BWR

[wlrun3@aol.com]

The major structures of all American PWRs are easily generalized...reactor containment dome, auxiliary building, turbine building and spent fuel building.

Can the same be done with BWRs, given the significant differences between the Mark 1 and Mark 2 containment buildings and the Mark 3 containment buildings?

Reactor building, turbine building and "?".

[SloGlo]

american construction can build wattever people want too pay four.  put up the buildings, name them what yew will.

[OldHP]

american construction can build wattever people want too pay four.  put up the buildings, name them what yew will.

   One of the real reasons why we do/did not have "standardized" plants!  Even the "sister" plants by the same Utility, e.g., (McGuire / Catawba), (Sequoya / Watts Bar) had major differences.

Hopefully, the next generation, P & B, will be different!

[wlrun3@aol.com]

I'm almost tempted to describe an American BWR (located in the US...we have no ABWRs or ESBWRs) as consisting of only a Reactor Building and a Turbine Building.

Any objections?

[OldHP]

Going back to your OP and then your followup I'll smack my head (I'm thinking of the office areas, etc., your ?) and say correct, that is the plant - RB & TB!

[retired nuke]

I'm almost tempted to describe an American BWR (located in the US...we have no ABWRs or ESBWRs) as consisting of only a Reactor Building and a Turbine Building.

Any objections?

You would be missing a significant portion of the plant, especially for RP concerns - Drywell / Torus....

[wlrun3@aol.com]

John,
   I'm generalizing here for the book "American Nuclear Power Plants" which I am continuously correcting and revising.
   Viewing an American BWR from the owner controlled area boundary, most look like a tall box, a shorter, longer box and a box adjacent to both (except Hope Creek and the four Model 6's). We know that adjacent building as a service building or a rad waste building or even as an auxiliary building.
   For my purposes, what would I call that third box...generalizing in the same way that the PWR can be described as a dome, a turbine building, a spent fuel building and an auxiliary building.
   After all, even though Trench 1 at Rocky Flats was fairly unique and had a very distinctive history and configuration, it was still just a trench...as you well remember.





   

[retired nuke]

John,
   I'm generalizing here for the book "American Nuclear Power Plants" which I am continuously correcting and revising.
   Viewing an American BWR from the owner controlled area boundary, most look like a tall box, a shorter, longer box and a box adjacent to both (except Hope Creek and the four Model 6's). We know that adjacent building as a service building or a rad waste building or even as an auxiliary building.
   For my purposes, what would I call that third box...generalizing in the same way that the PWR can be described as a dome, a turbine building, a spent fuel building and an auxiliary building.
   After all, even though Trench 1 at Rocky Flats was fairly unique and had a very distinctive history and configuration, it was still just a trench...as you well remember.
  

Yup, if you are talking the 1000 yard outside view, that's all there is. Much like a jelly donut, the fun stuff is inside...
 

[GLW]

Yup, if you are talking the 1000 yard outside view, that's all there is. Much like a jelly donut, the fun stuff is inside...
 

and then there is the Fukushima version;

[wlrun3@aol.com]

What are the differences between the BWR Model 3 and the Model 4 if they are both are in Mark 1 (torus) reactor containment buildings.

Quad Cities (model 3)
Cooper (model 4)

[wlrun3@aol.com]

Of the 23 American BWRs in Mark 1 containment buildings (torus), 6 are Model 3s and 15 are Model 4s (2 Model 2s).

I believe the difference is the absence of the isolation condenser in the Model 4s.

Fukushima 1 was a Model 3. Units 2,3 and 4 were Model 4s.

All four were housed in Mark 1 containment buildings (torus).

http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/03/13/6256121-general-electric-designed-reactors-in-fukushima-have-23-sisters-in-us

[rlbinc]

What are the differences between the BWR Model 3 and the Model 4 if they are both are in Mark 1 (torus) reactor containment buildings.

Quad Cities (model 3)
Cooper (model 4)

The difference is WAY beyond skin deep.

The oldest BWR in the US is Oyster Creek a BWR/2. NMP Unit 1 is also a BWR/2. BWR/2s have Mark I Drywells, like BWR/3s and BWR/4s.
BWR/2s have five recirc loops - thats a lot of RPV connected piping and a lot of LOCA risk.
BWR/3s have two (variable speed pump) recirc loops. Some BWR/3s have Isolation Condensers (Dresden), some have RCIC (Quad). BWR/3s have HPCI.
RHR and Core Spray in TWO safety divisions.
They were built around a max of 750 Mwe. (uprated since)
BWR/3s trigger ADS Timers at RPV L2.

By comparison, they have lower power densities than BWR/4s.
The bigger, higher power density BWR/4s were built at over 1000 Mwe.
All discussed so far have Mark I Drywell, Nitrogen inerted containments.  BWR/4s have RCIC and HPCI.
Redundant Core Spray Loops, and RHR LPCI in TWO safety divisions.
BWR/4s trigger ADS Timers at RPV L1.


BWR/5s were built with two recirc loops with two speed Recirc Pumps and FCVs (some now have ASDs). They all live in Mark II Drywells. They are also Nitrogen inerted.
BWR/5s have HPCS, LPCS, and RHR, THREE safety divisions.

BWR/6s were built with two recirc loops with two speed Recirc Pumps and FCVs (some now have ASDs). They all live in Mark III Drywells. Not Inert. They have Hydrogen Recombiners and Ignitors.
BWR/6s have HPCS, LPCS, and RHR, THREE safety divisions. Some BWR/6s were built with GANG rod drive capability. Some have a compact Main Control Room (Clinton, River Bend).
BWR/6s do not have a Rod Worth Minimizer, they have a Rod Pattern Controller.

You asked.

[LaFeet]

He asked, but I am saying thanks rlbinc.... great info for those of us not in the know (yet)

[wlrun3@aol.com]

rlbinc is one of half a dozen forum members whose posts are consistently examples of the highest level of contribution to our industry.
Again, thankyou.

Past examples;

133     Reference, Questions and Help / Nuke Q&A / Re: BWR steam contamination, and exposure data.    on: August 20, 2007, 05:35:34 PM

The largest contributor to steam line radiation at a BWR is N-16. This is a neutron activation product and is extremely short lived. We limit access to Steam Tunnels, Turbines, and Feedwater Heaters to minimize exposure from this nuclide. Once we shutdown, N-16 decays away in a minute or so.

If a plant has cladding pinhole leaks, you'll see some Noble Gas activity in the steam lines. Kr-88, and Xe-133 are the big guys here. The fuel reliability engineers can use short lived / long lived Noble Gas activity ratios to determine the size of a cladding defect. These Noble Gases end up decaying away in Charcoal Adsorbers located in the Off Gas System.

Most BWRs are pretty clean plants, the indicator to look at is Reactor Coolant Dose Equivalent Iodine activity. Many plants are near zero, the ones that are not have - or have had- fuel cladding defects. I Hope that helped.



134     News and Discussions / History & Trivia / Re: Hope Creek Containment Building    on: August 09, 2007, 01:30:31 PM

BWR Containments...

Mark I is the Nitrogen inerted Drywell and Torus. The Lightbulb and the Donut inspired this design. These are inside an unremarkable pole barn called a Reactor Building. They are found at BWR 2s, 3s, and 4s. Dresden, Quad Cities, Pilgrim, Duane Arnold, Monticello and almost every body else have these.

Mark II is the vertical standpipe containment. They are also Nitrogen inerted. These are found at BWR 5s. In the Mark I and II the Drywell IS the Primary Containment. LaSalle, Columbia, NMP 2, and Susquehanna have these.

Mark III is the horizontal vent containment. These have a Drywell inside the Primary Containment. These are NOT inerted, you can tour the Primary Containment at power and look down (and hopefully see no bubbles) in the Suppression Pool. since they are not inerted, they have active Hydrogen control systems, such as igniters, mixers, and recombiners.
Some have Containment Spray (Clinton, Perry, Grand Gulf) Some do not (River Bend).

[azkidd]

rlbinc is correct..except....BWR 6's live in MARK III Containments..  BWR 6, you will see TB, RB, AB....from a distance.  We also have RW, Water Treatment, and Circ Water Pump house visible, depending on the view....

[RDTroja]

Hope Creek is an oddball plant (in more ways than one.) Because its Unit 2 was canceled halfway through Unit 1 construction, they decided to upgrade to a larger reactor but their containment was already built for a smaller one. I can't remember the details of which model Reactor/Containment combination it is but I can tell you it is comically hard to get around in and impossible for someone my size (or even significantly smaller) to get to parts of it. I can still remember trying to get a survey in a place I could see but could not figure out how to get to during their first refueling.

[wlrun3@aol.com]

Azkidd,
   You've solved my problem. It's ok to say that, even though you are a Model 6 in a Mark 3 reactor containment building (which rblinc got right by the way), the major visible structures of American BWRs are ...

   ...a box like reactor building, a long box like turbine building and a box like AUXILIARY BUILDING, all three adjacent to each to each other.

   I believe I can now justifiably write this and not even mention Hope Creek and the four Model 6s, (I have worked at Hope Creek and Clinton).

   This is the reason for the topic;

http://americannuclearpowerplants.com/


   I believe that Fukushima, 3/11/11, will historically be the defining moment for nuclear power so I want to get this right.

[wlrun3@aol.com]

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/teachers/03.pdf


I'm using the "read the last post of this person" link at the bottom of each forum member's profile page, which is really all the posts ever made by that person (in this case me), as a data bank. This is the reason for posting the above link.

[wlrun3@aol.com]

I now see that RCIC and HPCI are common to the ECCS in Models 3 and 4 and HPCS and LPCS in Models 5 and 6. Again, generalizing.

Are the SRVs, ERVs and Target Rock configuration similar to those in Models 3, 4 and 5?

[rlbinc]

Are the SRVs, ERVs and Target Rock configuration similar to those in Models 3, 4 and 5?

Some have Target Rocks, which require a minimal steam pressure to keep open.
Some have Power Operated Relief Valves, which do not.
Some have Dikkers SRVs which do not.
All of these require a Nitrogen (or Air in Mark IIIs) source to open in Relief Modes Low Low Set, Auto, or ADS.
Safety Mode - they self actuate.

There are some similarities, but no standardization.

As I remember, the position light on a Target Rock indicates pressure (air or tailpipe), a Dikkers or PORV indicates valve position, and on an ERV indicates power to the pilot solenoid.

[wlrun3@aol.com]

In the Model 3s the SRVs and ERVs open with varying levels of steam pressure. The SRVs vent at the valve's location, half way up the drywell. The ERVs vent to the torus. The Target Rock is operated from the control room.

Please correct me if I have any of this wrong.

Is this approach consistent in BWRs, regardless of BWR Model number, steam relief space or number of relief valves?

[tr]

In BWR-6's (specifically Perry), all SRVs (including the SRVs that perform ADS duty) discharge to X shaped spargers located near the bottom of the Suppression Pool. 

[Fermi2]

I don't know of any BWR that has SRVs or PORVs relieving directly into the Drywell Atmosphere.

So far as number that is based on Thermal Power and relief capacity. All BWR Relief systems are required to reject 105% Power.

[wlrun3@aol.com]

Quad Cities

6 SRVs discharging at the valves on the recirc nozzle level of the drywell through a cowling attached to the valve called a hog's head.

6 ERVs discharging to the torus from the valves which are adjacent to the SRVs.

1 Target Rock steam relief valve adjacent to the SRVs and ERVs discharging to the torus and the only one of the 13 capable of being operated from the control room.

[rlbinc]

Yup - at Quad - if you open a bunch of Safeties, DW Pressure comes up. They have some unquenched SRVs.
The ADS Valves I believe, are all piped to a submerged T quencher in the torus.

I am an SRO instructor, and was licensed at Clinton, worked as an instructor (or in some cases an NRC Exam Author) at Quad, Pilgrim, Duane Arnold, Fermi, River Bend, NMP, and Hatch.