PITTSBURGH, Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Westinghouse Electric Company
successfully completed an emergent weld overlay on the mid-canopy of five
Control Rod Drive Mechanisms (CRDMs) at Vattenfall Ringhals AB's
(Vattenfall RAB's) Ringhals-4 nuclear power plant in Varobacka, Sweden. The
final weld overlay repair was completed and accepted August 23.
When notified by the customer, Westinghouse's welding subsidiary, PCI
Energy Services Inc., mobilized project management, personnel and equipment
to perform the emergency CRDM mid-canopy weld overlays. A portion of the
PCI crew and equipment was already in Sweden completing a weld repair
qualification at the Oskarshamn nuclear power plant.
Prior to completing the repair, PCI accomplished specific training of
machine welders to perform the mid-canopy weld overlays with PCI's
one-of-a- kind weld head. PCI performed weld overlays on four mock-up
coupons of the mid-canopy, conducted a Site Acceptance Test (SAT), and
performed weld overlays of two coupons of the mid-canopy, one mock-up
coupon and one coupon of an actual CRDM. One coupon was completed inside
containment prior to customer approval to move forward with the CRDM
mid-canopy weld overlays on the reactor head.
The project was completed ahead of the customer's initial schedule
without impacting the outage critical path. The project was closed out with
no safety issues. Additionally, the crew dose of 1.08 Rem was lower than
the customer's initial estimate of 1.5 Rem. All examinations performed on
mock-up coupons met acceptance criteria established by the customer.
Penetrant Test surface examinations of the weld overlays on the mid-canopy
of the five CRDMs on the reactor head met acceptance criteria established
by the customer. No repairs were required.
"Good communication between the Westinghouse-PCI and Vattenfall RAB
teams throughout the entire project were definitely key contributors to
this successful story," said Per Nilsson, Project Manager, Vattenfall
Ringhals AB.
PCI Energy Services LLC, wholly owned by Westinghouse Electric Company
and headquartered in Lake Bluff, Ill., specializes in field welding and
machining services. PCI also provides related services including laser
metrology, tool design and manufacturing, and quality assurance/quality
control. PCI serves industrial customers in the power, oil and gas, pulp
and paper and petrochemical industries.
Westinghouse Electric Company is the world's pioneering nuclear power
company and is a leading supplier of nuclear plant products and
technologies to utilities throughout the world. Today, Westinghouse
technology is the basis for approximately one-half of the world's operating
nuclear plants.
SOURCE Westinghouse Electric Company
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Related links:
http://www.westinghousenuclear.com/
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/127481.html /
CONTACT:
Vaughn Gilbert of Westinghouse Electric
Company, +1-412-374-3896, or gilberhv@Westinghouse.com
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