Effect of surface treatments on radiation buildup in steam generators

Technical Report · Fri Nov 01 00:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:6176326

Asay, R H ^[1]; Pick, M E ^[2]; Roofthooft, R ^[3]; van Melsen, C ^[4]

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1. Radiological and Chemical Technology, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (United States)
2. Nuclear Electric plc, Berkeley (United Kingdom). Berkeley Nuclear Labs.
3. Laboratoire Belge de l'Industrie Electrique (LABORELEC), Linkebeek (Belgium)
4. Energy Invest, Beersel (Belgium)

Test coupons of typical PWR materials of construction were prepared using a number of pretreatments to minimize radiation buildup. The coupons were then exposed to primary coolant at the Doel-2 PWR in Belgium. The exposure periods for the coupons ranged from one to three fuel cycles. After removal from the primary system, doserate and gamma spectroscopy measurements were made to determine the radioactivity levels on the coupons. Varying levels of success were achieved for the preconditioning techniques tested. Electropolishing alone provided some degree of resistance to radiation buildup on the treated surface and electropolishing plus passivation was shown to be even better. Radiation buildup resistance of the palladium-coated coupons was poor; radiation levels on these coupons were even higher than on the untreated reference coupons. The poor performance of the palladium-coated coupons was possibly due to the method used to apply the coating. In contrast to palladium coating, very encouraging results were achieved with chromium plating plus passivation. Preliminary results show that this technique can inhibit activity deposition by as much as a factor of ten. 4 refs., 64 figs., 26 tabs.

• Research Organization: Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States); Radiological and Chemical Technology, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (United States); Central Electricity Generating Board, Berkeley (United Kingdom). Berkeley Nuclear Labs.
• Sponsoring Organization: EPRI; Electric Power Research Inst., Palo Alto, CA (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6176326
• Report Number(s): EPRI-TR-100059-Vol.2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
PWR TYPE REACTORS
STEAM GENERATORS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
SURFACE TREATMENTS
BUILDUP
DOEL-2 REACTOR
ELECTROPOLISHING
INCONEL 600
PALLADIUM
PASSIVATION
PRIMARY COOLANT CIRCUITS
RADIOISOTOPES
SAMPLE PREPARATION
STAINLESS STEEL-304
ALLOY-NI76CR15FE8
ALLOYS
ALUMINIUM ADDITIONS
ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
AUSTENITIC STEELS
BOILERS
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CHROMIUM-NICKEL STEELS
COOLING SYSTEMS
CORROSION RESISTANT ALLOYS
ELECTROLYSIS
ELEMENTS
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
HEAT RESISTANT MATERIALS
HEAT RESISTING ALLOYS
HIGH ALLOY STEELS
INCONEL ALLOYS
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
ISOTOPES
LYSIS
MATERIALS
METALS
NICKEL ALLOYS
NICKEL BASE ALLOYS
NIMONIC
PLATINUM METALS
POLISHING
POWER REACTORS
REACTOR COOLING SYSTEMS
REACTORS
STAINLESS STEELS
STEEL-CR19NI10
STEELS
SURFACE FINISHING
THERMAL REACTORS
TITANIU
TITANIUM ADDITIONS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
VAPOR GENERATORS
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS
210200* - Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Nonboiling Water Cooled