Introduction to KEPIC (Korea Electric Power Industry Code)

Abstract

Korea Electric Power Industry Code (KEPIC) has been developed on the basis of referring to the prevailing U.S. codes and standards which had been applied to the electric power facilities in Korea. KEPIC has been applied to the construction of Ulchin Nuclear Units 5&6 since 1997 as per the endorsement of Ministry of Science and Technology, and is being completely applied to the construction of Shin-Kori and Shin-Wolsung Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) in Korea and of Barakah NPPs in UAE. Although the technical requirements of KEPIC related to design and inspections for pressure vessels have been developed on the basis of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC), Korea Electric Association (KEA) that is KEPIC maintenance organization is trying to find and improve unreasonable requirements based on the acquired experiences for the continuous construction and operation of NPPs. In the administrative requirements, KEPIC, unlike ASME, adopted not only mechanical field but also electrical field related to NPPs. Furthermore, the qualifying system for services such as Nondestructive Examination, Heat Treatment, Design and Equipment Qualification Organization was adopted to improve safety and reliability for NPPs. In the technical and administrative requirements, KEA has been performing betterment studies such as ‘integration of welding coordinator in welding quality system of KEPIC’, ‘induction of Korean national standards (KS) materials equivalent to ASME/ASTM materials into KEPIC-MH codes’. The result of study for development of Steel-plate Concrete (SC) structure and modularization technique for NPPs has been adopted to 2010 edition of KEPIC-SNG.