"Everywhere I look something reminds me of her"
Posted on 05/13/2012 7:52:44 PM PDT by BenLurkin
A $670 million overhaul at California’s San Onofre nuclear plant was expressly intended to avoid the types of ailments that have sidelined its twin reactors.
San Onofre’s twin reactors have been idle for more than three months in the midst of a federal probe into what went wrong with hundreds of tubes that snake through the generators. Some were so eroded after a brief run in operation they can no longer function safely.
Less than a month before a tube break in January prompted Southern California Edison to take the plant offline, engineers writing in a trade magazine touted a series of modifications to the generators that they believed would improve the plant’s dependability and longevity.
The first goal listed: reducing tube wear.
The article, published in Nuclear Engineering International, provides a detailed account of what the company was attempting to achieve with the new generators, and leaves a gaping question.
How did a design intended to reduce tube wear in numerous ways in this case increase it, in some cases rapidly?
Gradual wear is common in such tubing, but the rate of erosion in some tubes at San Onofre alarmed officials since the equipment is relatively new. The company last week said more than 1,300 tubes are so damaged that they will be taken out of service, a far higher number than previously disclosed, but that number is well within the margin to allow the generators to keep operating.
Test results show that two types of wear have occurred at both units — tubes are rubbing and vibrating against adjacent tubes, as well as against support structures inside the generators.
(Excerpt) Read more at losangeles.cbslocal.com ...
“Hello... I’d like to talk with you about your ducts...”
The tubing also has to endure radiation; it’s not a pure physical problem.
It's other issues; to wit, R-e-d C-h-i-n-a m-a-d-e t-h-e t-u-b-e-s. I bet.
That appears to threaten the new San Francisco Bay bridge. Shoddy material (in this case the steel that is the bridge) was made in Red China. To be fair those responsible for the bridge such as CalTrans say there are no real problems. Critics disagree.
having worked in that trade for a few yrs........Id check the Main contractors personnel accounts and then go to the head engineer's accounts...
Ray Charles could have “seen” the connection..why cant we?...lol..it ain't about the paperwork being correct!..Trust me..that's the 1st thing u cover
Ordered them from China. A quality problem. Humm who could have seen that coming? /s
The vibration and ohysical rubbing is a design problem. The Westinghouse division that built the originals and the engineers that designed them are long gone.
"Everywhere I look something reminds me of her"
Truck arrive with 10 big rolls of 7mm diameter steel re-bar wire......
Drives out a day later with 11 big rolls of "7mm" diameter steel re-bar......
I guess they also do it with steel pipe.....
(I seem to recall a news report that Chinese pipe for water well drilling was not top quality.)
There were lots of problems with Chinese tubulars (drill pipe) in the oil industry, too.
Dog food? Toothpaste? Toys. . . .
Mmmm...those definitely make me think of “vibration and rubbing.”
They are not from China, but from North Korea, Doosan, we have the same generators here that we will be installing in TN in the fall, there has to be more to the story.
Excellent “Naked Gun” reference!
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