Power Uprates Through Ultrasonic Feed Water Flow Measurement - CANDU-specific Opportunities and Challenges

Abstract

Ultrasonic Flow Measurement (UFM) technology is approved by the US NRC for use in PWR and BWR plants to achieve power uprates by Measurement Uncertainty Recapture (MUR). While a number of US plants have successfully increased thermal output, application to and approval for CANDU plants has not yet occurred, in part due to insufficient study of licensing issues specific to Canada and the CANDU design. This paper addresses the major technical and regulatory issues and proposes answers to 4 questions about MUR power uprates for CANDU plants: (1) What are the life-cycle issues? (2) What makes a unit a good candidate? (3) What is the typical path forward? (4) What are the benefits?