Framatome completed a record-breaking reactor pressure vessel volumetric examination during the spring outage at Unit 2 of Dominion Energy's Surry Power Station.
Working with the Dominion Energy team, Framatome's non-destructive examination experts safely performed the exam in just 64.5 hours - the quickest time of any 3-loop plant in the United States. For comparison, the industry average is 92 hours and the planned duration was 88 hours. These groundbreaking results were achieved through advanced modifications to Framatome's Trans-World System (TWS), including electrical upgrades to the manipulator, development of a scan plan database, improved UT technique and qualification, and scan plan development.
"The safe completion of the Surry Unit 2 reactor pressure volumetric examination yielded outstanding results and is an example of our teams' joint dedication to plant safety and outage performance," said Plant Manager Jim Shell. "Through our shared vision of providing reliable, low-carbon energy to the people of Virginia and the surrounding areas, we count on Framatome to continue innovating for the future and advancing the long-term operations of our nuclear power plants.
"The efficiency of this examination was made possible through Framatome's dedication to innovating for improved plant operations and development," said Craig Ranson, senior vice president of Framatome's Installed Base Business Unit in North America. "These record-setting results serve as an example for how we raise the bar on executing exams to enhance our customers outage schedules and continuously innovate for the future of safe, reliable, low carbon nuclear operations."
The MRP-227 and reactor vessel examinations at Surry this spring were completed ahead of schedule with no equipment issues and measured more than 50% under the outage performance goal for radiation dose exposure.
Surry Nuclear Power Station, located in southeastern Virginia on the south bank of the James River, is comprised of two units with three-loop PWRs. The station supports 900 jobs, powers more than 420,000 homes and produces 14% of Virginia's clean energy generation.
