Refueling outage availability study. Phase 1 final report

Abstract

Babcock and Wilcox entered into a contract with the Department of Energy (formerly the Energy Research and Development Administration) for the performance of a refueling outage availability study with the cooperation of Duke Power Company and Arkansas Power and Light Company. The objective was to improve plant availability through reduction of refueling outage time. The conclusions of the study were drawn from data gathered during the 1976 Oconee 3 and 1977 Arkansas Unit One refueling outages. The onsite effort was one of observation and data recording, which included time-lapsed photography and video tape. The collected data were then evaluated and analyzed for potential improvements and to identify in detail where resources were consumed. The overall result was a listing of (1) specific recommendations for implementing improvements in the facilities, equipment, tools, procedures, and techniques for the participating utilities; (2) generic recommendations of immediate benefit to other applicable utilities; and (3) recommendations for further work in the succeeding phases of the DOE program. The results indicate that, by incorporating the recommendations and taking credit for the time savings, an ideal refueling outage length of 21 to 22 days for the nuclear steam system (NSS) could be realized. Additional benefits would bemore » a reduction in man-Rem exposure and manpower requirements.« less