Reactor coolant pump reliability improvement through mechanical shaft seal retrofit

Conference · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1988 · Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6810269

Shaw, S W; Cummings, D L

The reliable operation of reactor coolant (RCPs) in pressurized water reactors is necessary for high availability of power plants and economic production of electricity. Large diameters and high differential pressures require specialized shaft seal designs to be utilized in these pumps. One operator was experiencing frequent forced outages on two 1200-MW plants caused by unacceptable leakage rates of reactor coolant through the shaft seals. After unsuccessful attempts to improve performance with the original equipment design, other alternatives were evaluated. The result of this evaluation was an industry first program to replace the existing shaft seal with a proven design from a different manufacturer. This paper chronicles the actual program to select, design, test, install, and monitor performance on the RCP seal retrofit.

• OSTI ID: 6810269
• Report Number(s): CONF-880422-; TRN: 88-033363
• Journal Information: Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc.; (United States), Vol. 56; Conference: Topical meeting on engineering for nuclear plant operation and maintenance, Myrtle Beach, SC, USA, 17 Apr 1988
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
PRIMARY COOLANT CIRCUITS
PUMPS
RELIABILITY
PWR TYPE REACTORS
AVAILABILITY
ECONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
REACTOR MAINTENANCE
RETROFITTING
SEALS
COOLING SYSTEMS
ENERGY SYSTEMS
MAINTENANCE
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTOR COOLING SYSTEMS
REACTORS
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS
210200* - Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Nonboiling Water Cooled