A Last Look at PLGS Life-limiting Feeder Degradation

Abstract

Severe feeder degradation was one of the main drivers for PLGS refurbishment three years prior to its design life. The first part of this paper provides an overview of PLGS feeder degradation, including wall thinning adjacent to the Grayloc hub weld. PLGS shut down for refurbishment in March 2008 after ~21 FPY service. The entire feeder assembly is being replaced with improved piping that is expected to achieve its 24 FPY post-refurbishment design-life. The second part of this paper provides a summary of these improvements. The paper concludes with a discussion of plans to manage feeder degradation during post-refurbishment operation with the goal of ensuring the feeders achieve their design intent with minimal maintenance.