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 T Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
To:
References
IN-96-068, NUDOCS 9612160116
Download: ML031050477 (8)

December 19, 1996

NRC INFORMATION NOTICE 96-68: INCORRECT EFFECTIVE DIAPHRAGM AREAVALUES IN VENDOR MANUAL RESULT INPOTENTIAL FAILURE OF PNEUMATIC DIAPHRAGMACTUATORS

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 alertaddressees to the fact that some vendors have published incorrect values for effectivediaphragm area for some spring-type pneumatic diaphragm actuators and that use of theseincorrect values may result in safety-related air-operated valves not fully closing under designbasis conditions. It is expected that recipients will review the information for applicability totheir facilities and consider actions, as appropriate, to avoid similar problems. However,suggestions contained in this information notice are not NRC requirements; therefore, nospecific action or written response is required.

Description of Circumstances

On October 4, 1996, Commonwealth Edison, licensee for the LaSalle County Station, issueda notification puisuant to 10 CFR Part 21 (Accession No. 9610080102). The notificationidentified the deficiency as incorrect values for the effective diaphragm areas, as publishedby 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 byWKM Valve Division of ACF Industries, then by Muesco, and by Anchor/Darling ValveCompany. 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 squareinches. The affected actuators are either direct acting (extends the valve stem when airpressure is applied) or reverse acting (retracts the stem when air is applied) spring returnactuators.The Part 21 notification included an attachment providing a Nuclear Plant Reliability DataSystem (NPRDS) listing of valves of the applicable model number by plant; however, thelisting may not include all of the applicable valves and may include valves that are not safetyrelated or that are not required to isolate as are the primary containment isolation9612160116 `lD _, _j A IN 96-68December 19, 1996 valves at the LaSalle County Station. Some of the valves listed are not diaphragm actuatedvalves and the identification of some items is incomplete. The present manufacturer,Anchor/Darling Valve Company, was unable to compile a complete listing of the actuatorapplications because purchase order records from the original vendor are unavailable.DiscussionThe licensee found discrepancies in the bench set values of the actuators during the LaSalleCounty Station refueling outage that took place from February through April 1996. Thepublished bench set and the actual bench set values, indicated from testing by the plantmechanics, were inconsistent. "Bench set" refers to the amount of preload and finalcompression force placed on the actuator spring so that the applied spring force on loss ofair will achieve the required travel of the valve stem. Bench set adjustments are made byapplying air pressure to the actuator in accordance with the manufacturer's published valuesand adjusting the spring compressive force by means of an adjusting screw to achieve thedesired relationship between air pressure and valve stem travel. When performing bench settesting, incomplete valve stroke is typically indicative of a stiffer-than-expected spring.However, testing by the licensee indicated that the springs were within manufacturer'stolerances and additional testing with a known spring force, a known air supply pressure, anda known load indicated that the actual effective diaphragm area, which relates to the forceopposing the spring as well as to the compression of the spring for proper preloading, wasless than the published values.Anchor/Darling Valve Company was contacted by the licensee and performed a series oftests to determine the actual effective diaphragm area. These tests indicated that the actualdiaphragm areas of the various sizes of the Model 70-13 actuators were approximately90 percent of the published values. Further testing by the licensee uncovered a contributingproblem that further reduced the effective diaphram area. The diaphragm case consists oftwo halves bolted together. Generally one half is deeper than the other. It was discoveredthat reverse-acting actuators assembled with a deep upper half caused unintended stretchingof the diaphragm within the casing.The licensee determined that the primary containment isolation valves would have closed atthe 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 highersystem pressure under some operating conditions. That is, the valves may not have closedunder the highest expected differential pressure of the contained system fluid. Further detailsof 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 wasable to properly adjust the actuators to account for the discrepancies between the publishedvalues for the diaphragm area and the actual diaphragm area by (1) adjusting the bench seton the spring to achieve the required closing force and (2) reversing the diaphragm casingsso that the deeper part of the casing was installed on the bottom with the shallower part ofthe casing installed on top to prevent the diaphragm from stretchin IN 96-68December 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 thebench set of pneumatic actuators. The proper setup of these actuators is especiallyimportant 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 anyquestions about the information in this notice, please contact one of the technical contactslisted below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.Thomas T. Martin, DirectorDivision of Reactor Program ManagementOffice of Nuclear Reactor RegulationTechnical contacts: Patricia Campbell, NRR(301) 415-1311E-mail: plcenrc.govDavid Skeen, NRR(301) 415-1174E-mail: dIsenrc.govAndrew Dunlop, Rill(630) 829-9726E-mail: axd7@nrc.gov

Attachment:

List of Recently Issued NRC Information Noticesmy b tC~ -I- h AttachmentIN 96-68December 19, 1996 LIST OF RECENTLY ISSUEDNRC INFORMATION NOTICESInformation Date ofNotice No. Subject Issuance Issued to96-6796-6696-6596-6496-6396-62Vulnerability of EmergencyDiesel Generators to FuelOil/Lubricating Oil Incom-patibilityRecent MisadministrationsCaused by Incorrect Cali-brations of Strontium-90Eye ApplicatorsUndetected Accumulationof Gas in Reactor CoolantSystem and InaccurateReactor Water LevelIndication During ShutdownModifications to Con-tainment Blowout PanelsWithout AppropriateDesign ControlsPotential Safety IssueRegarding the Shipmentof Fissile MaterialPotential Failure of theInstantaneous Trip Functionof General Electric RMS-9Programmers12/19/9612/13/9612/11/9612/10/9612/05/9611/20/96All holders of OLsor CPs for nuclearpower reactorsAll U.S. NuclearRegulatory CommissionMedical Use Licenseesauthorized to usestrontium-90 (Sr-90)eye applicatorsAll holders of OLsor CPs for nuclearpower reactorsAll holders of OLsor CPs for nuclearreactorsAll U.S. NuclearRegulatory Commissionlicensees authorizedto possess specialnuclear material inunsealed quantitiesgreater than a criticalmassAll holders of OLsand CPs for nuclearpower plantsOL = Operating LicenseCP = Construction Permit IN 96-68December 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 thebench set of pneumatic actuators. The proper setup of these actuators is especiallyimportant 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 anyquestions about the information in this notice, please contact one of the technical contactslisted below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.signed byThomas T. Martin, DirectorDivision of Reactor Program ManagementOffice of Nuclear Reactor RegulationTechnical contacts: Patricia Campbell, NRR(301) 415-1311E-mail: plc@nrc.govDavid Skeen, NRR(301) 415-1174E-mail: dls@nrc.govAndrew Dunlop, Rill(630) 829-9726E-mail: axd7@nrc.gov

Attachment:

List of Recently Issued NRC Information NoticesTech Editor has reviewed and concurred on 11/08/96*SEE PREVIOUS CONCURRENCESDOCUMENT NAME: 96-68.INTo receive a copy of this document, indicate In the box: 'C' = Copy w/oattachmentlenclosure 'E' = Copy w/attachment/enclosure 'N' = No copyOFFICE TECH CONTS C/PECB:DRPM D/DRPM,,,----NAME PCampbell* AChaffee TMa/nDSkeen*ADunlop*DATE 12/05/96 12/12/96 12/II/96OFFICIAL RECORD COPYOFFICIAL RECORD COPY IN 96-XXDecember 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 thebench set of pneumatic actuators. The proper setup of these actuators is especiallyimportant 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 anyquestions about the information in this notice, please contact one of the technical contactslisted below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.Thomas T. Martin, DirectorDivision of Reactor Program ManagementOffice of Nuclear Reactor RegulationTechnical contacts: Patricia Campbell, NRR(301) 415-1311E-mail: plc@nrc.govDavid Skeen, NRR(301) 415-1174E-mail: dls@nrc.govAndrew Dunlop, RIII(630) 829-9726E-mail: axd7@nrc.gov

Attachment:

List of Recently Issued NRC Information NoticesOFC J PECB:DRPM Region IlIl EMEB:DE C/EMEB:DE C/PECB:DRPMNAME 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 TMartinDATE 112/ /96[OFFICIAL RECORD COPY]DOCUMENT NAME: G:XDLS\IN96-AOV.EDA*SEE PREVIOUS CONCURRENCE IN 96-XXDecember 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 thebench 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 thisinformation.This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If you ye anyquestions about the information in this notice, please contact one of the tec 6 ical contactslisted below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) roject manager.Thomas T. Martin, Dire orDivision of Reactor Pr gram ManagementOffice of Nuclear R ctor RegulationTechnical contacts: Patricia Campbell, NRR(301) 415-1311E-mail: plc@nrc.govDavid Skeen, NRR(301) 415-1174E-mail: dls@nrc.govAndrew Dunlop, Rill(630) 829-9726E-mail: axd7@nrc.g

Attachment:

List of Recently Iss d NRC Information NoticesOFC PECB:DRPM 1 IIon II EMEB:DE C/EMEB:DE C/PECB:DRPMNAME D. Ske P. Campbell R. Wessman A. ChaffeeDATE j/AI5196 / ' 1,4t96 Ii /I,21/96 1/tf C96 f / /96OFC I D/DRPM/NAME _T. r tinDATE l //96[OFFICIAL/RECORD COPY]DOCUMNT NAME: IN96-AOV.EDA IN 96-XXNovember 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 thebench set of pneumatic actuators. The proper setup of these actuators is especiallyimportant 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 thisinformation.This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If you have anyquestions about the information in this notice, please contact one of the technical contactslisted below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) project manager.Thomas T. Martin, DirectorDivision of Reactor Program ManagementOffice of Nuclear Reactor RegulationTechnical contacts: Patricia Campbell, NRR(301) 415-1311E-mail: plc@nrc.govDavid Skeen, NRR(301) 415-1174E-mail: dls@nrc.govAndrew Dunlop, Rill(630) 829-9726E-mail: axd7@nrc.gov

Attachment:

List of Recently Issued NRC Information NoticesOFC PECB:DRPM Region III EMEB:Dt--, C/EMEB:DE C/PECB:DRPMNAME D. Skee A.Dun14A IP. Campbell R. W A. ChaffeeDATE // a/296 i /A796 VI' II 0//96 I 7N96 / /96OFC I D/DRPMNAME T. MartinDATE / /96[OFFICIAL RECORD COPY]DOCUMENT NAME: IN96-AOV.EDA