

diaphragm

area. These tests indicated

that the actual diaphragm

areas of the various sizes of the Model 70-13 actuators

were approximately

90 percent of the published

values. Further testing by the licensee uncovered

a contributing

problem that further reduced the effective

diaphram area. The diaphragm

case consists of two halves bolted together.

Generally

one half is deeper than the other. It was discovered

that reverse-acting

actuators

assembled

with a deep upper half caused unintended

stretching

of the diaphragm

within the casing.The licensee determined

that the primary containment

isolation

valves would have closed at the design-basis-accident

containment

pressure of 40 pounds per square inch; however, many of the valves may not have been properly set up to close against the normally higher system pressure under some operating

conditions.

That is, the valves may not have closed under the highest expected differential

pressure of the contained

system fluid. Further details of the concern are in Licensee Event Report 50-373/96-011, dated October 28, 1996, (Accession

No. 9611010277).

The licensee determined

which valves at the LaSalle County Station were affected and was able to properly adjust the actuators

to account for the discrepancies

between the published values for the diaphragm

area and the actual diaphragm

area by (1) adjusting

the bench set on the spring to achieve the required closing force and (2) reversing

the diaphragm

casings so that the deeper part of the casing was installed

on the bottom with the shallower

part of the casing installed

on top to prevent the diaphragm

from stretching.

IN 96-68 December 19, 1996 The licensee has not identified

similar problems on actuators

made by other manufacturers, but licensees

should be aware of the concern when testing and making adjustments

to the bench set of pneumatic

actuators.

The proper setup of these actuators

is especially

important

when the attached valve is used for isolation

in a safety-related

application.

Licensees

may wish to review their valves and actuators

for applicability

of this information.

This information

notice requires no specific action or written response.

If you have any questions

about the information

in this notice, please contact one of the technical

contacts listed below or the appropriate

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.Thomas T. Martin, Director Division of Reactor Program Management

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical

contacts:

Patricia Campbell, NRR (301) 415-1311 E-mail: plcenrc.gov

David Skeen, NRR (301) 415-1174 E-mail: dIsenrc.gov

Andrew Dunlop, Rill (630) 829-9726 E-mail: axd7@nrc.gov

Attachment:

List of Recently Issued NRC Information

Notices my b tC~ -I- h

Attachment

IN 96-68 December 19, 1996 LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUED NRC INFORMATION

NOTICES Information

Date of Notice No. Subject Issuance Issued to 96-67 96-66 96-65 96-64 96-63 96-62 Vulnerability

of Emergency Diesel Generators

to Fuel Oil/Lubricating

Oil Incom-patibility

Recent Misadministrations

Caused by Incorrect

Cali-brations of Strontium-90

Eye Applicators

Undetected

Accumulation

of Gas in Reactor Coolant System and Inaccurate

Reactor Water Level Indication

During Shutdown Modifications

to Con-tainment Blowout Panels Without Appropriate

Design Controls Potential

Safety Issue Regarding

the Shipment of Fissile Material Potential

Failure of the Instantaneous

Trip Function of General Electric RMS-9 Programmers

12/19/96 12/13/96 12/11/96 12/10/96 12/05/96 11/20/96 All holders of OLs or CPs for nuclear power reactors All U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission

Medical Use Licensees authorized

to use strontium-90 (Sr-90)eye applicators

All holders of OLs or CPs for nuclear power reactors All holders of OLs or CPs for nuclear reactors All U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission

licensees

authorized

to possess special nuclear material in unsealed quantities

greater than a critical mass All holders of OLs and CPs for nuclear power plants OL = Operating

License CP = Construction

Permit

IN 96-68 December 19, 1996 The licensee has not identified

similar problems on actuators

made by other manufacturers, but licensees

should be aware of the concern when testing and making adjustments

to the bench set of pneumatic

actuators.

The proper setup of these actuators

is especially

important

when the attached valve is used for isolation

in a safety-related

application.

Licensees

may wish to review their valves and actuators

for applicability

of this information.

This information

notice requires no specific action or written response.

If you have any questions

about the information

in this notice, please contact one of the technical

contacts listed below or the appropriate

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.signed by Thomas T. Martin, Director Division of Reactor Program Management

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical

contacts:

Patricia Campbell, NRR (301) 415-1311 E-mail: plc@nrc.gov

David Skeen, NRR (301) 415-1174 E-mail: dls@nrc.gov

Andrew Dunlop, Rill (630) 829-9726 E-mail: axd7@nrc.gov

Attachment:

List of Recently Issued NRC Information

Notices Tech Editor has reviewed and concurred

on 11/08/96*SEE PREVIOUS CONCURRENCES

DOCUMENT NAME: 96-68.IN To receive a copy of this document, indicate In the box: 'C' = Copy w/o attachmentlenclosure

'E' = Copy w/attachment/enclosure

'N' = No copy OFFICE TECH CONTS C/PECB:DRPM

D/DRPM,,,----

NAME PCampbell*

AChaffee TMa/n DSkeen*ADunlop*DATE 12/05/96 12/12/96 12/II/96 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY OFFICIAL RECORD COPY

IN 96-XX December XX, 1996 The licensee has not identified

similar problems on actuators

made by other manufacturers, but licensees

should be aware of the concern when testing and making adjustments

to the bench set of pneumatic

actuators.

The proper setup of these actuators

is especially

important

when the attached valve is used for isolation

in a safety-related

application.

Licensees

may wish to review their valves and actuators

for applicability

of this information.

This information

notice requires no specific action or written response.

If you have any questions

about the information

in this notice, please contact one of the technical

contacts listed below or the appropriate

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.Thomas T. Martin, Director Division of Reactor Program Management

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical

contacts:

Patricia Campbell, NRR (301) 415-1311 E-mail: plc@nrc.gov

David Skeen, NRR (301) 415-1174 E-mail: dls@nrc.gov

Andrew Dunlop, RIII (630) 829-9726 E-mail: axd7@nrc.gov

Attachment:

List of Recently Issued NRC Information

Notices OFC J PECB:DRPM

Region IlIl EMEB:DE C/EMEB:DE

C/PECB:DRPM

NAME DSkeen* ADunlop* PCampbell*

RWessman*

AChaffee &DATE__ 12/05/96 J 11/27/96 111/21/96

11/22/96 1 12/96 Ho~OFC ID/DRPM I /44-NAME TMartin DATE 112/ /96[OFFICIAL

RECORD COPY]DOCUMENT NAME: G:XDLS\IN96-AOV.EDA

• SEE PREVIOUS CONCURRENCE

IN 96-XX December XX, 1996 The licensee has not identified

similar problems on actuators

made by other manufacturers, but licensees

should be aware of the concern when testing and making adjustments

to the bench set of pneumatic

actuators.

The proper setup of these actuators

is especially/

important

when the attached valve is used for isolation

in a safety-related

application.

Licensees

may wish to review their valves and actuators

for applicability

of this information.

This information

notice requires no specific action or written response.

If you ye any questions

about the information

in this notice, please contact one of the tec 6 ical contacts listed below or the appropriate

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) roject manager.Thomas T. Martin, Dire or Division of Reactor Pr gram Management

Office of Nuclear R ctor Regulation

Technical

contacts:

Patricia Campbell, NRR (301) 415-1311 E-mail: plc@nrc.gov

David Skeen, NRR (301) 415-1174 E-mail: dls@nrc.gov

Andrew Dunlop, Rill (630) 829-9726 E-mail: axd7@nrc.g

Attachment:

List of Recently Iss d NRC Information

Notices OFC PECB:DRPM

1 IIon II EMEB:DE C/EMEB:DE

C/PECB:DRPM

NAME D. Ske P. Campbell R. Wessman A. Chaffee DATE j/AI5196 / ' 1,4t96 Ii /I,21/96 1/tf C96 f / /96 OFC I D/DRPM/NAME _T. r tin DATE l //96[OFFICIAL/RECORD

COPY]DOCUMNT NAME: IN96-AOV.EDA

IN 96-XX November XX, 1996 The licensee has not identified

similar problems on actuators

made by other manufacturers, but licensees

should be aware of the concern when testing and making adjustments

to the bench set of pneumatic

actuators.

The proper setup of these actuators

is especially

important

when the attached valve is used for isolation

in a safety-related

application.

Licensees

may wish to review their valves and actuators

for applicability

of this information.

This information

notice requires no specific action or written response.

If you have any questions

about the information

in this notice, please contact one of the technical

contacts listed below or the appropriate

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.Thomas T. Martin, Director Division of Reactor Program Management

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

Technical

contacts:

Patricia Campbell, NRR (301) 415-1311 E-mail: plc@nrc.gov

David Skeen, NRR (301) 415-1174 E-mail: dls@nrc.gov

Andrew Dunlop, Rill (630) 829-9726 E-mail: axd7@nrc.gov

Attachment:

List of Recently Issued NRC Information

Notices OFC PECB:DRPM

Region III EMEB:Dt--, C/EMEB:DE

C/PECB:DRPM

NAME D. Skee A.Dun14A IP. Campbell R. W A. Chaffee DATE // a/296 i /A796 VI' II 0//96 I 7N96 / /96 OFC I D/DRPM NAME T. Martin DATE / /96[OFFICIAL

RECORD COPY]DOCUMENT NAME: IN96-AOV.EDA