Reactor noise standards in the U.S.A.

Abstract

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has fostered the development of codes and standards to be used by all facets of the general industry. The ASME Committee on Operation and Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plant (O&M Committee) currently has responsibility of 20 ASME nuclear power standards addressing areas such as “Requirements for Inservice Performance Testing of Pressure Relief Devices” (OM-01) to “Inservice Testing of Diesel Drives in Nuclear Power Stations” (OM-16). The Subcommittee on Vibration Monitoring (SCVM) is responsible for several O&M Committee standards, two of which utilize reactor noise techniques: OM-05, “Inservice Monitoring of Core Support Axial Preload in Pressurized Water Reactors”, and OM-12, “Vibration Monitoring and Diagnostics of Light Water Reactor Loose Parts”. This paper presents an outline of the O&M Committee standards and briefly describes the highlights of the two SCVM standards which utilize Reactor Noise techniques.