Overview of boiling water reactor steam dryer alternating stress assessment procedures

Stephen A. Hambric, Samir Ziada, Richard J. Morante

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) has approved several extended power uprates (EPU) for Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs). In some of the BWRs, operating at the higher EPU power levels and flow rates led to high-cycle fatigue damage of Steam Dryers, including the generation of loose parts. Since those failures occurred, all BWR owners proposing EPUs have been required by the USNRC to ensure that the steam dryers would not experience high-cycle fatigue cracking. This paper provides an overview of BWR steam dryer design; the fatigue failures that occurred at the Quad Cities (QC) nuclear power plants and their root causes; a brief history of BWR EPUs; and a discussion of steam dryer modifications/replacements, alternating stress mechanisms on steam dryers, and structural integrity evaluation methods (static and alternating stress).

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number021002
JournalJournal of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science
Volume4
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2018

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Radiation
  • Nuclear Energy and Engineering

Cite this