An Ageing Management Programme for the SAFARI-1 Research Reactor

The SAFARI-1 Research Reactor is a 20 MW high flux material test reactor and has been continuously operational for nearly 47 years. In this period, ageing of the facility has been addressed by means of various, mainly reactive, maintenance and upgrade initiatives to replace components that have become unmaintainable for various reasons such as wear, corrosion and obsolescence. With the facility now approaching 50 years of continuous operation, a programme has been implemented to assess, address and implement ageing management in a more formal and proactive manner. The programme conforms to the recently published IAEA Safety Guide SSG-10 Ageing Management for Research Reactors and makes extensive use of the guidelines set therein as well as other tools and methods developed in various international meetings and workshops at the IAEA for identifying ageing issues at the facility. The paper presents an outline of the methodology for implementing the ageing management programme at the SAFARI-1 research reactor. Identification of SSCs important to the safety and sustainability of the facility that are susceptible to ageing, the ageing mechanisms affecting them and the remedial actions identified to mitigate or remove the effects of ageing are discussed. A methodology for determining priorities is also elaborated. Remedial actions are divided into four groups: safety critical, mission critical, lifetime extension and organizational, and an implementation strategy is described. (author)