Improvement of availability of PWR nuclear plants through the reduction of the time required for refueling/maintenance outages, Phase 1. Final report

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

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6546732· OSTI ID:6546732

Thompson, C. A.

The objective of this project is to identify improvements in procedures and equipment which will reduce the time required for refueling/maintenance outages at PWR nuclear power plants. The outage of Commonwealth Edison Zion Station Unit 1 in March through May of 1976 was evaluated to identify those items which caused delays and those work activities that offer the potential for significant improvements toward reducing its overall duration. Thus, the plant's availability for power production would be increased. Revisions in procedures and some equipment modifications were implemented and evaluated during the Zion Unit 2 refueling/maintenance outage beginning in January 1977. Analysis of the observed data has identified benefits available through improved refueling equipment and also areas where additional new, innovative refueling, or refueling-related equipment should be beneficial. A number of specific design concepts are recommended as a result of Phase 1. In addition, a new master planning mechanism is described for implementation during subsequent planned outages at Zion Station. This final report describes the recommended conceptual designs and planning mechanism and assesses their impact upon future outages. Their effect on savings in refueling time, labor, and radiation exposure is discussed. The estimated economic payoff for these concepts was found to be of such significance that an additional phase of the program is warranted. During this extended phase, a more detailed engineering study should be undertaken to determine the cost of implementation along with more specific estimates of the benefits for PWR plants already in operation or under construction.

• Research Organization: Commonwealth Research Corp., Chicago, IL (USA); Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, PA (USA). PWR Systems Div.
• OSTI ID: 6546732
• Report Number(s): COO-2962-6; WCAP-9371
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
210200* -- Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Nonboiling Water Cooled
AVAILABILITY
DESIGN
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
MAINTENANCE
POWER REACTORS
PWR TYPE REACTORS
REACTOR FUELING
REACTOR MAINTENANCE
REACTORS
THERMAL REACTORS
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS
ZION-1 REACTOR
ZION-2 REACTOR