U.S. Operating Experience with Thermally Treated Alloy 600 Steam Generator Tubes Through December 2013(NUREG-2188)

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Publication Information

Manuscript Completed: September 2015
Date Published: February 2016

Prepared by:
K. J. Karwoski

Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555-0001

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Abstract

Steam generators placed in service in the 1960s and 1970s primarily had mill-annealed Alloy 600 tubes. Over time, this material proved to be susceptible to stress corrosion cracking in the highly pure primary and secondary water chemistry environments of pressurized-water reactors. The corrosion ultimately led to the replacement of steam generators at many facilities, with the first U.S. replacement occurring in 1980. Many of the steam generators placed into service in the 1980s used tubes fabricated from thermally treated Alloy 600. This tube material was thought to be less susceptible to corrosion. NUREG-1771, "U.S. Operating Experience with Thermally Treated Alloy 600 Steam Generator Tubes," documented the operating experience associated with thermally treated Alloy 600 steam generator tubes as of December 2001. This document builds upon the information in NUREG-1771 and summarizes the operating experience with thermally treated Alloy 600 tubes through December 2013, with some information from 2014 included.