Nondestructive Examination
Nondestructive examination (NDE) is one of the most well-known specialties of Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI). New inspection technologies are continually developed by SI's NDE applications group, and its top-notch technical staff is dispatched to conduct inspections with these and other state-of-the-art NDE technologies worldwide. NDE services available specifically for nuclear plants include austenitic/ferritic piping inspections (ASME Code Section XI, Appendix VIII, Supplements 2, 3), vessel shell inspections (Supplements 4, 6), dissimilar metal weld inspections (Supplement 10), weld overlay repair inspections (Supplement 11), and ultrasonic inspections in lieu of radiography (ASME Code Section III, Code Case N-659-1, and Section XI, Code Case N-713). SI also offers comprehensive turbine-generator inspections, including examinations of turbine rotor bores, blade attachments, disk rims, blade tendons, casings, peripherals, generator retaining rings, rotor dovetails, and coupling keyways. SI is also available for third-party inspection oversight.
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License Renewal
After a U.S. nuclear reactor has been in operation for 40 years, operating licenses may be renewed for another 20 years, provided it can be demonstrated that the unit will maintain adequate safety levels over the extended period of operation. Most U.S. plant owners have sought or will seek extended operating licenses, and most find the need for technical support to see them through the NRC license renewal process. Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) provides comprehensive license renewal support, and has in fact provided consultation and support to the majority of the utilities that have sought license extensions to date. Support services include preparation and review of License Renewal Applications (LRAs), fatigue evaluations, analyses/evaluations initiated by Aging Management Reviews (AMRs), responses to NRC questions on LRA submittals, and support for implementation of LRA commitments. SI also prepares and reviews management programs to address age-related degradation, including Fatigue and Neutron Embrittlement AMRs.
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Management of Aging Buried Piping
Many nuclear units have operated for more than 30 years, with buried piping systems that are reaching the end of their originally planned design life. Despite original external coatings and cathodic protection systems to guard against corrosion, the condition of this piping is increasingly suspect. This has important implications for license renewal: even piping systems that have been relatively trouble-free for a 40-year license term might experience dramatically increased leaks over a 20-year license renewal period. Using guidance from Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) and Electric Power Research Institute® (EPRI®) guidelines for buried piping programs, Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) has developed a Buried Piping Management Program that includes data collection using SI's MAPPro™ and MAPProView™; a baseline assessment plan; indirect and direct inspections, including inspection with SI's long-range, guided-wave ultrasonic G-ScanSM technology or improved APEC cathodic protection surveys; soil analysis using SI's SoilPro™; and remediation or mitigation as needed, including improved cathodic protection system design and installation, monitoring, and prioritized maintenance.
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- MAPPro™ & MAPProView™
- SoilPro™
- Guided Wave G-ScanSM Inspections
- Cathodic Protection Services
- Wall Thinning Evaluations
New Plant Consulting
U.S. electricity demand is projected to climb 25% by 2030, and the NRC is already reviewing a wave of applications for more than 25 new nuclear plants to meet this future demand. Engineering and licensing a new nuclear unit can be daunting, but the extensive experience of Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) with the previous generation of nuclear units places it in a unique position to provide new plant support. Available services for new plants include design analysis/third-party design review; design specification preparation and review; stress and fatigue analyses; welding/material engineering; fabrication review; fracture toughness/pressure-temperature curves; probabilistic risk assessment reviews; and licensing support. SI can also provide ASME Code consultation, startup vibration testing, buried piping support, fatigue and condition monitoring programs, inspection programs, and support and training programs.
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Primary Water Stress Corrosion Cracking
Primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) can occur in PWR primary systems where Alloy 600 components and associated Alloy 82 (GTAW) and Alloy 182 (SMAW) welds were used. Such components and welds were widely applied in U.S. PWRs. Prompted by recent experience with PWSCC in PWR Alloy 82/182 butt welds and small-bore penetrations, as well as by new examination and mitigation requirements in the Materials Reliability Program's Primary System Piping Butt Weld Inspection and Evaluation Guideline (MRP-139), many PWRs are now undergoing PWSCC examinations and repairs. Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) and its field repair partner, Aquilex WSI, are leaders in these weld overlay butt weld repairs, as well as in nozzle repairs for small-bore primary system penetrations. In just over two years, in response to MRP-139, the team has completed over 20 large-scale weld overlay projects comprising more than 150 weld overlays.
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Reactor Pressure Vessel Integrity
Radiation embrittlement is a known degradation mechanism in ferritic steels, and the beltline of reactor pressure vessels is particularly susceptible to radiation damage. The effects of radiation on vessel materials have impacted heatup/cooldown limits for PWRs, and increased hydrostatic test temperatures for BWRs, thereby significantly limiting plant operation. Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI), with strong expertise in managing reactor vessel embrittlement and vessel integrity, can provide nuclear plants with technical support in a number of areas, including pressure-temperature curve development; materials evaluations; third-party reviews of RPV materials surveillance program results and implementation; setpoint evaluations; pressurized thermal shock evaluations; vessel fluence evaluations; and evaluations of projected vessel properties and pressure-temperature limits for license renewal applications. SI has also worked with ASME for the past 15 years to improve PWR and BWR heatup and cooldown limits.
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Risk-Based Programs
Risk-Informed In-Service Inspection (RI-ISI) uses risk assessment in addition to information on component-specific degradation mechanisms to develop a cost-effective alternative to ASME Code Section XI inspection requirements. Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) played a key role in development of EPRI® NRC-approved RI-ISI and RIS_B™ (Risk-Informed Safety-Based) methodologies, the latter a streamlined RI-ISI methodology codified in ASME Code Case N-716 that results in fewer inspections with no increase in plant risk. To date, SI has performed Code Case N-560 and N-578 evaluations using the EPRI RI-ISI methodology for nearly 30 PWRs and 10 BWRs. In all cases, the methodology was proven to significantly reduce the number of piping inspections, with negligible impact on plant risk. SI has also performed pilot plant studies, as well as several follow-on plant applications, using EPRI's RIS_B (Code Case N-716) methodology. Additionally, SI has experience in application of risk-informed technologies to Break Exclusion Region program piping, as well as in RI-ISI Living Program Updates, as part of Interval ISI Program Updates or as stand-alone evaluations.
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Fabrication Oversight
Design, fabrication, and construction have begun on new nuclear power plants and will continue over the coming decades. In addition, replacement components continue to be fabricated for operating fleets. Ideally, lessons from past plant construction and operation will be factored into the design, fabrication, and installation of these new units and replacement components. The present generation of design and construction personnel may lack the necessary industry experience to include solutions to known degradation issues associated with former design, fabrication, and construction practices. Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI), with years of nuclear industry experience, and staff who have personally developed solutions to past degradation issues, stands ready to help avoid known problems by performing detailed reviews of new plant and replacement component designs, fabrication plans and records, and installation methods. Areas where third-party review can prove especially valuable include stress analysis, materials selection/specification, fatigue evaluation, corrosion evaluation, welding process oversight, and nondestructive examination.
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Leak-Before-Break Evaluations
Leak-before-break (LBB) evaluations may be used to eliminate consideration of the dynamic effects of pipe rupture in nuclear reactor coolant piping systems, justifying either removal or non-installation of pipe-whip restraints and jet impingement barriers. The NRC's LBB evaluation criteria include demonstrating a low probability of pipe rupture by determining maximum critical flaw size via fracture mechanics analysis; performing thermal-hydraulic analysis to determine leakage for one half the critical size for normal plant operation; and finally demonstrating that there is adequate margin between predicted leakage and plant leakage detection capability. Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) has performed NRC-accepted LBB evaluations at numerous nuclear plants, including evaluations of piping as small as 6 inches in diameter. SI has also evaluated the effects of weld overlays on LBB performance.
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Pressure-Temperature Curves & RPV Material Surveillance
Reactor pressure vessel (RPV) material surveillance programs are required for all U.S. PWRs and BWRs. The results of these surveillance programs are used to develop pressure-temperature (P-T) limit curves that incorporate appropriate safety margins to protect against brittle fracture of RPVs, particularly in the irradiated beltline region. These P-T limit curves must be re-evaluated using new surveillance data in situations such as license renewal, power uprates, or when revised fluence calculations affect adjusted reference temperature values. Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI), well-experienced in P-T curves and vessel integrity for both PWRs and BWRs, can provide utilities with technical support including materials reviews, P-T curve development, P-T limits reports (PTLRs), reactor vessel integrity/P-T limit curve training, vessel fluence evaluations via TransWare Enterprises, Inc., and many other areas.
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Water Chemistry & Corrosion Mitigation
Intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) in BWRs, primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) in PWRs, and microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) are perennial industry concerns. These corrosion mechanisms as well as many others are influenced by water chemistry and water chemistry transients, and longtime water chemistry experience of Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) can help utilities mitigate these problems in vessels and piping. SI provides corrosion mitigation and remediation consulting, including application of such techniques as hydrogen water chemistry and zinc injection. SI also offers corrosion-related weld overlays and repairs, crack growth rate modeling, alloy selection, failure analysis, MIC mitigation, and support for license renewal and NRC inspection issues involving corrosion.
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Vibration Analysis & Monitoring
Vibration-related nuclear plant piping problems — whether in small-bore piping, socket welds, large-bore piping, or anywhere in between — can be difficult to resolve. Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI), with years of experience in structural dynamics, stress analysis, vibration testing and analysis, and applied mechanics and materials, can step in to solve nuclear plant vibration issues. Examples of recent vibration-related SI projects include evaluation of the effects of power uprate on small-bore piping, and design and implementation of a vibration monitoring system for main steam piping. Using its vibration expertise, SI has developed customized data acquisition systems that collect and analyze vibration monitoring data, including the portable SI-MiniDAS™ and the high-speed, automated SI-VersaDAS™. These systems are used for SI projects and are available for purchase or lease by utilities.
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Turbine-Generator Assessments
Turbine-generators — the business end of every nuclear plant — have to be in top operating condition for reliable power generation. Comprehensive turbine-generator inspections and assessments are critical to avoiding unanticipated repairs and untimely failures, while at the same time steering clear of unnecessary repairs and replacements. Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) provides complete turbine-generator inspection and life-assessment services, including boresonic rotor inspections and linear phased-array ultrasonic inspections of rotor shafts, as well as EPRI®-licensed SAFER-PC™ rotor integrity and life analysis, EPRI LPRimLife™ rotor assessments, EPRI RRingLife™ evaluations of retaining rings, and other evaluations. SI also offers bore honing and machining in addition to its other turbine-generator services.
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- Generator Rotor Inspection & Life Assessment
- Turbine & Generator Rotor Bore Inspection & Life Assessment
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BWR Reactor Internals Management
BWR reactor pressure vessel internals began cracking at many units early in plant life. The industry responded with an industry-wide BWR Vessel and Internals Project (BWRVIP) in 1994, which addressed all BWR internals and helped avoid shutdowns by instituting and executing plans to resolve related issues. Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) has specialized expertise in managing BWR vessel internals, and can support utilities in implementing various aspects of BWRVIP's Inspection and Evaluation Guidelines, including proactive analysis, outage preparation, and repair/replacement reviews. As cracking continues and structural margins decrease, more sophisticated analysis methods may become necessary to reduce conservatism and to gain margins, and SI has developed advanced linear-elastic and elastic-plastic fracture mechanics methods to further evaluate internals degradation.
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PWR Reactor Internals Management
Concerns about aging degradation of PWR reactor pressure vessel internals have become a high priority as nuclear units approach license renewal. Renewal applications must consider the effects of aging in order to meet conditions defined in the NRC's Generic Aging Lessons Learned Report. In response, the MRP's Reactor Internals Focus Group (RI-FG) has prepared draft inspection and evaluation guidelines for managing the effects of aging degradation in PWR internals. The guidelines, to be issued under the NEI 03-08 Materials Initiative, will include developing an Aging Management Program (AMP) and inspection plan for PWR internals. Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI), working closely with MRP RI-FG, has beta-tested the draft guidelines for several PWRs. SI provides technical support for plants considering aging management reviews for license renewal, or for plants developing AMPs to manage the effects of aging in PWR internals.
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Operability Evaluations
As the nuclear fleet ages, the likelihood of identifying non-conforming conditions during plant operation increases. Once a non-conforming condition is discovered, crucial plant operability decisions must be made, usually quickly. These decisions are not always easy: plant operators often require in-depth engineering support to help establish a technical basis for such important decisions. Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) stands ready to provide rapid response for a wide range of nuclear plant operability evaluations, including piping and component wall-thinning analyses; root-cause failure investigations; evaluations of leaking piping or other components; vibration analysis and monitoring; structural and stress analyses; fracture mechanics analyses; thermal-hydraulic analyses; and ASME Code evaluations.
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Outage Planning & Support
The planning and execution of nuclear plant outages stretches plant staff to the utmost. When outage season looms, it may be reassuring to know that the engineering and technical staff of Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) are on standby to help industry clients with every outage assignment: planning, condition assessment, repairs, nondestructive examination, stress and fracture analyses, materials and process selection, financial-based optimization, and more. SI's expertise includes reactor vessels, vessel internals, turbine-generators, piping, and balance of plant.
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NEI 03-08 & Materials Degradation Management Programs
The Nuclear Energy Institute's Materials Initiative NEI 03-08, developed in response to events involving materials degradation in nuclear plants, requires a Materials Degradation Management Program at all PWR and BWR units, in addition to audit of these programs by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO). At a minimum, the programs must address BWR vessels/internals, Alloy 600 issues, reactor vessel integrity, PWR vessels/internals, boric acid corrosion control, steam generator management, primary and secondary system water chemistry, and fuel reliability. Any deviations from mandatory/needed program requirements require supporting documentation. Structural Integrity Associates, Inc. (SI) can support nuclear plants in Materials Degradation Management Program development, implementation, deviation requests, third-party reviews, utility training, preparation for INPO audits, and all related services.
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