AREVA said that it had successfully tested a passive shutdown seal for reactor coolant pumps after one operation cycle in a nuclear reactor.
The company said the passive shutdown seal (PSDS) successfully passed actuation testing after that one operation cycle.
Other tests, the company said, had previously verified that the seals withstood temperatures and pressures that would be similar to stresses found in a nuclear plant's blackout conditions for more than one week. However, the additional testing of enhanced operational reliability and safety complies with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's post-Fukushima Daiichi standards, AREVA said.
Senior vice president of Installed Base Services at AREVA Inc. George Beam said that the seal is reliable and easy-to-install. The seal “helps to reinforce plant safety,” he said in a statement.
The PSDS tested had been operating since April 2014 in the South Texas Project (STP) Electric Generating Station's Unit 1 reactor.
With the actuation test behind it, AREVA said it would begin supplying additional PSDSs to STP for installation during scheduled maintenance shut downs.