Optimized shutdown chemistry instead of decontamination to reduce the dose rate during outages

Integrity of the condenser is one of the most important prerequisites for optimum availability, reliability and performance of fossil and nuclear units. For many decades, copper-based alloys exclusively were used for condenser tubing. Recently, generic 300 Series stainless steels, proprietary austenitic and ferritic stainless steels, and titanium seem to have completely displaced the traditional copper-based alloys. However, arsenical admiralty brass, arsenical aluminum brass, and 70-30 copper-nickel alloy have been successfully applied in countless applications in units with once-through and circulating cooling tower systems. It is believed that also in the future copper-based alloys will maintain their important position among the condenser tube materials. This contribution focuses on operation experience and the most important types of tube failures in water-cooled condensers with copper-based alloys. (orig.)