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The Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program is a research, development, and deployment program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy. The program is operated in collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute’s (EPRI’s) research and development efforts in the Long-Term Operations Program. The Long-Term Operations Program is managed as a separate technical program operating in the Plant Technology Department of the EPRI Nuclear Power Sector with the guidance of an industry advisory Integration Committee.

Recent experimental observations have made it clear that cavity formation can occur in light-water reactor internal components fabricated from austenitic stainless during the course of their service life. In order to assess the potential for cavity swelling in these components at end-of-life doses, it is necessary to develop a validated computational model that incorporates the relevant physical mechanisms and accounts for recent experiment data. Such a modeling activity is underway; the model development and some preliminary results are described.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program is developing the fundamental scientific basis to understand, predict, and measure changes in materials and systems, structure, and components (SSCs) as they age in environments associated with long-term operations (LTO) of operating commercial nuclear power reactors.

Materials issues are a key concern for the existing nuclear reactor fleet as material degradation can lead to increased maintenance, increased downtown, and increased risk. Extending reactor life to 60 years and beyond will likely increase susceptibility and severity of known forms of degradation. Additionally, new mechanisms of materials degradation are also possible. The purpose of the

Nuclear reactors present a very harsh environment for components service. Components within a reactor core must tolerate high temperature water, stress, vibration, and an intense neutron field. Degradation of materials in this environment can lead to reduced performance, and in some cases, sudden failure. A recent EPRI-led study interviewed 47 US nuclear utility executives to gauge perspectives on long-term operation of nuclear reactors. Nearly 90% indicated that extensions of reactor lifetimes to beyond 60 years were likely.

This research effort is a part of the Light-Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program, which is a research and development (R&D) program sponsored by Department of Energy (DOE) and performed in close collaboration with industry R&D programs that provides the technical foundations for licensing and managing the long-term, safe, and economical operation of current nuclear power plants. The LWRS program serves to help the U.S.

The Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program is a research, development, and deployment program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy. The program is operated in collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute’s (EPRI’s) research and development efforts in the Long-Term Operations (LTO) Program. The LTO Program is managed as a separate technical program operating in the Plant Technology Department of the EPRI Nuclear Power Sector with the guidance of an industry advisory Integration Committee.

The LWR Sustainability (LWRS) Program activities must support the timeline dictated by utility life extension decisions to demonstrate a lead test rod in a commercial reactor within 10 years. In order to maintain the demanding development schedule that must accompany this aggressive timeline, the LWRS Program focuses on advanced fuel cladding systems that retain standard UO2 fuel pellets for deployment in currently operating LWR power plants.

This report is a guidance document prepared for the benefit of commercial nuclear power plants’ (NPPs) supporting organizations and personnel who are considering or undertaking deployment of mobile technology for the purpose of improving human performance and plant status control (PSC) for field workers in an NPP setting. This document especially is directed at NPP business managers, Electric Power Research Institute, Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, and other non-Information Technology personnel.

Components serving in a nuclear reactor plant must withstand a very harsh environment including extended time at temperature, neutron irradiation, stress, and/or corrosive media. The many modes of degradation are complex and vary depending on location and material. However, understanding and managing materials degradation is a key for the continued safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants.

The Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control (II&C) Systems Technologies pathway of the Light Water Reactor Sustainability(LWRS) Program conducts a vigorous engagement strategy with the U.S. nuclear power industry, including the nuclear operating companies, major support organizations, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and suppliers.

Light water reactor sustainability (LWRS) nondestructive evaluation (NDE) Workshops were held at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) during July 30th to August 2nd, 2012. This activity was conducted to help develop the content of the NDE R&D roadmap for the materials aging and degradation (MAaD) pathway of the LWRS program. The workshops focused on identifying NDE R&D needs in four areas: cables, concrete, reactor pressure vessel, and piping.

The purpose of the non-destructive evaluation (NDE) R&D Roadmap for Cables is to support the Materials Aging and Degradation (MAaD) R&D pathway. A workshop was held to gather subject matter experts to develop the NDE R&D Roadmap for Cables. The focus of the workshop was to identify the technical gaps in detecting aging cables and predicting their remaining life expectancy. The workshop was held in Knoxville, Tennessee, on July 30, 2012, at Analysis and Measurement Services Corporation (AMS) headquarters.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program is a five year effort that works to develop the fundamental scientific basis to understand, predict, and measure changes in materials and systems, structure, and components as they age in environments associated with continued long-term operation of existing commercial nuclear power reactors. This year, the Materials Aging and Degradation (MAaD) Pathway of this program has placed emphasis on emerging nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods that support these objectives.

This work plan proposes to build a systematic knowledge base for the thermal aging behavior of cast stainless steels (CASSs) within a limited time of five years. The final output of execution of the plan is expected to provide conclusive predictions for the integrity of the CASS components of LWR power plants during the extended service life up to and beyond 60 years.

Safety is central to the design, licensing, operation, and economics of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). Consequently, the ability to better characterize and quantify safety margin holds the key to improved decision making about light water reactor design, operation, and plant life extension. A systematic approach to characterization of safety margins and the subsequent margins management options represents a vital input to the licensee and regulatory analysis and decision making that will be involved.

Today, welding is widely used for repair, maintenance and upgrade of nuclear reactor components. As a critical technology to extend the service life of nuclear power plants beyond 60 years, weld technology must be further developed to meet new challenges associated with the aging of the plants, such as control and mitigation of the detrimental effects of weld residual stresses and repair of highly irradiated materials. To meet this goal, fundamental understanding

of the “welding” effect is necessary for development of new and improved welding technologies.

Nuclear power currently provides a significant fraction of the United States’ non- carbon emitting power generation. In future years, nuclear power must continue to generate a significant portion of the nation’s electricity to meet the growing electricity demand, clean energy goals, and ensure energy independence. New reactors will be an essential part of the expansion of nuclear power. However, given limits on new builds imposed by economics and industrial capacity, the extended service of the existing fleet will also be required.

In the United States currently there are approximately 104 operating light water reactors. Of these, 69 are pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and 35 are boiling water reactors (BWRs). In 2007, the 104 light-water reactors (LWRs) in the United States generated approximately 100 GWe, equivalent to 20% of total US electricity production. Most of the US reactors were built before 1970 and the initial design lives of most of the reactors are 40 years.

Reference 1 discussed key elements of the process for developing a margins-based “safety case” to support safe and efficient operation for an extended period. The present report documents (in Appendix A) a case study, carrying out key steps of the Reference 1 process, using an actual plant Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) model.

Nuclear power has contributed almost 20% of the total amount of electricity generated in the United States over the past two decades. High capacity factors and low operating costs make nuclear power plants (NPPs) some of the most economical power generators available. Further, nuclear power remains the single largest contributor (nearly 70%) of non-greenhouse gas-emitting electric power generation in the United States.

Regulations which govern the operation of commercial nuclear power plants require conservative margins of fracture toughness, both during normal operation and under accident scenarios. In the irradiated condition, the fracture toughness of the RPV may be severely degraded, with the degree of toughness loss dependent on the radiation sensitivity of the materials. As stated in previous progress reports, the available embrittlement predictive models, e.g.

Nuclear power has safely, reliably, and economically contributed almost 20% of electrical generation in the United States over the past two decades. It remains the single largest contributor (more than 70%) of non-greenhouse-gas- emitting electric power generation in the United States.

A significant effort is being placed on silicon carbide ceramic matrix composite (SiC CMC) nuclear fuel cladding by Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Advanced Light Water Reactor Nuclear Fuels Pathway. The intent of this work is to invest in a high-risk, high-reward technology that can be introduced in a relatively short time. The LWRS goal is to demonstrate successful advanced fuels technology that suitable for commercial development to support nuclear relicensing.

The most life-limiting structural component in light-water reactors (LWR) is the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) because replacement of the RPV is not considered a viable option at this time. LWR licenses are now being extended from 40y to 60y by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) with intentions to extend licenses to 80y and beyond. The RPV materials exhibit varying degrees of sensitivity to irradiation-induced embrittlement (decreased toughness) , as shown in Fig. 1.1, and extending operation from 40y to 80y implies a doubling of the neutron exposure for the RPV.