New Leakage Inspection and NDE Criteria in ASME BPVC 2010
Divisions 1 and 3 of Section X of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) contain rules for the examination, inservice testing and inspection, and repair and replacement of components and systems in light-water cooled and liquid-metal cooled nuclear power plants.
Application of this Section of the BPVC begins when the requirements of the BPVC Construction Code (Section III) have been satisfied. This section of the BPVC provides the requirements to maintain nuclear power plants while in operation and to return the plant to service following plant outages and repair or replacement activities.
The rules require a mandatory program of scheduled examinations, testing, and inspections to demonstrate adequate safety of nuclear plants. The methods of NDE to be used and flaw size characterization are also contained within this section of the ASME BPVC.
ASME BPVC 2010 contains changes to Section X: Division 1 and 3 including:
- revisions to permit the Owner to use the personnel qualifications, methods, and acceptance criteria for repair/replacement activities
- changes to the definition and acceptance standards for subsurface flaws
- clarification of "isolable by means of valves"
- added guidelines for evaluating non-destructive examination coverage percentages
- revised the submittal of the inspection summary
- clarified acceptance criteria for leakage
- changes to Owner's responsibility
- revised the flaw Acceptance Standards for Class 1 ferritic and austenitic piping
- added additional examinations when new flaws or significant changes in flaw characteristics resulted in necessary corrective actions
- revised the membrane plus bending stress limit load cutoff for circumferential flaws
- incorporated analytical procedures and material properties for evaluation of flaws in piping and welds fabricated of Alloy 600/82/182/132 in both PWR and BWR environments
- clarified requirements for mechanical clamping devices
- added a new article to include IGSCC growth rate equations for unirradiated, austenitic stainless steels exposed to BWR reactor water environments
- revised the examination requirements for cladding to be consistent with Section III
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Note: ASME BPVC 2010 edition contains revisions to all sections of the code except Sections VI and VII.