Better maintenance, R and D extend steam generator life

This paper reports on an extensive R and D effort and improved maintenance and repair techniques that are effective in boosting steam generator service life. According to a survey of scheduled outages conducted by the American Nuclear Society (ANS), 19 utilities will be conducting extensive maintenance and repair activities over the next year-and-a-half on most of their steam generators. Another survey, this one by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), found that about one in three of the 66 responding pressurized water reactor operators are experiencing a degradation of steam generator performance. The reduction of steam generator pressure, the report summary states, has been severe enough in some cases to decrease electrical output. Over the past 15 years, tens of millions of dollars have been spent on researching the problem by EPRI and other utility organizations such as the Steam Generator Owners Group (SGOG). Through their efforts, the dismal assessment that a steam generator can survive only about 10 years or so has given way to a much more optimistic prediction of service life. Steam generator degradation has led to increased operating and maintenance costs. In 1988, an ANS study revealed that nuclear power generating utilities spent more than $108more » million on their steam generators.« less