Aging assessment of cables

Conference · Wed Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:5643960

Jacobus, M J

This paper summarizes the results of aging, condition monitoring, and accident testing of Class 1E cables used in nuclear power generating stations. Three sets of cables were aged for up to 9 months under simultaneous thermal ({approximately}100{degrees}C) and radiation ({approximately}0.10 kGy/hr) conditions. After the aging, the cables were exposed to a simulated accident consisting of high dose rate irradiation ({approximately}6 kGy/hr) followed by a high temperature steam (up to 400{degrees}C) exposure. A fourth set of cables, which were unaged, was also exposed to the accident conditions. The cables that were aged for 3 months and then accident tested were subsequently exposed to a high temperature steam fragility test (up to 400{degrees}C), while the cables that were aged for 6 months and then accident tested were subsequently exposed to a 1000-hour submergence test in a chemical solution. The results of these tests do not indicate any reason to believe that many popular nuclear power plant cable products cannot inherently be qualified for 60 years of operation for conditions simulated by this testing. Mechanical measurements (primarily elongation, modulus, and density) are more effective than electrical measurements for monitoring age-related degradation. In the high temperature steam test, ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) cable materials generally survived to higher temperatures than crosslinked polyolefin (XLPO) cable materials. In dielectric testing after the submergence testing, the XLPO materials performed better than the EPR materials.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: NRC; Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 5643960
• Report Number(s): SAND-92-0206C; CONF-920375--8; ON: DE92010960
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220200* -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Components & Accessories
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360603 -- Materials-- Properties
AGING
CABLES
CONDUCTOR DEVICES
ELECTRIC CABLES
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
ELECTRICAL INSULATION
EQUIPMENT
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
POLYMERS
POLYOLEFINS
POWER PLANTS
RADIATION EFFECTS
STEAM
TEMPERATURE EFFECTS
TESTING
THERMAL POWER PLANTS