R -- ASSESSMENT OF STEAM DRYER INTEGRITY ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH UPRATED POWER OPERATION LICENSING ACTIONS FOR VERMONT YANKEE

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for a commercial item, prepared in accordance with FAR 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION. PROPOSALS ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED. Direct all questions or inquiries referencing this RFQ to Mona C. Selden, Contract Specialist (301) 415-7907, or e-mail mcs1@nrc.gov. All offers shall be submitted by mail NO LATER THAN 12:00 noon, NRC local time on 06/14/05, and addressed to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Division of Contracts, Attn. M.C. Selden, RFQ No. NRR-05-029, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. Solicitation No. NRR-05-029 herein is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ) under FAR Part 13. Proposals received after the date and time specified for receipt of proposals shall be considered late in accordance with FAR 52.215-1. This RFQ is a small business set-aside and the North American Industry Classification System Code is 541330. The small business size standard is annual receipts for the preceding 3 fiscal years not-to-exceed $4.0M. BACKGROUND---The NRC staff is reviewing a license amendment request from Entergy to operate the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VYNPS) at extended power uprate (EPU) conditions (20% above the original licensed thermal power). Recently, some nuclear power plants have experienced problems with certain components following implementation of approved power uprates. For example, steam dryers at certain boiling water reactor (BWR)plants have developed cracks and, in some cases, fractured metal parts from the steam dryer have entered the reactor coolant system and steam lines leading to the turbine generator. The steam dryer in the upper section of the reactor vessel of a BWR nuclear power plant removes moisture from steam generated from feedwater in the reactor core before the steam is directed through piping to the plant turbine generator to produce electricity. The steam dryer is constructed of metal plates that force the steam to change directions abruptly to remove moisture, which is then returned to mix with the incoming feedwater. The steam dryer is intended to remove essentially all of the remaining moisture from the steam to prevent damage to the turbine. Industry representatives have indicated that cracking in steam dryers occurred during the early operational phase of some BWR plants. During recently approved operation under EPU conditions above the Original Licensed Thermal Power (OLTP), steam dryers designed with a square hood and internal braces at certain BWR plants have developed cracks along with an increase in moisture carryover to the main steam lines. Steam dryers designed with square hoods but without internal braces, or designed with slanted or curved hoods, have not experienced significant cracking during plant operation under EPU conditions to date. Plant-specific equipment problems during operation under power uprate conditions have been discussed in NRC information notices and during public meetings. For example, in NRC Information Notice (IN) 2002-26, - Failure of Steam Dryer Cover Plate After a Recent Power Uprate (ML022530291), the NRC staff describes the failure of a cover plate on the outside of the steam dryer at Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station, Unit 2, which broke loose in June 2002 under 17.8% EPU conditions, and caused pieces of the dryer to be swept down the main steamline. This degradation of the steam dryer at Quad Cities Unit 2 was revealed by an increase in moisture carryover and minor perturbations in reactor pressure, water level, and steam flow. The licensee evaluated the cause of the steam dryer cover plate failure and determined that the failure was due to high-cycle fatigue. The NRC staff discussed another failure of the steam dryer at Quad Cities Unit 2 in IN 2002-26, Supplement 1, - Additional Failure of Steam Dryer After a Recent Power Uprate (ML031980434). In that instance, the licensee's inspection of the steam dryer at Quad Cities Unit 2 in June 2003 revealed an extensive fracture in the steam dryer outer bank hood, detached or severed internal braces, and cracked tie bars.The NRC staff prepared IN 2002-26, Supplement 2, - Additional Flow-Induced Vibration Failures After a Recent Power Uprate, to alert licensees to equipment performance problems under EPU conditions at Quad Cities Unit 1. After identifying high moisture carryover levels at Quad Cities Unit 1 such as that which occurred at Unit 2, the licensee shut down Quad Cities Unit 1 in November 2003 and found significant damage to the steam dryer. In addition to lengthy cracks in the steam dryer, the licensee determined that a piece of metal approximately 6.5 by 9.0 inches in size and 0.5 inches thick was missing from the steam dryer at Quad Cities Unit 1. From the early stages of the review of the VYNPS EPU submittal dated 9/10/03, the NRC staff has emphasized that steam dryer integrity was an area receiving a very high level of attention by the NRC due to industry operating experience with steam dryer failures following EPU implementation. Although steam dryers do not perform a safety-related function, they must maintain their structural integrity to prevent the occurrence of loose parts in the reactor vessel or steam lines that could adversely affect plant operation. The NRC staff considers the structural failure of steam dryers and other plant components to be safety significant when their failure adversely affects the ability of safety-related components to perform their safety function or when the generation of a large number of loose parts from their failure has the potential to affect safe shutdown of a reactor using safety-related systems. On 01/31/04, Entergy submitted Supplement 4 to its original submittal to address and provide analysis of the VYNPS steam dryer issue. During the course of the review of this supplement, in order to resolve the steam dryer concerns, the NRC staff requested additional information, held three public meetings with Entergy, and performed an audit of the steam dryer analysis at the General Electric office in San Jose, California. Based on review of the information provided by the licensee in its submittals during public meetings on 7/23/04 and 7/24/04, and as part of the audit at GE Nuclear Energy, the NRC staff concluded that the licensee's analysis of record was inadequate to demonstrate that the steam dryer at Vermont Yankee would be capable of maintaining its structural integrity under EPU conditions. Specifically, the licensee's analysis of the Vermont Yankee steam dryer as then submitted in support of its EPU request (1) had not adequately identified and verified the excitation sources for flow-induced vibration mechanisms that resulted in significant degradation of similar steam dryers at other BWR nuclear power plants operating at EPU conditions; (2) had not provided a complete load definition for the Vermont Yankee steam dryer for EPU conditions in light of several assumptions that have not been adequately justified; (3) had not justified the applied methodology as realistic in light of assumptions to account for uncertainties that resulted in apparent significant overestimation of predicted steam dryer stresses; (4) might be non-conservative based on assumptions for reducing the stress experienced by steam dryer parts and the movement of the potential fatigue failure location as a result of modifications to the Vermont Yankee steam dryer; and (5) had not validated the extrapolation of pressure peaks from original power levels at the three reference BWR plants to EPU conditions for the steam dryer at Vermont Yankee. During the audit and a public meeting on 9/29/04, at NRC Headquarters in Rockville, MD, Entergy indicated that further information would be submitted to address the NRC staff concerns related to steam dryer integrity. On 3/3/05 and 4/5/05, Entergy submitted a revised steam dryer analysis that includes an acoustic circuit analysis, computational fluid dynamics analysis, scale model testing and validation of the acoustic model and the computer code that generates the final forcing functions used in the dryer analysis. Technical expertise is required by the staff to assist in the review of the licensee's revised analysis of the structural capability of the steam dryer at Vermont Yankee for EPU conditions. OBJECTIVE--The objective of this purchase order is to obtain technical expertise to assist the staff in determining the adequacy of Entergy's analysis to ensure the structural integrity of the Vermont Yankee steam dryer during EPU operation. SCOPE OF WORK AND SCHEDULE--TASK 1--. Become familiar with the technical issue byreviewing the documents listed under the NRC Furnished Materials section, specifically, Items 1, 2 and 3 with a focus on the validation of acoustic circuit analysis using GE scale model testing and CFD analysis to determine additional flow induced vibrations (FIV) loads on the steam dryer. Items 4 through 12 are for background information and reference purposes. DELIVERABLE: Prepare a Technical Letter Report (TLR). SCHEDULED COMPLETION DATE is 1 week after award of purchase order. TASK 2----Prepare for and travel to NRC HQ to participate in a meeting scheduled for late June or July 2005, to discuss the steam dryer loads and technical approaches proposed by the licensee to ensure adequate steam dryer integrity. DELIVERABLE: Prepare a trip report. SCHEDULED COMPLETION DATE is 1 week after the meeting. TASK 3----Prepare for and travel to GE in Valicitos, CA, to participate in discussions with GE on their scale model testing methodology, setup and test data. DELIVERABLE: Prepare a trip report. SCHEDULED COMPLETION DATE is 1 week after the trip. TASK 4---Review and evaluate Vermont Yankee's submittal and determine the following: (a)the appropriateness and adequacy of validation of acoustic circuit model applying the scale model testing data that was not plant specific for Vermont Yankee; and (b)the adequacy of CFD analysis to predict fluid dynamic loads on the steam dryer. DELIVERABLE: Identify the need for any additional or clarifying information (RAIs) and prepare a TLR (see Technical Reporting Requirements, below, and Attachment 1 for format and guidance in the preparation of the TLR and the RAIs.) SCHEDULED COMPLETION DATE is 3 weeks after completion of Task 2. TASK 5---Review the licensee's responses to follow-up RAIs and determine if the information provided satisfactorily addresses the issue. If response does, incorporate the evaluation results including the basis for the conclusion(s) in the report developed under Task 1. If the response does not satisfactorily close the issue, provide the basis for why it does not in an E-mail to the Technical Monitor (TM) (See Technical Reporting Requirement below ). Participate in telephone conference calls with NRC and the licensee to further discuss the issue(s), as may be necessary. If the issue is satisfactorily resolved as a result of the discussions, and/or after receipt of supporting documentation resulting from the discussions, incorporate the evaluation results including the basis for the conclusion(s) in the final report. If the issue(s) is not resolved, identify the unresolved issue(s) as an open item(s) and include the bases for rejecting the responses. DELIVERABLE: Prepare a TLR. SCHEDULED COMPLETION DATE is 1 week after final discussion/receipt of confirming documentation, as notified in writing by the TM. TASK 6---Prepare for and travel to NRC HQ and to the plant site to participate in ACRS meetings: (a)Attend sub-committee meeting and prepare a trip report. The trip report is due 1 week after the meeting; (b)Attend sub-committee meeting at the site and prepare a trip report. The trip report is due 1 week after the meeting: (c) Attend full-committee meeting and prepare a trip report. The trip report is due 1 week after the meeting. TECHNICAL AND OTHER SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS'1 expert-level Mechanical Engineer who has demonstrated experience in evaluating the cause, significance, and future prevention of steam dryer structural failures; and has expertise in performing and assessing scale-model testing to validate loadings on steam dryers in nuclear power plants. These qualification requirements are critical to the performance of this work. The engineer must be specialized in flow induced effects on nuclear power plant structures and internal components, including hydrodynamic, acoustic, and vibrational effects on nuclear power plant systems and internal components; fluid-structure-acoustic interaction; and source, initiation, and impact of hydrodynamic and acoustic loadings on nuclear power plant piping systems and internal components. The engineer should also have a demonstrated ability in developing and evaluating finite-element analysis models of complex 3-dimensional components, and performing and evaluating computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses using FLUENT Code. TYPE OF CONTRACT AND PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE---Labor Hour (including travel), Purchase Order with a four month period of performance. LEVEL OF EFFORT---For planning purposes, the estimated level of effort in professional staff days apportioned among the tasks is:--Task 1 is 3; Task 2 is 2; Task 3 is 4; Task 4 is 6; Task 5 is 3; and Task 6 is 6. Total days is 24. NOTE: SEE NRR-05-029-2 FOR CONTINUATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. (THIS IS PART 1 OF 2)