Becht Engineering, Nuclear Services Division, has completed a finite-element numerical study of two proposed Code Cases for ASME III Division 1 Subsection NH, Class 1 Components in Elevated Temperature Service. They are: “Satisfaction of Strain limits for Class 1 Components at Elevated Temperature Service Using Elastic-Perfectly Plastic Analysis” and “Calculation of Creep-Fatigue for Class […]
Nonmetallic composite wrap repairs are wraps comprising two constituents: A fabric woven from a fiber such as graphite or glass A thermoset polymer such as a two-component mix epoxy resin. This material is also referred to as fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP). These repairs can be liners wrapped inside, or jackets wrapped over a corroded pipe. There […]
The CMAA Standard for Cranes: Becht Engineering recently completed the structural analysis for a single girder 5-ton crane bridge with an under-running hoist per CMAA-74 for nuclear waste handling operations. CMAA is the Crane Manufacturers Association of America, and CMAA-74 is the Specification for Top Running and Under Running Single Girder Electric Traveling Cranes Utilizing […]
A lesson from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi accident – The series of events that followed the March 11, 2011 tsunami caused hydrogen explosions that damaged the reactor buildings of three units at Fukushima Dai-ichi. In June 2013, the US NRC issued order EA-13-109 “Order to Modify Licenses with Regard to Reliable Hardened Containment Vents Capable of […]
I was the Principal Investigator for the recently issued EPRI Technical Report “Guidelines for the Evaluation of Cracks in Cement Linings and Coatings”, Technical Report 3002000599, December 2013. I worked with EPRI’s Doug Munson to develop these guidelines to help nuclear plant utility engineers make fitness-for-service assessments of damage in cement-lined and cement-coated pipes. Cement […]
Following the 2011 tsunami and accident at Fukushima-Daiichi in Japan, the nuclear power industry has embarked on a significant effort to evaluate the effect of beyond-design-basis (BDB) events, particularly earthquakes, tsunamis, and floods, on the safety of nuclear power plants. What are BDBs? Beyond-design-basis (BDB) events (sometimes also labeled BDBE) are accident sequences that have […]
When planning or performing a wall thickness inspection of buried pipe, it is necessary to establish the procedure to be used in evaluating the thickness readings, and determine the pipe’s fitness-for-service (FFS), which will be the basis of run-or-repair decisions. We are currently working with EPRI to develop such a procedure. This article is intended […]
