Refueling Outage Activities


During the refueling and maintenance outages conducted every 12 to 24 months, the following activities occur in the containment:
  1. Disassembly of the ventilation supplies to the reactor vessel head area (specifically, the Control Rod Drive Mechanisms-CRDMs)
  2. Removal and storage of the Pressurizer and Reactor Vessel Missile Shields
  3. Removal and storage of the Reactor Vessel Head
  4. Removal and storage of the Upper Internals of the reactor.
  5. Removal of spent fuel assemblies, addition of new fuel assemblies, and shuffle of selected fuel assemblies to optimize the power profile over the cycle.

 

reactor3a.jpg (10184 bytes)

The following describes some of the activities that occur during maintenance outages both inside and outside the containment.  Links (with photo size) are provided to photos that illustrate the operations:

If you want a good vertical perspective of the reactor, select the reactor graphic - 54K ). If you want a good perspective of the containment, upender, transfer tube, and spent fuel building, select the building graphic -- Courtesy SCE  -30K.

1. Reactor Vessel Head Movement

2. Containment crane and ceiling

3. Upper Internals Removal

4. Fuel Handling

5. Other Refueling Maintenance

6. Preparation for Operation

7. A Final Inspection

8.  Operation


Copyright � 1996-2004.  Joseph Gonyeau. All rights reserved. Revised: March 15, 2001.

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