AGING MANAGEMENT OF CONTAINMENT STRUCTURES IN NUCLEAR-POWER-PLANTS

Research is being conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory under US Nuclear Regulatory commission (USNRC) sponsorship to address aging man agement of nuclear power plant containment and other safety-related st ructures. Documentation is being prepared to provide the USNRC with po tential structural safety issues and acceptance criteria for use in co ntinued service evaluations of nuclear power plants. Accomplishments i nclude development of a Structural Materials Information Center contai ning data and information on the time variation of 144 material proper ties under the influence of pertinent environmental stressors or aging factors, evaluation of models for potential concrete containment degr adation factors, development of a procedure to identify critical struc tures and degradation factors important to aging management, evaluatio ns of non-destructive evaluation techniques, assessments of European a nd North American repair practices for concrete, review of parameters affecting corrosion of metals embedded in concrete, and development of methodologies for making current condition assessments and service li fe predictions of new or existing reinforced concrete structures in nu clear power plants.