RA09-039, Cycle 13 Startup Test Report Summary
| ML091240228 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | LaSalle  |
| Issue date: | 05/01/2009 |
| From: | Wozniak D Exelon Generation Co, Exelon Nuclear |
| To: | Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation |
| References | |
| RA09-039 | |
| Download: ML091240228 (11) | |
Text
Exelon Generation Company, LLC LaSalle County Station www.exe1oncorp.com N uc i ear 2601 North 215t Road Marseilles, IL 613419757 RAO9-039 May 1, 2009 United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attention: Document Control Desk Washington, D.C. 20555 LaSalle County Station, Unit 2 Facility Operating License No. NPF-18 NRC Docket No. 50-374
Subject:
LaSalle 2 Cycle 13 Startup Test Report Summary Enclosed for your information is the LaSalle County Station (LSCS) Unit 2 Cycle 13 Startup Test Report. This report is submitted in accordance with Technical Requirements Manual Section 5.0.b.
LSCS Unit 2 Cycle 13 began commercial operation on February 10, 2009, following a refueling and maintenance outage. The Unit 2 Cycle 13 core loading consisted of 312 fresh Framatome-ANP (FANP) Atrium-lO fuel bundles, eight fresh Framatome ANP (FANP) Atrium-i OXM fuel bundles, 305 once-burned FANP Atrium-lO fuel bundles, and 139 twice-burned Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF) fuel bundles. Also installed in the Unit 2 Cycle 13 reactor were eight new GE/Reuter-Stokes NA-300 Local Power Range Monitors (LPRM5), four used General Electric Marathon C+
Control Rod blades, and two new Westinghouse CR82M-1 Control Rod blades.
Attached are the evaluation results from the following tests:
- Reactor Core Verification
- Single Rod Subcritical Check
- Control Rod Friction and Settle Testing
- Control Rod Drive Timing
- Shutdown Margin Test (In-sequence critical)
- Reactivity Anomaly Calculation (Critical and Full Power)
- Scram Insertion Times
- Core Power Distribution Symmetry Analysis
- Reactor Recirculation System Performance
May 1, 2009 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Page 2 and All test data was reviewed in accordance with the applicable test procedures, cal exceptions to any results were evaluated to verify compliance with Techni uent test results .
Specification limits and to ensure the acceptability of subseq Should you have any questions concerning this letter, please contact 00.
Mr. Terrence W. Simpkin, Regulatory Assurance Manager, at (815) 415-28 Respectfully, L_
David B. Wozniak Site Vice President LaSalle County Station Attachment cc: Regional Administrator NRC Region Ill
NRC Senior Resident Inspector LaSalle County Station
Page 1 of 9 Reactor Core Verification Purpose The purpose of this test is to visually verify that the core is loaded as intended for Unit 2 Cycle 13 operation.
Criteria The as-loaded core must conform to the cycle core design used by the Core Management Organization (FANP & Nuclear Fuels) in the reload licensing analysis. Any discrepancies discovered in the loading will be promptly corrected and the affected areas re-verified to ensure proper core loading prior to unit startup.
Conformance to the cycle core design will be documented by a permanent core serial number map signed by the audit participants.
Results and Discussion Core verification was performed concurrently with core load and shuffle per core verification guideline NF-AA-330-1 001. The Unit 2 Cycle 13 core verification consisted of a core height, assembly orientation, assembly location, and assembly seating check performed by reactor services and reactor engineering. Bundle serial numbers and orientations were recorded during the videotaped scans for comparison to the appropriate core loading map and Cycle Management documentation. On February 1-2, 2009, the core was verified as being properly loaded and consistent with the LaSalle 2 Cycle 13 Core Loading Plan per Transmittal of Design Information (TODI) # NFO900001, Revision 1.
This was documented in WO# 01009979-01.
Page 2 of 9 Single Rod Subcritical Check Purpose The purpose of this test is to demonstrate that the Unit 2 Cycle 13 core will remain subcritical upon the withdrawal of the analytically determined strongest Control Rod.
Criteria In accordance with LTP-1 600-30, the core must remain subcritical, with no significant increase in SRM readings, with the analytically determined strongest rod fully withdrawn.
Results and Discussion The analytically determined strongest rod for the Beginning of Cycle 13 for Unit 2 was determined by Nuclear Fuels to be Control Rod 42-11 per TODI# NFO90001 5, Revision 0. On February 3, 2009, with a Unit 2 moderator temperature of 93.7 2F, Control Rod 42-11 was withdrawn to the full out position (48) and the core remained subcritical with no significant increase in SRM readings. This information is documented on LTP-1 600-30, Attachment A.
Page 3 of 9 Control Rod Friction and Settle Testing Purpose The purpose of this test is to demonstrate that excessive friction does not exist between the Control Rod blade and the fuel assemblies during operation of the Control Rod Drive (CRD) following core alterations.
Criteria Appropriate acceptance criteria are provided in LOS-RD-SR7 and include limits on rod settle time (less than 7 seconds); and if necessary, scram times from position 45 to position 05 and full stroke insertion time criteria (dependent on seal leakage and normal insertion time).
The testing population will consist of control rods:
- Prior to startup from refueling outages, perform friction testing on those control cells selected by Reactor Engineering, Operations, and System Engineering. This population must include any cell that meets any of the following criteria.
o The channel in the cell is beginning its third cycle in a peripheral location.
o The combined peripheral residence time for any two channels in a control cell exceeds four cycles.
o Bundle-average exposure for any fuel in the control cell exceeds 30 GWD/ST (27.24 GWD/MT).
Results and Discussion CRD Friction Testing commenced after the completion of the core load verification and single rod subcritical check. Due to excessive air in the drives, 47 rods showed settle times between 3.0 and 7.3 seconds. After flushing these 47 rods, they were retested per LOS-RD-SR7. Although the settle times for the 47 rods were improved, 32 rods remained with settle times greater than 3.0 seconds. These 32 rods were retested during power ascension. After completion of all testing, there was no indication of excessive friction on the control rods as the rods met the appropriate acceptance criteria. The settle times of all rods were less than 3.0 seconds. The testing was completed on February 10, 2009 and is documented in WO# 01038941-05, IR 878087, and AT 878087-03.
Page 4 of 9 Control Rod Drive Timing Purpose The purpose of this test is to check and set the insert and withdrawal speeds of the Control Rod Drives (CRDs).
Criteria LQS-RD-SR5, Control Rod Drive Timing, acceptance criteria for the withdraw times (full-in to full-out) is between 45 and 60 seconds and insert times (full-out to full-in) is between 40 and 55 seconds.
Results and Discussion LOS-RD-SR5 was performed satisfactorily for all CRDMs requiring post maintenance testing. As left Control Rod speeds are satisfactory per the LOS-RD-SR5 criteria. Timing was completed on February 8, 2009, and is documented in WO# 01014238-01 and 01038941-04.
Page 5 of 9 Shutdown Margin Test Purpose The purpose of this test is to demonstrate, from a normal in-sequence critical, that the core loading has been limited such that the reactor will remain subcritical throughout the operating cycle with the strongest worth Control Rod in the full-out position and all other rods fully inserted.
Criteria In accordance with LTS-1100-1 and Technical Specifications, if a shutdown margin (SDM) of 0.38%
zk1k + R cannot be demonstrated with the strongest worth Control Rod fully withdrawn, the core loading must be altered to meet this margin. R is the reactivity difference between the cores beginning-of-cycle SDM and the minimum SDM for the cycle. The R value for Cycle 13 is 0.08% 1kIk per ANP-2794(P) Rev. 0, Startup and Operations Report LaSalle Unit 2 Cycle 13, transmitted by NE TODI# NF0900034, Revision 0, so a SDM of 0.46% 1k/k must be demonstrated.
Results and Discussion The beginning-of-cycle SDM was successfully determined from the initial critical data. The initial Cycle 13 critical occurred on February 9, 2009, on Control Rod 34-39 at position 22, using an A-2 sequence. The moderator temperature was 164 2 F and the reactor period was 220 seconds. Using rod worth information, moderator temperature, reactivity corrections, and period reactivity corrections supplied by Nuclear Fuels in TODI# NF0900034, Revision 0, the SDM was determined to be 1.37%
iMc/k. The SDM exceeded the 0.46% 11k/k that was required to satisfy the Technical Specifications.
Page 6 of 9 Reactivity Anomaly Determination Purpose The purpose of this test is to compare the actual and predicted critical rod configurations to detect any unexpected reactivity trends.
Criteria In accordance with NF-AB-715, NF-AB-760, and Technical Specifications, the reactivity equivalence of the difference between the actual critical Control Rod configuration and the predicted critical Control Rod configuration shall not exceed 1 % iXklk at full power steady state conditions. If the difference exceeds 1% ak/k, the cause of the anomaly must be determined, explained, and corrected for continued operation of the unit.
Results and Discussion Two reactivity anomaly calculations were successfully performed during the Unit 2 Cycle 13 Startup Test Program. One reactivity anomaly calculation is from the in-sequence critical and the other is from steady state, equilibrium conditions at approximately 100% full power.
The initial critical occurred on February 9, 2009, on Control Rod 34-39 at position 22, using an A-2 sequence. The moderator temperature was 164 2 F and the reactor period was 220 seconds. Using rod worth information, moderator temperature, reactivity corrections, and period reactivity corrections supplied by Nuclear Fuels, the actual critical was determined to be within 0.049% LkIk of the predicted critical. The anomaly determined is within the 1% 1kIk required for BOC conditions as stated in NF-AB-715. This was documented in NF-AB-715, Attachment 3.
The reactivity anomaly calculation for full power steady state operation was performed on February 16, 2009. The data used was from 99.7% power at a cycle exposure of 126.7 MWD/MT at equilibrium conditions. The expected keff supplied by Nuclear Fuels was 0.9995. The actual keff was 1.0014. The resulting anomaly was 0.19% 1k/k. This value is within the 1% Ak/k criteria of Technical Specifications.
Page 7 of 9 Scram Insertion Times Purpose The purpose of this test is to demonstrate that the Control Rod scram insertion times are within the operating limits set forth by the Technical Specifications.
Criteria In accordance with LTS-1100-4 and Technical Specifications, the maximum scram insertion time of each Control Rod from the fully withdrawn position (48) to notch position 05, based on de-energization of the scram pilot valve solenoids as time zero, shall not exceed 7.0 seconds.
No more than 12 OPERABLE Control Rods shall be slow in accordance with the below table. In addition, no more than 2 Operable Control Rods that are slow shall occupy adjacent locations.
When the scram insertion time of an operable Control Rod from the fully withdrawn position (48),
based on de-energization of the scram pilot valve solenoids as time zero, exceeds any of the following, that Control Rod is considered slow:
Notch Position Scram Time to Notch Indicated (seconds) 45 0.52 39 0.80 25 1.77 05 3.20 Results and Discussion Scram testing was successfully completed on February 12, 2009 per WO# 01038941-06 and 01011713-01 and -02. All 185 rods were scram timed during the reactor pressure vessel leakage testing (Hydro) prior to startup or at power prior to exceeding 40% rated thermal power. The results of the testing are given below.
Notch Position Core Average Scram Times of all CRDs (sec) 45 0.335 39 0.625 25 1.324 05 2.383 These results also meet the Nominal Scram Speeds referenced in the Unit 2 Cycle 13 Core Operating Limits Report (TRM Appendix J).
Page 8 of 9 Core Power Distribution Symmetry Analysis Purpose The purpose of this test is to verify the core power symmetry.
Criteria In accordance with NF-AB-716, the x 2 value of the total measured TIP uncertainty must be less than the critical value at the 1% confidence level, i.e., 36.19 for 19 TIP pairs.
The gross check of the TIP signal symmetry should yield a maximum deviation between symmetrically located pairs of less than 25%.
Results and Discussion Core power symmetry calculations were performed based upon data obtained from a full core TIP set (CD-i) performed on March 5, 2009, at approximately 100% power. The TIP set was performed with all 5 TIP machines operable. All traces were obtained. The x 2 value was 9.67, which satisfies the test criteria of 36.19 for 19 pairs. The maximum deviation between symmetrical TIP pairs was 4.36%,
which is within the 25% acceptance criteria.
Page 9 of 9 Recirculation System Performance Purpose The purpose of this procedure is to collect sufficient baseline data at the beginning of cycle to establish the following relationships:
- core thermal power vs. total core flow
- recirculation total drive flow vs. total core flow
- core plate flow vs. total core flow
- recirculation flow control valve position vs. loop drive flow
- jet pump readings vs. loop drive flow Criteria In accordance with LTP-1600-13 and Technical Specifications, the performance curves used in conjunction with reactor recirculation system flow and differential pressure data will establish baseline data to determine if possible jet pump or recirculation pump degradation exists.
The established baseline performance curves will also be used to verify jet pump operability to determine if jet pump anomalies exist.
Results and Discussion Reactor Recirculation (RR) data was collected during the L2C13 startup. Data was obtained from computer points for all the points of interest to evaluate the RR System performance. No significant changes from L2C12 were noted in the L2C13 RR performance curves. This was completed on April 13, 2009 and is documented in WO# 01068437-01.