Alternate water chemistry program. Quarterly report 1, from program start to December 31, 1977. [BWR]

Technical Report · Tue Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1978

OSTI ID:6272982

Burley, E L

Boiling water reactors (BWR) generally use high-purity, no-additive feed water. The primary recirculating coolant/moderator water is continuously purified in an ion exchanger clean-up system so that even trace impurity levels are exceptionally low. However, the radiolytic decomposition of water in the reactor flux proceeds at a significant rate to produce 200 pounds O/sub 2/ and 25 pounds H/sub 2/ in an operating 2500 MWt reactor per hour. Although the bulk of these gases is stripped into the steam and removed from the system at the condenser, a small fraction stays with the recirculating liquid phase so that it contains 100 to 300 ppB of dissolved oxygen and stoichiometric amounts of dissolved hydrogen. There is substantial evidence that water oxygenated to this level increases austenitic stainless steel susceptibility to intergranular stress corrosion cracking when other requisite factors such as stress and sensitization are present. Thus, reduction or elimination of the oxygen in BWR water may preclude cracking incidents. One approach to reduction of the BWR coolant oxygen concentration is to adopt alternative water chemistry conditions using an additive or additives to suppress or reverse the radiolysis reaction. Several additives are available for suppressing the coolant oxygen content but they have seen only limited and specialized application in BWRs. The objective of the program is to perform an in-depth engineering evaluation of the potential suppression additives supported by critical experiments, where required, to resolve substantive uncertainties. On the basis of the engineering evaluation, the optimum oxygen suppression approach or approaches will be selected and a specific BWR plant recommended for an extended (3-year) plant demonstration experiment.

• Research Organization: General Electric Co., San Jose, CA (USA). Nuclear Energy Engineering Div.
• DOE Contract Number: EY-76-C-02-2985
• OSTI ID: 6272982
• Report Number(s): NEDC-23856
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
210100* -- Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Boiling Water Cooled
ADDITIVES
AMMONIA
BWR TYPE REACTORS
CHEMICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
COOLANT CLEANUP SYSTEMS
COOLING SYSTEMS
CRYOGENIC FLUIDS
DECOMPOSITION
ELEMENTS
FLUIDS
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN HYDRIDES
NONMETALS
OXYGEN
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PRIMARY COOLANT CIRCUITS
RADIATION CHEMISTRY
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIOLYSIS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTOR COOLING SYSTEMS
REACTORS
REMOVAL
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
WATER
WATER CHEMISTRY
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS