Aging assessment of reactor instrumentation and protection system components. Aging-related operating experiences
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
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).
- Research Organization:
- US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Washington, DC (United States). Div. of Engineering; Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 10167631
- Report Number(s):
- NUREG/CR-5700; ORNL/TM-11806; ON: TI92018591
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Jul 1992
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
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