Modeling water chemistry, electrochemical corrosion potential, and crack growth rate in the boiling water reactor heat transport circuits - I: the damage-predictor algorithm

A computer code with the capability of simultaneously estimating the concentrations of radiolysis species, the electrochemical corrosion potential, and the kinetics of growth of a reference crack in sensitized Type 304 stainless steel is developed for the heat transport circuits of boiling water reactors (BWRs). The primary objective of this code, DAMAGE-PREDICTOR, is to theoretically evaluate the effectiveness of hydrogen water chemistry (HWC) in the BWRs as a function of feedwater hydrogen concentration and reactor power level. The power level determines various important thermal-hydraulic parameters and the neutron and gamma energy deposition rate in the core and near-core regions. These input parameters are estimated using well-established algorithms, and the simulations are carried out for full-power conditions for two reactors that differ markedly in their responses to HWC. The DAMAGE-PREDICTOR code is found to successfully account for plant data from both reactors using a single set of model parameter values.