ML17229B085

Requests Approval of Encl Relief Request 25 Which Proposes to Use Alternative Requirements of ASME Code Case N-613 in Lieu of Requirements of ASME Section XI Figures IWB-2500-7(a) & IWB-2500-7(b).Action Requested by Aug 1999

ML17229B085
Person / Time
Site:	Saint Lucie
Issue date:	04/05/1999
From:	Stall J FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT CO.
To:	NRC OFFICE OF INFORMATION RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (IRM)
References
L-99-78, NUDOCS 9904140227
Download: ML17229B085 (8)

Text

CATEGORY j.

REGULA Y INFORMATION DISTRIBUTI SYSTEM (RIDS)

< ~

ACCESSION NBR:9904140227 DOC.DATE: 99/04/05 NOTARIZED: NO DOCKET FACIL:50-389 St. Lucie Plant, Unit 2, Florida Power R Light Co. 05000389 AUTH. NAME AUTHOR AFFIL1ATION STALL,J.A. Florida Power & Light Co.

RECIP.NAME RECIPIENT AFFILIATION Records Management Branch (Document Control Desk)

SUBJECT:

Requests approval of encl relief request 25 which proposes to use alternative requirements of ASME Code Case N-613 in lieu of requirements of ASME'ection XI Figures A IWB-2500-7(a) & IWB-2500-7(b) .Action requested by Aug 1999.

DTSTRTBUTTON CODE: A047D TITLE: OR CORTES RECETVED:LTR Submittal: Inservice/Testing/Relief jfrom ENCL I STRE:

ASME Code - GL-89-04 T

E NOTES:

RECIPIENT COPIES RECIPIENT COPIES ID CODE/NAME LTTR ENCL ID CODE/NAME LTTR ENCL PD2-3 LA 1 1 PD2-3 PD 1 1 GLEAVES,W 1 1 1;1 l

INTERNAL: ACRS 1 1 ZL CE~RENNE01 NRR/DE/EMEB 1 1 OCS -ABSTRACT 1 OGC/HDS3 1 0 RES/DET/EIB 1 1 RES/DET/EMMEB 1 1 EXTERNAL: LITCO ANDERSON 1 1 NOAC 1 1 NRC PDR 1 '1 D N

NOTE TO ALL "RZDS" RECIPIENTS:

PLEASE HELP US TO REDUCE WASTE. TO HAVE YOUR NAME OR ORGANIZATION REMOVED FROM DISTRIBUTION LISTS OR REDUCE THE NUMBER OF COPIES RECEIVED BY YOU OR YOUR ORGANIZATION, CONTACT THE DOCUMENT CONTROL DESK (DCD) ON EXTENSION 415-2083 TOTAL NUMBER OF COPIES REQUIRED: LTTR 13 ENCL 12

Florida Power & Light Company, 6351 S. Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach, FL34951 April 5, 1999

, JI-"IRK L-99-78 10 CFR 50.4 10 CFR 50.55a U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Attn: Document Control Desk Washington, DC 20555 St. Lucie Unit 2 Docket No. 50-389 In-Service-Inspection Plan Second Ten- Year Interval

~RRi 5 R 25 Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.55a(a)(3),'lorida Power and Light Company (FPL) requests approval of the enclosed Relief Request 25.

Relief Request 25 proposes to use the alternative requirements of ASME Code Case N-613 in lieu of the requirements of ASME Section XI Figures IWB-2500-7(a) and IWB-2500-7(b). In addition, the relief request proposes to use this Code Case in lieu of the requirements of ASME Section V, Article 4 for the performance of the required volumetric examinations as specified in Table IWB-2500-1 Category B-D of the 1989 Edition of ASME Section XI. FPL has determined pursuant to 10 CFR 50.55a(a)(3) that the proposed alternatives would provide an acceptable level of quality and safety, and that compliance with the specified requirements would result in hardship or unusual difficulty without a compensating increase in the level of quality and safety.

NRC action is requested to be complete by August 1999 to support planning for the spring 2000 Unit 2 refueling outage (SL2-12). Please contact us if there are any questions about this submittal.

Very truly yours, J. A. Stall Vice President St. Lucie Plant Enclosure JAS/GRM cc: Regional Administrator, Region II, USNRC Senior Resident Inspector, USNRC, St. Lucie Plant

'P904140227 990405 PDR ADQCK 0500038'P Q 5',

PDR an FPL Group company

St. Lucie Unit 2 Docket No. 50-389 L-99-78 Enclosure Page 1 t St. Lucie Unit 2 SECOND INSPECTION INTERVAL RELIEF REQUEST NUMBER 25 A. COMPONENT IDENTIFICATION'lass:

1 Reactor Pressure Vessel Pressure-retaining Nozzle-to-Vessel welds examined at St. Lucie Unit 2.

B. EXAMINATIONREQUIREMENT:

Rules for Inservice Inspection of Nuclear Power Plant Components, Section XI, 1989 Edition, Examination Category B-D Full Penetration Welds of Nozzles in Vessels. Code Item B3.90, Figure IWB-2500-7 (a) 8 (b).

ASME Section V, 1989 Edition, Article 4, Paragraphs; T-441.3.2.5 Angle Beam Scanning, T-3.2.6 Scanning for Reflectors Oriented Parallel to the Weld, and T-441.3.2.7 Scanning for Reflectors Oriented Transverse to the Weld.

C. RELIEF REQUESTED:

Pursuant to 10 CFR 50.55a (a)(3)0i, FPL requests to use the alternative requirements of Code Case N-613 in lieu of the requirements of ASME Section XI Figures IWB-2500-7 (a) and IWB-2500-7 (b).

We also request to use this Code Case in lieu of the requirements of ASME Section V, Article 4 for the performance of the required volumetric examinations as specified in Table IWB-2500-1 Category B-D of the 1989 Edition of ASME Section XI. These examinations will be performed during the second inspection interval.

D. BASIS FOR RELIEF'PL is currently required to perform Inservice Examinations of selected welds in accordance with the requirements of 10 CFR 50.55a, plant technical specifications, and the 1989 Edition of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section XI, Rules for Inseivice Inspection of Nuclear Power Plant Components. This Code edition invokes the examination volume requirements of Figures IWB-2500-7 (a) and IWB-2500-7 (b). This Code edition also invokes the examination requirements of Appendix I, Article I-2000 which references ASME Section V, Article 4 that essentially prescribes twenty (20) year old examination methodology.

The examination volume for the Reactor vessel Nozzle-to-vessel weids extends far beyond the weld itself, and is unnecessarily large. This extends the time for examination significantly, and results in no net increase in safety, as the area being examined is simply a base metal region which is not prone to in-service cracking and has been extensively examined before the vessel was put into service and during the first in-service examination..

This Code Case also de-emphasizes the requirement to detect flaws perpendicular to the weld-base metal interface on the grounds that they never occur as a result of the welding process. Furthermore, the likelihood of inservice cracking with this orientation in these regions is very Iow, having never been observed.

St. Lucie Unit 2 Docket No. 50-389 L-99-78 Enclosure Page 2 t St. Lucie Unit 2 SECOND INSPECTION INTERVAL RELIEF REQUEST NUMBER 25 The implementation of Code Case N-613 is also expected to reduce on-vessel examination time by as much as 12 hours1.388889e-4 days <br />0.00333 hours <br />1.984127e-5 weeks <br />4.566e-6 months <br />, which translates to significant cost savings and reduced personnel radiation exposure.

E. ALTERNATIVE EXAMINATIONS')

Perform examinations in accordance with Code Case N-613

2) Conduct Mechanized Ultrasonic Examinations of 100% of all welds to the extent practical using Performance Demonstration Initiative (PDI) ASME Section XI, Appendix Vill qualified procedures and personnel. This will be accomplished in accordance with Code Case N-622 (relief request No. 22).

3) Periodic System Pressure Tests per Category B-P, Table IWB-2500-1 F. IMPLEMENTATIONSCHEDULE:

Second Inservice Inspection Interval G. ATTACHMENTS TO THE RELIEF:

Code Case N-613

CASE N-6'1 3

~

~

CASES OF ASME BOILER AND PRESSURE VESSEL CODE Approval Date: July 30, 1998 See Numeric index for expiration and any reaffirmation dates.

Case N-613 Ultrasonic Examination of Full Penetration Nozzles in Vessels, Examination Category B-D, Item No's. B3.10 and B3.90, Reactor Vessel-To-Nozzle Welds, Fig. IWB-2500-7(a), (b), and (c)

Section XI, Division 1 Inquiry: What alternatives to the examination re-quirements of Section XI, Appendix I and Section V, Article 4 are permissible when performing ultrasonic examination of reactor vessel-to-nozzle welds?

Reply: It is the opinion of the Committee that ultra-sonic examination of Category B-D nozzles may be conducted using techniques designed for detection and sizing of surface and subsurface tlaws within the ex-amination volume (A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H), oriented in a plane normal to the vessel inside surface and parallel to the weld for Figs, I and 2, and oriented in a plane normal to the nozzle. inside surface and parallel to the weld for Fig. 3.

1051 SUPP. 2 NC

CASE (continued)

N-613

~

CASES OF ASME BOILER AND PRESSURE VESSEL CODE

~

tl

+

rt, tz a nozzle wall thickness rs ~ shell (or head) thickness r/ nozzle inside corner radius fs/2 miix.

0 rs/2 CD I I I 4 I

1/2 in.

I I I I ts 1/2 in.

I I I I I

p H X

I GF E I Cladding

//

I M where

/ I present

/

~

I I

/ I I

/ I

( I I rnz I

I f/ I I i r/- '/2 in. I 'xam.vol.

/ A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H

/

/

//

a M r Corner flaw EXAMINATIONREGION (Note (1)I EXAMINATIONVOLUME (Note (2)l Shell (or head) adjoining region C-D-E-F Attachment weld region B-C-F-G Nozzle cylinder region A-B-G-H Nozzle inside corner region M-N-0-P NOTES:

(1) Examination regions are identified for the purpose of differentiating the acceptance standards in IWB.3512.

(2) Examination volumes may be determined either by direct measurements on the component or by measurements based on design drawings.

FIG. 1 NOZZLE IN SHELL OR HEAD (Exantlnation Zones in Barrel Type Nozzles Joined by Full Penetration Corner We(ds)

SUPP. 2 NC 1052

I

~ ~

CASE (continued)

N-6't3 CASES OF ASME BOILER AND PRESSURE VESSEL CODE 4t, !2 ~ nozzlewallthickness ts ~ shell {or head) thickness r~/ m nozzle inside corner radius A B C D I

I I

c r, I I

//

I M

/

/ I Cladding

/

I I

I

/2 in'here

/ I 1/2 in present I I I I

I r/ I I 1 r/- 1/2 in. I

\ /

p /

/

//

8 Exam. vol.

A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H M

Corner flaw EXAMINATIONREGION {Note {1)) EXAMINATIONVOLUME {Note {2))

Shell {or head) adjoining region C-D-E-F Attachment weld region B-C-F-G Nozzle cylinder region A-8-G-H Nozzle inside corner region M-N-0-P NOTES:

{1) Examination regions are identified for the purpose of differentiating the acceptance standards in IWB-3512.

{2) Examination volumes may be determined either by direct measurements on the component or by measurements based on design drawings.

FIG. 2 NOZZLE IN SHELL OR HEAD (Exantination Zones in Flange Type Nozzles Joined by Full Penetration Butt Welds) 1053 SUPP. 2 NC

CASE (continued)

CASES OF ASME BOILER AND PRESSURE VESSEL CODE II I II I I I I II I II I II r%

I I

rt ~ nozzle wall thickness ts a shelliorhead) thickness r/ ~ nozzle inside corner radius

'/2 in a+

8

/2 Ill.

CD I

I /

//

i /

I i I

/ I I

/ I I I i Cladding I r/ I I

\

i r/ - /zin. I where

/ present p /

e / Exam. vol.

I // A-8-C-D-E-F-G-H M

r Corner flaw EXAMINATIONREGION Note l1) EXAMINATIONVOLUME Note (2))

Shell Ior head) adjoining region C-D-E-F-G Attachment weld region 8-C-G Nozzle cylinder region A-8-G-H Nozzle inside corner region M-N-0-P NOTES:

I1) Examination regions are identified for the purpose of differentiating the acceptance standards in IW8-3512.

I2) Examination volumes may be determined either by direct measurements on the component or by measurements based on design drawings.

FIG. 3 NOZZLE IN SHELL OR HEAD (Examination Zones in Set-On Type Nozzles Joined by Full Penetration Corner Welds)

SUPP. 2 NC 1054