Aging assessment of reactor instrumentation and protection system components. Aging-related operating experiences

Gehl, A C; Hagen, E W

doi:10.2172/10167631

Title: Aging assessment of reactor instrumentation and protection system components. Aging-related operating experiences

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Abstract

A study of the aging-related operating experiences throughout a five-year period (1984--1988) of six generic instrumentation modules (indicators, sensors, controllers, transmitters, annunciators, and recorders) was performed as a part of the Nuclear Plant Aging Research Program. The effects of aging from operational and environmental stressors were characterized from results depicted in Licensee Event Reports (LERs). The data are graphically displayed as frequency of events per plant year for operating plant ages from 1 to 28 years to determine aging-related failure trend patterns. Three main conclusions were drawn from this study: (1) Instrumentation and control (I&C) modules make a modest contribution to safety-significant events: 17% of LERs issued during 1984--1988 dealt with malfunctions of the six I&C modules studied, and 28% of the LERs dealing with these I&C module malfunctions were aging related (other studies show a range 25--50%); (2) Of the six modules studied, indicators, sensors, and controllers account for the bulk (83%) of aging-related failures; and (3) Infant mortality appears to be the dominant aging-related failure mode for most I&C module categories (with the exception of annunciators and recorders, which appear to fail randomly).

Authors:

Gehl, A C; Hagen, E W ^[1]

Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

Publication Date:: Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1992

Research Org.:: US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Washington, DC (United States). Div. of Engineering; Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States)

OSTI Identifier:: 10167631

Report Number(s):: NUREG/CR-5700; ORNL/TM-11806
ON: TI92018591

DOE Contract Number:: AC05-84OR21400

Resource Type:: Technical Report

Resource Relation:: Other Information: PBD: Jul 1992

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS; 21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS; 47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION; BWR TYPE REACTORS; REACTOR INSTRUMENTATION; PWR TYPE REACTORS; AGING; WEAR; FAILURES; HUMIDITY; MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS; NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS; RADIATION EFFECTS; SERVICE LIFE; TEMPERATURE EFFECTS; TRANSIENTS; WATER COOLED REACTORS; ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS; LIFETIME; NUCLEAR FACILITIES; POWER PLANTS; POWER REACTORS; REACTORS; THERMAL POWER PLANTS; THERMAL REACTORS; WATER MODERATED REACTORS; 220900; 210100; 210200; 440800; REACTOR SAFETY; POWER REACTORS, NONBREEDING, LIGHT-WATER MODERATED, BOILING WATER COOLED; POWER REACTORS, NONBREEDING, LIGHT-WATER MODERATED, NONBOILING WATER COOLED; MISCELLANEOUS INSTRUMENTATION

Citation Formats


                    Gehl, A C, and Hagen, E W. Aging assessment of reactor instrumentation and protection system components. Aging-related operating experiences.  United States: N. p., 1992. 
        Web.  doi:10.2172/10167631.

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                    Gehl, A C, & Hagen, E W. Aging assessment of reactor instrumentation and protection system components. Aging-related operating experiences.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.2172/10167631

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                    Gehl, A C, and Hagen, E W. 1992.  
        "Aging assessment of reactor instrumentation and protection system components. Aging-related operating experiences".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.2172/10167631.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/10167631.

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@article{osti_10167631,

  title        = {Aging assessment of reactor instrumentation and protection system components. Aging-related operating experiences},

  author       = {Gehl, A C and Hagen, E W},

  abstractNote = {A study of the aging-related operating experiences throughout a five-year period (1984--1988) of six generic instrumentation modules (indicators, sensors, controllers, transmitters, annunciators, and recorders) was performed as a part of the Nuclear Plant Aging Research Program. The effects of aging from operational and environmental stressors were characterized from results depicted in Licensee Event Reports (LERs). The data are graphically displayed as frequency of events per plant year for operating plant ages from 1 to 28 years to determine aging-related failure trend patterns. Three main conclusions were drawn from this study: (1) Instrumentation and control (I&C) modules make a modest contribution to safety-significant events: 17% of LERs issued during 1984--1988 dealt with malfunctions of the six I&C modules studied, and 28% of the LERs dealing with these I&C module malfunctions were aging related (other studies show a range 25--50%); (2) Of the six modules studied, indicators, sensors, and controllers account for the bulk (83%) of aging-related failures; and (3) Infant mortality appears to be the dominant aging-related failure mode for most I&C module categories (with the exception of annunciators and recorders, which appear to fail randomly).},

  doi          = {10.2172/10167631},

  url          = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/10167631},
  journal      = {},
number       = ,

  volume       = ,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1992},

  month        = {Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1992}

}

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